RPA Tech, Inc. has just released a major update (version 2.0) to their Air Mouse Pro iPhone app. It’s the best remote/trackpad that you can use on your iPhone to your computer (Mac or Windows PC). Make sure you also get the new updated server application too from their web site (www.mobileairmouse.com).

The new 2.0 update includes:
- Application launcher/switcher: All your running programs will appear inside Mobile Air Mouse and allow for easy switching between running programs, as well as the ability to launch your favorite programs.

- Relocated Function Keyboard: Moved the extended keyboard to the main keyboard toolbar, allowing for easier switching between keyboards, and the ability to use modifier keys with function keys.

- Numeric Keyboard: Allows you to enter true numeric keyboard numbers.

- Revised media screen interface: Redesigned the media screen.

- Media Eject button: Now you can eject CDs/DVDs from your internal drive.

- New custom media keys: Added 8 additional custom keys along the left and right side of the media screen. These are fully customizable and can be given names, which will show on the media screen for each program they were assigned to.

- Revised the Web screen: Added buttons for opening a new tab or window.

- URL Open button: When pressed, it will highlight the address bar text and bring up the URL keyboard on the iPhone, making it very easy to enter a URL on your computer.

- Double Tap To Zoom: To zoom in on your screen, double tap the scroll pad but hold your finger down on the second tap and run it up and down to zoom in and out. (Only supported on OS X 10.5+ and Windows 7)

- Sleep/Wake your computer: When starting up the app, it will automatically try to connect to the last connected server. If the server is sleeping, it will attempt to wake it before connecting. If you want to manually try to wake a sleeping computer, go into the preferences screen, then press the power button in the upper right hand corner. You can also put your computer to sleep by holding your finger over the OS icon in the application switcher.

- Auto-updating remote definitions: The server program can now download new and updated remote definitions off our server.

- User published remote definitions: Added the ability for users to submit their own remotes.

- Consolidated program list: Revised the server UI to list all supported programs together.

- Custom scripting: Added the ability to write scripts for any of the custom buttons. In addition to being able to assign keystrokes, you can now assign Applescript on the Mac, or VBScript on the PC.

- New protocol: Changed protocol to TCP. This will allow for more reliable communication and smoother mouse response, while also preventing lost packets over unreliable networks, which can cause dropped keystrokes.

- Improved Mac keyboard compatibility: Programs which were only typing a’s, should now work properly. Dvorak keyboards are now supported also.

- Status messages: Now shows when you are searching, resolving and connecting to servers.

You can get Air Mouse Pro from the App Store for $1.99.

                          

I’m a big time fan of Gowalla, as you can tell from some of my posts. Today, Gowalla announced that they’ve partnered with case maker Incase.

If you check into any Apple Store, you have a chance to pick up to 6 new virtual Incase items! I was at my local Apple Store today before I knew about this news. I didn’t get anything. This first week, some people will have the chance to score a real Incase Slider case if they also find the virtual Incase Slide. A fine prize indeed! If you collect all 6 virtual Incase items, you’ll receive the Incase Pin of Glory!

UPDATE 01/06/2009: I scored a virtual Incase Slider today after work! Now I guess I’m waiting for an email from Gowalla, just like with the Golden Gifts they did for Christmas.

UPDATE 01/07/2009: Found another virtual Incase Slider today at the Apple Store. I also posted the question on how we win a real one on the Gowalla forum on GetSatisfaction.com. Here’s the post. Not everyone that finds a virtual Incase Slider wins a real one. Gowalla failed to properly and clearly state the rules. Shame on them. It appears that one person that does find a virtual item will win a real Incase Slider that will be announced on their Twitter feed. I feel very, very fucking disappointed.

                          

In case you missed it last week, Tapulous‘ Tap Tap Revenge 3 iPhone app became a FREE app (down from $0.99). It’s still free and Tapulous has doubled the number of Premium music that you can pay, download, and play. Some good stuff too! And they’ll be adding more music too! What’s also good is that all Premium tracks have their own theme.

Here’s a list of the new Premium artists/bands that you can get:
Duran Duran, Motorhead, Lily Allen, Depeche Mode, Papa Roach, George Thorogood, Sublime, The Hives, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Elton John, David Guetta, LCD Soundsystem, Steve Miller Band, Ok Go!, Jackson 5, Spoon, Dashboard Confessional, Smash Mouth, Wolfmother, Evanescence, 30 Seconds To Mars, Fat Boy Slim, Keane, One Republic, Rascal Flatts, Thievery Corporation, War, Lifehouse, Jimmy Eat World, The Temper Trap, Silversun Pickups, Rush, Lady Antebellum, Flyleaf, Ingrid Michaelson, Schwayze, Steppenwolf, The Prodigy, Thriving Ivory, and New Kids On The Block.

Also, there’s a new system of achieving levels, in which you unlock awards, weapons, and music, and online features have been added including new weapons, shields and radar. There are still weapon-free rooms for those purists who just want to do skills-based online games.

Achievements have been enhanced with more challenging options rewarded with better prizes. You can also redeem coins in the store for avatar gear, weapons and music.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of new music has been added, including special channels for labels such as Big Sounds International, Black Hole Recordings, Bug Music, Downtown Records, Fearless Music, Nettwerk Records, Quango Records, Rocket Science, Ultra Records. You can download ten tracks for each of those labels, and play in their online rooms.

Tapulous says that they’re aware some people might be annoyed that they’ve spent $0.99 on what’s now a free game however and so it’s handing out special avatars to those players who’ve paid for the game. And it points out such users will be protected from the majority of the in-app ads that the players of the free app will view.

Here is Tapulous’ blog post on this topic.

Info from PocketGamer.co.uk

                          

Q. What is Gowalla?
A. Gowalla is, plain and simple, a free virtual geocaching app for the iPhone. Currently there is no Blackberry or Android app for it. If you have an Android device, you can use http://m.gowalla.com in your web browser to play. Gowalla says apps for Blackberry & Android phones are months down the road. It is a shame that it can’t be sooner.

Q. Why should I drop items at spots?
A. When you drop an item, you become one of the ‘founders’ of the spot. Each spot can hold 10 items and can have 10 founders. This allows Gowalla to determine what spots get higher traffic. If a spot gets a lot of traffic it can become a featured spot. Dropping items will also eventually get you new pins.

Q. What’s a pin?
A. A pin is received hen you accomplish certain tasks like, creating a certain number of spots, becoming a founder of a certain number of spots, checking into a certain number of spots, visiting a specific number of specific types of spots. You can also get pins for completing trips. You can see what pins are available here.

Q. What’s a trip?
A. A trip is a collection of spots that have been grouped together by Gowalla. You need to check into each spot on the trip to complete it. You can see the list of current trips from Gowalla’s web site.

Q. How do I know if I “need” items for my vault?
A. Right now, you can either (1) check Gowalla’s web site to see if you need an item or (2) add a link on one of your iPhone’s home screens to http://iphone.gowallatools.com in Mobile Safari on your iPhone (click the + at the bottom to add a bookmark and click “Add to Home Screen” button) and use that to check what items you need in your vault when you’re on the go. (More info on Gowalla Tools can be found at http://gowallatools.com.)

Q. Why do I need to vault items?
A. As you find items you can store them in your vault. Each item is numbered so you can try to find the lowest number of each item, as many items as you can, collect unique items (so just one of each) or you can vault as many as you can. It’s just an element of fun added into Gowalla.

Q. Can I remove items from my vault?
A. At this time, no you can not. WARNING: Once you vault an item (even duplicates), there is no way to remove it. Gowalla has no plans at this time of adding this function.

Why should I swap items? Is there a method/strategy to the swapping?
A. When you check into a spot, you might run across an item that you do not have in your vault sitting in the group of items for that spot (each spot can hold 10 items). If you have an item in your pack (also limited to 10 items) you can swap one item from your pack with an item at that spot you are currently checked into. You gain a new item and hopefully someone that will check into that spot in the future will find an items that they need too.

Q. Why is finding friends so hard?
A. That’s a good question. I have a low number of friends on Gowalla. Feel free to add me as a friend on there.

Q. There are no spots in my area. Why should I use Gowalla?
A. Someone has to be the first. Download the app and start creating spots. If you use Twitter or Facebook, you can have Gowalla update your status on either or both sites to attract more people in your area to start using it.

Q. How do I get more items?
A. You have to check into spots, even ones you’ve checked into before. This is part of the gameplay of Gowalla. So get going.

Q. Someone created a spot and the name is wrong, in the wrong location, or it’s a duplicate. What do I do?
A. Go to http://getsatisfaction.com/gowalla and create a new post. Copy the URL for the spot (from Gowalla’s web site), paste it into your post saying what is wrong with it and the correct info. If the location is wrong, you can use Google Maps to find the correct location. You can also contact the Gowalla Street Team Elite on Twitter or here. Also make sure that you clearly state what you want done. I just had a request that got all fouled up by Gowalla staff and a spot I created 250 miles away got deleted, when it shouldn’t have.

Q. What if a spot that I created is not in the correct location?
A. Log into Gowalla’s web site, go to the Passport tab, click on the item, and under the map there is the Edit button. Click on that and reposition the spot. You can also fix the name, category, and check-in radius. When you’re finished, click the Save button. The position may not update right away, so you may have to give it some time.

Q. Do you work for Gowalla?
A. No I do not work for Gowalla/Alamofire. Nor have I been paid or bribed by them (but I won’t refuse if offered). I am just a big fan of theirs and love Gowalla.

Do you have any other questions about Gowalla? Feel free to ask me either by leaving a comment here or sending me a @reply on Twitter. Maybe I’ll add your question to this post.

Updated on 01/21/2010

                          

I stumbled across this little “gem” just a few minutes ago while going through AppShopper.com for new apps.

The app is called Safe Sexting. The developer claims that it’s “the only program of its kind for sexting on your terms” and “the ultimate app for the lovers in your life”. Safe Sexting is a plain camera app that allows you to place four different objects (thin black bar [see the picture below], a big black bar, a black circle covering your face, and a red, see-through silk bar) to cover your naughty bits. Once you select what you want covered up, you tap anywhere on the screen to take the picture (great for you naughty ladies taking pictures of yourself for me). Next you can tap on the thumbnail of the picture in the app and email it to whoever you want to.

Safe Sexting features:

• Take pictures with your iPhone and show as little or as much as you want.
• Instantly preview pictures before you send them out.
• Only send out the pictures you want to whom you want.
• Four ways to “block” parts of your photos.
• Teaser “silk mode” where the recipients can partly see through.

Technically, it’s not sexting since the app uses email to send the picture, but the picture is saved in your Camera Roll so you can actually send the naughty image via MMS.

Pick up Safe Sexting in the App Store for FREE for a limited time.

                          

Do you love HBO and want to know more about their series, movies, sports, documentaries, and more? Then get the new HBO iPhone app!

With HBO’s iPhone app you can:

• Get the latest from your favorite programming like Big Love®, True Blood®, Entourage® & Curb Your Enthusiasm®; HBO Boxing & HBO Comedy® Specials
• Watch & share behind-the-scenes videos, upcoming episode previews and bonus content
• Check the HBO schedule for tonight, or weeks in advance, all based on your own time zone
• Browse every HBO On Demand® and HBO HD® schedule
• Purchase your favorite HBO episodes, where available, with direct links into iTunes
• Get in-depth information on your favorite HBO characters and actors
• Explore brilliant high-res photo galleries using the iPhone swipe navigation and pinch & zoom technology
• Easily share photos, show/character info, and schedule showtimes with your friends via e-mail, Facebook and Twitter
• Play “Hidden Objects” games – and challenge your friends by posting your score on Facebook and Twitter
• Send SMS tune-in reminders, for your favorite HBO shows, directly to your mobile device

You can get HBO’s iPhone app from FREE from the App Store

                          

Launched September 2009 in Japan, Sekai Camera from Tonchidot Corporation was named the Best App in 2009 by Apple Japan, becoming one of the most popular apps in Japan. Now Sekai Camera has finally come to the United States. With Sekai Camera you can tag places in augmented reality with text, photo, or voice message. Just hold your phone up and see what’s around you or tag places. There are two modes in Sekai Camera and you can easily move back and forth between the by rotating your phone. In landscape mode you are in the “Sekai Camera Mode (Augmented Reality Live View)” and in portrait mode you go into “Sekai Life Mode (Life-stream View)”.

Tonchidot Corporation mentions a few things about their app: their service requires an Internet connection (3G or wi-fi), that you understand your wireless carrier’s data rates, and that you agree that you’re responsible for those charges. I think this is pretty much standard info for most iPhone apps, but maybe it has something to do with stuff in Japan. They also mention that the app works best with wi-fi and they recommend that you keep your wi-fi on.

Features of Sekai Camera:

• Air Tag: Create and browse location-linked digital Post-its® that float in real space. See and share text, photo, voice, and web-links posted as Air Tags. Send and receive Air Shout messages that fly.
• Air Filter: Search for the Air Tags that you are looking for by specifying time, distance and type.
• Air Pocket: Bookmark your favorite Air Tags and put them in your “pocket”.
• Sekai Life: Create a life-stream that shows how you and your friends have interacted with Sekai Camera in a timeline display.
• Air Profile: Register and display your own profile as a personalized Air Tag. This virtual name-tag floats right above your iPhone for others to see – look up!
• Air Tweet: See your Tweets as floating Air Tags, through a mash-up with Twitter.
• Air Zoom: Just double tap or pinch in/out to zoom in/out.

Sekai Camera was designed for use on iPhone 3GS. You can download the app onto a iPhone 3G, but you won’t get the full set of features from the app. All of that said, you can get Sekai Camera FREE from the App Store.

Now, I’ve tried it out for a bit, but there is no tags around me. I’ll give it a few weeks and see what happens.

                          

David Tennant’s reign as the current Doctor Who is about to end and Matt Smith’s Doctor will take his place. By coincidence or not, there’s a new iPhone app called Dr Who which is the ebook of The Pocket Essential Dr Who by Mark Campbell. You can pick it up at the App Store for $3.99.

Who is Who? A Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey with two hearts and 13 lives? A folk hero who entertained and enthralled through dark winter evenings in front of the TV? A rebellious iconoclast who toppled corrupt dictatorships and freed the oppressed? Or a bumbling weirdo who for 26 years fought rubber monsters and homicidal dustbins? The answer: all of the above and a lot more besides. The essential companion to every era of Who, packed with facts, figures, opinion, cross-referencing, essays and, of course, lunatic time-travellers in silly scarves.

                          

Keep the beat with The Muppets Animal Drummer! Watch and listen to Animal play, then repeat his same beat and timing to score points and unlock new songs!

Rock out in Classic Mode or choose Free Play. In Free Play you can jam along to original music or import from your iTunes music library (3.0 OS or higher required). Plus, use the Record feature and see Animal replay your jam session! Score points and create combos to charge your Rock Meter and power your stage presence.

With Animal Drummer, you can BEAT DRUMS Loud, Louder and Deafening!

Pick up The Muppets Animal Drummer from the App Store for just $1.99.

                          

Always wanted to video record on your iPhone, but you only have a 3G or 2G model and didn’t want to jailbreak? Well, the time to rejoice is here! Camcorder (for iPhone 3G and 2G) & iVideoCamera new apps that will let you record video! Video recording isn’t just for the 3GS anymore.

Camcorder (for iPhone 3G and 2G)

Get Camcorder (for iPhone 3G and 2G) for $0.99 from the App Store.

iVideoCamera lets your record a short video on any iPhone model, (3G or 2G) and you need iPhone OS 3.1 at least installed. The app has the ability to save to your camera roll or “Photos” and share online (FaceBook, YouTube, Vimeo, & Twitter with more coming soon). The developer is currently working on an update to improve frame rate, quality, and “lots more features”. They also state that the iPhone can only capture about 3 frames per second, the videos are limited to about 1 minute in length, and the resolution is low (160×213)

iVideoCamera

iVideoCamera, which is also $0.99 from the App Store and seems to work a bit better.

If you own a iPhone 3GS, don’t get either of these apps. You do not need them.