Daily App Digest – January 23, 2012

Biography for iPad, the interactive book about people who changed the world, is released and available worldwide starting today. Offering more then 70 biographies of the most eminent people of all times, the book is the perfect pastime for both history geeks and casual users.

Every century had eminent people who amazed the society with their talents, inventions and discoveries that helped to build the modern world. Biography, interactive history book, takes readers on a journey with world’s most influential people. Designed especially for the iPad, the book brings biographies of philosophers, scientists, physicians, religious leaders, political leaders, artists and the world’s greatest composers at users’ fingertips.

Readers have an opportunity to go inside the minds and see the world through the eyes of the most talented people of all times. Biography includes descriptions of early lives, accomplishments, major events, death and selected quotes of people who made valuable contributions to society. All biographies come with photos, audio accompaniment and illustrations.

$1.99/£1.49/download

ndie developer Luca Giusti today is pleased to introduce Blocks Hurt! 1.0 for iOS, his new action/puzzle Game that defies normal expectations about using blocks in gameplay. Combining elements from falling block, tower defense, and color matching arcade games, Blocks Hurt! lets players use blocks in multiple ways, for building or destroying. There are 90 battles with four goals each: Collect Blocks, Build the Wall, Survive Time, and Kill the Boss. Played in landscape orientation, players must prevent monsters from crossing from the far right to the far left of the screen. Any monster successfully reaching the left edge of the screen defeats the player and the battle ends.

Blocks Hurt! is always aware of its roots, and can be seen as a satire of many popular games. Its monsters go over the top in their evilness, whether they are a fruit, vegetable, straw man, or malevolent dictator. Monsters morph during gameplay, turning red as they get angrier and translucent when they return as ghosts. Ghoulish cries are heard as they advance, and a narrator occasionally comments in a deep voice "Hurry up," or "You lose."

There are three different battle locales: Windy Plains (gently rolling hills populated by Dutch windmills), Empty Desert (sand-filled expanse in the Middle East hosting caravans of camels and some nasty scorpions), and Mushrooms Vale (a wonderland of multi-colored fungi). There are 30 battles in each of the three locations, and each is scored individually.

$0.99/£0.69/download

Landscaper’s Companion, the top rated gardening app for mobile devices, is also now the most widely available gardening app. Available on seven different devices and app stores, Landscaper’s Companion is bringing instant access to over 15,000 plants and images to pockets world-wide.

"We are super excited that our top selling gardening mobile app is available on so many different devices. This means that whether you have an iPhone, Android, iPad, or others, you can now have instant access to over 15,000 plants," said Dave Stevenson, creator of Landscaper’s Companion. Dave also says, "Mobile devices aren’t just for checking your email and texting anymore – they have become business tools. Landscaper’s Companion is an invaluable tool for landscapers and gardeners all over the world."

Landscaper’s Companion makes a great business tool for thousands of professional landscaper’s all over the world due to it’s extensive feature-set and plant catalog.

$5.99/£3.99/download

A desire to create Healthy Habits is top among New Year’s Resolutions. Resolutions about weight loss, exercise, eating right, reducing stress and stopping smoking are some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions according to usa.gov. It is clear that people want to create healthier habits that improve their quality of life. A growing mHealth movement is focused on helping people live healthier lives with the aid of mobile tools. Healthy Habits is one such app.

Keys to create lasting change:
* Make a specific resolution/goal – write it down
* Come up with a plan. What behaviors do you need to change to be successful
* Track your progress (We recommend using Healthy Habits)
* Stick with it one more day! Every day you stick with it, improves your long term success
* When needed, reset and start again. You don’t need to be perfect, just persistent.

Healthy Habits is a highly rated iphone app that helps people create better health and happiness habits. First released in April 2011 by 2Morrow Mobile, over 78,000 people have downloaded Healthy Habits (or Healthy Habits Premium) in the first 8 months. The app was updated multiple times in the last 9 months including version 3.1 out this week. 2Morrow Mobile attributes frequent updates based on user feedback as a key to the app’s success. 2Morrow Mobile President, Brandon Masterson says that "Building a quality app is like keeping a resolution. You have to keep working on it."
$3.99/£2.49/download

You have, probably, heard of The Renaissance, seen Mona Lisa and a few other paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci. So have we, together with seeing a few documentaries and reading a couple of books. But something was missing, we could not "feel" the times he was living in, could not grasp the atmosphere in which Leonardo was creating his famous works. Without deeper knowledge, they remained just "pretty pictures" devoid of meaning and essence.

People are born into an existing environment and that environment and events of their life shape them and make them what they are. The Renaissance was a period of upheaval in arts and sciences that is famous for geniuses who transcended the existing thinking. Leonardo Da Vinci was one of those geniuses and a product of his times. We thought that putting Leonardo’s works on a timeline of his life, would position then in context and aid in better understanding of his genius.

This is, by no means, a complete collection of Leonardo’s works, neither is it a comprehensive study of his life but, it is a step towards a better understanding of Da Vinci’s genius and it worked for us. We hope it works for you too.

$2.99/£1.99/download

A new iPhone app called X Sign Here analyzes a person’s signature on the spot revealing behavior and personality traits. Users just write their signature using a finger or stylus on an iPhone or iPad then answer a few questions and hit "submit." The personality profile will be presented on the results page with the signer’s strengths, weaknesses, and behavior traits.

"Handwriting analysis can play a useful role in getting to know a few close and otherwise concealed details of someone’s personality," says Christine Summers, who developed X Sign Here. "Our handwriting represents us, and our signature represents us best. Our signature is our trademark, personal logo and it reflects the personality that we portray to the public. It is our personal portrait. We practice and perfect our signature more than any other element of writing."

Uses included asking potential dates to place their signatures on X Sign Here to decide whether to pursue a relationship any further. It could also be used it to determine the trustworthiness of a person they don’t know well. "Many use it in the bar over drinks as a conversation starter," Says Summers. "The main use of the app is to have fun!"

The X Sign Here App can reveal  275 personality possibilities and will evaluate a signature within 120 seconds after the signee answers 10 simple questions such as how the signature is written in relation to: space used, size, direction of the stroke, loops and circles, and the signature’s finishing’s.

$0.99/£0.69/download

Rhyboo today is pleased to introduce PuzzlePlus: Art 1.0 free for iPad, their new jigsaw puzzle Game that features eight different levels of complexity for each picture. This free introductory version features 11 famous paintings by Van Gogh, Bruegel, and Beuckelaer with additional works to be added. The app’s HD graphics and zoom capabilities allow puzzle masters to assemble puzzles of 42 – 572 pieces, depending on the level chosen. Also included are an integrated music player and optional piece rotation. Among the most difficult and sophisticated jigsaw puzzle games on the App Store, puzzle fans will soon discover the pleasures in store for them doing puzzles in PuzzlePlus: Art.

Like most iOS jigsaw puzzle games, this one, played in landscape orientation, employs a vertically scrolling tray that holds all the pieces of the puzzle. As a piece is dragged from the tray on to the white tabletop, it expands to its full size. This allows the user to browse through many individual pieces easily, since they do not assume their final size until dragged on to the board. At its most advanced level, where pictures are 26 pieces wide and 22 pieces high (572 total pieces), pieces dragged from the tray do not expand at all; they are already scaled correctly.

Many jigsaw puzzle games provide a view of the finished puzzle as a reference, but PuzzlePlus: Art eschews this possibility that would have the effect of reducing the challenge presented by the puzzle. Players will soon find that assembling oil paintings is more difficult than photos, simply because every part of a painting is more imaginative and less predictable than most photographic scenes. Puzzle champions can engage the "Rotate Piece" option, which allows pieces to be dragged from the tray oriented incorrectly. Each time the player double taps a piece, it rotates 90 degrees, thus the option effectively multiplies the complexity of each puzzle by a factor of four.

Free/download

MyClickApps today is thrilled to announce a new feature to 1-Click Flashlight: built-in dimmer functionality. And, we‚re not the only ones who are excite: just about 3 days since the update, more than 15,000 new users have downloaded the app and are thrilled with it‚s user-friendly nature. 1-Click Flashlight is now in the top 50 downloads of its category!

Just when you thought 1-Click Flashlight for iOS couldn‚t get any more user friendly, MyClickApps has done it again! Now users will enjoy a simple slider onscreen that allows them to quickly and easily adjust their screen‚s brightness to fit the occasion.

The iPhone has been nothing if not a wonderful emergency tool. Whether you‚re stuck on the side of the road, need your GPS coordinates, or want to know where the nearest hospital is, the iPhone can prove invaluable when you need help most.

Now, one of those emergency features is easier than ever to activate. 1-Click Flashlight makes turning on the iPhone (or iPad‚s) native flash as a constant stream of light just one click away. Simply touch the app icon and the flashlight will activate before the application finishes launching!

1-Click Flashlight is tried and true. It has been used by people around the world in the most dire of circumstances. Residents of both Hurricane Irene and the recent tsunami and earthquake in Japan found the app invaluable during power outages.

What advantages and features does the app offer? Not only is it user friendly, it‚s fast to activate and easy to turn off (simply press the home button). Comes with a fun strobe feature! Just tap the screen while the app is activated and you‚ll see a strobe icon – click it to activate the feature. 1-Click Flashlight also offers support for running your music in the background and the app disables iPhone auto-sleep mode so you can use your flashlight without any interruption.
Free/download

Alcids Entertainment has released Dress up Fred and Friends 1.0, for iOS devices. Here’s an app for children that stimulates fantasy and motor skills in a straightforward and easily understood interface. It’s relaxed, non-violent and fun to experience together with an adult. The puffin-Fred has lots of friends: the crafty cat-Mia, the jolly bear-Bob, the fearless tiger-Tom, the little Bunny-Isa and the funny dog-Max.

Designed for children, ages 2-7, Dress up Fred and friends are designed for both iPhone and iPad. In the new app, Fred has a masquerade. Help Fred and his friends to dress up for the big and fun masquerade party, what shall they dress up as? Maybe a firefighter, pirate, princess/king, superhero or a nurse? Maybe do a crazy and fun combination of the many clothes that you can choose from in each friend’s room. Finally you can see Fred and his friend in the costume that you helped them dress up in. Then choose background theme for the fun masquerade party. Everything in stunning graphics and sounds.

Our apps are carefully tested on their target audience and are always free from so-called "in-app purchases". Therefore, you can always be completely confident that there will never be any unexpected costs when your children play on their own. And Alcids apps contain no advertising.

$0.99/£0.69/download

Sepia Apps today is thrilled to announce that their latest application, Location Manager: GeoShare, is now available as a universal application for both the iPhone and iPad. Location Manager: GeoShare allows you to keep all your locations organized by allowing you to search, save, share, and document any location in the world.

GeoShare allows you to organize any location by category instantly with a corresponding address, photo, and notes. Sharing and getting directions to these locations is easily done with one quick touch. Sharing is available via email, text message, Facebook, and Twitter. This type of application is essential for professional who are always on the road. Traveling sales people and real estate agents will quickly see the benefit of seeing all of their business contacts on a map for quick reference.

$2.99/£1.99/download

Timetables! is a app where you can put your timetable. You can put easily your timetable in the app. There is also a tab for timetable changes. With this app you can always look on your timetable! This app is made for the secondary school.

$0.99/£0.69/download

Appsequence has announced the release and immediate availability of Kinema 1.0, their exciting new movie entertainment app for iPhone and iPod touch. The app lets you find movie information with simplicity and elegance.

This app is extremely easy to use. Users can browse by "Box Office" , "In Theaters", "Opening Movies" ,"Upcoming" or  search for a specific movie. They can scroll through the movies and once a movie is selected, they’ll see the rating, length, fan rating, stills and a short synopsis. Tapping the play button will start playing the full trailer and if they want even more info on the film they can read a full synopsis, see the cast and director, and browse through reviews and ratings.

Kinema’s has an intuitive, streamlined interface and aims to list every detail about every movie ever made, including who was in it, who made it, the plot, user ratings, trailers, photos, reviews, quotes, and much more.

$1.99/£1.49/download

Raj Bains today is pleased to announce that the popular iOS productivity app Doozy has received a major update to version 2.0. Doozy, a play on the words "Do" and "See," is to task management what a chalkboard or whiteboard is to brainstorming. By transforming tasks and events into interactive icons, Doozy literally *shows* users what they need to do.

The visual focus isn’t a gimmick. Beneath the unique concept and beautifully-detailed interface, Doozy’s powerful feature set can go head-to-head with even the most expensive task managers on the market. Along with standard features like priority-sorted lists and notes, Doozy can do everything from tracking and graphing weight loss (or any other number) over time to displaying RSS/XML feeds to showing you the weather forecast. Best of all, Doozy looks and works how users want it to, with unmatched customizability and flexibility.

Version 2.0 adds dozens of new features, including syncing across devices, reminder alerts up to a week before an event, various time-saving features, and a complete interface revamp.

$2.99/£1.99/download

Internet Design Zone, an iOS application development company, today is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Multiplication For Kids 1.0. This fun educational game app for iPad/iPhone/iPod touch will help little kids perfect their basic multiplication skills and help them master the times tables up to 20.

A kid can spend hours on this fun educational game all alone. It is suitable for kids in grades 1 to 3 (age group 4-8 years). The app has an attractive interface with a wizard to keep the kids hooked. All questions, answers and times tables are spoken aloud so that the child can learn better.

The app is a great way to practice basic multiplication skills with ten increasing levels of difficulty. It is best for kids who want to study their times tables and then test themselves with simple multiplication problems. For each multiplication problem, the child has to choose the correct answer from the three options provided. After the child submits his/her answer, the correct answer is displayed and also spoken aloud by the voiceover. To cross a level, the child must answer at least 7 out of 10 questions correctly. For every correct answer a Rabbit starts clapping. For every incorrect answer, a jack in the box pops out. A child would love to play the game again and again till he/she crosses all the ten levels.
Free/download

Kaenaa Corp announced the release of next version (v2) of its game "Hungry Yogi" today. It will be available on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch through iTunes for iOS versions 3.1 or later.

* Hungry Yogi has gone viral on Facebook with 7000+ followers in 2 weeks
* 5 star reviews across all platforms

What is Hungry Yogi game?
Yogi wants to reach Nirvana but can’t since he is always hungry. Help Yogi complete his journey by fulfilling his desire for food and wealth so that he can finally meditate in peace and reach Nirvana.

Hungry Yogi is a simple, kid friendly game with a fantastic journey. It is a wonderful story baked into a game with Yogi evolving throughout his journey. The game has physics based challenging levels with number of obstacles like fire, tornado, snakes that Yogi needs to navigate to get to the target fruit. Also Yogi evolves throughout the game and gets chubbier and happier because he is getting closer to achieving nirvana. When stuck, a one-time in-app purchase of Bhogi can be used to enlighten the path to the fruit. Hungry Yogi currently has two themes. Each theme is uniquely designed with stunning graphics and art work. The 2 themes are:

* Himalayas: Experience spiritual growth in the highest mountains in the world
* Jungle: Explore the mysteries of the darkest jungle as you look for the light
* Coming soon: Maya (magical land) and Sahara (Desert)

$1.99/£1.49/download

Tharle Games, a new and promising iOS game development company, today is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Chewy Balls, their brand new gaming title for iPad. Chewy Balls is an ideal game for kids, teens and adults who love playing variety games. The game objective is to clear the chewy’s by matching three or more similar chewy balls. The only condition is that there should be at least 3 like chewy balls to get eliminated. As you clear the chewy balls present on the screen, the game adds more from the top at regular time frames to make it trickier to enjoy.

The game consists of 4 different game modes such as Green. Kids, Winter and Endless. Green, Kids and Winter consists of 30 levels each with different set of animations and lively colored characters in each mode whereas Endless mode offers unlimited gameplay and unlimited fun. Check out these features:

* Shock – The Shock effect clears maximum chewy’s based on the target
* Fire – The Fire effect will clear the chewy matrix in a straight set
* Joker – This acts as a trump card, this feature will detonate a pair of similar chewy’s
* Enabled with game center for global scoring
Free/download

INZMORE today is pleased to announce the release and immediate availability of Jewel Frenzy 1.0, their new puzzle game for iOS devices. Jewel Frenzy is a fun and exciting puzzle game for iPhone, which play off of classic concepts. It’s a relatively simply match-3 game, in which the player rush to click on a block of 3 or more of same color gems in order to clear them in 90 seconds. The more gems cleared, the more rare powerful gems and points received.

The player earn more points when they get more combos! So in order to get the high score, they need to clear off blocks of gems continuously!

There are also several unique gems, including Bomb, Lightning and Time Gems. Those rare gems will drop from the above when matching specific number of same color gems. Bomb Gems will explodes all gems adjacent horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Lightning Gems explodes every gem in its row and column. Time Gems add 15 seconds to the timer of the playing game.

Target to earn more points in each game and gain more experience points (XP) for level up the rank. The higher ranking player can gain extra scoring bonus, 2 percent per extra level gain, and this goes a very long way towards helping to boost the high score. The game includes Game Center integration for player to climb up the worldwide Leader Board!
$0.99/£0.69/download

Adrenaline Punch, developers of the highly-rated rebus word puzzle game Rebuzzle for the iPhone, have just released their new rhyming word riddle game Little Riddles for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Little Riddles offers rhyming fanatics and word puzzle lovers hundreds of bite-sized rhyming word riddles and promises thousands more are on the way.

A ‘Little Riddle’ is a simple rhyming word riddle. To answer each riddle, simply find a pair of one syllable words that rhyme. While the task may sound easy at first, the riddles quickly increase not only in their level of difficulty, but also in their number of syllables. When you’re ready for a real challenge, move on up to riddles using two-syllable and even three-syllable rhyming words!

Little Riddles combines a colorful design and a simple one-touch interface making rapid riddle solving a breeze. The constantly changing color scheme keeps the game play feeling fresh long after you’ve completed your first riddle pack.

Free/download

Eamonn Fox, an innovative new mobile application developer, has today announced the release of Alphapass for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Alphapass is a practical and secure password solution that enables users to generate effective alphanumeric and symbol based passwords for all of their online accounts and store them for safe keeping in a single reliably secure hub. Developed specifically for iOS and capable of simplifying users digital security experience, Alphapass is available in a limited function Lite version as well as a fully featured paid app. Alphapass is currently available for download on the Apple App Store for $0.99 in the Productivity category, with the Lite version available at no cost to app enthusiasts.

Surpassing normal "secure storage" solutions floating around iTunes, Alphapass is just as effective in helping users create powerful passwords as it is in giving them a secure storage space where they can access them for any reason they’d like. The app gives users space to maintain and update multiple passwords, and keep a record of their previously generated passwords as well. Undeniably flexible, Alphapass features multiple languages which users can utilize to generate passwords, ensuring that anyone the world over can take advantage of everything the app has to offer. Meanwhile, concise categorization options guarantee that users will always be able to manage their passwords even if they have dozens of secure accounts in need of maintenance at once.

Alphapass is about streamlining the convolution of keeping multiple password enabled accounts online at once. To this end, this app acts as a hub where users can quickly and easily update or change multiple passwords at once, while keeping a record of their old passwords for personal reference as well. Especially security weary users can even utilize the app’s auto-update function to continuously change all of their passwords at once, an easy process considering that the only password they’ll really need to remember is the one that gives them Access to Alphapass. Regardless of whether you need a more effective digital security resource or simply want to simplify the many online accounts that keep your life working smoothly, Alphapass is a password security and storage assistant that’s as innovative and effective as the platform it’s made for.

$0.99/£0.69/download