Applications

To the stable of games for the iPhone, you can now add the legendary SimCity.

Electronic Arts' city-building game, priced at $9.99, is now available for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Users can take advantage of the touch-screen technology to design and construct their vision of an urban landscape.

MG Siegler at VentureBeat, who's had a chance to play with the game for a while, waxed enthusiastic about the touch-screen qualities and more--"SimCity is a very impressive game on the iPhone"--but warned of some lingering bugs from the game's demo period:… Read more

Microsoft Live Labs recently released its first application designed and built for the Apple iPhone. The app, named Seadragon is available now, for free (iTunes link). Microsoft calls the app its "first mobile version to see graphics and photos on your iPhone in greater detail than ever before."

A video demonstration of the app is available here and worth a look. (Microsoft Silverlight required to view).

The app allows users to browse hi-resolution images and Photosynth collections from the iPhones touch screen. You can also view PhotoZoom and Deep Zoom Composer created images. It has been designed to … Read more

Innovation in the App Store has been rampant, but worthwhile development in third-party devices (save a few battery backups/boosters) has been sparse. iBreath, a Breathalyzer and FM Transmitter for the iPod (and unofficially for the iPhone), is a new and notable exception

The device, sold by David Steele Enterprises, is priced at $79. Originally circa 2006 the device sold with the FM Transmitter and in two colors for about $50. The latest iteration of the device has evolved to be bit more modern with better controls for the FM Transmitter. It's compact and fits on the bottom of … Read more

We are not pulling your legs -- the controversial app Pull My Finger (iTunes link) by the developer Air-O-Matic.com is again for sale in the iTunes App Store for $.99

As our colleagues at CNET News reported in September, Apple rejected the app because it was "of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod Touch user community." However, it's back to stay in the Entertainment category of the iTunes App Store.

If you are interested in a demonstration you can see a video of the new app in action. Pull My Finger does what you … Read more

Apple on Thursday night rolled out a new look to its App Store directory, putting more of an emphasis on both the top paid and free applications within each category's listing pages. These lists now appear on the left and right sides of the results, giving users a chance to see what's currently the cream of the crop.

While this information has been available on the iPhone version of the App Store since the 2.2 firmware update, users searching for new applications in iTunes have had a less exploratory experience.

According to a developer who had contacted AppleInsider … Read more

Big Keyboard Email is one of the many applications for the iPhone that allows users to send email messages with a keyboard displayed in landscape mode--a feature Apple inexplicably left out. The program has gained a new function, however, that sets it apart: the ability to send emails with emoticons.

Like other landscape email applications, Big Keyboard Email works by intercepting input then sending it back to the iPhone's native mail client. See how it works in the screenshots below:

Big Keyboard Email is priced at $0.99 and available through the iTunes App Store.

A new Web service called Pastebud will soon let iPhone users copy and paste text from Safari into e-mail messages and between Web pages.

Since the iPhone was launched 18 months ago, many users have complained about its lack of cut and paste capabilities. Users were once again disappointed when the iPhone 3G debuted in July with that same omission.

Third parties have tried to create applications to add cutting and pasting to the iPhone, but most have failed. One such application called OpenClip, seemed promising earlier this year. But Apple's iPhone 2.1 software, released in late summer, … Read more

Amazon has announced Amazon app for the iPhone and iPod Touch which was released this week and it is free (iTunes link). The app allows iPhone users to shop for merchandise on Amazon's popular website. Users can access wish lists, shopping carts, one-click shopping, plus all the customer reviews and ratings that might help buyers make decisions on what to buy, etc.

It also introduces a very nice new feature called "Amazon Remembers" which according to their press release:

"Amazon Remembers helps customers keep track of items they see in their daily lives and even tries … Read more

For those without a fireplace and/or an ability to carry a tune, TV stations have for decades offered the Yule Log, an on-screen fireplace crackling as Christmas Carols play in the background.

According to "The Holiday Yule Log" book, the first televised fireplace was in 1966 on New York's WPIX-TV. With carols on in the background and no commercials, it was an instant hit and was adopted by other stations around the country.

But what if the holiday season takes you even further afield, so that you don't even have a plasma TV to keep … Read more