Apple iPhone School » App Store

AccuWeather Update Getting Poor Reviews

Douglas — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:10:54 +0000

AccuWeather recently updated their iPhone app and I have to say that I do not like it. It had a nice clean design with iPhone style graphics. It functioned. I finally had it figured out since the last update changed so much. Now the new app is ugly, clunky and unorganized. You’ll see there are a lot of grab handles that require you to swipe to get to more data which takes more steps to get to the same info as before. Here’s a before and after of some of the screens and lots of unhappy tweets. What do you think of the new update? Do you have another weather app that you’d recommend to others wanting to switch?

ScreenShots

Tweets

I strongly dislike the new @accuweatherapp update.

— Heath (@h_wolfe58) March 24, 2013

Well the accuweather app now sucks.Thanks for that useless update.

— Bryce Day (@bryce__day) March 24, 2013

The new #accuweather app is a pain in the buns.

— Kellee Schaffer (@KelS609) March 25, 2013

@accuweather‘s updated app looks positively awful. Terrible example of UX. Awful, hard to read italic fonts, stupid useless graph.

— CAT FOOD STEVENS (@disturbedcrime) March 25, 2013

Sorry @accuweather you have failed on usability with the last update on your iphone app. Please learn some or buy forecast.io #ux #design

— Burak AYDIK (@burakaydik) March 26, 2013

@accuweather I’ve recently updated my AccuWeather iPhone app and since that it doesn’t work. Any suggestions?

— Kevin McCarthy (@kmc1970) March 26, 2013

@accuweather OK, I think it looks as though the #app is providing the wrong info. I’ve switched weather apps…

— Daniel Mead (@DanMeadDesign) March 26, 2013

Anyone know NYC weather today? This is all I get with the new #AccuWeather app. twitter.com/BLDavid7/statu…

— Brian David (@BLDavid7) March 26, 2013

@accuweather Hi, your iPhone app since its update doesn’t load any more, just sits forever with the thermometer on screen

— Luke Dyson (@dualcyclone) March 26, 2013

According to my accuweather app, it’s a “fair” time for outdoor fitness, even though its also telling me it’s snowing.

— Emily (@Emilyyyhhh) March 26, 2013

Anyone else’s #accuweather not working. Very annoying even after latest update. @accuweather @accuforumstatus @accuweatherbb

— Ray Ryan (@rayryan6) March 23, 2013

@robwilb @accuweather @rayryan6 so the app works with 24 hour clock switched on. age old 24hr clock. New look is worse as well

— Bendy (@bendy) March 25, 2013

Has the snow broken the Accuweather app?

— itskatywithay (@itskatywithay) March 25, 2013

@lnlne we are continuing to investigate why the iOS version of our app is still having problems. we’ll note that the app has crashed for you

— AccuWeather.com (@accuweather) March 25, 2013

The button bar at the top of the revamped AccuWeather app isn’t real. It’s an ad. This should be illegal. twitter.com/checkypantz/st…

— Jason A. Milner (@checkypantz) March 25, 2013

“Today is a fair day for Outdoor Fitness”. Good to know. How did I function before this AccuWeather app?!

— Andy Goeddeke (@agoeddeke) March 25, 2013

They changed the Accuweather app, and now I don’t like it.

— Rachael H (@halliwellrach) March 25, 2013

Recommendations for a weather app anyone? Giving up with Accuweather after the update killed it.

— Kiz (@deililly) March 24, 2013

Thanks again to the few folks still having iPhone app problems. Your reports are helping us and we are cont. to investigate.

— AccuWeather.com (@accuweather) March 24, 2013

Subway Surfers – Video App Review

Douglas — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 21:28:39 +0000

Denver, my son, wanted to show you his most recent favorite game in the App Store. It’s called Subway Surfers and it’s a lot like Temple Run only you’re running from the police… The goal is to collect coins to get upgrades like fasters shoes and different characters. Check out the video and download it free in the App Store.

Video

ScreenShots

Bike Race

Douglas — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 23:23:02 +0000

I recently installed a new motorcycle game over the Christmas holiday called “Bike Race”. I have to warn you, this game is highly addictive! The game itself is addicting enough because of the nature of the game. But, what’s even more addicting is the ability to play with others online including your Facebook friends. I currently have several games going with both Facebook friends and random people I’ve met through the game.

The game itself is pretty simple. You steer a motorcycle through a race track viewed from a two-dimensional angle on the side. A game I play on the Xbox called “Trials HD” is a lot like it but this version is not as high graphic. Nevertheless, it’s still as addictive!

There are many more features such as ghost mode, chat, ability to upgrade your motorcycle & push notifications letting you know that your friends are ready to race.

It’s always a good idea to check the instructions. These instructions are pretty simple, but for a while I missed that you could touch the left side of the screen to hit the brakes.

When I started writing this article I could not seem to remember the name of the game. That’s because it has a horrible name: Bike Race Free by Top Free Games. Not only is it entirely uncreative, but it has the developer’s name in it. Very spamish… So, that’s why I decided to leave that part out of my title & article.

I highly recommend this app since it’s free and fun! You can also get it for the iPad. If you don’t like it, you can just delete it. You’ve got nothing to lose!

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

ScreenShots

Video

Timehop: What did you do 1 year ago today?

Douglas — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:10:24 +0000

This is a simple, yet fun app really worth downloading. All you do is open the app and you will get a list of things you’ve done 1 year ago today. The app also goes back 2, 3, 4, & 5 years. It pulls info from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, flickr and your camera roll. Of course it’s really fun when you have kids because they grow up so fast. Now you can see your memories much easier and you can even get a daily push notifications once your Timehop is ready.

The recent update made the app even better and reliable. I also really like the sharing feature. You can text, email or copy the link to the event or photo. Best of all, it’s free!

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

ScreenShots

Robotek

Douglas — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 14:26:48 +0000

A recent game my son and I found for the iPhone that’s pretty addicting is called Robotek. There is also an iPad version and even a version for your Mac. You start off with only one robot and you play against the computer who also has one robot. The first thing you do is spin three reels to see what kind of help you can get to defeat your opponent. There are also three different categories you can spin the reels in: little robots, defense & offense. Once you pick the category, you tap the green arrow and see what you get. If you spin three different images you get all three. If you spin two or three of the same image, you get that item at two or three times the strength. I like to start out with getting at least three robots. Then prepare a defense; then go on the attack. Between each spin there is a battle and it’s a fight to the death.

There are a lot of options in this game. You can add or increase strength to your robots; you can build a shield; you can hack and steal your opponents robots; you can drain your opponents robots powers; you can get extra weapons like lasers; microwave & electric shock; you can use the “special abilities” across the bottom of the screen like rapid fire, emergency repair, summon hero & nuke; and you can play with real people online or over your network.

Overall, a very addicting game that I would recommend for all your iOS devices!

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

ScreenShots

App Store Description

The humanity had fallen. In the great robot uprising machines took the planet over. Empire of Machine is the new world order. It’s time to take it back! One node at a time.

Rip through your enemies with lasers, electrocute them or fry them with microwaves. Deploy your own robots to fight for you or steal them from your enemy. Protect and upgrade your forces or throw them away in a ruthless wave of destruction.

Get experience from every battle, level up, gain power and crush the Empire of Machine!

Check out the Strategy Guide for additional tips and tricks:
http://blog.hexage.net/2011/05/27/strategy-guide-to-robotek/

IN-APP PURCHASES

Robotek is free to play supported only by optional in-app purchases. You can finish the entire game without re-charging your energy. Play it safe: Learn all of the symbols in tutorial. Do not challenge nodes tougher than you. Master the gameplay, level up and go against weaker nodes first! You can always reset the campaign in Options and start from scratch.

However with any in-app purchase you get:
• Power & Coins
• gain access to RECHARGE NODE
• better Power gains for every victory
• unlock the DUEL mode to play with friends

FEATURES

• Unique blend of strategy, action and RPG.
• More than 200 levels spread all around the world.
• Rewarding skill system with more than 30 levels.
• 9 upgradable slot symbols to fit your own style of play.
• 4 special abilities including the devastating Nuke.
• Play thrilling hotseat duels with your friends!
• Online hall of fame – Your scores can only grow.
• Facebook leaderboards – compete with your friends!
• Signature soundtrack by kubatko (www.kubatko.info)

SOCIAL FEATURES

• Compete on your Facebook leaderboard
• Invite or challenge your Facebook friends
• Share your achievements on your Facebook wall

Recent Updates

• 4-inch Retina display support
• You no longer have to play against the AI when the connection to the other player has been lost.

Cinemagram – It’s Like a Moving Instagram

Douglas — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:54:30 +0000

There are all kinds of apps the are trying to get in on the Instagram popularity. Many apps are just knockoffs or just plain junk. Cinemagram is not one of those apps. It allows you to create a moving gif image, kind of like a very short video but in a picture format. The kewl thing is, you can have the image loop, go forward & back, or loop backwards. You can also make only part of the image move. There are some amazing and hilarious Cimemagrams. Here are a few to show you how it looks:

You’ll notice the first two pictures are just looping the entire picture back and forth but the next two have just a certain part of the picture moving. This is because during the process of taking the video, you can select the part of the image that you want to move and what you want to stay still. Some people are really creative with this. You can also add filters just like you can in Instagram. Check out the app and see what you can make! Here are a few of mine I’ve made:

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

Recent Changelog 1.17

★ Feeds are now amazingly fast – Using iOS6 streaming capabilities (iPhone4S and up)
★ Introducing the Inspired feed – Get inspired from the best Cines ever created
★ Reposts and likes can now be deleted.
★ Activities are now grouped and better organized
★ Introducing the friends activity feed – see what your friends are doing on Cinemagram
★ Improved the flagging system
★ Major performance improvements for older devices
★ See who liked a Cinemagram
★ Several other bug fixes and improvements

Facebook Update 5.1

Douglas — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:17:06 +0000

Facebook has made some nice improvements to their app recently. Finally, it’s exciting to get an update for the Facebook app. In the past, Facebook has been a horrible app but since more recent versions of the app, it has been a far better experience. First, simply swiping to the left reveals your chat list and swiping right reveals the main menu. Very simple & clean; I like it! While in your chat list, you can keep your favorites at the top and easily rearrange them by tapping “edit” in the top right. Just tap the green + sign to bring them to the top and use the 3 little bars at the right of the name to rearrange. Another feature added to chat is the ability to see who’s online right now.

Another great new feature is the ability to share multiple photos at one time. Just tap the check mark on a photo to add it to the group and tap the compose button in the bottom right to create your post with multiple photos. It seems they have moved some of these features over from their Camera app. I’m glad to see them consolidate their apps instead of having 4.

Finally, they’ve added gifts to the app. I never use this feature but maybe someone does… Do you? Now you can send “real gifts to your friends using Facebook Gifts”. And honestly, I can’t even find it within the app. Anyone else?

iTunes Link

Changelog

Now it’s easier to chat with your friends and share multiple photos.
• Swipe left anywhere in the app to quickly see who’s available and send a message
• Add friends you message most to the top of your Favorites
• Share multiple photos fast
• Give real gifts to your friends using Facebook Gifts (US-only)
• When sending messages, see who’s active so you and your friends know how soon to expect a reply

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

ScreenShots

Angry Birds Space HD 1.3.1 Update

Douglas — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 15:32:31 +0000

The recent update to Angry Birds Space adds yet another angle to the Angry Birds matrix. The theme adds fiery volcanoes that push you away from the planet’s surface. The developers went to great detail as usual. For example, when I hit a pig out of the atmosphere and he froze, when he floated past the hot pressure from a volcano he thawed out. There were only about 2-3 levels that really took me a while to pass. Most others I beat within 1-3 tries.

Along with new levels comes a new bird! This yellowish-orange bird expands like a ballon when tapped. I’m guessing it’s similar to the ballons used to pad the rover as it landed and bounced on the surface of Mars. There are a few levels that have small space craft, that if you hit, will warp you to a different level. In the final level, pigs ride the Mars Rover around a planet as you try to defeat them. Overall, a great update to an already great game. This update is for both the iPhone & iPad version.

iPhone Link | iPad Link

Video

ScreenShots

Available In: App Store

Price: $0.99 (iPhone) or $4.99 (iPad)

Facebook Releases App Update 5.0

Douglas — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 13:23:05 +0000

Facebook has released a new app that has been coded with Objective-C instead of HTML5. What does this mean to you? Hopefully a more reliable app that doesn’t crash! I’ve already tested the app on my iPhone and it’s much faster. The app looks mostly the same but there are a few things that look nicer such as photos. The look and feel of browsing photos, liking them and commenting on them is much better. The app update also includes the iPad and iPod touch. I’m actually excited about the iPad app because it was so bad before that I only used the website. The new app supports timeline and shows my profile the way it looks like on the website.

Another added feature is a banner across the top of the app that appears once you start to scroll down. Tapping the banner that says “New Story” scrolls you to the top and loads the newest stories. This eliminates the need to pull to refresh.

Facebook’s iPhone app went downhill after developer Joe Hewitt quit after getting upset about Apple’s app policies. After taking forever to release an iPad app and now getting a really nice update with Objective-C programming, hopefully Facebook apps will stay on top of things.

Twitter 4.3

Douglas — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:40:55 +0000

Twitter has recently updated their app with a lot of new features. I’m just going to highlight a few. See the rest at the bottom of this post. The feature I like and have been waiting for is more inline links and images. Twitter calls this “expanded tweets”. The only one I’ve noticed so far is Instagram. Instead of needing to click on the link to see the image, the image is automatically embedded into the tweet. Hopefully YouTube, Foursquare and others are added in the future. Images posted via twitter already had this feature.

A couple other features that I like are tappable avatars and customizable push notifications. Tapping an avatar now takes you directly to a profile. I naturally do this already and would get frustrated when it didn’t work. I also like the new notifications which now allow me to turn off my text notifications.

Available In: App Store

Price: Free

What’s New in Version 4.3

- Expanded Tweets: when you view Tweet details containing links to partner websites, you can now see content previews, view images, play videos and more [please note: this feature is rolling out gradually]
- Enhanced experience around selected events with the best Tweets and photos from those involved
- Push notifications for Tweets: choose to receive notifications from people you follow anytime they tweet or retweet
- Ambient notifications: enables you to see brief non-interruptive notifications in the status bar while you are using the app
- Improvements to search autocomplete for users
- Discover: now indicates when new stories are available for you to view
- Tappable avatars that take you directly to user profiles
- Performance improvements
- Support for password entry in app when experiencing authentication issues
- Hungarian language support
- Updated with new Twitter bird
- Many other tweaks, polish, and bug and crasher fixes