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The Week in iPhone Apps: Let's Get Drunk and Talk About Politics
Posted by John Mahoney at 5:00 AM on August 30, 2008
Always a microcosm of the greater world, the App Store this week focused on two things us Americans have been thinking about a lot recently--the upcoming election, and tossing back a few this Labour Day weekend. And with this week's apps, there's no reason for your iPhone to be left out.
The political applications, sadly, tend to swing pretty far to the side of app absurdity:
Obama/McCain Inauguration Countdown: Tick down the days to January 20 for the candidate of your choice, complete with rotating quotations and photos. Also useful for reminding yourself that the one and a half years of inane campaign coverage on TV will soon be over. Sadly, they're a buck.
BAC Calc: Ahh, but here's some utility for the weekend. A blood-alcohol-level calculator to quantify exactly how hammered you've gotten while getting riled up by McCain and Obama quotes with your buddies. Just enter your consumption, alcohol volume of your booze, your weight and your gender. But remember kids, the law won't care if your iPhone says you're under the limit once you find yourself in the drunk tank. Free
Beer Bounce: And once all your friends go home on Monday night, there's no sense in stopping the party when you've got Beer Bounce, the first virtual quarters game for the iPhone. As you progress through the rounds, difficulty is increased by adding blurriness and staggering to the game. Nice touch! US$3
Blofeld: While it has nothing to do with anything, really, Bond fans will have to love the concept behind Blofeld. It places an image of a feline pelt on your phone, and purrs when you stroke it, evil genius style. I can't believe this costs a dollar, but again, hats off to the concept, especially the icon.
Earthscape: And just when you thought the App Store was only filled with meaningless pap, there's Earthscape, which brings a great-looking Google Earth-style satellite image browser to your phone. It's a little laggy at times, and the image quality isn't as high as GMaps, but a great way to kill a few minutes if you're stuck in line somewhere. US$5
This week's app coverage on Giz:
- Tris, the free Tetris game, was pulled from the store (voluntarily) for copyright violations. Infinite sadness.
- Our Question of the Day found that a typical Giz reader has spent between US$1 and US$10 on apps, but with many bigger spenders also responding. Go vote if you haven't yet.
- A fairly harmless comic app Murderdrome was rejected from the store, and its creators want a rating system for apps to avoid censorship, which is a great idea.
- A quasi-hologram app looked awesome, but later turned out to be just a proof-of-concept simulation, although its creator wants to make it into reality.
- And the Android Market, Google's answer to the App Store, was officially announced and does not require an approval process to get listed.
This list is in no way definitive. If you've spotted a great app that hit the store this week, give us a heads up or, better yet, your firsthand impressions in the comments. And for even more apps: see what you missed last week and check our original iPhone App Review Marathon. Have a good long weekend everybody.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
gamecrazychris
Posted 5:45 AM 30/8/08
Earthscape: if you didn't already think your iphone had bad battery life.
gamecrazychris
Hectorvex
Posted 5:37 AM 30/8/08
@Jon B.: No no, my day was made before the puns starting hitting.
But, good way to come back strong.
Hectorvex
Jon B.
Posted 5:34 AM 30/8/08
@Hectorvex: Glad I could make your day!!! :D
That was sarcasm. Don't blame me. I couldn't help it. Compulsion.
Jon B.
Hectorvex
Posted 5:30 AM 30/8/08
@Jon B.: OMG!! LOL!!! LMAO!!! I've never heard that before - it's SOOOOO funny! I have to Skype all my friends and pass that along...
That was sarcasm. Don't blame me. I couldn't help it. Compulsion.
Hectorvex
Jon B.
Posted 5:24 AM 30/8/08
Yay politics.
"Poli" - meaning many
"tics" - meaning blood sucking leeches
:)
Jon B.
falandil
Posted 5:20 AM 30/8/08
@OMG! Ponies!: I always thought Wikipanion had awful formatting. I prefer just going to wikipedia through Safari.
falandil
ALT
Posted 5:20 AM 30/8/08
@Dancing Milkcarton: But not about foreign policy... just everything else.
ALT
ALT
Posted 5:19 AM 30/8/08
@Dancing Milkcarton: You gonna get yourself some hair-plug lovin?
ALT
Dancing Milkcarton
Posted 5:15 AM 30/8/08
@Hectorvex: No, that's VPILTSFU
Dancing Milkcarton
Hectorvex
Posted 5:12 AM 30/8/08
@Dancing Milkcarton: Oh, a Biden fan huh?
Hectorvex
Dancing Milkcarton
Posted 5:09 AM 30/8/08
Screw that weak BO app. We need a '166 Days until the VPILF takes office' app.
Kapow!
Dancing Milkcarton
Hectorvex
Posted 5:07 AM 30/8/08
Man, I wake up at .08
Hectorvex
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 5:05 AM 30/8/08
You're missing Wikipanion. Wiki on the iPhone 3G. Nice interface but Wiki comes back clunky. Needs moar work. Like the iPhone 3G.
OMG! Ponies!
yoshi
Posted 6:03 AM 30/8/08
You have to admit... McCain made a brilliant move in picking Palin. He has American men thinking with both heads!
Nice job, John!!!
Palin is so freakin' HOT!
yoshi
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 6:22 AM 30/8/08
For the record, this would not be the first candidate that voters had the hots for.
(Let's just say there's a reason we know Taft got stuck in a bathtub.)
92BuickLeSabre
nocar
Posted 6:17 AM 30/8/08
@yoshi: Michael Palin also has a great sense of humor and has travelled the world. Thought he was British but guess he was the American Python.
"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"
nocar
JimmyShakerDay
Posted 6:12 AM 30/8/08
Who the fuck are "McCain" and "Obama"??
JimmyShakerDay
Jon B.
Posted 6:43 AM 30/8/08
@nocar: lmao
Jon B.
aratuk
Posted 7:11 AM 30/8/08
Wait, isn't that BAC calculator bullshit? Isn't it saying that about two beers would provide an average-to-skinny-ish male enough alcohol to be fatal?
Oh.. I see.. they represent the number an order of magnitude above that at which it actually occurs, leading to the permille percent symbol... uh huh, good if you're used to thinking of percentages that way. I guess this is the norm for representing BAC in Europe? If you're an American and are using this after you've been drinking, you might forget and start thinking, "Oh shit, I'm dead. Oh shit. Oh shit."
And it's more stupid considering that it's fairly important to take into consideration some kind of average the period of time the drinking took place. This seems to assume you drank all your beer pretty much all at once within the last hour, which I guess figures, since this is a German app.
aratuk
yoshi
Posted 7:56 AM 30/8/08
I like how the Demcrocrats play on words...
Osama Bin Laden
Obama Biden
I can't believe they would pull that crap, can you? =0}
yoshi
yoshi
Posted 7:55 AM 30/8/08
@nocar:
Ha Ha!! And we all know, 2 heads are better than 1.
yoshi
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 8:22 AM 30/8/08
@92BuickLeSabre: Well, McCain will at least get named Miss Congeniality Arizona in November after he loses, so he's got that working for him. Plus, I'm sure that during his downtime, he and his trophy veep can go hunting in Alaska.
I mean really... how do you pick the candidate who is against polar bears?! She's against freakin' polar bears!
Consider my mind boggled.
OMG! Ponies!
Jon B.
Posted 8:51 AM 30/8/08
@yoshi: OHTEHNOES WE ARE ALL DOOMED!! ahhaha...comeon, really now Sir Yoshi?
@peetar: Yeah dude, I'm all for drilling here in the U.S., but they better not touch the polar bears!!! :)
Jon B.
dna
Posted 8:43 AM 30/8/08
Geez McCain, way to take the term "running mate" literally.
dna
peetar
Posted 8:42 AM 30/8/08
She isn't AGAINST polar bears. She thinks putting a species on the endangered list that is NOT endangered is stupid.
I have to say, I'm with her on that. For the past 30 years the polar bear population has been steadily climbing (even with warming trends and possibly because of them to some degree), the poulation is now higher than it has been in a very long time.
Once a species enters the endangered list it becomes extremely difficult to develop areas they reside in etc.
Nobody is going to hunt our fluffy, four legged friends. They are protected.
Like seagulls :)
peetar
karmaghost
Posted 9:16 AM 30/8/08
I can't figure this BAC calculator out, someone explain it to me in American English.
karmaghost
robinandtami
Posted 11:56 AM 30/8/08
@yoshi: I think the selection will be viewed as an extremely blatant attempt to win Hillary voters. However, Hillary voters will not vote for such an extreme conservative with so very little experience JUST because she is a woman.
The woman's record in a nutshell....
President of her PTA
City council representitve
Mayor of a small village (6,500)
Governor of the least populous state for only 20 months
I guess the McCain campaign can toss away the very effective weapon they had in attacking Obama's experience.
I did have to laugh hilariously though when I saw a Fox News commentator state that she had foreign policy experience because Alaska is geographically close to Russia.
robinandtami
SnakeFarm
Posted 9:20 PM 30/8/08
@OMG! Ponies!: If you ever had to run from a polar bear you'd feel just like Sarah and I do, "Kill 'em all". That way softdrink companies can make cute animations of them without that pesky reality thing getting in the way.
SnakeFarm
Johnny_Clueless
Posted 9:34 PM 30/8/08
Why can't they just call "Beer Bounce" what it is--"Quarters". I can't imagine there being a copyright issue with a game that's spread by word of mouth as quarters has. If somehow, someone was able to copyright the game of quarters in the U.S., somthing is very wrong with our copyright system indeed.
Johnny_Clueless
Dancing Milkcarton
Posted 9:56 PM 30/8/08
@robinandtami: she actually has more experience than BO - who pretty much started to run for President as soon as he was sworn in. BO has zero legislative accomplishments. Zero.
One thing's for sure - this is going to be an interesting election.
Dancing Milkcarton
rudeadly
Posted 2:46 AM 31/8/08
Giz, you have designed what is essentially my plug-n-play review for almost every iphone app:
" It's a little laggy at times, and the__________ isn't as high as _______, but a great way to kill a few minutes if you're stuck in line somewhere!"
rudeadly
yoshi
Posted 10:01 AM 31/8/08
@robinandtami:
"I guess the McCain campaign can toss away the very effective weapon they had in attacking Obama's experience."
You fail to realize that Obama has managed to dodge the experience questions. Now that we have Palin, we can show the American people just how much experience Obama doesn't have. Hmmmm... and if Obama is elected, he's is the heartbeat of the President. Do we really want some with so little experience running the country?
yoshi
yoshi
Posted 9:54 AM 31/8/08
@robinandtami:
The funny thing is "the woman" you're refering to not only has MORE EXPERIENCE than Obama, she's not even running for President.
As we saw after the announcement, the Obama campaign jumped the gun on the "experience" issue. Then Obama had to quietly remind them to cool it. Why??? Because she has more experience than him.
It went from her having "No Experience" to "No Foreign Policy Experience." Again, why?? Because she has more experience than Obama.
The bottom line is... McCain picked a woman that is smart, talented, more experienced, and younger than Obama.
The best part, people forgot about the his 80,000+ stadium show when McCain announced Palin.
yoshi
DaWhoLagn
Posted 1:54 AM 1/9/08
Yawn.
Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun.
What? ...I'm hungry!
DaWhoLagn
yoshi
Posted 2:05 AM 1/9/08
Big Mac, Filet-o-Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries, Icey Coke, Thick Shake, Sundaes and Apple Pies.
What? What?... You're Hungry?
yoshi
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 5:02 AM 1/9/08
@yoshi: Since you've said it three times now, I'm really curious how you define "more experience." Let's start in 1992 (before which he was in Law School and she was a local sports anchor.)
Obama:
1992-1996: Law School lecturer, Civil Rights and Economic Development Attorney, Political and Community Organizer
1997-2004 IL State Senator: ~ 200,000 constituents
2004-Present IL U.S. Senator: ~ 6,000,000 constituents
Palin:
1992-1996 Wasilla City Council: ~ 1,000
1996-2002 Wasilla Mayor: ~ 6,000
2002: Failed run for Lt. Gov.
2003-2004: Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner
2005: ???
2006-Present: Alaska Governor: ~ 600,000
I personally don't think experience is that significant an issue, but this idea that somehow she has more is simply incorrect. I'm really sorry, but at each step of the way (including being a Chicago organizer versus the Wasilla City Council), I think it's pretty fair to say that Obama was involved in significantly more difficult and complex issues that Palin was.
Although I'm pleased to know that by your metrics my year as Student Body President in High School now counts as "experience" for national office.
92BuickLeSabre
Turbostraw
Posted 8:11 AM 1/9/08
@92BuickLeSabre: How dare you bring facts, numbers, and a sensible argumentation into this thread!
Turbostraw
alaskanjackal
Posted 4:45 PM 30/8/08
Er, sorry, the second part of my previous post should have read "@robinandtami."
alaskanjackal
alaskanjackal
Posted 4:44 PM 30/8/08
> "Sadly, they're a buck" (about the Obama/McCain apps).
Most small-time software developers aren't in software development as a charity. They need to make a living, too. Freeware apps don't help them put food on their tables or gas in their cars. Charging a buck for a funky little application seems pretty fair in my book (especially since Apple doesn't provide a way to make something "donationware" or otherwise support themselves off of it). And nobody's putting a gun to your head to force you to buy them.
@yoshi: Actually, there are three states in the U.S. with fewer people than Alaska.
And I won't lie and say she's got tons of experience in foreign policy, but since Alaska does have some pretty strong ties to other countries (the closest one, Canada, is pretty obvious, but we do have pretty strong relations with Russia, Japan, and South Korea), she actually has dealt a fair amount (for a governor) with foreign governments--probably more than any of the other Republican gubernatorial VP possibilities had.
alaskanjackal
yoshi
Posted 12:54 AM 3/9/08
@92BuickLeSabre:
Here's a line item comparison of Palin's and Obama's resume.
[www.audacityofhypocrisy.com]
I will say it again, Palin has more "experience" than Obama and she's not even running for president. Go Figure?
It went from Palin having "No Experience" to "No Foreign Policy Experience" to "We wish she had more education."
BAWAHAHAHAHAHA! Get a grip Dems! We have the WOMAN OBAMA!
yoshi
morcheeba
Posted 11:25 AM 3/9/08
Nice comparison, yoshi. It starts with the all-important middle names, and then goes on to discuss the Alaska-Russia border, and also (correctly, but misleadingly) uses the term "Junior" to describe the 2 extra years Obama has had in his most recent job compared to Palin. She's also a military expert because her 19-year-old son enlisted.
You've got the laugh down, but LeSabre brings better arguments to the table.
morcheeba
Killjoy
Posted 2:48 AM 5/9/08
Recite talking points. Insert fingers in ears and holler LALALALALALALALALALA!
Repeat as necessary.
Killjoy