Daily App Digest – 04/05/11

Cypress Innovations today is pleased to announce the release of piRAWnha v2.0, which introduces a variety of new features to the first app to enable raw processing on the iPad.

New features include:
* Ratings/Keywords with XMP file support
* Full-size export for all raw images available for iPad 2
* Full-screen display of thumbnail, original, previous, and current edit in landscape and portrait mode
* High and full resolution preview for iPad 2
* Custom output file format (export to jpg, tiff, bmp, png, eps, ppm, psd, pdf)
* Cropping and Rotation
* Vibrance control
* Camera-specific white-balance settings
* Current zoom display
* Additional Sharpening and Image Blurring options
* Ability to open RAW files from other apps such as Mail, Dropbox and Shuttersnitch

piRAWnha features both raw developing and post-processing options, including exposure compensation, white balance correction, highlight recovery, denoise operations, gamma correction, saturation-hue-brightness adjustments, high-quality contrast adjustments, sharpening and an image histogram that is updated with each edit. piRAWnha supports the use of presets and has the ability to create thumbnails for raw files when not automatically generated by the iPad. piRAWnha works with all raw files supported by Apple.

piRAWnha, the first raw image developer for iPad, is a true companion for the serious photographer. Develop, adjust and perfect raw images with piRAWnha for iPad.

$9.99/Download

Left Coast Logic released SmartPlans 2, the iPad version of their category-leading creative Task and Project planning tool for individuals, students, and small businesses. The new version runs on both iPhone and iPad, and synchronizes data with Toodledo. This allows users to share their tasks with the company’s other productivity apps, SmartPad (iPad) and SmartCal (iPhone/iPod).

SmartPlans is an easy project planner designed for anyone to use, from small businesses to students to the next great American novelist – anyone who wants to line up their projects and look at the big picture. Just create a new Project, fill it with some tasks, and flip the iPad (or iPhone) sideways to see how long it will take. Move different Projects around on the time-line and even re-size them to adjust allocation of time based upon your workload needs.

$9.99/Download

App Zap today is pleased to announce the release of the updated version of their fully physically simulated game Kick the Buddy. The game was created to become a perfect tool for de-stressing even the tensest day and was just upgraded with a remarkably diverse set of new weapons and items for kicking the Buddy and having a whole lot more smashing fun.

This interactive game provides users with a great opportunity to relieve the stress and lower their blood pressure. All they have to do is to choose the face for the Buddy from their Photo Library or just leave him as he is and do with him literally whatever they want. The number of ways to punish or entertain the Buddy can pleasantly surprise even hardcore gamers.

Buddy lovers will fall in love with a variety of mini-games that they can play with their cute little friend while Buddy haters will appreciate at true value new weapons and items available with an update to let the steam off. There is a boxing glove to punch the Buddy, fishing rod to catch him, fuel tank to pull Buddy to pieces, Japanese sword exactly like in Kill Bill and lots of other ingenious methods to get square with the Buddy.

$1.99/Download

In these tough economic times of high cost motoring drivers are starting to neglect maintaining their vehicles as often as they should. This is usually a false saving however, as missing those important oil changes or tire pressure checks will likely lead to larger more expensive problems in future. Some simple maintenance jobs lead to immediate savings; For example, regular topping up of air in the tires will help improve fuel efficiency leading to consistent savings at the pump.

To help drivers save money in the longer term the ‘Car Maintenance Reminder’ iPhone App (featured in The Sunday Times App List in the UK) will remind drivers of those maintenance tasks as and when they need doing, giving the driver one less issue to remember and saving them unnecessary problems at a later date.

$0.99/Download

Plastic Mobile has joined Pizza Pizza, Canada’s leading pizza chain, as their mobile agency to help build and launch an iPhone application to make ordering and delivering pizza both convenient and fast. This free app is available for all iPhone models, the iPod touch, and the iPad.

The Pizza Pizza app will let users build the pizza of their dreams. (Yes, your tummy will thank you!) Want a half order of ham & pineapple and the other half Italian sausage, extra mushrooms, no cheese, and easy on the sauce? Looking to order a gluten-free pizza? Pay through your application or when it arrives. It all can be done with the Pizza Pizza app.

Free/Download

DS Mitchell, a Manhattan-based iPhone app developer, is proud to release his best update yet of Dave’s Tiles Puzzle today, adding Arabic to its growing list of 10 languages and delivering the most requested feature by fans: landscape orientation on iPad.

Downloaded in more than 82 countries, Dave’s Tiles Puzzle is a variation of the timeless 15-tiles puzzle invented in the 1870’s by Canastota, New York postmaster, Noyes Palmer Chapman. Though classically inspired, the similarities end with Dave’s addition of 32 levels.

"I loved playing the red and white plastic version of the 15-tiles puzzle when I was younger, until it was no longer challenging," says Dave. "So I developed a way to mathematically generate random tile jumps during the game without breaking its solvability."

$1.99/Download

It is very simple to use, but carefully designed to give the users the best possible tool for artstic expression on a smooth 3D egg surface. It is meant for all ages but especially children and creative adults will love this app. Real egg artworks can be easily created and also shared on Facebook or sent by E-mail.

App includes an egg in 20 different colors, 3 brush types, eight brush sizes, 20 brush colors and 12 lovely predesigned decorations that can be "stamped" on the egg. Drag over the egg with your finger to paint it with any selected brush and color or tap the egg to place (stamp) the selected decoration. There is also an undo function to correct any immediate mistakes you make. Creative process is enhanced with nice and un-intrusive background music that can also be turned off.

With Paint Easter Egg it is nearly imposible to create an "ugly" egg. Finished artworks can be send by E-mail, shared with friends on Facebook or saved to Photo Album. The resolution of the eggs is very good and the saved eggs can also be set as wallpapers from Photos app on the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

$0.99/Download

The Boom Boat version 1.1 content update has dropped anchor on the iPhone and iPod touch this month from indie game developer, Razoric. Boom Boat is an action game featuring physics-based puzzles that test the player’s mind and reflexes.

An unknown menace is lurking at the bottom of the sea. Cold, ruthless and calculating they slowly plan for the world’s ultimate destruction. Equipped with bombs, barrels, concrete and more it is imperative that Boom Boat stops this menace by any means necessary. The new content update brings thirty new levels, brand new art and animation and concludes the oil crisis storyline.

Feature Highlights:
* Tilt controls
* Physics based puzzles and explosions
* Progressive difficulty as the puzzles become more complex
* Optional challenges in each level
* Game Center: 35 achievements and two leaderboards
* HD Retina display for the iPhone 4
* Free updates that include new levels, weapons and game play modes
* Boom Boat is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch

$0.99/Download

Big Blue Bubble is pleased to announce that owners of Burn the Rope for the iOS can now play a new puzzle every day. Players can log in daily to see a fresh, new challenge. Additionally, Burn the Rope fans are invited to submit their original puzzle ideas for development as a Puzzle of the Day.

This absolutely unique game feature is introduced in the 1.3 game update now available to all users. Every day, players of Burn the Rope for the iPhone will receive a new puzzle to play. That’s right – free ongoing new content designed by users! New Unlocking System in free version -We are also happy to announce that "Burn the Rope Lite" now includes the ability to earn every level in the original game, for Free!

Create your own levels:
Anyone who submits a puzzle design has a chance to win a free T-shirt, bragging rights and the undying admiration of Wickman if their puzzle is selected to become an actual game level. One puzzle will be selected every day so there’s plenty of opportunity to win. Submit a puzzle now to become one of the first winners!

$1.99/Download

Distal Industries, LLC, a Texas company, has announced the release of Meet-Up Mile, an iPhone application for marathon spectators that calculates meet up times for each mile along a race course.

"If you’ve ever watched someone run a marathon, you know how challenging it can be getting to the right place at the right time to see them go by," said David Colvin, founder of Distal Industries. "Meet-up mile makes it easy. You choose where you want to watch the race and Meet-Up Mile tells you what time to be there so you don’t miss your runner."

Using an intuitive interface, users enter the time the event begins, the runner’s target pace and where they want to watch the race. The app then calculates what time the user needs to be at that location to meet up with their runner. In addition to calculating meet up times, the app also predicts how long it will take for the runner to complete the race and the time of day the runner will cross the finish line.

$0.99/Download

Extend Interactive Co., an innovative app developer with a growing library of exceptional interactive games already under their belt, has announced that the newly updated version of Jigsaw Mansion will be available to customers for only $0.99 for a limited time only. Spurred by the scope of Japan’s recent natural tragedy, the developers were moved to help, and accordingly will be donating all profits from Jigsaw Mansion sales during this promotion to help Red Cross Disaster Relief operations currently happening in Japan.

Designed specifically for the iPad, Jigsaw Mansion version 2.0 offers players the ability to get new paid and free puzzle packs through the game’s newly opened in-app store. Originally $4.99, Jigsaw Mansion 2.0 is currently available for download on the Apple App Store for the special price of only $0.99 with all sales proceeds going to help Red Cross disaster relief efforts in Japan.

$0.99/Download

"Zoombie Digger" is the first game from CrazyBit, the Russian game developer. The game was released March 29th this year. Six days since the appearence of the game in the AppStore, "Zoombie Digger" has received more than 470 ratings and more than 200 reviews in the AppStore US alone, with 4.5 being the average rating. The game has already been in the US, Mexico and Singapore Top-25, and the Top-10 in China and Russia.

In this hilarious and funny game you have to protect your home from constant attacks by zombie monsters! The application’s genre is most similar to "tower defense": the player has a house that is constantly attacked by 9 very neat types of zombie-animals: crocodiles, elephants, hedgehogs, rhinos, bears, bats, porcupines, mummy-robots, and mutant snails.

The simplest way to kill the monsters is by burying them into the ground where they belong. The player can also purchase other weapons: a sling that can be upgraded into a laser gun, various bombs and super-weapons that feature, aside from your basic lightning and anvils, things like guitar-playing flying cows.

$0.99/Download

Team Jungool has updated and reduced the price of their latest game called Jungool. Jungool has been in development for over a year by a team of four who have worked together previously on Nintendo DS classics such as ‘Manic Miner in the Lost Levels’ and ‘Warhawk DS’. This is their first commercially published title.

Jungool is a physics based platform action game with puzzle solving elements and takes place in various world locations across 30 levels. Players take on the role of a bouncing ball shaped critter called ‘Wagga’, whom is guided by his village Shaman around the world in an effort to retrieve the stolen masks and to ultimately bring back order to the jungle.

Various enemies such as ferocious Hunters, Demi-Gods and natural obstacles will threaten Wagga on his quest. Other animals and masks scattered around the world will aid wagga on his journey until the real mastermind behind this terrible malady is discovered and ultimately defeated.

$3.99/Download

Dyerware, an emerging mobile software developer, has announced a recent update of feedHopper RSS Reader. Created specifically for use on the iPad, this flexible content browsing and viewing tool allows users to centralize their favorite RSS feeds, Twitter, Podcasts, and Web pages, and view them all through a single iPad-centric utility.

Newly launched, feedHopper Version 4.0 allows users to render their favorite RSS feeds in a style similar to Safari Reader and gives users further options to select and change the font, margins, and paper style of any article to ensure that it is clean and easily comprehensible. feedHopper RSS Reader is currently available for download on the Apple App Store for only $1.99, requiring iPads operating on iOS 4.2 or later in order to operate.

Though this app maybe labeler as a simple RSS reader it easily transcends this categorization in practice. This utility represents a full iPad centric informational powerhouse that let user not only reader their favorite RSS feeds but save or bookmark them, tweet about them to their followers, e-mail them to friends, or even play full-screen podcast attachments all within the confines of this one single app.

$1.99/Download

Millions of people use iPhones to find the apps they like. Now they can even download app to book hotels worldwide with instant confirmation. The price is the same as they book from desktop PC. Before people even cannot image it is so convenient. Some clients wrote reviews that they book hotels very easily and all these were done when they were sipping coffee at the restaurant or watching the kids playing or waiting for somebody.

Just with several taps, "Hotel -" app brings up all the nearby hotels with current room availability, rates, photos and even the location of these hotels on an interactive google map. It allow travelers to search, browse and book from millions of hotel rooms while on the go. Hotel – app also make it really easy to search by city name, post code, distance to landmarks etc or to filter by hotel name etc. The app is free, convenient and useful.

Free/Download

Camila has announced a discount on its popular Sushi & Maki application for a limited time only. Sushi expert Kenji Takeda shows how easy and fun it is to prepare traditional sushi and maki at home. Sushi & Maki provides clear, practical instructions and beautiful photographs to show iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users every step of the recipes. The app includes everything one needs to know to prepare an impressive variety of sushi to serve family and friends. The step-by-step recipes are simple to prepare in any kitchen. The author presents traditional favorite recipes such as hand formed sushi, maki sushi (rolls) and inside out rolls (like the California roll).

$0.99/Download

iAdventureGame, the publisher of adventure titles for mobile devices, has announced its release of West Wing Escape. The game takes place on two floors of the West Wing itself, and it stays true to the actual layout of the West Wing. The player starts out in the Presidential Oval Office, and from there they must somehow escape while avoiding the evil guards and solving the challenges ahead of them.

The game implements a graphic novel/comic book presentation style that proved popular with adventurers in their Raving Manor title, and West Wing Escape continues the tradition of pick up and play style of gaming that fits the mobile lifestyle. Staying true as possible to the actual layout of the West Wing was an important consideration of game design, and using those elements with a little creative license served to create an exciting adventure for all players.

$1.99/Download

Ball Pit, version 2.0, a unique 3D game developed by Terry Weissman is now available for free. Ball Pit is best played standing up, so you can easily spin around to see everything that happens around you. Your iPhone 4 or 4th generation iPod touch acts as a window between you and the world of Ball Pit.

Version 1.0 of Ball Pit earned a solid 5 stars in the App Store. Now, version 2.0 builds on it by improving game play, with the addition of a thrust button, power-ups, Game Center integration, and improved graphics.

Free/Download

Independent app developer Yehonatan Douek has announced the release of iPan: Flip Master 1.0. A new star in the bird domain games, but rather different and unique. iPan: Flip Master turns any iOS Device into an egg-flipping pan. This is said to be the next fruit ninja. A very fun and addictive game that takes your motor and flipping skills to the edge.

iPan enables users to master their egg flipping skills. The game is all about being fast and accurate. The chicken will drop many types of eggs, which the user should flip at the right timing and plate. But not all is well: there are bomb eggs and rotten eggs. There are broken plates and hurricanes. And there is a little chick. The game is very surprising and is full of fun elements. It challenges the user to become a "Flip Master" and beat the egg-dropping-chicken.

$0.99/Download

Mutant Games has announced the release of their first pack bundle for iPhone and iPod touch. Mutant Games Vol 1: Soccer Fever is a bundle of 2 games in 1: Champion Striker plus Go! Go! Soccer.

In Champion Striker, you can either play as a Striker, flicking the ball to kick, or as the Goalkeeper, tilting the iPhone to move the gloves. It’s a simple idea, with lots of fun features, such as different Targets, Power Ups and Ball types. Moreover, two players can play locally, sharing the device by turns: Kick balls and then challenge your friend to save them!

In Go! Go! Soccer you guide a footballer tilting your device right and left to avoid rivals coming from everywhere to stop you, and always finding the best path to reach the goal. Get ready for tackles, power ups, sprints, dribbles, passes, bald referees, and live the excitement of soccer!

$0.99/Download

iGotIt Games lost control of their creation over the weekend. The butterflies were simply too anxious and are now flying all over the app store and need to be captured with iPads. Swoop your finger around the butterflies to catch them in groups of like colors. Be careful nothing gets in your path, such as other colors or types of butterflies or even the dreaded bumblebee, as these will cause your capture to fail. They are shifty, but there is no doubt you are ready for the task.

"It’s been a rocky road getting Colorflys out here, but I’m thrilled the day is here," says David McGraw, founder. "I started this project last year when I found out my prior studio was closing down and midway through development my wife and I ended up moving back to Wichita, KS from the San Francisco area. I’m just really excited to share this creation with everybody and I look forward to continuing development."

What’s next for Colorflys? Over the coming weeks and months, development will be addressing any concerns players may have, introducing new stages that will take the player to some really cool environments, and bringing together some other really special things. So come on out and help us capture all of these butterflies that are flying around the app store! They’re everywhere!

$1.99/Download

Available for $1.99 on the App Store, the VideoFix app allows the users to process their videos for improving the image quality or for applying special effects. With six different highly configurable filters, the possibilities are endless.

The main filter, called simply "Fix!", is specially designed to enhance the video image quality by providing controls to adjust several different settings like contrast, brightness, or saturation. The possibility to selectively recover blown-out highlights or enlightening shadows, makes this filter a powerful tool to correct and adjust videos with poor lighting conditions. Version 2.0 adds the possibility to adjust the color temperature of the videos, allowing to correct those videos recorded with a wrong white balance.

The remaining filters are designed to transform totally the appearance of the videos: B&W, Sepia, Tint, Two-Colors and Comic. Instead of being "one-click" effects, each of them presents to the user different, specific, settings that can be adjusted to get a wide range of looks.

$1.99/Download

Viaden Mobile, an acknowledged developer for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, has announced Smart Alarm Clock: sleep cycles & noise recording – an app that not only helps users optimize their sleep but also never lets them down in the morning.

Most people do not even imagine what poor sleep may result in. Headaches, depression, drowsiness, obesity are only the tip of the iceberg. Lack of sleep or, on the contrary, too much sleep are a common problem millions of people worldwide suffer from. Taking medications may indeed help, but there are easier ways to improve sleeping habits before resorting to drugs.

Up-to-date technologies allowed Viaden Mobile to combat the problem in a science-backed and effective way. Finding a solution to the problem of sleep disorders, wasn’t an easy task. However, thorough study of the issue, vast experience and professionalism of the developers helped Viaden Mobile come up with a tool, Smart Alarm Clock, that is sure to provide many people with that healthy sleep they lack.

Our sleep falls into three phases that vary in deepness. Research shows that there is a certain sleep phase when waking up is the easiest. This phase is called Rapid Eye Movement sleep, or REM sleep. During REM, the activity of brain’s neurons resembles much that during waking hours which makes the phase the perfect time for waking up.

The monitoring of sleep phases is the key to solving the problem of over- and undersleeping. As long as REM is known, there is nothing more achievable than a healthy sleep. Smart Alarm Clock was specially designed to track the sleep phases, detect REM and go off at the moment when waking up is the smoothest. Using the in-built accelerometer, Smart Alarm Clock registers the users’ movements in their sleep and identifies in which of the three sleep phases they are.

$0.99/Download

eGottlieb Solutions has released the new app Pimp Your Face using state-of-the-art technology to detect faces in your photos and then puts totally wacky hats, hair, eyes, glasses, mouths and beards on them for hilarious, ridiculous faces. Every time you shake your iPhone or iPod you get a completely new randomized face. Pimp Your Face has over 39 hats and hair samples, 19 eyes and glasses and 19 mouths and beards so you will never run out of crazy face combos.

With crazy hats and hair turn yourself into Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Captain Sparrow, an astronaut, a viking, a vampire and many, many more. Make your eye a bruised eye, black eye or different types of eyes altogether, like a cat’s eyes or a tiger’s eyes. Funky eyeglasses are included like Elton’s concert glasses or Bono’s glasses or super thick cola bottle glasses. Mouths and beards range from super fluffy beards and handlebar moustaches to vampire teeth and rotting teeth.

Pimp Your Face uses photos taken with the iPhone camera or from your Photo Albums. It works on older generation and newer generation iPhones, iPods and iPads too. By default, it uses the forward facing camera so you can play around with your own face. On the iPod and iPad the camera feature is not available. Also there are no advertisements. Future versions of Pimp Your Face will include more hats and hair, eyes and glasses and mouths and moustaches.

Free/Download

Intuitive Computers is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Playroom Racer, and Playroom Racer HD 1.0, a new unique micro racer game in top-down racing style for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Playroom Racer provides challenging gameplay with excellent HD graphics, fast cars, beautiful and creative racing environments with three different game modes and various control methods.

Almost every child played with toy cars, now you can play these sensational races on your iOS device in top-down racer style. Select your favourite car and playroom and get ready to go. Progress through the races, collect more and more stars to unlock new vehicles and locations and to customize your cars.

Put the pedal down to cross the finish line first in Race mode. You will be awarded stars depending on your final position. You can also collect stars in Star Hunt mode or improve your driving skills and beat the clock in Time Trial mode.

$1.99/Download

Hoiio releases a new update on its Hoiio Chat app, a mobile app that enables free and instant group messaging across iPhones & Androids. This update allows users to invite up to 20 people to a group conversation; it is enough to fit in a soccer team and its coaches.

With mobile messaging being a routine activity, Hoiio want to build an app that will make it more enjoyable, convenient and accessible than what is available today.

"The most popular mobile messaging app allows only 6 people for a group conversation. This is very restrictive. It can’t even fit my family members", said Ong Kok Choong, Hoiio CEO. He added, "We create bigger room for group chats so people can have more dynamic conversations with their families, classmates and soccer teams in one group chat".

A bigger group chat means more push notification going to be sent to the mobile phones. This can be quite disturbing especially when users are busy on their working desk. Therefore, the new version of Hoiio Chat also comes with Smart Notification. It allows users to configure the duration of push messages. Users can select one of the following options: always, 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour and never.

Free/Download

Locally-based independent developer James Hollender has recently released iCarbs 2.0, for iOS. iCarbs allows users to easily find out how many carbohydrates are in over 1,100 different food servings, critical information especially for diabetics who need to restrict their intake of carbohydrates. This app is the second in a series of eight Nutrient apps (iCarbs, iProteins, iCals, iSugars, iFiber, iCholesterol, iSatFat & Vitamin K) based on the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, all of which now feature saving information on nutrient intake.

Up to a year of detailed information concerning nutrient intake is maintained by each app. When the user finds a food they’ve eaten in one of the lists, they simple press the "Record" button and it will request the quantity of servings, anywhere from 0.1 to 9.9 times the common measure, in increments of one tenth. The recorded data is available from the "Access My Records" pick of the Main Menu. Servings are grouped by day in reverse chronological order, assuming the user is most interested in their recent history. For each serving record, there is detailed information available for viewing by selecting the desired item in the list.

$1.99/Download