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iTV Shows HD Review
iTV Shows HD Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Developer: iSnoop.fr
Price: $1.99
Version: 3.9.0
Price: $1.99
Version: 3.9.0
Design Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Features Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
iTV Shows HD provides a simple, effective way to follow the TV shows that you are interested in. Its content is aggregated from both The TV Database and TVRage to ensure that even the less well known shows are catalogued. The design of iTV Shows is clean and well thought-out, with the screens differing depending on whether you hold your device in landscape or portrait mode. Much like the Notes application, a directory sidebar is constantly visible when viewing iTV Shows in landscape mode, but is only visible in portrait mode when a button is pressed.
Adding a TV show is a really simple process. Click the plus button, enter in the name of the show, tap it, and that’s it. Rather neatly, the search box doesn’t hide as soon as a show has been added – meaning it takes a fraction of the time to add multiple shows. The application did get a little confused, understandably, between differentiations between the ampere sign (&) and the word (and), but this is more a database limitation rather than iTV’s problem.
Once shows are added, the aforementioned directory sidebar comes into play, providing the user with the latest timing information with regards to the show. For example, the application is currently telling me that The Good Wife is restarting in 13 days, September 28, and that the episode number and name is S02E01 (season 2 episode 1) – Taking Control. For shows like In Plain Sight and Curb Your Enthusiasm, the times are marked as TBA, or To Be Announced. Finally, shows like Frasier and The West Wing are marked as Ended, signifying that these shows have no new episodes airing. I’ll leave my personal disappointments aside. Going into more detail, when you tap on a specific show the application offers a wealth of information regarding episode numbers and names, as well a description of the show and full episode history. Each episode history contains its own short synopsis paragraph, taken straight from The TV Database or TVRage.
One feature that I’d like to touch on is the ability to mark a show as ’seen’ – which places a red bookmark similar to that on iBooks by that particular episode. Instead of having a red bookmark for every show, only one bookmark is placed, thereby implying that all of the above shows have been watched. This makes sense when you think about it – episodes of TV shows are typically watched in chronological order.
The application was somewhat slow in aggregating content for a TV show, particularly in series with a higher number of seasons. In addition, the lack of broadcasting information – like when and where it’s on – forces a user to look elsewhere. Finally, a push notification wouldn’t go amiss to alert you that one of the shows you watch is about to start, particularly given the fact that this is a paid-for application.
Overall, I am impressed with iTV Shows HD. It feels like a native version of a website like epguides.com, and the ability to mark TV shows as watched is very cool. If future updates satisfy the above, it’ll be worth every penny.
[ iTV Shows HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]
Apple Oddsmaker: What Does Apple Have Planned For Us Next Week?
Apple Oddsmaker: What Does Apple Have Planned For Us Next Week? is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Apple regularly schedules a September event to unveil new iPods and other odds and ends in time for the holiday buying season. I think we can assume this year will be more of the same. What will we see and what won’t we see? I’m going to try to put some odds to the various rumors and possible announcements. Note that these are all just my opinion as a guy that watches what Apple does with a rather critical and overly obsessive eye.
New iPod Touch – odds: even money
It’s almost guaranteed we’ll see a new iPod Touch introduced. This, like the iPhone announcement in June, has become a regular event. The question is what are the features we’ll see? I’m hoping we will, as in past years, see feature plurality with the current generation iPhone. So we’ll hopefully see the Retina Display (odds: 2-1), front facing camera with Facetime capability (odds: 3-1), rear camera (odds: 5-1). I’m also wondering if we’ll see the storage capacity increased to 64GB (odds: 4-1). And will we see other iPod lines retired like the iPod Classic, perhaps (odds: 8-1)?
iOS 4.1 Officially Announced – odds: even
This is also a given. iOS 4.1 has been in beta for 9+ weeks now and it’s been over 3 weeks since the last beta release. Betas usually come out every 2 weeks. So I think we can guess that it’s done and ready to release. We can expect the release either next week on 9/1 or very shortly after. What features will it have? A fix for the proximity sensor (odds: even) and a Game Center release (odds: 3-1) are the best bets. There’s the possibility that the length of time since the last beta was due to Apple adding in a mystery feature or two (odds: 5-1), or maybe it has to do with….
iOS 4.1 on the iPad – odds: 8-1
While I can’t wait to get iOS 4 on the iPad, it won’t be for a couple more months. I’m hoping that we’ll at least get some details on iOS 4 for the iPad (odds: 4-1), but I won’t hold my breath for that. Features I’m hoping for include support for running iPhone 4 resolution apps (odds: 4-1) and dashboard / icon layout update that takes better advantage of the screen size (odds: 30-1).
Updated Apple TV / iTV – odds: 5-1
This is the big new announcement most are expecting and an update to the Apple TV has been a long time coming. But I think Apple still sees it as too small of a market. I could be way off base here, but I think it’s too early for this rumored update. Apple has had so many leak problems that we tend to know just about every detail of a new device before it’s launched. We haven’t seen anything about a new Apple TV other than a few persistent rumors. While this would be the perfect time to launch it, just before the holidays, I just think it’s too early. But, in case it will be announced, the rumored features are a $99 price tag (odds: 10-1), and iOS based system (odds: 3-2), and App Store support of some kind (odds: 3-2).
I really hope I’m wrong about the Apple TV update and it does launch with all of the above. I’m certainly looking forward to this when it does launch and my head is spinning with the possibilities for apps for the device.
TV Show Rentals – odds: 3-2
This is almost a given. Goes along with the movie rentals and just makes sense. Once we have this, and on a new Apple TV, who will need their cable / satellite anymore? Along with this we’ll likely see iTunes 10 released (odds: 3-2) as seems to happen with every major new iTunes-based service.
New 7″ iPad – odds: 10-1
I think it’s too early for new iPads. The current one is still nearly impossible to get. And I just don’t see how a 7″ version fits into the future plans for Apple. This only really makes sense in combination with an updated Apple TV. A 7″, slightly cheaper (~$350) iPad model would make a great interactive, touch controlled remote control for an Apple TV though.
Updated iPads – odds: 20-1
In my mind, Apple made just one mistake with the current iPads — too little memory. Running multitasking on the iPad will not be a pleasant experience. But, I’ll put the odds at 20-1 that we’ll see new ones right now. But if they are announced, will they have more memory, yes, of course (odds: even). Retina display on the 10″ model — not likely as the overall resolution would be too large (odds: 30-1). Front facing camera to join in on the FaceTime fun (odds: 3-1). But again, not at this event — probably January.
iTunes Cloud Streaming – odds: 8-1
We know that iTunes cloud streaming is coming. And it should be coming soon as Apple’s huge east coast data center is ready or almost so. But is it ready to announce? I don’t think so. I believe we’ll see a full announcement of lots of integrated cloud based services all at once and we’ll find that the updated Apple TV might be integral to that.
Oh yeah, and the non-iOS related stuff still exists too…
Updated iLife – odds: 2-1 it’s been 18 months, an update is due. Only thing that could be holding it back is previously mentioned large-scale cloud services announcement.
Macbook Air Update – odds: 8-1
Macbook Air Retirement – odds: 4-1
It’s time to update or retire it.
We’ll be covering the major points of the event live on our @148Apps Twitter account next Wednesday starting at 10AM Pacific. And we’ll undoubtedly have a recap for you afterward.
What do you think? Let’s say this is a race track and you have $100 to bet however you wanted on the above possible winners. Who would you pick and how would you put your money down? LEt us know in the comments below.
[ Apple Oddsmaker: What Does Apple Have Planned For Us Next Week? is a post from 148Apps ]
Verizon Will Let You Watch Live TV On Your iPad
Verizon Will Let You Watch Live TV On Your iPad is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Verizon, the company that is rumored to get the iPhone onto their network in the not so distant future, has an app planned that will bring live TV to FiOS subscribing iPad users (FiOS, for those who don’t know (which included me until about an hour ago), is Verizon’s bundled home communications service which includes internet, TV, and phone). The live TV in the app will be a completely separate experience, letting the iPad work as an independent TV rather than an extension of another, a la Slingbox.
While the news is not quite as epic as a confirmed by Apple Verizon phone, the ability to stream live TV is something that iPad owners have been yearning for.
There is a major limitation though, as the service can only be used in your home due to Verizon’s need to authenticate users to send them the correct content. While it is unfortunate for the end user, it wouldn’t make sense for every user of the app to get every premium channel just for having it. The eventual goal is to provide a TV anywhere model, but there are apparently some kinks that need to be worked out.
Verizon is also planning a video on-demand store to be ready in Q4 2010 (which may or may not be before the release of the iPad app) that will let you stream rented and or paid for movies on the fly. Instead of making you store the content on-device though, the service saves the media onto a 70 GB HD in the clouds that is specifically dedicated to you. This capability allows users to watch the videos on whatever device they choose, from one of the TV’s connected to FiOS to a supported mobile device.
Verizon doesn’t have a set date for the apps arrival as they are waiting for all of the content partners to get on board, something that could be very difficult in today’s world where everyone is trying to make money in the App Store, but the “cloud TV” experience could be right around the corner. If you are one of the lucky 2.5 million FiOS TV customers, your TV on the iPad dreams could soon come true.
[Source: Newteevee.com]
[Image: Gizmodo]
[ Verizon Will Let You Watch Live TV On Your iPad is a post from 148Apps ]
EyeTV 1.1 Introduces Adds Streaming TV For iPad Users
Get Breaking News, Cartoons and Comedy With MobiTV
ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup App Scores
ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup App Scores is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Price: FREE Score: 10/10 By M. Schusterman
If the info and quality you get from this free version of the ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup app is this high, the upgrade must be fantastic.
Rabid World Cup followers will get plenty of use out of this app. From the main menu, you can search through the up-to-date scores and schedules, the latest news about recent events, and video of game highlights courtesy of ESPN.
You can also easily search for specific info by teams, which are organized by map, list and groups, then add them to your favorites so the latest info about your team is available right on the main menu. Or you can check out the venues to see what games are playing at certain stadiums. There’s even a bracket predictor, where you can earn points by predicting the outcome of games with other ESPN account holders.
The in-app purchase of $7.99 gives you even more, including (for those in the U.S.) live ESPN radio streams of the matches, highlights within minutes of when they happen, video recaps and analysis, and breaking news and game alerts, including customizable alerts.
As far as design goes, this app is really well done, particularly considering it’s both free and only useful for a short window of time. A quick scroll down the main menu will take you to any info you want to find, and the video and audio are both great quality. When you try to choose an option (like alerts) that is only offered with the upgrade, a window opens asking if you’d like to purchase it; other than that, I didn’t experience any ads or annoying pop-ups, so if you just want the free version there’s no advertising harassment to deal with.
This app is definitely a handy one for iPhone users who want to stay connected to the action at all times.
ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Knight Rider Is Back And On The App Store
Knight Rider Is Back And On The App Store is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Okay, so David Hasselhoff‘s airtime these days is a mixture of him singing rock songs in German and eating burgers off the floor in a drunken stupor, but we all remember his heyday, don’t we? No, not Baywatch, the cult classic that was Knight Rider. In a nutshell, the show followed the crime fighting escapades of Michael Knight and his kick-ass futuristic car with a voice that sounded like that old guy from Boy Meets World. Sadly, the last we heard from KITT (the car) and Michael Knight was way back in 1986 when the series ended – until now.
For those who loved the quality soundtrack, cheesy dialogue and completely impractical stunts, Knight Rider has returned as an iPhone game, available now on the App Store. In a nice touch, the developer hasn’t tried to bring the game into the same technical field as the iPhone (which is probably more advanced than any gadget found in the show) opting instead for the retro pixel art feel of 80s coin-op titles. Most of the game is spent driving the car in a top down view and there are plenty of powerups available that hark back to the TV series, clips of which can also be unlocked as you play.
If you enjoyed Knight Rider growing up or simply love the glory days of kids TV you’ll likely get the same goose bumps we did as the intro sequence and title music plays when you launch this app.
$4.99
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-24 :: Category: Games / Action
[ Knight Rider Is Back And On The App Store is a post from 148Apps ]
MobiTV Arrives on the iPhone
Modern Family Episode Features iPad
RedEye Remote ~ Combines Wifi & IR to Control Your TV
RedEye Remote ~ Combines Wifi & IR to Control Your TV is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website
Over the past couple of months we’ve seen a huge boom in the universal remote adapters for the iPhone. They’re all part of the quest to make the iPhone the one ultimate device to control everything. After all you can already control your lights, garage, start cars, or for those who caught my Plant-Mate post, you may even be able to water your garden with it. Currently most of the infrared transmitters out there are coming as either dongles or parts of iPhone cases as can be seen with FLPR or PowerA products. Think Flood’s RedEye Remote is a little different though as it’s a stand alone dock which transmits the signal instead. Does this make it better though?
Well that really depends on the situations you’re planning on using your new “universal control” in. First let’s take a look at the hardware itself and how it works. You wouldn’t think it’s anything too special just by looking at it, simply a Apple Universal dock made out of clear blue plastic instead of white with LED’s glowing on the inside. This $188 plastic dock sports a whole lot more than just a charging port though. The 6 glowing LED’s are actually IR transmitters (and receivers) strategically placed and aimed to allow a signal to be beamed in almost every direction of a room at the same time. This is important obviously as it allows different items throughout a room to be controlled by the same dock without a need to reposition it. These signal bursts are sent via the Wifi card built directly into the dock itself which, by default, creates its own wireless network or it can also be set to easily join a preexisting network instead. Joining a current network is the recommended option as it allows for extended range and usability of the internet on your phone at the same time plus increases overall system performance.
The use of Wifi is really where the bulk of the differences of this device stem from when comparing it to other IR options. One advantage is the ability to use the remote without being in a direct line of site of your device. This would be helpful for example if you’re in an adjoining room to a TV which is too loud to hear you company. Instead of leaving your guests to find a remote and turn down the volume it could quickly be done without ever breaking conversation. The Wifi also allows more then one iDevice to control your systems at once, while this could start controller wars in some homes, the more diplomatic ones could find many advantages to it. I did have some concerns about latency with the transmission from Wifi to IR but it was relatively minimal and keeping the remote sound clicks option on helped with keeping it intuitive. Signal drop off was also negligible, especially when tested on stronger networks. Additionally the dock on the top comes with all of the standard dock inserts so that any Apple iDevice can charge on it making the RedEye hardware more than acceptable.
The software, aka the RedEye Remote app, on the other hand could still use some work. It’s not that the app is bad exactly, in fact it’s quite feature rich with the ability to make Macros, custom remote layouts, and personalized buttons, more on these in a moment. The overwhelming feeling I got though was unintuitive. Being a stereotypical male I started my testing by tearing open the box and completely bypassing the instructions. I know this is a bit reckless and pigheaded but I review and work with tech products for a living, I rarely need instructions to get something working. I admit I often have to go back and read them in order to learn all of the features but to simply get it running is usually a boom, boom, pow, process. For the RedEye though it wasn’t until I went back and actually watched the tutorial video online that I truly had a firm grasp on setup and use of the device.
Once I got over that hurdle though things went swimmingly. I mentioned before that you’re able to make your own Macros which with one push of a button can switch your TV input, adjust your receiver volume, and turn on your DVD player so you can watch a movie. This is pretty cool stuff plus you can create your own custom controller layouts with different size buttons which can even be set as TV favorites for taking you to your favorite channel. Every once in a while the macros, called activities in the app, would get confused and think my TV was off instead of on. I was able to advance a couple of menus to manually override it and get it back on track but it was a little annoying. The remote layouts can be a little tricky at first also, I read somewhere a suggestion for ThinkFlood to create a desktop app to help designing layouts which I think would be a great idea. Fortunately all of the remote setups are actually stored in the device and not the app itself which means any iPod or iPhone that connects to it will instantly have all of the same layouts. A cool feature, although not very useful, is the added gesture control the developers included. It’s an interesting idea but the truth is I kept accidentally flipping channels when I put the phone down or my hand would end up getting tired from flicking it to the right while trying to turn the volume up a couple of notches.
Fortunately the biggest flaws, which aren’t enough to keep me from recommending it, are with the software meaning it could end up being updated at any point to make it better. ThinkFlood has already committed to updating it for at least adding to it’s already extensive IR remote database. I should also mention that if your remote isn’t in the database theres no need to worry, there is actually a learn buttons feature with the product as well that you can teach your RedEye how to mimic the unsupported remote.
As I alluded to at the beginning of this review, is this the universal remote solution for you? Well it depends, the remote dongle accessories out there are cool but they’re something you always have to carry with you to use everywhere. Sure you could easily pick it up and move it to another room but that also means you could easily loose it or leave it upstairs, that’d be annoying.
The other design has been to integrate it with a case, which is great except what happens if a different size iPhone comes out, or if you switch to an iPod Touch? So the best solution really depends on your situation, however, ThinkFlood has recognized the need to be portable too. Coming out this spring is the RedEye Mini which is a dongle that connects through your headphone port and will only run $50. I’m not exactly sure how it will work since remote data is stored on the RedEye itself, but I’m hoping that there is a way to sync the two together. This would give you the best of both worlds without a need to recreate the same remote layouts with 2 devices and for less than $240 it’s still a bargain compared to a Logitech Harmony.
One more note for the ultra creative and handy folks out there, I came across this video a few days ago and was amazed. Hopefully a guy controlling his car with his iPhone will give you some inspiration for other things you could do with a great device like this.
Developer: ThinkFlood
Price: $188.00
Model Reviewed: RedEye
Price: $188.00
Model Reviewed: RedEye
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Pros:
-Runs on Wifi
-Doesn’t Require Repositioning
-Universal Dock for Charging
-Supports Multiple iPhones at Once
Cons:
-Only Used in One Room
-App Not Intuitive
-Chance of Wifi Latency
[ RedEye Remote ~ Combines Wifi & IR to Control Your TV is a post from 148Apps ]
TV Schedules
iPhone App Review – Family Guy
Family Guy ($1.99)
Version 1.0REVIEW- “Freakin’ Sweet App for Family Guy Fans”
This is a very fun app for anyone that is a family guy fan, because the one thing that unites Family Guy fans is that they love to share their favorite Family Guy moments. This app allows you to do that and a little bit more.
The app opens with a listing of clips sorted by categories. By clicking on the arrows on top you can sort through the available categories and choose which clips you would like to see. The other icons on the bottom are the extras that may not be much but they add a cute touch this clip app.
The first icon is Giggity and this gives you access to the two “games” on offer. Don’t get your hopes up they are not really games. The first allows you to toss Peter around a background and he quickly loses his clothes. (Exciting I know). The other allows you to dress up Stewie in a variety of poses and clothes by sliding through the available options.
The other feature of this app is the ability to merge clips together and make your own mixes. You can choose from a number of different clips grouped by your favorite characters and then have fun putting them all together. Once you’ve finished creating them you can upload them for the world to see.
Watching the clips is by far the best feature of this app. The clips are changed daily so you don’t have to worry about watching the same clips over and over again, which is a nice feature. You can even browse through the available clips in a category while you are watching a clip. This ensures that you line up the next clip you want to see without having to watch anything you don’t.
The downside to this is that you are basically paying for an advertisement. Every clip is followed by a reminder to download full episodes on iTunes. The games are also less than entertaining for more than a few seconds and you probably won’t have the patience for the mixer. But even though you will probably be annoyed at having to pay for this app, it really is not that expensive and it is good for a few laughs for any Family Guy fan.
-Stephanie S.
Download Now!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Developer – Firemint
URL: www.fox.com/familyguy/iphone/
DEVELOPERS NOTES
Presenting the official FOX Family Guy iPhone application!
Family Guy, Fox’s Emmy-award winning animated comedy, comes to the iPhone with this freakin’ sweet application.
Watch clips, toss Pet…
Download Now!
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Leonard Maltin Movie Guide
Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide places consistent capsule reviews and facts for 24,000 films on your iPhone. Key features include search by title, cast member, director, direct link to NetFlix Queue / Instant Queue, automatically updated Current Pick reviews, hyperlinks to cast and director filmographies, custom lists (e.g. “Want to see”, “Recommended”, etc.) and more.