Flight Control - Peer to Peer Game

One of the improvements with the iPhone 3.0 OS I wrote about in mid June was the ability to run peer-to-peer games. These next generation games and applications allow multiple iPhone users to connect wirelessly. Usually all that is required is to turn on Bluetooth (Settings = General = Bluetooth = On) and you are all set to go.

One of the more popular games found at the iTunes store is Flight Control. It might not be the most realistic game but it gives you the opportunity to play Air Traffic Controller on your iPhone and iPod touch. If you have a 3GS, 3G with 3.0 downloaded, or a 2nd generation iPod touch, you can take advantage of the built-in multi-player mode of this exciting app.


With 3 different airfields and 9 aircraft types, you can see what it's like to work the most stressful job in the world. Play with a friend and you can pass aircraft back and forth to each other. Keep as many aircraft as you can if you like the pressure of pushing tin, or if you get too busy just hand off a bunch of aircraft to the other guy and see if he sinks or swims. Either way it's a fun app with plenty of options that you can now play with a friend who also has an iPhone or iPod touch.


Firemint has done extremely well with this 99 cent app and I'm sure they will have great successes with their other iPhone apps and PC games too.

Facebook for iPhone

An iPhone application I find myself using more and more these days is Facebook. I'm not a social networking addict, but I do like to check up on friends and see what they are doing throughout the day. By selecting the Facebook icon on my iPhone, it quickly brings up the page and I see the latest notifications, messages and and news feeds. Because it's on my own cell phone, I don't worry about logging off, like I do on a work PC.


Social networking websites have become a way of life. A norm if I may. Facebook, Myspace, Classmates, Bebo, Twitter... they have all become a forum through which we communicate. As an example, I got stuck in an elevator the other day (only for a few minutes) and afterwards people asked what I did. Oddly enough the first thing I did was update my Facebook status explaining that I was stuck in an elevator at floor 3 1/2. You see I had my iPhone out anyway checking the weather forecast for the weekend and so... it just seemed like the prudent thing to do!

Using this iPhone app I quickly find out what I want and end up spending less time on the actual Facebook site. I'm not sure this is how they would want the app being used but it works for me.

Kick the "Butt" with this iPhone app

I'm not a smoker but I found an iPhone app that might just help some people quit smoking. It's free so there is nothing to lose, and much to be gained. For starters, if most smokers quit, they would save enough money to pay for all their iPhone expenses and download a huge number of quality paid apps from the iTunes store. Not to mention a healthier and longer life!

GottaKickit (GKI) helps people transition to a new life as a non-smoker. Following the program of controlled smoking, your cigarette cravings will gradually dissipate until you walk away from them as a non-smoker, or ex-smoker as most never-smoker types like to call it. The iphone app does have some flexibility in case you can't get a break at an exact moment, but to truly reap the benefits of the program they suggest sticking as closely as possible to the plan.


The app looks simple enough to set-up and follow. They give you an estimate of a day they call "2C" which is when you reach 2 cigarettes a day. A milestone as you are so close then to giving up completely.



You can review your smoking habits and see the progress you have make.
This iPhone app literally does KICK BUTT!

Word Scramble for iPhone

I've always enjoyed playing with words and playing with the letters in words. There are plenty of good online games but I've found a word app that is good on the iPhone. Word Scramble gives you a bunch of mixed up letters in a chart and you try to make as many words as possible in a given amount of time. You simply touch the letters on the screen and make words from letters that are contiguous to each other - that is they touch.


You can play the app game as a solo player, against another player using the same device (taking turns) or online against unknown people. You can even invite friends to play. The game even keeps track of you best score. It's similar to Scrabble, Wurdle, Textwist, WordFu and Word Twist, but all done up nicely in an app that plays on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The app is made by Zynga which has plenty of games and applications.

Movie iPhone app

OK, this app for the iPhone has been around for about a year but I only just downloaded and gave it a try this weekend. I must admit I didn't think I'd be very impressed with the app, but Flixster turned out to be awesome! I was expecting something corny, like some sort of iFart, iBurp, i-don't know... that sort of crap! I am impressed though.

First off, I don't go to many movies so for me to go online and somehow find the previews, then find a site with the theaters and times... well it would take me a while. This app made it to easy though. First I checked a few previews on my iPhone, then checked out where and where it was playing. It was quick! Using the iPhone's GPS it gave me a list of locations close by, and by selecting the address I can view it on the map feature.


The Flixster maker, has also made the app for the new Android. Now If they could just make an app made popcorn too, I'd be completely set for the evening!

Word Checker

Have you ever heard someone say a word that you question whether or not is real? Maybe you have played a board game (that rhymes with Scribble) and you weren't sure if the letters you put down make a word or just sound like a bowel movement. Well now you can use your iPhone to determine if a word is real or not.

Is That A Word was launched as an iPhone application a few months ago on the iTunes site. For just 99 cents, this little app makes a great companion for games or just checking if the words your boss or friends use are real.


The maker of this game, Devare, also has a bunch of other iPhone apps such as a Word Play, a TV show tracker, Sudoku, a translator and Hollywood Trivia.

So go download this iPhone app and check if QUINOA is a real word!

She's having a baby!

This is an iPhone application made for men, but I suspect some women may be the ones purchasing the app for their man. mPregnancy - for Men is an application for men with a pregnant partner.


Women often have difficulty getting their partners to read many of the dozens of pregnancy books that they must buy so they know exactly what to do when that precious little child arrives. This nice little iPhone app is a discrete way for men to learn about the baby on the way and what changes to expect from their pregnant partner.


There are great illustrations of how the baby develops and describes the size in terms that men understand, in a humorous way. The app also shows the baby's gestational age, the trimester and due date on a display that looks like a speedometer. Men can instantly understand the data they are looking at.



For any men who find the idea of caring for a baby too big a jump I suggest starting off with a lower level of responsibility and working their way up. Consider it training for the real thing.

For just 99 cents, you can download Pet Rock and see how you do caring for a chunk of calcium carbonate. The pet rock does have three different moods to deal with.

You also have the option to view your pet rock in either portrait or landscape mode! This is about as low maintenance as it gets. After a few weeks of rock caring, you could get a plant.


On a serious note I do have a few tips for new parents to be:

Moms: sleep, sleep, sleep. Whenever the baby is asleep, you sleep. Don't worry about laundry, cleaning or food - that is your partner's job now for a while.

Dads: your job is to support your partner, do what she asks and shut up when she doesn't ask you to do anything. Also, before the baby is born, get her a gift for all the hard work she's done. Give it to her sometime after the baby is born.

Good luck!