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

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for December 8, 2009:

Macintosh

• SpectorSoft Corporation launches eBlaster mac 2010, the latest update to its best-selling remote monitoring software for the Mac platform. With this major upgrade, SpectorSoft expands the capability of parents or business owners to monitor their children or employees from a remote location. This new Version adds tools to record Web Mail such as Google Gmail, Yahoo Mail and others, plus new Web Site and Chat Blocking and Advanced Keyword Alerts to warn of potential danger.
• Vinotekasoft has announced Vinoteka 1.5.3, an update to their ultimate wine cellar management solution for Mac OS X. In a unique and gorgeous interface showing bottles, cellars and tasting notes, Vinoteka brings the best wine cellar management experience to Mac users. Customizable and user-friendly, straight-to-the point and nevertheless very professional, Vinoteka is the ultimate companion every wine lover needs. Version 1.5.3. sports many new feature improvements and a recommended update.
• Burn37.com Inc. has announced GuestReel for Mac OS X. GuestReel allows you to easily setup a video guestbook at your wedding or other special event without the need for a lot of time, experience, or money. GuestReel transforms your guestbook into an interactive experience for everyone. GuestReel clips can be uploaded to the web, burned onto DVD, embedded into wedding day footage, and enjoyed repeatedly.
• Yazsoft has announced Playback 1.2.1, an important update to their new zero configuration media server for Mac OS X. With a focus on ease-of-use, Playback allows anyone to share their media with any Playstation 3, Xbox 360, or other supported UPnP compatible device. Playback can also share media stored in folders or even make entire disks available to a Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. By default, Playback will share almost any content on the users system.
• Macvide has announced iPod Converter 3.2, an update to their video to iPhone/iPod mp4 conversion utility for Mac OS X. iPod Converter allows conversion of video files to mp4 iPod video. MacVide iPod Converter provides powerful functions to set different settings for your video files. iPod Converter offers an easy-to-use interface that guides the user through the conversion process. Version 3.2 features improved the video engine, 3x processing speed, Snow Leopard support and more.
• Ironic Software has announced Yep 2.0, an update to their popular document management software for Mac OS X. Yep is aimed at helping indivduals and small companies track and organize their documents. It automatically tracks the most common types of documents, and documents of any kind can be managed as well. Yep also has an auto filing feature that can help even the hopelessly disorganized types. Yep 2.0 also features a true document scanner.
• danholt4mac has released Calories 2, a major upgrade of the beloved tracking daily nutrition software for Mac OS X. Calories 2 has been completely revised and reengineered introducing a bunch of new features. Calories 2 now offers weight tracking with automatic BMI-calculation and calendar. Thanks to the new weight-panel you can now collect weight data and even more data from body analysis scales. Calories 2 can access and fetch data from the brand-new Withings WiFi body scale.
• be.ez, designer of fashionable accessories for the mobile lifestyle, has announced the latest addition to its line of laptop carrying cases for the popular 13” MacBook (Pro). The new LA garde robe bag is the perfect companion to be.ez’s top-selling LA robe sleeve for Apple laptops. The LA garde robe can be bought individually for $34.95 from December 10th or with a LA robe sleeve to complete the set for $49.95 from Feb 2010.

iPhone/iPod

• 148Apps announced the call for entries for the second annual Best App Ever Awards, which recognize practical, creative, technical, and whimsical achievements in iPhone applications and games. Submissions are now being accepted in 56 categories. Created with the goal of building public awareness of the very best apps available, not just the best-selling apps, the Best App Ever Awards has a broad set of award categories covering both apps and games. The categories focus on the quality of the app design, the overall usefulness, and the fun factor.
• Lucky Me Lite is a series of 14 mini games which helps test your luck. At the end of the 14 games, you get your luck score with a fortune quote which describes how good or bad your luck is heading to. Lucky Me Plus is now a loaded iPhone/iPod touch game with 14 back to back games, and lot of customizing features. It comes with a customized play list and a quick luck option, and allows users to ‘tweet’ their scores apart from a few more exhilarating features.
• 99Games has announced the release of its brand new game, Pocket Clinic. The game challenges the players to don the coat of a doctor and separate the infected and good cells in a tissue into two different zones. Pocket Clinic offers 20 levels of addictive game play and 2 distinct game modes: Timed and Challenge. The game supports accelerometer as well as multi-touch mode, and the players can post their high scores on Facebook or Twitter.
• Appnoose, Ltd., who recently released Gorilla Monkey Crunch for the iPhone and iPod Touch, have launched a competition to win an iPod Touch by being the first player to register a score of 10,000 using the installed OpenFeint global leaderboard. Contestants need to have Gorilla Monkey Crunch, a free OpenFeint account and contact Appnoose via Twitter after they have achieved 10,000 or more points.
• ShadesCases Inc. has released all new Shades for the new iPod nano5G with Camera. The cases cover the entire iPod nano including the screen & click-wheel, but leave an opening for the video camera. Shades for nano 5G come in 10 colors that compliment the nano’s vibrant colors or choose Clearly Original to keep the cool sleek look of the iPod itself.
• Connect2Media have come up with another App Store gem in Arachnadoodle [iTunes App Store link], available now on the Apple App Store. On sale at the special promotional price of $0.99/£0.59/0.79€, the game has already drawn comparisons to Peggle. In the game you control of Boris the spider. Using your finger to aim and determine strength, you fire the lovable arachnid around various rooms of the house in order to link pins and create webs. Once all the pins are connected your iPhone belts out Wagner’s “The Ride of the Valkyries” and a sweeping swarm of flies sweeps across the screen. How many flies become ensnared in your wicked web depends on how complex it is.
• Low Grav Racer 2 [Tunes App Store link], the instantly playable arcade racer, is back and this time it’s bigger, better and faster. In Low Grav Racer 2 you race across 18 planet and space system based tracks from the Dante Nebula to the Arkonian Rift. Low Grav Racer 2 combines intense high speed racing and shoot-em-up action to create a unique handheld experience, only on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
• TuneWear announced today that it is now shipping the new slim case series PRIE Ambassador SMART for iPhone 3GS/3G. The Ambassador SMART cases are made from high quality leather and are available in Black with Red stitch, Black with White stitch and White with Pink stitch.
• ADS Software Group Inc. has introduced Classical Music 1.0, their new classical music compilation and quiz for iPhone and iPod touch. Developed specifically to leverage the iPhone’s unique capabilities, Classical Music is an educational database of 50 music compositions of the most famous composers of all time. Music aficionados can listen to a short passage of every composition, view a short biography of each artist, and purchase the full version of the composition from iTunes.
• Daze End Software has announced the release of Listmaker 1.2, a new version of their list manager for the iPhone and iPod touch. Listmaker is a simple tool for storing and organizing user-created lists. Major features include support for nested sublists and web synchronization. This new version adds often requested features such as searching, and the ability to create lists from the contents of the iPhone’s clipboard.
• Oneapp has introduced The Laughman 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch. The Laughman now allows you to bring contagious laughter wherever you go. The Laughman features the world famous laughs of Doug Collins, a bus driver from Tennessee said to have the most contagious laugh in the world. Collins, who was tested by MTV and even examined by Neuroscientists, can often cause rooms of people to burst into laughter simply by laughing.
• Niles Technology Group has announced their Achievers Writing Center apps for iPhone and iPod touch. Achievers Writing Center apps are revolutionizing how high school and college students write essays and papers. The apps make it easier to be more successful at writing, and they also significantly reduce the time and money required to produce excellent work. For a fixed, affordable price, each app comes with professional writing center services and more.
• Toughturtle LLC has released StockWatch Lite 1.0, a free version of their popular investment-tracking iPhone and iPod Touch App StockWatch. StockWatch Lite is a great entry point into tracking your personal investments and getting a glimpse of the power and features of the full version of StockWatch. StockWatch Lite is the perfect App for all investors to keep an eye on their favorite stocks, track their portfolios and holdings, and much more.
• Geospace and developer RogueSheep announced today that the Word Spin Lite [iTunes App Store link] game for iPhone and iPod touch is now available for free from the App Store. The Word Spin App combines the elements of popular word games, crossword puzzles and word searches into a portable game for iPhone and iPod touch. The app is a great way to sharpen language skills by identifying words and anagrams from two to eight letters in length.
• Carnation Software has released Say it & Mail it Lite 1.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch, and it is free. Say it & Mail it Lite is a quick, easy way to email a voice memo from your iPhone or iPod Touch to yourself or to others. No typing required—a fast and easy way to send a detailed email without using the keyboard. Email address and subject line are autofilled. Emailed voice memos are compatible with Mac, PC and any other computer.
• PhatWare Corporation has announced PhatNotes for iPhone 1.0 and PhatNotes Desktop 5.5, their award-winning professional strength notes organizer for iPhone and iPod Touch devices. PhatNotes delivers the most advanced and simple-to-use notes synchronization. It offers both handwriting recognition input and keyboard entry as well as advanced note editing features such as shorthand, customizable auto-corrector and user dictionary, and spell checker.
• JustPurePics has released Sexy AppBox 1.6 for iPhone and iPod Touch. Sensual lingerie, sexy glamour, beauty unleashed, and seven more applications are now united under one cover. Sexy AppBox features 50 most seductive shots from each of these collections. Now users get ten times more photos of gorgeous females at the price of just one application. Each shot was made by well-known professionals in the area of female beauty and photography.
• Scosche Industries, a leader of iPod, iPhone and mobile electronics aftermarket accessories, announces the launch of the free Scosche Application for iPhone.  The free Scosche App is the first application that allows users to instantly find aftermarket accessories specifically designed for their vehicle.  The simple-to-use application also includes all of Scosche’s iPod and iPhone accessories.  With the Scosche application, users can easily find accessories, email results to friends, easily purchase an accessory directly from the app, and simply locate dealers in the area all from their iPhone or iPod touch.
• Now you can get a graph of your night’s sleep with your morning coffee. The new version of the Sleep Cycle alarm clock for the iPhone will not only wake you up at the perfect moment, it will also show you a graph of your night’s sleep. The Sleep Cycle alarm clock is the best-selling iPhone application that analyzes your sleep patterns and wakes you in the lightest sleep phase—a natural way to wake up where you feel rested and relaxed. With the recent upgrade to version 2.0, we have included the feature that has been requested most by our users—the ability to see a graph each morning of how you’ve slept.
• FutureTap has announced Where To? 2.5, the popular points of interest finder for iPhone and the several times awarded NAVIGON MobileNavigator work together seamlessly. The MobileNavigator is able to be started via the AppInteract-Interface directly out of the Where To? application and users will be guided to searched points of interest. Location Based Services and real Turn-by-Turn navigation never have been so close before.
• 288 Vroom LLC has introduced 301+ Short Stories Lite, the free version of their top-selling eBook reader for iPhone and iPod touch. Developed for iPhone and iTouch devices, 301+ Short Stories Lite is quick, easy, and entertaining reading for on-the-go or anytime. The app features continuous and page by page scrolling modes, automatically bookmarks each story as needed, and more. Sit back and unwind to a taste of over 300 of some of the greatest short stories of all time.
• Heavenspot, an independent digital creative agency, and its sister company AppWagon, are collaborating with Grammy award-winning artist and philanthropist, Ziggy Marley to create the musician’s first iPhone application Ziggy Marley’s Music Mixer. Available today, the application features five brand new socially-conscious tracks created exclusively for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
• Online brokerage site ZipRealty.com has announced the launch of its free real estate app for the iPhone and iTouch, making it easier than ever for people to find their dream home. The app searches Multiple Listing Service “for sale” homes in over 4,800 cities, offers price estimates from other online sites, and showcases homes that recently sold in the user’s desired neighborhood. Also, thanks to location-based GPS technology, buyers can now search homes for sale within the neighborhood of where they’re standing at that moment.