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

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for January 4, 2010:

Macintosh

• XChange UK and ThePowerXChange have announced a new promotion starting January 4th, 2010, that offers users a free Xdata for QuarkXPress with their purchase of QuarkXPress 8 full versions or upgrades. Users save and can utilize Xdata for any type of database publishing, achieving immediate return on investment with the first use. Additionally, Quark have extended their popular QuarkXPress 8 “Buy One Get One Free”.
• Bitnotic has announced Bitnotic Chill 1.5, a major upgrade to its ambient music soundtrack software for Mac OS X. Bitnotic chill combines music theory, probability, and an artist’s ear to play an endless stream of unique songs. The style of music can be described as ambient, New Age, electronica, or minimalist. While chill’s music is random, users shape the style using the provided controls. Version 1.5 offers improvements throughout the program and new features such as a drum track, and more.
• Designed for the Wacom Intuos4 and Bamboo ranges, the be.ez LA robe Tablet range of sleeves provides ultimate protection in a contemporary and sleek design.  Ideal for the mobile user, the be.ez sleeve keeps the Wacom tablet secure, scratch free and accessible at all times. Designed in black with a contrasting green interior, the be.ez LA robe Tablet range is made from a high quality, soft and lightweight low resilience polyurethance shape-memory foam (LRPu).  The sleeve is 5mm thick, adding very little bulk or weight when carrying the tablet around.  It features an inner lip for storing the pen and pen tips to avoid misplacing them or causing any damage to the tablet.  The sleeves can be carried alone or neatly tucked away in a bag to ensure ultimate protection from knocks, dust and scratches. 

iPhone/iPod

• ReBounce is the first title from Romper Games for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Gain style points and create massive chains in this iarcade game that matches your skill against gravity and growing columns of marbles. Simple controls allow anyone to interact directly with the world. Use your finger to take control and drag-release the puck in any direction to add speed and easily move around the screen.
• On December 29th, version 2.0 of Space Invaders Infinity Gene for iPhone/iPod touch was released to the App Store. While Taito has done some minor tweaking in the past, this free update adds a considerable number of new features. The game is now OpenFeint-compatible (with leaderboards and achievements), and offers new levels with alternate boss enemies. The Music Stage feature has been upgraded with a rating system allowing players to share song recommendations with friends.
• Appnoose has announced a one week sale on its Apple Staff Favorites and Financial Times featured Health and Fitness App ITGO - Interval Trainer GO. ITGO is an Interval Trainer for the iPhone and iPod Touch which has been designed to make weight loss easier and more exciting by automating cardiovascular Interval Training changes with visual, audio and vibration alerts. ITGO offers dual music playlists that switch fast and slow songs or podcasts with interval changes.
• Byte Squared has announced the release of Doc2 3.0, an update to its word processor application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Doc2 now includes support for the Microsoft Word .doc format and integration with Google Docs. Doc2 features easy character and paragraph formatting, copy and paste, with up to 100 levels of undo/redo. There is support for tables, as well as images. Auto-correction and auto-completion and searching of text within documents is also included.
• Izatt has announced it is offering the full version of MileBug for 50% off as a New Year Sale. To start off the new year right for tracking miles and expenses, Izatt is offering MileBug at a substantial discount through January 15th. Version 1.5 has arrived with great new features such as Frequent Trips and Expense Tracking. MileBug helps those driving their own vehicles for business, charity, medical, or other reasons receive their reimbursement and/or tax deduction.
• Doc² is a Microsoft Word compatible word processor for the iPhone and iPod Touch that provides formatted text editing, including character and paragraph formatting, undo/redo and auto-correction/auto-completion. It also includes the ability to insert images and tables (something neither Docs to go, nor QuickOffice provides). Developers Byte² believe this word processor now sets the bar for Microsoft Word compatible word processors.
• Mastertronic has just released Postman Pat for the iPhone. Based on the popular series aimed pre-school kids, since its first screening on BBC1 in 1981, the series has remained a firm favourite and is currently airing on CBeebies channel. Embark on a journey full of fun and surprises with Postman Pat and his black and white cat Jess, as they deliver the mail in the valley of Greendale and encounter numerous adventures along the way.
• Holmenkollen Ski Jump 2 is now available for iPhone and iPod touch. This is a follow-up to the Holmenkollen Ski Jump flash game, launched december 2006, which was played more than 25 million times in its first two months online. In the current release, the online highscore has been deactivated. It will be activated in an upcoming release.
• Super Happy Fun Fun has announced the release of their latest touch-screen title, Star*Burst for iPhone and iPod touch. Star*Burst is a new generation of match-three puzzle gameplay, designed by the creator of popular 90s arcade game KLAX. With Star*Burst, Super Happy Fun Fun serves up a clever combination of engaging, fast-paced action, classic puzzle heritage and fresh social features, complete with dazzling 3D graphics, animations and effects.
• 99games has released Create a Mall for iPhone and iPod touch. Create a Mallputs you in the shoes of Kelly, who is out to change the world, one mall at a time. Help Kelly build a chain of amazing shopping malls across different cities and turn her into a mall-building magnate. Use your shopper’s instinct to make the right decisions on which stores to set up. Next, upgrade these stores to increase the popularity of your mall. Think ahead to manage the labor and resources on each level. It’s your job to make the cash registers go ka-ching!
• Beiz Ltd. has released Lola’s Flag Adventure 1.0, their first children’s flag game for iPhone and iPod Touch. Lola’s Flag Adventure features high-quality voice guidance, easy-to-use interface and thoroughly designed panda graphics. It includes two games: a memory game for children who cannot read yet, and flag trivia for older children. The game provides fun and challenge both for preschoolers and junior school children.
• The Second Annual Best App Ever Awards nominees have now been announced and the voting is open. Sponsored by 148Apps, this is the second annual competition is the iPhone OS Application achievement awards to recognize the best iPhone apps and games in the iTunes App Store in 2009. The goal is to help publicize the very best apps available, not just the best-selling apps.
• IPhoideas has announced the release of Dirty Message; write on a dirty rear car window get away whit it. Express yourself and share your creations. Dirty Message lets you create cool messages and drawings just as if you were drawing on a dirty rear car window. Take your dirt car canvas everywhere and share your creations with only one tap by posting on your social network.
• Spielhaus has released their latest update for Today Todo Pro, an unusual task management app for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Today approaches the crowded segment of productivity apps with a fresh take on usability. Designed with the strict policy of “fewest taps possible” in mind, Today uses the built-in tilt sensor of the device to speed up entering tasks. Following this philosophy the user navigates through the app by interacting with the main design element: the sun.
• iPhone developer Nor Eagle has announced Farting Boobs 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch, an application they claim will redefine the platform. Farting Boobs successfully combines two of the most popular tasks in one single pleasant to use interface.