iPhone Atlas

Parents' jobs are extremely difficult. From time to time, it's nice to get a little help from technology to make the job just a little easier. That's why I decided to sift through Apple's App Store to find applications that help parents monitor and ensure the safety and well-being of their kids. Some of the apps listed below are for young children, while others are designed for teenagers. But in the end, this roundup is for any parent with an iPhone.

Get parenting help from the iPhone

Baby Monitor Since some baby monitors don't have the kind of range parents hope for, the Baby Monitor iPhone app will deliver.

Baby Monitor provides a relatively simple experience. You can place the iPhone next to the baby while the application is open. You'll also need to input a phone number. When the baby starts making noise, the Baby Monitor places a call to the number you input into the application, so you can listen from another phone. It's a great way to monitor what your baby is doing, but beware that it costs $4.99.

The Baby Monitor lets you listen in while your kids are sleeping.

(Credit: Baby Monitor)

Baby Soothe Sometimes getting your child to go to sleep can be a difficult task. That's where Baby Soothe comes in.

Like Baby Monitor, you'll need to put the iPhone next to the baby for it to work properly. When you do so, you can pick from several different sounds that, according to the app's developer, will help your baby go to sleep. You can choose from relaxing water sounds, like a waterfall or rain. You can also choose a heartbeat option, which mimics the sound babies will hear in the womb. The app also features white noise, like fans and static. All the app's audio features high-quality sound that should appeal to most babies. Even better, it's affordable at just $0.99.

Baby Soothe helps your kids get some sleep.

(Credit: Baby Soothe)

The Colossal Short Story Collection includes more than 2,000 stories--all for 99 cents.

Great news for fans of short fiction: The Colossal Short Stories Collection just landed in the App Store packing a whopping 2,222 public-domain works.

There are, of course, other story collections available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but this is by far the largest one.

You'll find authors ranging from H.G. Wells and Mark Twain to Leo Tolstoy and Ring Lardner. All the greats are here, along with plenty of authors known mostly in scholarly circles.

The app lists them alphabetically by last name. Unfortunately, that's the only way to peruse the collection: you can't browse by story title, and there's no search option.

On the plus side, Colossal offers a font-size slider, automatic bookmarking (meaning it returns you to where you left off in any given story), manual bookmarking (for easy revisiting of a selected page or story), and a variable-speed auto-scrolling option.

If you've balked at the idea of reading books on your phone, perhaps because you think the screen is too small or there's too much page flipping involved, this might be a great way to start.

The average story in the Colossal collection takes 10-15 minutes to read, so it's like you get to test-drive e-books without committing to (or paying for) an entire novel.

The app has an introductory price of just 99 cents, meaning it's a no-brainer for anyone who likes to read. Even after it jumps to its permanent price of $4.99, it might just be the e-book bargain of the century.

If you're the kind of person who feels bewildered in a pharmacy, here's a free app to test drive.

Pickka Med walks consumers through symptoms, allergies, and side effects.

(Credit: Evincii)

Evincii's new Pickka Med app is designed to function like an "expert pharmacist in your pocket," where people are able not only to search by phone for the best over-the-counter FDA-approved medicine in any given participating pharmacy but in the process avoid touching all the germ-addled bottles lining the shelves of the one place where sick people invariably shop.

Previously, Silicon Valley-based Evincii installed kiosks at hundreds of retail stores, providing guided-search technology to help shoppers find the right meds. But the cost to build, deliver, and install was steep, and didn't solve the problem of all that germ-sharing on the touch pad.

This new deployment over mobile phones puts the technology in people's pockets, so you don't have to search online before you go, or via the small screen and keyboard of a smartphone. It comes with the added benefit of the most up-to-date information regarding outbreaks, recalls, etc.

"We update very diligently," says Evincii CEO Charlie Koo, who first thought up this technology while sifting through countless confusing bottles and labels when his children had the cold. "Case in point: a year ago, FDA announced all the cold medicines to be removed from over-the-counter. Within 12 hours after the news release, we'd already removed everything."

Koo says the app will eventually include Vitamin supplements and homeopathic remedies.

Pickka is available at for iPhones and for all BlackBerry and Android phones.

Would you like to let AT&T know when your iPhone has dropped a call? Well, now there is an app for that.

AT&T on Monday released a new application called "Mark the Spot," which lets iPhone users submit complaints about dropped calls, poor service coverage, and less-than-perfect voice quality.

The application is free and available in the iTunes App Store. It uses GPS technology in the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS to pin point where the user is when experiencing the problems. For first generation iPhones, it uses cell tower-triangulation to get a fix on problem areas.

Once the application is launched, users have several complaint options. They will see a screen that has buttons that let them report a dropped call, poor voice quality, or poor service coverage.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said AT&T plans to use the data collected to identify trends and prioritize the company's network investments.

"We think this is a great way to get customer feedback to improve our network," Siegel said. "We are always looking for ways to make it easy for customers to share their experiences. And this app lets customers report issues. It logs the time and location and automatically forwards the information to our network planning team."

iPhone owners have been complaining about AT&T's network since the Apple iPhone went on sale in the summer of 2007. Complaints mounted after the 3G version of the phone was released a year later in 2008. And as more iPhone users come onto the network, more people, particularly in densely populated urban areas, such as New York City and San Francisco, have experienced problems with dropped calls and congested data networks.

AT&T executives have not admitted that AT&T has a problem with its network. But executives, such as AT&T Chief Technology Officer John Donovan, have said that the company has seen a surge in data traffic attributed to iPhone users, who typically consume more wireless bandwidth than other AT&T wireless customers.

AT&T has been upgrading its network to keep up with demand. But problems persist. And AT&T's network recently got a poor ranking in terms of customer satisfaction in a Consumer Reports survey.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T's chief rival, has taken advantage of AT&T's struggles with a series of advertisements that point out AT&T's lack of 3G network coverage in certain parts of the country. Verizon is running advertisements that mock the Apple "There's an app for that," catch phrase with one that says, "There's a map for that."

AT&T fired back with a lawsuit and an advertisements of its own featuring actor Luke Wilson, who points out AT&T's strengths while taking a few shots at Verizon Wireless.

AT&T recently dropped its lawsuit against Verizon. And Verizon, which had been suing AT&T over claims that it has the fastest 3G wireless network, also dropped its lawsuit against AT&T.

Siegel said that the new "Mark the Spot" application was not prompted by the bad publicity around its network issues nor was it prompted by the current ad wars going on between AT&T and Verizon. Instead, he said that the application was simply a part of AT&T's ongoing commitment to listening to customers.

"We are always looking at ways to get customer feedback in as timely a manner as possible," he said. "That's why we pay attention to Twitter, Facebook and blog. One of the great values of these social networking tools is that it's a great way to get instant feedback. And it helps us identify problems."

The "Mark the Spot" application can be downloaded onto all iPhones running version 3.0 or later of Apple's operating system or it can be access using iTunes and synchronized to the iPhone via a PC or Mac.

Siegel said that AT&T is testing the "Mark the Spot" app for other devices. And he said AT&T hopes to offer applications on other smartphones in the future. No date has been announced yet. And Siegel didn't specify which devices might get the new application, but considering that AT&T sells a lot of Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices, it's likely it will create an application for that device. The app could be offered through AT&T's own application storefront or through RIM's BlackBerry App World.

(Credit: CNET)

For a friend's birthday the other night, we all went down to his rehearsal space (he's in a band) and played music, often switching instruments to see what we could come up with. Not everyone there was a musician, but with drums, guitars, basses, a keyboard, percussion instruments, and microphones, everyone found a way to get in on the jam. To add to the fun later in the night, my friend also had a cord to connect an iPod or iPhone to the PA system which meant I could try out some of my music apps. Among the apps we tried--all to great success--were iDrum Hip Hop Edition, FingerBeat (reviewed below), and I Am T-Pain (auto-tuning our voices was a big hit).

If you want to create music on your iPhone, there are a ton of music apps in the iTunes app store to choose from, even if you don't have a fancy PA system to hook into. Consequently, Leslie Katz wrote an article today at CNET showcasing a group of University of Michigan students who took the iPhone-as-instrument concept to a whole new level. Using apps they designed themselves, they created an ensemble performance as a way to finish out the semester. Though it's much more serious than playing beats and auto-tuning your voice like my friends and I did the other night, their performance makes me wonder what new musical creations people will come up with in the future as more iPhone music apps are released.

Update: I guess music is in the air, because I just found out Brian Tong and the folks who make the Apple Byte included the I Am T-Pain app in their latest episode (about 3 minutes in). It's definitely worth checking out.

This week's apps include a music app to create your own music and a demolitions puzzle game that challenges you to raze buildings as efficiently as possible.

Play the drums manually or swipe to the left or right for more tools

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

FingerBeat ($3.99) is a music creation tool that helps you flesh out ideas, create multitrack songs, and make beats wherever you are. The primary screen (upon launch) is where the drum pads are where you can sample some of the sounds available by touching each of the pads. Once you've created a basic loop, get into the more serious song-creation tools by swiping your finger to the left. This brings up a visual editor where you can add or erase sounds from your loop and change the pitch of each of the tones. You also can create beats with separate patterns to play in sequence by touching the pattern buttons on the left side of the interface.

FingerBeat offers excellent sounds on its own, but you also can record short samples on the iPhone microphone and include them in your songs. Once you're happy with your song, you can even add a singing part to finish your project. The interface is not incredibly intuitive, requiring a certain amount of trial and error to get to some of the more advanced options and to figure out how to use each tool. Still, once you get used to the various screens and what each function does, you'll be able to create cool sounding beats and save them to your iPhone.

Place the bombs on key supports before hitting the plunger

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Implode ($1.99) is a remake of an online flash game that translates extremely well to the iPhone interface. The object of the game is to demolish structures so that they fall below a designated height limit and within a certain amount of time. To start you can choose from 3 different skill levels and play through several building types for each level. Just like those buildings that you've probably seen demolished on the news, you're job is to place explosives in key points to blow up walls that compromise the structural integrity of the building. Drag bombs to the precise location you want them before you hit the plunger. You only get a limited number of bombs to place, so you need to make sure they will cause the building to topple before the time runs out.

Implode is surprisingly addictive, and the hand-drawn quality of the levels (like building drawings) makes it fun to move through each of the building types. As you start to get in to the more difficult levels, you'll be faced with huge structures and unique wall types that you can't blow up. As I was playing, I liked how each building presented a new set of problems I had to work out, and getting a large building to fall on the first try is especially satisfying. If you like puzzle games, Implode is a unique option that is really well done both in the way it looks and the intuitive interface.

What's you're favorite iPhone app? Do you have a favorite music app to share? What do you think of the FingerBeat interface? Do you like the unique challenges of Implode? Let me know in the comments!

What's new? Let's start with the Now Playing and What's Hot buttons.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Fans of Midomi, the song-identifying app for iPhone, will still recognize the app when the iPhone prompts an update to version 3.0, even if they don't recognize the new name: SoundHound. The app's core remains the same with its outsize orange button you tap to sing, hum, or record a song you want to ID, buttressed by another button for shier folk to speak the artist or song name, and a text field for old-fashioned typing. What's new is big, and it centers on two additional tabs below, one that lets you browse music trends and another that links up to your iPod library.

Tap "What's Hot" to pull up trend charts for the most popular songs on the Midomi network; the songs that are played more through Midomi than they are on the air; and a list of the most recently "grabbed" tunes that SoundHound and Midomi.com users have identified.

Following any musical entry pulls up an info page from which you can flow into an artist bio, bookmark or share the details, buy the song via iTunes, or watch available YouTube videos. A new lyrics feature presents the words to the tunes within the Midomi app; if that's not available, tapping the "lyrics" button produces Google search results, still within the app.

Midomi's SoundHound also cleverly hooks into your iPhone's iPod library through the "Now Playing" button. The songs you play through SoundHound get funneled into the Midomi network, so you can rapidly interact with your ditty as you would had you sought it out by typing, talking, humming, or recording the tune. Even better, SoundHound can show lyrics for your iTunes song as it plays. Likewise, if your music search turns up a song you've already got, an icon denotes the fact, and lets you play the tune from your own collection.

The robustness of the lyrics feature and the trend charts crowd in on TuneWiki's territory, and threaten to overtake it. Shazam, the other popular music discovery app, could also find itself on SoundHound's lunch menu, except for its loyal following and free price. Even the premium Shazam Encore may continue to appeal to some for its now slightly cheaper price tag and a handy offline mode, but its features pale in comparison.

The cost of owning Midomi 3.0/SoundHound does jump in this release from $4.99 to $6.99, presumably to accommodate the cost of licensing lyrics, though we haven't been able to confirm this yet with the app's publisher, Melodis. What we do know is that with this release, SoundHound is jetting to the front of the music discovery pack, which can only mean more sophisticated improvements down the line for its competitors.

Update: Shortly after this post went up, the app was removed by the developer.

(Credit: Apple)

File it in the "get this while you can" category. Last week Apple approved a 99-cent application called iRwego that features both the sounds and artwork of the Super Mario series from Nintendo. And yes, it's still up--though probably not for long. Update: the app has since been taken down by the developer.

The app, not blessed by Nintendo, plays more than a minute of music from the Super Mario game while using the iPhone/iPod's accelerometer to take into account any physical movement by the user. In turn, it plays back the same jump sound effect found in Nintendo's Mario games. The idea is to run the app, then stick it in your pocket and pretend to be everyone's favorite plumber.

Along with its accelerometer-powered sound effects, the app also acts as a soundboard, playing familiar sounds like the "worp worp worp" of the green warp pipes, jumping on enemies heads, and hitting the familiar orange question mark power-up boxes. There are also two Mario quotes: "Here we go!" and "Oki doki!" which can be played just by tapping the white, on-screen speech bubbles.

In the app's description, developer Jerome Alves says there's an updated version awaiting approval from Apple that adds extra music as well as vibration for sound effects like breaking bricks. That is, if it doesn't end up in the App Store's blacklist first.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNET. But based on recent IP squabbles over games like Stoneloops of Jurassica, expect action to be swift if Nintendo gets involved. If it does, there are a slew of other Mario-specific apps on the App Store, but most are simply game guides. Though others like Ricky, iMarioSounds and iMario could draw Nintendo's ire, since they don similar use of the company's sound and visual assets.

Here's a demo of what it looks like:

(via the Touch Arcade forums)

We live in a digital age, so why do business cards refuse to die? They're a hassle to store and an environmental suck to produce. Plus, who among us has time to manually transcribe contact info into a phone, PDA, or PC?

Needless to say, I was geeked to try Business Card Reader, a $5.99 app that turns business cards into iPhone Address Book entries.

Specifically, BCR leverages your iPhone's camera to take a snapshot of a card, then uses built-in optical character recognition (OCR) to convert the image into text and populate the appropriate contact fields.

After snapping a photo, Business Card Reader scans the card and adds the data to a new contact.

That's the theory, anyway. In practice, BCR requires near-perfect lighting conditions and decidedly non-fancy cards to achieve reliable recognition.

Make no mistake: This is a terrific app, one I'd absolutely buy despite its limitations; it's just that handy. But let's not overlook those limitations.

For starters, it requires an iPhone 3GS. Older models lack the autofocus capabilities necessary for sharp close-ups (though you might be able to get by with one of those third-party macro lenses).

Next, while BCR does a decent job identifying names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers, in my tests it rarely got the company name right. Likewise, if a name included a middle initial, it placed that initial in the Last Name field and ignored the actual last name altogether.

It's also a challenge to get sufficient lighting while avoiding glare off the card itself--particularly if it's a glossy card. And what with all the fancy logos, layouts, and color schemes these days, it's no wonder BCR encounters its share of difficulties.

That said, when it works well, it's a thing of beauty, and it's a lot faster and easier to edit a few OCR mistakes than it is to manually enter the information.

I also like the app's option to look up a contact on LinkedIn and/or merge the scanned card data with an existing iPhone contact. Plus, it recognizes not only English, but also French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Another perk: the Card Holder view, which stores the actual scans in a slick-looking mock-leather "holder."

Business Card Reader may not be perfect, but it's about $150 less than a dedicated bizcard scanner--and it works right on your iPhone.

Have you found another card-scanning app you like better? If so, hit the comments and tell me about it!

Print Magic can produce hard copies of text, photos, and Web pages.

The App Store offers a handful of solutions for transporting data from iPhone to printer, but few work as easily as Print Magic.

The $6.99 app makes it a cinch to print text, Web pages, and photos, all without wires: it connects via Wi-Fi to any printer on your network (or any shared printer on your Mac).

Well, almost any printer. While the app had no problem detecting my Brother HL-2170W laser printer and MFC-440CN multifunction, it couldn't figure out how to print to the latter.

Ideally, you should take Print Magic for a test drive before plunking down your 7 bucks. You can't just yet, but developer Wellala says a printer-testing trial version of the app was just submitted to Apple for review. Look for it in about two weeks.

Assuming you're able to print successfully, you'll definitely enjoy the results. You can print any text just by copying it to the iPhone (or iPod Touch) clipboard, then firing up the app and tapping Print.

Web pages work much the same way, except you copy the URL. As for photos, Print Magic provides direct access to your library--just tap the one you want to print.

The app doesn't support documents or e-mail attachments, but it's ideal for turning snapshots into prints, Web pages into real pages, and any copyable text into hard copy.

My only suggestion: wait for the trial version to make sure Print Magic can work its magic on your printer.