Appletell | Apple, Mac, iPhone, iPod | News, Rumors, Reviews, How-Tos

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod/iPad product updates and announcements for July 27, 2010:

• Macintosh
• iPod

Macintosh

• Mapdiva, LLC has released Ortelius 1.1, a major update to their popular map design software for Mac OS X. Ortelius is a vector-based drawing program made especially for map design and presentation. It offers a creative solution for floor plans, landscape plans, scaled drawings, and a wide variety of high quality custom map graphics. Version 1.1 introduces a professional-level symbol Library Manager and many workflow enhancements. This update is free for existing users.

iPhone/iPod/iPad

• Global Delight has released a major update to Camera Plus Pro iPhone camera app with new version 2.5. This version is fully compatible with iPhone 4 and makes use the flash and dual camera as well. To celebrate this, they are running a “10 days of summer” contest and giving away a Leica Camera (Steve Jobs mentioned this camera, comparing it to iPhone 4) along with a 50% off on the price.
• Independent developer Evan Beland has announced Match aPhoto 1.1, a unique game for the iPad and iPhone that allows users to play and interact with their photos in a new way. An update of the card game known traditionally known as Concentration, Memory or Pairs, Match aPhoto allows you to take photos on the fly and add them directly into the game. Match aPhoto is fully customizable to help you remember what you want to remember.
• Evil Quiz 1.1 was released this week and quickly rose to the top 100 in Entertainment. Everyone seems to love the evil theme and the amazingly unique questions/riddles that cause you to easily fail over and over. 101 levels are included in its first release, with more levels to come in the future. No one can pass this devilish test of over 100 levels. Not your friends, not your family, not even You. Dare to play the Evil Quiz today and see if you can do what no one else can?
• Ergonis Software has released KeyCue 5.1, a new release of the company’s handy tool for learning and remembering keyboard shortcuts. Whenever the command key is kept pressed for a while, KeyCue displays a table with all currently available keyboard shortcuts. KeyCue 5.1 introduces a new built-in diagnostic tool for application-specific adjustments, increases compatibility with 3rd party applications, improves overall performance as well as the installation and upgrade experience.
• G5 Entertainment has announced that Mushroom Age is now available on the iPhone and the iPad.  Mushroom Age has already been downloaded several million times on PC, and was in top charts of virtually all casual game portals. The Mushroom Age is a wild seek-and-find adventure through the past, present, and future! Our heroine, Vera, is desperately searching for her fiancé, Tom, who disappeared just days before their wedding. When Vera activates a time machine at Tom’s work, it starts her on an epic quest to not only find Tom, but to save the world from history-changing villains. Race against time as you solve challenging puzzles and find hidden objects alongside a cast of characters that range from a dinosaur to Socrates. So, why call it “The Mushroom Age?” You’ll have to play to find out.
• Michiel Cornelissen was looking for an easier, more natural way to wear my music, while avoiding wire-tangle and trying to solve the problem of headphones dropping to the floor, when not in use. The result is the necklace-like Pod à porter iPod shuffle accessory.
• iHomeEducator has released iLiveMath Ford Cars 3.0, which celebrates over 100 years of auto history from the Ford Model T to today’s Ford Fusion, Edge, and concept cars. The app introduces problem-based math concepts including mean, median, mode, and range. The app was made possible through Ford Motor Company to help students build confidence with problem-based learning.
• Nate Heagy has announced Word Descrambler 1.0.1, a retro-styled app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices. Word Descrambler will find every possible word in a given Scrabble or Words with Friends tile rack. These are two of the most popular games on the App Store and both are anagram-style word games. Word Descrabler also features multitasking on iOS 4, which will matter when either Scrabble or Words with Friends adds similar support.
• The Clasp is a new product which provides a simple and effective solution for keeping your Apple iPad case closed. With thousands of cases already in circulation, many people have asked for a way to keep their iPad case secure. The Clasp blends in seamlessly with the Apple case and provides a latch to keep the case secure. The Clasp is constructed from a similar black rubber material as the Apple iPad Case and attaches with double-sided adhesive to the front.
• The future begins now, as Paramount Digital Entertainment has announced the availability of the official Star Trek Captain’s Log application for iPhone 4. With a flick of the wrist, the Captain’s Log app transforms the iPhone 4 into a Star Trek-inspired Starfleet communicator. Using the Captain’s Log communicator, users can capture voice recordings, text entries, take photos and map GPS locations of their voyages as they travel planet Earth. Officers can select their preferred Enterprise class level, whether taking the role of Captain, Engineering, Science/Medical, Enterprise, or assuming the identity an enemy Romulan or Klingon officer.
• Matmi and Gorillaz join forces to bring Escape From Plastic Beach, the latest Gorillaz game, to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Escape to Plastic Beach is a 3D (Unity) action game in which Murdoc floats and fights above Plastic Beach HQ on his Doom Glider to foil 2D’s repeated escape attempts whilst battling ghost pirate ships, and a mix of other hazards and obstacles. Designed especially for the tilt controls of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, and featuring eight exciting levels of gun-toting, gliding actions in full 3D, designs from Jamie Hewlett, and music and voice-overs from the band themselves, “Escape From Plastic Beach” is a must-have game app for any Gorillaz fan.
• Nimble Works’ latest package, TrackTime offers speedy and accurate time-recording. It allows users to see how productive they really are, as opposed to leaving it to inaccurate guess work or time-consuming counting. TrackTime monitors application usage, iTunes history, web browsing and more. Users can easily assign time spent to projects to help in billing clients or to simply understand how they use their day.
• dBelement has announced Noter2 for iPad, the easiest app to organize and sync all of your notes. Be it a simple grocery, contact list, or an entire development plan, Noter2 let’s you organize your list notes in any way you want. Effortlessly sync your to-do lists between your iPad, iPhone and desktop computer using Noter2. Noter2 is designed from the ground up to be easy to pick up but powerful enough to keep you organized even with thousands of notes.
• Vadique has announced Lighted Mirror 4.0 for iPhone 4. Lighted Mirror takes advantage of the front facing camera and turns it into a handy pocket mirror. It allows users to take a look at their own reflection in the lighted mirror which is very convenient in darkened environments. Depending on users’ taste and external conditions, users can swipe left or right to choose one of the available lighting styles for the frame of the mirror, such as fluorescent, LED or conventional bulb.
• Synium Software has released CleanApp, an update to their popular uninstaller and system maintenance tool for Mac OS X. Reclaim disk space on your Mac: find files untouched for years, empty file caches, remove language files you don’t need and delete applications thoroughly. Version 3.4 scans for duplicate files and applications and for empty folders anywhere on your system. CleanApp 3.4 is a free update for existing customers. Mac OS X 10.4 and higher is required.
• Griffin Technology, Inc., has announced the latest versions of their popular iTrip Auto and WindowSeat automobile solutions. Each has been updated for handsfree smartphone support, and universal compatibility for a wide array of devices.
• While the new “Flash Camera” has created issues among some early-production iPhone 4 case manufacturers, Hard Candy Cases engineered shells were designed to work with the iPhone 4’s newest feature. To celebrate the great designs and new iPhone 4 camera function, the Apple-centric case company announced today a photo contest which will be open to iPhone 4 users in the U.S.
• Iambic, Inc. has released a key update to the iPhone version of its Agendus personal information manager app. The new version includes key fixes and enhancements for iOS 4 and builds on the version released last month which brought significant updates to the interface aimed at helping users better manage their time and to-do list. Agendus integrates a user’s Calendar, Contacts and Task List into one application. Iambic has added features to make it easier to see what’s most pressing and important on the user’s daily agenda. The app enables users to assign icons to Events and Tasks making it easier to identify them and offers the ability to go to today’s events or scheduled tasks by a simple shake of the device when in any Calendar view.