The paid version of Notified App hit the Cydia Store yesterday. It costs a cool $2.99 and nets you all the features of the free version (duh, Thomas!), but also allows you to call upon the app from any screen with a simple Activator gesture (wow, Thomas!).

If you haven’t seen my quick look at the free version of Notified, you may want to do so before you read this piece, since I’ll just be busting out a set of notes about what’s different in Pro.

Notified Everywhere — Since Notified can be summoned through Activator (just like SBSettings), it’s easier than ever to take a look at your logged notifications at any time. I’ve programmed the list to come up with a bottom-left swipe, but I’m still not quite sure about how to make it go away. A press of the home button works, a tap on the bottom of the list works *sometimes*, and using the bottom-left gesture also seems to toggle Notified off. However, I think Notified is significantly less intuitive than SBSettings, when it comes to dismissing it from the screen.

Blocking Alerts from within Notified — Both the free and paid versions of Notified can selectively block different types of notification pop-ups (calendar, push, messages, etc.), but the only way to check for new information then is to look at app badges or load Notified up.
However, blocking pop-ups from within Notified isn’t a very good solution at the moment, since it ends up blocking related sound and vibration alerts, as well.
I’m using a separate jailbreak app called Notifier to display a status icon whenever the Notified badge lights up, but still doesn’t provide any sound or vibration alerts when I receive any type of push notifications.

Blocking Alerts from within Settings.app — The other method I tried to cut down on my pop-ups was to selectively de-activate alerts for apps that are better suited to Notified (Beejive is a good example of this). I did this by going to Settings -> Notifications and then setting Alerts for Beejive to Off.
My hope was that I could still benefit from the sound, vibration, and badge alerts for incoming messages, but get rid of the rather pesky pop-ups. After all, I could always just check the Notified Drawer to see what messages were just sent, right? Wrong, apparently.
It seems that setting an app’s Alerts to Off prevents even Notified from logging the notifications. To make a long story short: you won’t want to turn Alerts off.

Quick Button Fix needed — the actual Notified app that launches from the Springboard icon works perfectly, but Notified Pro’s overlay still needs a quick fix. It’s currently impossible to clean your list of notifications, despite repeated taps on the “Clear” button (although this does reset the Notified app badge correctly). The Notified Twitter account has stated a fix is coming soon, though.

I quite like Notified Pro so far and consider it a $2.99 well spent, but I have yet to be convinced that it’s really a real game changer as far as notifications are concerned. However, I do have hope in the free, open-source plugins that the developer plans to release, which will feature custom pop-ups, among other things.
—
Notified Pro is available for $2.99 on the Cydia Store.

I have three surprises hidden in this post, and it’s up to you to find them all.

Remember the Video Edit app I reviewed a while back? Well, it’s out now. Surprise!

It’s also a little cheaper than I had initially announced, since the developers decided to lower the price from $4.99 to $2.99. Surprise!

But wait, there’s more: for a limited time, you’ll be able to purchase the app for the sale price of $1.99. Temporary surprise!

Goodness, this excitement is making me dizzy.

]]> http://webdesignnuke.com/video-edit-app-hits-the-app-store/feed/ 0 http://webdesignnuke.com/icebird-1-2-1-for-iphone-retina-display-support-improved-caching-and-state-saving/ http://webdesignnuke.com/icebird-1-2-1-for-iphone-retina-display-support-improved-caching-and-state-saving/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:34:41 +0000 http://webdesignnuke.com/?p=390

Here is a screenshot of the newer, higher definition-ier version of Icebird ($3.99 – review here) for your updating pleasure. I still really like the app, but I’m afraid I haven’t used it in a while, because I’m just addicted to the Twitterriffic interface.

]]> http://webdesignnuke.com/icebird-1-2-1-for-iphone-retina-display-support-improved-caching-and-state-saving/feed/ 0 http://webdesignnuke.com/unlock-your-iphone/ http://webdesignnuke.com/unlock-your-iphone/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:01:13 +0000 http://webdesignnuke.com/?p=360 Finally the long wait for iOS 4.0 unlock iPhone 3G 4.0 is over as Unlock-iPhone has released ultrasn0w 0.93 to unlock iOS 4.0 Baseband 05.13.04 on unlock iPhone 3G 3.1.3/4.0 & unlock iPhone 3GS 4.0. Though ultrasn0w 0.93 can unlock iOS 4.0 with baseband 05.12 or 05.13 only if you have jailbroken iPhone 3G/3GS 3.1.3/4.0.
Redsn0w 0.9.5 Beta 5 can jailbreak iOS 4.0 GM build but we are not sure whether we can jailbreak iOS 4.0 release today. In case you managed to jailbreak iOS 4.0 on iPhone 3G/3GS then follow below steps to unlock iOS 4.0 Baseband 05.13.04.
Yes the first iOS 4.0 unlock iPhone 3G 3.1.3 /4.0 tool Ultrasn0w 0.93 has been released by Unlock-iPhone team though iOS 4.0 jailbreak tool is yet to be released. This time Unlock iPhone 2G 4.0 team has got Ultrasn0w 0.93 Unlock iPhone 3G/3GS 4.0/3.1.3 tool for iOS 4.0 with any Baseband even 05.12/05.13, meaning those users who upgraded iOS 4.0 preserving baseband can also unlock iOS 4.0 with Ultrasn0w 0.93.
Now those users who don’t know how to Unlock iOS 4.0 can follow below step by step guide on the official website
Please Note: T-Mobile USA users must disable 3G before proceeding to unlock iOS 4.0 on iPhone 3G & 3GS.
iOS 4, released yesterday with much fanfare, brings seven major, new additions to the iPhone fan base, and around 100 extra smaller improvements and tweaks. The major, new benefits iOS 4 brings, dubbed “tent-poles”¬ by Apple’s CEO during one of his recent keynotes, are Multitasking; App Folders; Enhanced Mail app; iBooks for iPhone and iPod touch; Enhanced enterprise features; Game Center; and iAd.
Multitasking, the most prominent feature in iOS 4, employs several methods (services) to allow applications to perform tasks in the background, while preserving battery life and performance. Those include background audio, Voice over IP, background location, push notifications, local notifications, task finishing, and fast app switching.
Apple has posted an iOS 4 Apps section on the iTunes App Store, which is also accessible from the Featured section on the iPhone’s App Store. Currently there are 42 apps in the section, all of which utilize iOS 4’s unique features in one way or another, many taking advantage of iOS 4’s new multitasking and fast app switching capabilities.

Take one lesbian nun, a scythe, six upgradeable weapons, hordes of undead, and some of the smoothest visuals I have ever seen on the iPhone, and you’ve got yourself a solid $2.99 action title in the form of Twin Blades.

If you’re into mindless zombie destruction coupled with incredibly stylish action (and don’t mind a bit, well, a lot of repetition), then Twin Blades will deliver in spades.

Story Mode

There isn’t really a story mode. The story was introduced in the 1.1 update to Twin Blades, but almost no effort was spent actually writing anything interesting. Twin Blades’ story tries to give you a decent reason for wanting to fight the zombies, but once you start swinging your scythe around all, of that other stuff becomes irrelevant (yes, even that brief mention of the fact that this nun is a lesbian). This game is all about killing, upgrading your gun, and then killing some more.

Controls

I think the controls in Twin Blades are alright, but the jump key could use some serious work. I really, really wish that developer Press Start had placed the jump key on the right side, as a separate button, instead of melding it into the functionality of the d-pad. I can’t count the number of times I’ve accidentally jumped into a horde of zombies when all I meant to do was walk to the right.

The other controls to switch weapons, swing your scythe, and fire your gun all work just fine in comparison, but the game would immediately be 10,000 times better if you were allowed you to adjust the ridiculously low placement of the buttons.

Combat

There are nine levels in Twin Blades, but you’d better not mind replaying each and every one of them…multiple times over. You also shouldn’t mind fighting very, very similar enemies for the rest of the game, because the only difference between the various enemies and levels is how they look.

This is forgivable because Twin Blades is really a survival game with a story mode laid over it. Each level will require you to kill a set number of zombies — and this can cause some awkward lulls in the action when you’ve literally out-paced the zombies by killing them faster than newer batches can spawn. Normal levels can also get a little dull when you’re required to kill 140 or more  zombies that really only ever limp at you from either side of the screen.

Your expertise with your gun and scythe will really be put to the test in the later stages of the game, especially when you encounter (and re-encounter) the bosses. Boss battles in Twin Blades are good, old-fashioned 2D bosses. They’re all rendered in amazing detail, and they all have some sort of pattern you have to see through and take advantage of. If there is to be another update to Twin Blades, I’d love for it to add more boss battles and lessen the kill limits to pass all the normal stages in between.

Animation

The best thing about Twin Blades is how beautifully all of the action plays out. You may be fighting the same zombies all damn game long, but they’ll all die in spectacular fashion. Combat is delightfully gory, with liberal use of blood and guts (blood will even drip down the screen after it splashes). Heads will roll, bodies will lurch to a stop, and torsos will be severed — and those are just the effects of the scythe.

The nun can also use six different sets of upgradeable ranged weapons, each of which has a different effect, so it’s well worth putting your points (zombie hearts, if you must know) into purchasing every one of them just to see what they’ll do to the undead.

Conclusion

Despite all of the variety in death animations, level backgrounds, and weapon effects, Twin Blades is still a fairly basic game — which is alright, so long as you view it as something similar to titles like Minigore when you buy it. Don’t let the blood and guts fool you either: Twin Blades is a title that was made with a lot of love and care, and it’s ultimately the attention to detail and the awesome manga-styled graphics that this game well worth a recommendation, despite its rather repetitive nature.

Some happy weekend iPhone app news: my favorite (by far) iPhone forum and community site, everythingiCafe, now has an iPhone app.  The site has always had a good iPhone web presence, but the native app has been something many forum users have been asking for for some time.

Here’s some app details from its App Store page:

With the everythingiCafe app, you can browse topics, access private messages, upload images and more. It’s the fastest way to access our forums.

Full access to forums
A wealth of information at your fingertips.

- There is no account necessary to use the application and browse through thousands of topics.
- Full pagination support allows you to keep up with hotly debated discussions.
- View who’s online and check forum statistics.

Members Access Offers Enhanced Features
It’s always free to join and you’ll receive immediate access to these enhanced features.

- Use the ‘Favorites’ tab to view your subscribed topics.
- Send and receive private messages for free, just like SMS.
- Create and reply to messages using the iPhone virtual keyboard.
- Upload images directly from your iPhone to the forum.
- Keep track of unread topics.

I only played with it for a short time last night, but I like it a lot so far.  It’s easy to browse the forums, find the latest posts, and to create new posts and attach images – for instance of strikingly handsome labradors …

If you’re looking for a great place to find iPhone troubleshooting tips, and discussion of the iPhone, iPad, all things Mac related, and all sorts of off topic fun, head over to everythingiCafe.  And now you can do that via their shiny new iPhone app as well.

Score one for cheeky app ideas.

Ice Cream Weather reports the temperature in your area (US-only — which sucks,since the app is also available in Canada) and displays a handy “melt meter” to indicate how quickly ice cream will melt, given the local temperature. You can customize the main screen to also display a scoop of ice cream, a cone, and your choice of toppings. If you start to crave the real thing (and not the ultra cheesy on-screen cone), you can then call up an ice-cream centric map of  your area to find your local dairy bar.

Would I ever use this app? Likely not. However, the idea and execution did, at least, bring a smile to my face, which is a lot more than I can say for most free novelty apps like this.

]]> http://webdesignnuke.com/bizarro-iphone-apps-ice-cream-weather/feed/ 0 http://webdesignnuke.com/simplytweet-for-iphone-price-reduced-%e2%80%93-now-2-99/ http://webdesignnuke.com/simplytweet-for-iphone-price-reduced-%e2%80%93-now-2-99/#comments Wed, 05 May 2010 18:52:22 +0000 http://webdesignnuke.com/?p=242

SimplyTweet – one of the most popular Twitter apps for the iPhone – has had a price reduction; from $4.99 to 2.99.

SimplyTweet is easily one of the most full-featured and frequently updated iPhone Twitter apps.  It was already considered very good value at $4.99; so at $2.99 it is a heck of a bargain.

I haven’t seen any indication so far of how long this price reduction will last for, but if you’re after a good Twitter app at a great price you might want to act quickly anyway.  You can find the latest version of SimplyTweet in the App Store HERE.

The Kieffer Bros have released a statement about Lexic’s recent change in name:

About a year after we launched our word game, we discovered that someone had been using the name Lexic for his Android-based word game just one month before us. Although we had registered the trademark, we decided to respect his first use of the name and move on. As it’s said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We agree.

I think it’s definitely a very generous move on their part, and I’m glad it wasn’t because of legal threats. I already miss the Lexic title, though, and I doubt I’ll get used to “Abca” any time soon. It just doesn’t sound right. I also thought Lexic had one of  the most beautiful icons, and it was always fun to see on my Springboard.

I hope you enjoy your name, Lexic for Android…

Opera Software, maker of the world’s most popular mobile Web browser, plans to reveal Opera Mini for iPhone in an exclusive press and partner preview during the 2010 Mobile World Congress (MWC). Visit Opera’s exhibit in Hall 1, C44, to witness a new way to surf the Web on the iPhone — an experience that Opera promises will be fast, easy to use, and packed with favorite Opera features.

The Opera Mini browser – popular on Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms – is on its way to the iPhone, or at least to being submitted for approval and entry into the App Store.

I haven’t used or seen the Opera browser in years and am perfectly happy with Safari on the iPhone, but I’m all for some healthy competition and alternatives as well.

Are you excited to see Opera coming to the iPhone?  Would it displace Safari on your phone if it gets approved and works as expected?