Tech: February 2009 Archives

Now, I have been aware of the iTunes App Store since it launched, but I have to admit that my interest in it wasn't all that great. I guess that was because I really didn't use any of the other features of my iPod to begin with, so I didn't really think it was worth browsing through a bunch of other applications I would never use. Plus, I really didn't think that there would be anything worthwhile that you didn't have to pay for, so it just didn't really seem like there was much of a point. Then I discovered that I could get Instant Messenger on my iPod for free. And it works really well. That led me to downloading the Facebook app. Also for free. Pretty cool, and I was actually using them kind of frequently. I mean, how cool was it to be sitting at Champs having a drink and updating my Facebook page (ok, it's not really that cool, but I liked that I could do it). After months of using these apps, I found the one that has made me fall in love with the iTunes App Store.

I have always been a solitaire junky (weird I know), and when I saw a free solitaire game, I figured I would give it a shot. Honestly, it's nothing fancy. It looks good and offers 5 games, but I pretty much only play the Klondike Deal 3 game. What has me hooked, though, is that it keeps stats. I can't even tell you how much I like that. Being a sports fan, I am obsessed with stats. I seriously can't stop playing the damn thing. I really think part of this is because two of the stats it keeps are an average per game score and a total running score. Basically, you start a game at minus 52 points, and you get 3 points for every card you can move into the Ace area. So, currently, my average per game score is minus 17 and my total running score is minus 5,503. It sounds bad, but Klondike 3 Deal is pretty tough. I win about 12% of the time.

Anyway, my love for the solitaire app (it's called Sol Free, by the way, in case anyone is interested in downloading it) has led me to see what other cool apps I can find for free. I found a really cool touch football game called FingerFB that is a take off on the old paper football game I used to play with my brother as a kid. The one where you and another person would sit at a table and each take turns pushing the football to try and get it to come to rest with part of it off the edge of the table. If you could do that, you scored a touchdown. Then you could try an extra point by finger kicking it through goal posts that the other player makes with his hands. Well, this app is just like that old game. And it has the football look like a football that you can slide with your finger on an actual football field. And when you score a touchdown, you can try for an extra point by swiping your finger as well. The cool thing is that it changes the angle of the goal posts, so you have to account for direction and power. It's a really fun app. You can play a one player game against the iPod, or you can play two people over wi-fi. And yes, it keeps track of scores and margins of victory which you can actually track online to see how you stack up against other players. Very cool indeed.

So I have started digging into the apps store. I am still just downloading the free stuff, but some of the pay apps have caught my eye. And the prices vary too with none of them seeming unreasonable. So far, in addition to the ones I have already mentioned, I have a college football app that lets me keep track of schedules and scores, a blackjack app, an air hockey app, and a flashlight app (all of these are free apps). Now the flashlight app I downloaded just because it looked fun. All it does is make the whole iPod screen emanate a color (you can choose what color you want) that you can use as a light in the dark. I never thought I would use it. However, just last night I came home to my apartment after watching the Super Bowl, and when I flicked on the light switch a fuse popped. It was pitch black, but I had my iPod with me so I fired up the flashlight app (it's called Flashlight) and it worked like a charm.

The other thing I really like about the App Store is that the apps aren't just games. That was another preconceived notion I had - that all the apps would be games. Well, I have a good number of video games. I didn't want to play what I considered would be watered down games based on the fact that there is no controller other than touching the screen with your finger or moving the iPod itself. How fun would that be? Just another reason why I wasn't interested in the App Store. I think I was wrong about the quality of the games, but I seem to be more interested in the non-gaming apps anyway. There's some great content in there, and I'm glad I'm finally experiencing it.