NEW Update: Feedly (now for iPad too)

Feedly

FREE

Universal (iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad)

Version: 2.0.1

Tested on: iPad 2 and iPod Touch 4G (iOS 4.3.2)

Today, Feedly releases a new update which brings the app to the iPad. Previously, Feedly is only available for the iPhone. With this update, Feedly tries to position itself in the same league as Flipboard, Zite, and Reeder. The developer team of Feedly is using the HTML 5 approach which is aimed to work cross platform on the iPad, iPhone and Android. The result is a clean and minimalist look of the app. 

When you start the app for the first time, you'll see the Featured section displaying news selected by the Feedly developer team. But if you have a Google Reader account, you'd be more interested in learning how Feedly can display the feeds you read on regular basis. With a simple login, all your unread feeds will be formatted in a very clean layout. 

To read the news in its full length, you only need to click on the headline. Afterwards, you can swipe up and down to read the article, and swipe left or right to read the previous/next article. The article is laid out nicely by default. And if you're not satisfied with the layout, you can always choose to activate one of Feedly features which is able to optimize the view for your mobile device.

The app allows us to like an article, which in turn will give learning information for the app. Using this information, the app will gradually adjust its Featured section to suit your preferences. I haven't tried it long enough to see it work, but if it does work well, it'll probably be similar to what Zite has successfully carried out. 

Feedly also provides an in-app browser which looks very good. It seems to have built an in-app ad for its iPad version as well. I'm not sure whether this would be inline with the Apple's iAds guideline, especially because Feedly seems to be offering ad spaces to publishers or site owners. By clicking these in-app ads, Feedly takes me to various places, including Amazon's product detail page. 

I'm going to leave you with some of the screenshots showing how the app would look like on the iPhone. The screenshots also demonstrate another cool feature of the app where it can change the theme from black to white and vice versa by shaking the iPhone/iPad. Depending on your preferences and lighting in your reading environment, this feature can become very handy.

Overall, I think the new update brings Feedly to a new level, especially with its decision to use HTML 5 approach. It will become easier for them to implement cross platform updates in the future. This is a very different strategy compared with Reeder which is iOS specific and Flipboard/Zite which are iPad specific. The future seems to be a great one for news junkies with an iPad in hand.


Check out my other iPad app reviews here.

NEW Release: BuzzE for iPhone (Quick Review)

BuzzE

FREE

iPhone/iPod Touch only

Version: 2.0.1

Tested on: iPod Touch 4G (iOS 4.3.2)

BuzzE is an exciting social networking app which is just released today. It allows you to interact with the people around you, friends and family, wherever you are. You can use BuzzE to buzz your friends notifying that you're online, to chat with your family, to play interactive games with friends, to look for local events, or even to find new people near you. The app really does a lot of things socially and really worths to try it with your friends.

First, you need to sign up for the BuzzE service. It's a free signup and you can pull your details and avatar from your Facebook account to fill up your profile quickly. Then, you can either find new friends or you can invite your friends to signup for BuzzE too. I think you can find new friends up to at least 220 miles from where your current location is, so you don't need to worry about having a cold feet start with BuzzE Your friend requests need to be approved before you can see them as your friends. I think this is a good way to meet new people, and it only gets better with more people joining in.

Once you have friends who are online at the same time as you are, the app really shines. You can involve in multiple chat conversations with your friends at the same time, exchange gifts, and even playing fun games at the same time. It's always entertaining and fun to be involved in a hot potato game while you're chatting with your friends. It's almost like the real world. 

Hot potato isn't the only social mini-game available in the apps. You can also invite your friends to play the "I Found You" game. It's a unique game where you see a pile of photographs piled up, and you need to find your friend's profile pictures and put it into the bin faster than he/she does with your pictures. This is a great game which allows you to interact with your friend in real time. It's especially good when you just find a new friend on BuzzE.

Another game that's just great with new friends, especially from the opposite gender, is the "How Hot are We?" game. The game asks a series of 10 questions which you and your friend just need to say Yes/No as your answer. If both of you give the same answer, regardless of the answer is, then the game considers both of you as "Hot", otherwise you're considered as "Not Hot". It really is a fun game. The questions are very intriguing, and I believe more interesting questions will pop up in the future updates of this app.

BuzzE also allows you to find local events near you with its Hot Spot feature. You can also find details information about these public events. If you want to create your own private event, BuzzE also helps you to invite your BuzzE friends too. 

Overall, I think BuzzE has a lot of potential to be a great social networking app. It may start as a strong local app, but once you have a lot of people joining, I think this will become your favorite social networking app for the iPhone. Today is just the starting point for the app, and I'm looking forward to its future updates. Meanwhile, please download the app and add me as your friend on BuzzE. We can chat about your favorite iPhone app while playing the "Hot Potato" game. And I think, you'll find new friends too that have the same interests as you or get to know other readers of our site who are also joining in on BuzzE.

Check out my other iPhone app reviews here. 

Auryn Ink for iPad: Get a Chance to Win a Copy

Auryn Ink

$4.99

iPad Only

Version: 1.3.2
Author: Evan

Auryn Ink is a revolutionary application that creates the authentic simulation of watercolor painting intuitively and easily. It provides everything you need to create, export and share beautiful works of art on the iPad. With this app, you can generate complete paintings with the touch of your finger. 

This app is selected as the best app in art category by Fast Company magazine. It even uses brushes and the paint reacts to the kind of digital canvas you use. Now, the developers of Auryn Ink want to give you a chance to win a copy of Auryn Ink.

For a very limited period of time (the codes expire on May 29, 2011), you have a chance to actually win one of the two promo codes for this great art app. And, here are the steps you need to take to get a chance to win the promo codes:

1. Follow @appenthusiast on Twitter
2. Tweet this: "Auryn Ink makes watercolor painting fun, and get a chance to win a copy! http://bit.ly/ktzPC4 via @appenthusiast" or just click the small blue Twitter share button on the top right of this post.
3. The contest ends on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 23:59 PST
4. I will choose the two winners randomly

Check out my previous iPad app reviews here.

iPhone Game Review: Block the Laser, Plus a Chance to Win a Copy

Block the Laser

$.99

iPhone/iPod Touch Only

Version: 1.0.0

Tested on: iPod Touch 4G (iOS 4.3.2)

Rating: 4 of 5

Block the Laser is an unique maze-morphing puzzle game for the iPhone. This gameplay is somewhat hard to describe and sometimes it's even harder to digest during the first few levels. Only after playing it for  a while I come to realize how to play this game. First, it is a maze game. Each level is a maze of its own. But it's not just any maze, because what you are doing inside the maze actually changes the maze. I guess that is why the developer calls it maze-morphing game. The maze morphs as you move in it.

There is no better way to explain the gameplay than showing a few examples of how a level would be played. Above is some screenshots of how Level 2 is setup and played. As you can see in the pictures above, the exit door in each level is identified with the arrow mark. Most, but not all, levels have doors that can be past through from left to right, from top to bottom, and vice versa. This is necessary for you to travel within the maze.

The screenshots above also show you how to play the game. Colored doors can be opened or closed by walking through the button with the same color. For example, if you walk through the purple button, the purple door which is closed will be opened, and the other purple door which is opened will be closed. The same would be applied to the blue doors when you walk through the blue button. I am pretty sure you can figure out how the game works by looking at the above four screenshots.

In the next level, you are introduced with the rotating doors. Pay attention to the rotating marker in the center of the door. Not all rotating doors would have all four door segments, but they will all be triggered by the buttons with associated color and move in the direction showed by the marker. Every time you walk through the button, the door will rotate automatically, and sometimes this means you will be pushed by the rotating door. Pay attention to the three screenshots above to figure out how the rotating door works in Level 3.

Until now, you only see doors after doors. You must have been thinking where the laser is. Well, doors and buttons are essential elements to this game, and you need to be familiar with it before you are introduced to the lethal laser. Yes, the laser is lethal, so do not let yourself get burned by it. In the above screenshot, you will see that lasers have colors too and they can be turned off and on, using buttons with the right colors.

Check out the above screenshots of Level 4 to learn how the lasers can be controlled by the button. If you have more than one laser, please be careful when you hit the button. The orange button above, for example, controls two orange lasers.

The last element of the game is mirror. In the Level 5, you are introduced to a lot of lasers and mirrors. No buttons this time. This is to allow you to focus on learning how mirrors work in the game. Since there is not any button available, you cannot turn off any of the lasers. You can only change the direction of the lasers. This is where the mirrors can help. As you can see in the screenshots above, they always have a diagonal position to deflect the lasers in a safe direction.

You should always keep yourself on the back of the mirrors, then push the mirror towards a direction that would be save for yourself. Please be careful when pushing the mirrors, or else you can be burned. Learn from the screenshots above on how you can use mirrors to deflect the lasers in safe directions as you walk through the maze to get to the exit.

This game is an awesome game. It took me a while to learn about how to play the game. But, it definitely worths the learning curve. Overall, I really recommend this game to anyone who loves puzzle and strategy games.

Now, for a very limited period of time, you have a chance to win one of the five promo codes for this great maze-morphing puzzle game. And, here are the steps you need to take to get a chance to win the promo codes:

1. Follow @appenthusiast on Twitter
2. Tweet this: "Play this great maze-morphing game for #iPhone, Block the Laser, and get a chance to win a copy! http://bit.ly/mGMv6M via @appenthusiast" - or click the Twitter share button on the top right corner of this post.
3. The contest ends on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, 23:59 PST
4. I will choose randomly the five winners

Check out my other iPhone apps reviews here.