Since it went on sale, I have been using Wolfram Alpha for a couple of days and I have to say it is an awesome research app.  It has been one of the App Store’s most notoriously expensive apps and it just got a price cut. Wolfram Alpha, which debuted last October for the fairly jaw-dropping price of $49.99, now sells for just $1.99 .

In case the name doesn’t ring a bell, Wolfram Alpha made headlines last year as a supposed Google killer, a search engine that could perform “computational knowledge” tricks far beyond any other service.

In other words, as CNET’s Rafe Needleman put it, “Google finds links. Wolfram Alpha finds answers.” My own take: It’s a search engine for math geeks.

In any case, there was widespread glee when Wolfram Alpha got the app treatment–followed by considerable head-scratching and some outright rage over its price. The $50 sticker seemed particularly insulting considering that you could enjoy much of the same functionality in your iPhone’s Safari browser–for free.

According to a Wolfram Alpha blog post, the price cut is part of a “new focus on ubiquity” for the tool. And in an extremely wise marketing move, anyone who purchased the Wolfram Alpha app for $49.99 (or its one-time sale price of $19.99) can request a refund.

What do you think? Is the app suddenly looking a lot more attractive at $1.99? OK, that’s a given, but now that it’s reasonably priced, think you’ll buy it? Hit the comments and share your thoughts.

If you are addicted to the App Store then we have the perfect app for you!  App Sniper not only allows you to track which apps are on sale, but it also notifies you when apps you’re interested in have gone on sale for the price that you want to buy it for.

Many developers drop their prices for only a few days or, in extreme cases, only a few hours in order to get additional sales and reviews. With AppSniper you can be guaranteed that you will never miss those great opportunities to pick up quality software at bargain prices.

The best part is that AppSniper will pay for itself with the first snipe or sale item that you buy!

For only $0.99 it can save you hundreds of dollars on future app purchases.

Byte Squared has released  a great new business and productivity app called Office², an office app for the iPhone and iPod touch that lets you edit Word documents and Excel spreadsheets in .doc and .xls formats. (Note that the app’s name is pronounced “Office Squared” )

Office² also provides integration with Google Docs, letting you edit Google Docs documents and spreadsheets from within the app. You can also access, move, and delete documents stored in Google Docs, iDisk and any WebDAV server.

The Office² word processor lets you view, create, edit and save documents in Word 97-2003 (.doc) format. It also supports character formatting, tables, images, searching of text within documents, undo and redo up to 100 undo levels, and auto-correction and auto-completion.

The Office² spreadsheet works with Excel 97-2003 (.xls) and handles multiple worksheets with unlimited rows and columns, searching and sorting of cells, cell formatting, cell types, and pane freezing among other spreadsheet necessities. Office² uses the iPhone’s touch screen effectively, letting you tap and drag to change row heights and column widths, and tap cells to compose formulas.

Additionally, Office² acts as a local file store, letting you store and view files of most types. Office² also integrates with Google Docs and MobileMe iDisk, giving you access to your valuable data, wherever you are.

Office² includes the following features:

WORD PROCESSOR FEATURES

• Word 97-2003 (.doc) compatability.
• Character formatting including bold, italic, underline, font face, size, color and highlight.
• Paragraph formatting including indent, left, right, center and distributed justification style.
• Bullets and numbering.
• Support for tables, and images.
• Full text search capability.
• Copy and paste.
• Undo and redo.
• Auto-correction and auto-capitalization.

SPREADSHEET FEATURES

• Excel 97-2003 (.xls) compatibility with support for multiple worksheets.
• Multiple cell types, including Numeric, Date, Time, Currency, Percentage and Text
• Cell formatting options, including bold, italic, text and background color, cell sizes and alignments.
• Merged cells, text wrapping and freeze panes.
• Copy/cut/paste operations.
• A range of functions, including date/time, math, statistical, string and trigonometric functions.
• Import/Export to and from desktop computer over wifi network.
• Tight integration with Google Docs, enabling direct editing of Google Docs spreadsheets.
• Access spreadsheet files stored in a MobileMe iDisk account or any other WebDAV-based server.

iPhone development company Bulkypix is coming up with some promising games for the iPhone and iPod touch.  Twin Blades is an addictive zombie shooting game in which your main object is to survive through different levels by either slashing or shooting zombies. The App Store has a ton of zombie shooting games but, Twin Blades offers an engaging and fast paced gameplay which gives it a fresh look.

Every kill earns you one heart and these can be used to buy weapon and character upgrades. Weapon upgrades feature different types of guns while character upgrades can be used to improve slash damage, amount of life, life storage and more.

The game supports local highscores and Open Feint, allowing you to share your highscores, unlock achievements and compare your performance with your friends.

Twin Blades is a fun, challenging and engrossing game that will keep you wanting for more!

I love this game.  Skee-Ball has always been a favorite for my kids when we go to any arcade and this game brings all of the excitement to the palm of your hand with 3D graphics, great physics, and awesome prizes. A true American classic.  Everyone loves Skee-Ball! 

With a quick flick, roll the ball up the ramp and into one of the numbered holes for points, tickets, and unlockable achievements.

Win enough tickets and go on a shopping-spree for fun prizes like a set of vampire teeth, a Peruvian Flute Band CD, or even a custom ball to use in-game. Over 80 prizes in all.

Skee-Ball is easy to learn and easier to love: Play by simply flicking your finger across the screen or making a bowling motion. Tilt the iPhone/iPod touch to add spin. Simple to play, almost impossible to stop playing!

The NVIDIA PhysX engine delivers console-quality physics so the ball rolls and bounces hyper-realistically. Worldwide hi-scores let you see how your hoard of tickets compares to everyone else’s. The Plus+ Network lets you challenge friends with score tracking, achievements and leader-boards.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skee-Ball is celebrating its 100th birthday, but has never felt more modern!

We have compiled a list of the top 25 iPhone apps available at the app store or through iTunes. This page it updated daily so check it often to see what is popular this week.

Clicking links will open them in iTunes or the App Store.

Rockband for iPhone has been released and I must say EA Games has done an awesome job with the graphics on this game.  With the initial release there are only 20 songs that can be played but others are available for purchase for .99 cents.  The game does offer multiplayer over bluetooth which is a bonus.

JAM ALONE OR WITH FRIENDS
Play solo, or push it to the limit with LIVE BLUETOOTH MULTIPLAYER. Play with 2-4 bandmates, earn unison bonuses, and save friends that drop out by activating overdrive.

Enjoy the first full band multiplayer experience on the iPhone or iPod touch.

ALL 4 WAYS TO PLAY, ANY DIFFICULTY
Rock out on guitar, bass, drums or vocals to MP3-quality songs on easy, medium or difficult. Play solo, or start a band with friends from around the world. Jump into Quickplay for casual sessions or take it on the road in Tour Mode.

TURN IT UP ONLINE
If you can’t get your band together over Bluetooth, sync up via Facebook on your own time.

Use the in-game message center to check your band’s status and get Push Notifications when friends invite you to rock out.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MUSIC
Play along with 20 legendary songs from great bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Foo Fighters, Blink-182, The Beastie Boys, and more!

TAKE IT TO THE TOP & EARN THE PERKS
Start out playing in grungy dives and work all the way up to stadium-rock stardom. Collect rewards and achievements that provide replay value and depth to even the most experienced Rock Band veterans.

Attack-30 Seconds To Mars
Girls Not Grey – AFI
Move Along – All American Rejects
Sabotage – Beastie Boys
All The Small Things – Blink-182
Hanging on the Telephone – Blondie
Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters
Everlong – Foo Fighters
Bad to The Bone – George Thorogood & the Destroyers
Hymn 43 – Jethro Tull
Bad Reputation – Joan Jett
Simple Man – Lynard Skynard
Ace of Spades ’08 – Motorhead
Debaser – Pixies
Ladybug – Presidents of The United States of America
Give It All – Rise Against
Lazy Eye – Silversun Pick Ups
Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins
Take The Money and Run – Steve Miller Band
We Got The Beat – The Go Go’s

The gameplay is simple enough as you can see from the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Overall the game is not as awesome as it is on the PS3 or the Xbox 360 but it does offer the option to play multiplayer with up to 3 other people, making for some sweet 4 player action.

I use Jaadu VNC  almost every day. It is an awesome, easy to use VNC program for iPhone that allows you to manage and control almost every aspect of your computer from your local wireless LAN or remotely using your 3G connection from the iPhone.

Access and control your computer from anywhere

Jaadu gives you full control of your computer’s mouse and keyboard while providing a rich visual display of your computer screen on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Jaadu connects to any device running a VNC server and is currently the only VNC client for iPhone that allows you to see all of your displays full-size, with no screen resolution limits.

Jaadu provides:

• A touchpad interface for mouse control and screen navigation
• Remote and Modifier menus for access to arrow, function and special keys, as well as shortcuts to common actions
• Easy setup instructions
• A connection utility that automatically configures router and network settings
• Support for Mac, Windows, Linux, and AMX Touchscreen Interfaces
• Support for ultra-high resolutions — we’ve successfully tested on two Apple 30-inch Cinema displays with a combined resolution of 5120 x 1600!
• Jaadu VNC is our flagship version and offers full control of a remote computer.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Purchase Jaadu VNC now from

Ancient War for iPhone is one of the best war style games that I have played to date.  In my opinion, it has everything you need to keep you entertained for hours on end.  It is both easy and fun but but is designed to keep the game play challenging as you level your way through each tribe you destroy.

As the God of an ancient tribe, your job is to lead the tribe and conquer the world. Now command your army of ancient militias, warders, infantries, hunters, cavalries, wizards, catapults and, even trained DINOSAURs to crush enemy defense and destroy their TOTEM.

Don’t forget to upgrade your technologies to take advantage. You can unlock new units and upgrade them to further levels. Some unit may TRANSFORM at a certain level!

Features:
- Easy and fun gameplay.
- Intense combat with great animation.
- Epic campaign against 8 enemy tribes.
- 8 types of unique units.
- Tons of tactic combinations.
- 10 upgradable technologies.
- Call MIRACLEs as a God!

Free lite version just arrived, try before you buy.

Full version can gain much more money on each mission than Lite version. Also there’re many secrets only in the full version.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Download Ancient War for iPhone at

Dungeon Hunter is an awesome action-packed role-playing game for iPhone with gorgeous graphics and intuitive gameplay. What it doesn’t wield in originality, it makes up for in sheer fun.

The fantasy realm of Gothicus has fallen to the forces of darkness and it’s your calling as the kingdom’s royal heir to restore peace. After an untimely death, you take the role of a resurrected prince charged with defeating his former lover who has infected the land with evil.

There are three classes – Warrior, Rogue, or Mage (curiously, no ranged class) – you make your way from rural catacombs to the malevolent queen’s castle beating her demonic minions along the way. You don’t quest alone, though, as fairies accompany you on the quest as sidekicks that can be summoned for devastating magical attacks.

Dungeon Hunter is available now on iTunes.

Trekking across the expanse of Gothicus means hacking enemies patrolling the cities, forests, and mountainsides. There’s wonderful variety in the environments, complemented by an equally diverse bestiary. In pursuit of experience points, you face an array of interesting creatures from poisonous green slimes to rock monsters with magma flowing through their veins to skeleton knights.

Defeating these enemies can be challenging, though proper balancing avoids the need for level grinding. Creatures are strong enough to present a threat, though seldom overwhelming.

It helps that experience goes far in pumping up your character to confront even stronger foes waiting in the next dungeon. With each new level you’re able to boost any of four core attributes, as well as unlock new abilities and upgrade existing ones using skill points.

Naturally, available skills vary among the three classes with Warriors focusing on abilities central to direct combat, Rogues on agility, and Mages magic. Not only does this ensure each classes feels distinct, it also provides incentive to run through the adventure a second or third time.

Admittedly basic, character development surprisingly never feels constrained. There’s always something new to earn or interesting to unlock, which makes every level rewarding.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tons of loot also only furthers customisation, enabling you to outfit your hero with nine different pieces of equipment. Special pieces come with attribute-boosting enchantments, though these are found or purchased like regular equipment. It would have been great to see an optional item crafting system for added depth.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More compulsory is the need for improvement to the controls. While Dungeon Hunter wisely offers options, control over movement is an issue. The game provides virtual analogue stick or tap to move schemes, the former preferable though imperfect. You’re regularly moved an extra step or positioned at a slightly off angle that puts your hero at a disadvantage in combat. It’s not a game killer because you’re able to adjust, but any undue impact on your ability to move precisely during battle is undesirable.

Also of concern is the save system. Automatic back-up ensures that your character’s progress is preserved, although you’re unable to save manually within a dungeon. Exiting the game in the middle of a level means later resuming play at the dungeon’s entrance. This makes Dungeon Hunter difficult to play in short sessions since you’re unable to really stop playing and pick up where you left off.

To a degree, it’s not much of a problem because Dungeon Hunter is fun enough that you won’t want to set it down. Great graphics, satisfying character customisation, and loads of variety – this is as good as hack ‘n’ slash role-playing gets.