Filed under: iphone

Posterous app for iPhone

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As if it wasn't easy enough to post to Posterous, there's an app for that now. I think it's fairly new... I remember reading about it a while back.

Clean UI, easy tagging and media uploading. Worth looking at if you have Posterous and an iPhone. iPhone

3 Innovative iPad Games That Use the iPhone as a Controller

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iPhone games are wicked. iPad games are wicked. Wanna know what’s even better? Controlling iPad games with your iPhone.

Yes, that’s right. Such wonders of human technical achievement do exist. We’ve taken a look at three of the most interesting iPad games that pair up with Apple’s phone for some wondrous results.

Whether you want to use your iPhone as a steering wheel, a Scrabble (

) tile rack or even to control a frickin’ helicopter, there are games out there that make it possible.

Have a read through our three selections of tag-teamed gaming. Let us know in the comments about your experiences with these games, or if you haven’t tried them, which ones you’d like to.

1. PadRacer

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Cost: PadRacer iPad App: $4.99, Pad Racer iPhone Controller: Free

PadRacer is an old school, top-view racing game that can link up with not one, not two, but four iPhones (or iPod touches) as controllers.

Best of all, the iPhone controller app is free, so you only need to buy one version of the game on the iPad and three of your buddies can bundle in on the fun for free.

Reminiscent of the likes of Super Cars on the Amiga, the gameplay is simple (steer your car around the track, try not to crash, try to win), which leaves you to concentrate on the fun of using your iPhone as a steering wheel.

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The controller itself looks like an old-fashioned racing car. Touchscreen controls are made up of the accelerator in the form of a “go” button and a “boost” option that you can employ by swiping your finger down the left hand side of the display.

While the game isn’t going to challenge anyone used to playing modern racing games on consoles, it’s engaging — there’s a choice of four tracks and it has a few fun features (like the ability to add oil slicks to the track, and modify and save tracks for others to race on) that help add interest.

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The game shines when two or more players get racing, but if it’s just you, your iPad and iPhone then you can “ghost race” other gamers from the worldwide leaderboard, which lets you race against previous performances.

As far as the iPhone-as-controller goes, connection is pain-free and the iPhone is responsive. The only downside is that you have to hold the iPhone at an angle (i.e., not flat) so the accelerometer works correctly, which, if you’re looking down at the iPad can be a bit of a pain.

Finally, if you happen to have two iPads on hand, then PadRacer offers a special track that you can hook up two iPads to play on with four iPhones. Mind-boggling! Here’s a video from the dev that shows the process:

2. Scrabble

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Cost: Scrabble for iPad: $9.99, Scrabble Tile Rack: Free

This virtual version of the ever-popular board game isn’t cheap, but if you’re a fan of Scrabble, we’re confident in calling this a must-have app, despite the price tag.

Playing Scrabble on the iPad’s roomy screen is a pleasure and with the ability to network play, pass and play, as well as play up to 25 multiplayer games at one time, you’re not going to be short of options.

However, our favorite option is the one that lets you use your iPhone or iPod touch as a tile rack, with support for two to four players, called “Party Play.”

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Using the iPhone as a tile rack makes the game more engaging and feel much, much more like the original board game. Classy touches, such as flicking the tiles from your rack to the main iPad board, work really well.

Bonus iPhone features include the option to shake your phone to shuffle up the letters and the ability to access the dictionary, so you can check your word before you hit up the board.

Here’s a quick demo video showing the different aspects of the app, including that cool “Party Play” functionality.

3. Chopper 2

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Cost: Chopper 2 iPad App: $4.99, Chopper 2 iPhone App: $4.99 (or free if you’ve already paid for the iPad app)

Chopper 2 is a helicopter-themed side-scroller that uses the accelerometer of an iOS device to control the game with movement and the touchscreen to take care of the likes of firing guns and dropping bombs. It is a sequel to the iPhone game of the same name.

Boasting 36 missions over 12 different locations as varied as the desert, countryside and cityscapes, it’s a great example of an iPhone game writ large, and as such, works really well on the iPad.

However, controlling it on the iPad (by moving and tilting the iPad) doesn’t offer the best gameplay experience. It essentially just uses the iPhone or iPod touch as the controller as you watch the action on your larger screen or even on a big screen TV.

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Chopper 2 costs $4.99 for the iPad and the iPhone, however, you don’t need to buy the game for both devices. Just buy the iPad game and then on your iPhone or iPod touch go through the process to buy the game again and you’ll get a prompt saying you’ve already purchased this item and you can download it for free.

Once you’ve got the game loaded up on both devices, it’s just a matter of setting up the remote control options in the settings for each game and then you’re ready to start flying.

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The smaller iPhone works well as a handheld motion controller, and the option to calibrate is a welcome one. In easy gameplay you just use the iPhone to manage the helicopter’s movement, while as things get more advanced, you also use the touchscreen to shoot at targets. Alternatively, you can control movement on the touchscreen, but we preferred the movement option.

To get an idea of the action, here’s a promotional clip for the app that shows off the gameplay and controller options rather well.

More iPad Resources from Mashable

- 10 iPad Games Worth Paying For
- 5 Extremely Addicting iPad Games
- 5 Unusual Ways to Use Apple’s iPad [VIDEOS]
- 10 Awesome Apple iPad Cases
- 10 Best Apple iPad Stands

Anyone try any of these games?

Google Sync and the iPhone

Let me start by saying that I hate to plug in my phone in order to sync calendars, contacts, etc. When I had my Blackberry, the Mac sync client sucked so badly that I didn't even bother--Google Sync all the way. So when I found out that Google had released the beta sync service for iPhone, I was as happy as a fly on... well, you know. When I got the iPhone, I did the typical sync-via-cable and got my contacts and calendars set up the way I wanted them. Then I gave MobileMe a try. MobileMe worked perfectly, but I can't justify $99 a year just to sync those two things (I don't use any of the other features of MobileMe.) So as a recap, at the time of Google Sync setup, this is my configuration:
  1. 2 Macs and an iPhone synching contacts and calendars with Mobile Me
  2. 2 Calendars in iCal syncing with Google Calendar
  3. My primary apps were iCal and Address Book
  4. My primary Google account is an "Apps for your Domain" account
I did a backup of my iPhone, iCal, and Address book, then exported my main personal calendar. Since I hadn't been using Google calendar for awhile, I uploaded the iCal calendar to my main Google calendar to make sure all my events were current on Google. **Note** If you are going to sync contacts, be sure to follow the instructions for making sure your local contacts are on Google. I knew I didn't want to sync contact with Google calendar yet, because I like having contact photos, and at this time (afaik,) Google Sync doesn't support contact photos. My contacts don't change as often as my calendar, though, so I don't mind plugging in now and then to keep contacts in sync with my desktop Mac. These are the steps that worked for me in getting my calendars setup to sync with Google... Enable Exchange sync in Google Apps for your Domain... [caption id="attachment_193" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Enable sync in Apps settings"]
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  • Login to your Apps dashboard, and go to the Service Settings tab
  • Check the box to enable Google Sync
  • Save settings
Setup your iPhone Select which calendars to sync I had some trouble with the last step--when I went to m.google.com, I couldn't login with my Apps account, and tapping the link that should've taken me to the login page for Apps didn't work. After some clicking around the mobile site, I finally found the link that would let me login to my Apps account. Once there, the Sync icon was visible, and I could select which 5 calendars to sync. It's currently limited to 5 calendars due to a glitch, but Google claims it's working with Apple to remedy the situation. So it's working... It took a few minutes, but the contents of the 5 calendars I selected have been pushed down to my iPhone. The one part I can't stress enough is to BACKUP everything before you start. Make sure your Google calendar and/or contacts are perfect before you set up the sync--it will save you headaches later. If you're using Google Sync with your iPhone, how has your experience with it been? Let me know in the comments.

WordPress for iPhone (testing)

I'll do up a proper review soon, but I wanted to test this app. So far it is flawless.

I can even attach photos (this photo is a screenie of Flickit, another app I'll be reviewing soon.

So far I see huge potential for quick mobile blog posts from airports or wherever. More soon.

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Flickit

Flickit from the Apple Store
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I'm a huge Flickr fan, and have been using Mobile Fotos for awhile, and love it, but figured I'd give this app a try. I'll report back on what I think of it. I'm kinda half thinking I might start doing some iPhone app reviews on this blog. It's not like I'm really doing anything else but rambling on it... Hmmm.

AT&T Carrier Update for iPhone

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[/caption] I plugged my iPhone into the computer today, and was presented with the this alert box. It was different from the standard software update alert box, so I was curious as to what exactly was being upated. Turns out it's nothing too exciting. The whole 3G microcell thing is cool, but there's no way I'm paying extra to extend AT&T's service. Sprint had a killer signal in my apartment, so I was pretty pissed to learn that AT&T did not. I drop calls on a regular basis while I'm in my apartment--not good, considering I work from home. If something doesn't improve soon, I won't have a choice but to swallow my pride and go crawling back to Sprint and my Blackberry... Anyone else have any experience dealing with AT&T on coverage issues?