By the time the console arrives sometime in 2012, hopefully this app store will be up and running. So far, Nintendo has no comment, but if they are going to compete, I think they need to just do it and run with the idea.

[via Ubergizmo]

Capcom announced yesterday that Mega Man X is now available from the iTunes App Store. The classically challenging 2D action platformer will have you ripping your hair out, thanks to its unforgiving bosses. You’ll get improved graphics and an easy mode for all you newbies.

It’s not an exact port of the original Super Nintendo game, but it’s the best you’ll be able to do on your iPhone (unless you jailbreak it and run an SNES emulator). Mega Man X is available right now at the iTunes App Store for $4.99.

And if you don’t know why you would want to play yet another old game instead of the latest console game, watch this.

[via Ubergizmo]

I personally don’t really hate or like the name that my parents bestowed upon me. I find “Hazel” to be a pretty boring name to be stuck with (given that the meaning of the name is simply from “the hazel tree.” Who wants to be named after a tree? I don’t.) but I’m also glad that I didn’t get stuck with something that was incredibly hideous, like Kernnifer or Anntena (no offense to people who are actually named these names, I got the names from this list over here.)

But what if there were some way that you could let your unborn baby do the name picking?

Yes, folks, that’s right. Your soon-to-come bundle of joy can pick his or her own name simply with the kicks he or she is throwing. How? With the Kick To Pick app for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The concept is simple. The app actually comes loaded with tens of thousands of names that you can browse through to select which ones are your favorites. You can forgo making the favorites list and just go straight ahead to the picking by powering up the app and placing it on top of your baby bump. The app then goes through the list systematically until little Junior or little Missy throws a kick that will be detected by the accelerometer of your device. And voila: the name for your baby has been chosen.

This way, you can just tell Vevia, Frauke, or Stacian (still names from the list I mentioned earlier, if you’re wondering) that they were the ones who chose their names for themselves when they complain about it later on.

You can get the Kick To Pick app from the iTunes App Store for $0.99.

Davis answered the phone and when the Apple rep on the line started telling her she had won, she hung up. Davis said, “I thought it was a prank call. I said, ‘Thank you very much, I’m not interested’ and I hung up.”

Apparently, Davis’ kids then came and told her the call wasn’t a prank. The woman tried to call the Apple Help line and wasn’t able to get assistance. Luckily, for her and the kids an Apple person called back again. Davis said, “The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a genuine call. The girls were getting quite tense. They never would have forgiven me. They would have held it against me for all eternity.”

[via Cult of Mac]

Hackulous calls their Mac App Store breaker “Kickback”. They won’t be kicking off the new year by releasing the software or launching another pirated store though. Hackulous decided that they’ll wait until the Mac App Store is as cluttered as its iOS counterpart.

Why? Because the main reason (or so they say) why the community started all this DRM-breaking business is that there are countless apps on the App Store but most of them have no trial or even a lite version. Apple’s archaic and too simple layout for the App Store doesn’t help people discover which apps really are worth it either. The idea is that iOS users who want to try an app that doesn’t have a free trial version can hit up Installlous and test drive the full app for free. For as long as they want.

Check out TorrentFreak for more of Hackulous’ cracking plans.

Dock your iPhone inside New Potato’s Pinball Magic, and it turns your smartphone into the world’s tiniest pinball machine. The weensy little pinball machine has a pair of flipper switches, a plunger for launching balls, and an LED backlit backboard display which shows animations when you play. And the accompanying game uses the iPhone’s motion sensors to support tilt detection, so jostling the machine works just like the real deal.

You can order Pinball Magic here for $39.99 (USD), and while you’re waiting, you can download the free Pinball Magic app here (opens iTunes). Keep in mind that the game cannot be played without the table, so don’t bother trying to figure it out until you get one.

[via Chip Chick via SlipperyBrick]

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While I agree to a certain extent, there is also a definite counterpoint. For example, the new Madden 11 on PSP sells for $7.99 in the App Store while its physical PSP counterpart sells for $39.99.

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I don’t know, I’d rather stick to my Xbox 360 to be honest.

[via Toucharcade]

According to this screenshot, some of the games we can look forward to getting all fingerprinty over on April 3rd include: Flight Control HD, Labyrinth 2 HD, and Sparkle HD and Cro-Mag Rally. Apps like Pianist Pro promise a serious multitouch keyboard playing experience, and OmniGraphSketcher is probably going to be pretty slick on that big 9.7-inch screen.

From what I can tell these screens from the new iPad app store probably came from the iPad developer’s kit, but I’m not 100% certain of their origin. Of course, since these screenshots are preliminary, there are bound to be changes and new apps coming online between now and launch day.

[via 9 to 5 Mac via TUAW]

Apparently, a company called Groove Systems has been selling an application in the App Store called “iPad” since sometime back in late 2009. Whoops! Somehow the Apple lawyers didn’t catch that one.

While my Japanese isn’t very good, our friends at Google translate tell us that iPad is a some sort of note taking application that appears to do handwriting recognition and supports exchange of data over Bluetooth.

There’s no word on whether or not the iPad application will work on the actual iPad when it’s released, but if you do try it, I think it could cause a rift in the space-time-continuum – so try at your own risk.

At least this use of the iPad moniker is a bit more appropriate than this one:

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The initial version of the app will come bundled with Space Harrier II, but then once you’re inside the collection, you’ll be able to add new games, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Ecco the Dolphin and Shining Force for starters. Prices for each game range from $2.99 to $5.99 (USD) for each game.

While the Genesis Ultimate Collection won’t hit the iPhone App Store until early February, you can already find several of these games individually on the App Store, but the Ultimate Collection will give you a neat and tidy way to keep them all in one place.

Of course, if you’re a real Genesis fan and you don’t mind another gadget in your backpack, you could always just pick up one of these instead. That’s how I roll.

[via Gizmodo]

Just load up greySox String Trio, choose a bit of classical music, and press “play”. The music loads in and plays based on the strokes of the virtual “bow” that is your iPhone or iPod Touch. String Trio uses the motion sensor in your iPhone to detect the angle and length of your strokes, and adjusts the playback of the music accordingly. You can either choose automatic accompaniment (hence the “trio” part of the name), or perform a solo without any backing instruments. The video below should give you a pretty good idea of how it works.

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I don’t know about you, but that Beethoven demo track sort of sounded like the theme from Fawlty Towers to me. They really should add that one to the app and they’d sell a lot more copies. For now, you’ll have to settle for one of the over 20 included classical and folks songs bundled with the App. greySox is also offering in-app downloads of two additional 10-track collections, priced at 99 cents each.

String Trio is available now over at the iTunes App Store for $1.99 (USD).

The app features 1,000 celebrity and pop culture Minipop images, along with a directory which lets you quickly find the peeps you’re looking for. But the best part of the app (besides a tiny Alanis Morissette in her 8-bit birthday suit) is the “Guess Who?” mode, which is a nice little timewaster. Just turn your phone sideways, and the app hides the celebrity names. Flip it back to portrait mode, and you can see if your guess was correct. Hmmm… was that Mr. Roarke and Tattoo, or Dr. Evil and Mini-me?

You can get your hands on the new Minipop app over at the iTunes App Store for $2.99 (USD). It’s a solid 5-star app from my perspective. But then again, I’m a pixel art nut.

[via INVADERS.COM]

The Turkey Timer is equipped with all sorts of helpful features to assist in preparing the perfect holiday turkey (or anytime-turkey), even down to your specifications regarding taste. Prefer your bird on the moist side? Plug in the weight and Turkey Timer will tell you everything you need to know. It’s all based on algorithms. That means there’s some science up in there. Or math. Or both. But it sounds impressive.

And for the low, low price of $2.99, you can tell all your friends and family that your iPhone did the cooking for you. You don’t have to get specific. They probably don’t have one. Suckers.

[IntoMobile via Geeky Gadgets]

The basic concept of Touch Pets Dogs is simple. Pick out your favorite breed of dog, raise it from a puppy, teach it tricks, choose a doggie career, and dress it in silly costumes. You can share your dog’s progress through feeds to Facebook, and even take care of your friends’ virtual pups when they’re away. There’s also a mode where you can view everyone’s dogs across a global dog sharing network.

The game comes with seven breeds including Jack Russell Terrier, Dachshund, Westie, Portuguese Water Dog, Labrador, German Shepherd, and the elusive Robot Dog. I’m personally offended that there is no Bernese Mountain Dog or Greater Swiss Mountain Dog in the mix. I guess they’re just too big to fit into that iPhone. Knowing ngmoco:) they might offer more breeds as downloadable content in future.

Here’s a little footage of Touch Pets Dogs in action:

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Touch Pets Dogs is available now over at the iTunes App Store for the low, low price of… free. But there’s a catch – you’ll need to buy bowls of virtual dog food for anywhere from 99 cents for 10 bowls of digi-kibble, all the way up to $29.99 for 400 bowls of food. So just like real life, you’ll need to pay up or your canine pal will starve. On the free version you earn a very small amount of food the longer you play, but it’s definitely not enough to really keep Fido fat and happy.

At least your iPhone won’t poop on the carpet.

Created by Amidio – the same folks who brought us the amazing noise.io iphone synth. According to the Amidio guys, Touch DJ is a serious live performance tool, and not just an audio toy like many other iPhone apps.

The app not only can mix two MP3 tracks, it lets you apply audio effects, pitch-bending, equalization and looping without ever leaving the intuitive visual interface. Each track is automatically color coded to correspond to its frequencies to make it even easier to match beats. Check out the video clips below to see (and hear) a sneak preview of Touch DJ in action.

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Once released, Touch DJ will ship with 25 dance tracks from DanceMusicHub that you can immediately create music with, and I assume that additional tracks will be available for download in the future. Amidio also plans on releasing a Touch DJ sync application that lets you send your own MP3s to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

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Keep in mind that the audio processing is very processor intensive so Amidio recommends using Touch DJ only on the iPhone 3GS or newer iPod Touch models with faster CPUs. There’s no word yet on when Touch DJ will hit the app store. All Amidio says on their site is “ESTIMATED AVAILABILITY DATE: ??? (ASK APPLE!)”. Hopefully, that means soon. For now, follow them over on Twitter to be notified when Touch DJ is released.

HP has already secured the support of a few websites that will provide unique services and features available only to future users of the PSPWTSW. For example, users will be able to print USA Today stories straight off the printer’s touchscreen. Nickelodeon has a bunch of kid-friendly content for print such as word finds, color-ins and mazes. Users will also be able to print Google Maps, coupons, and even movie tickets. Neat.

The PSPWTSW will be available in the United States come autumn for $399 USD. Gizmodo was able to procure a test unit, and while they thought that the hardware is topnotch, they came upon the logical conclusion that the things you can do on the tiny touchscreen can be done just as easily – of not easier – on a normal computer. Maybe HP should have attached a printer to a monitor instead of attaching a tiny computer to a printer.

[via gadgetell]

WifiPad provides you with the ability to control any game that uses the keyboard on your computer over a Wi-fi connection. Since you can also design and serve custom gamepads, you can use it to build just about any controller design and custom key assignments you want. It can also be used to build a remote keyboard for other non-gaming applications.

Just start up the WifiPad desktop server application (Windows or Mac versions available), set up your preferred key mappings for each game, and you’re all set to play your games using your iPhone or iPod Touch screen. It took me just under a minute to get up and running, and I was able to control a bunch of Flash games without any custom setup work.

Sure, there’s nothing quite like the tactile feel of real keys or a joypad beneath your fingers, and there is the potential for lag if you have any Wi-fi connection issues, but it is still kinda cool to whip out your phone and start controlling your games from across the room using your wonderphone’s touchscreen.

You can grab WifiPad now over at the iTunes App Store.

[WifiPad]

Ziconic’s SkyCoaster 3D puts a miniature roller coaster simulator inside your iPhone. The application lets you take a ride on countless insanely impossible twisty and turny coasters. Thanks to a procedural track-generation engine, each and every trip is unique. And if you manage to stop hurling your virtual lunch as you ride the rails, you’ll notice that you’re surrounded by beautiful panoramic backdrops. You can also adjust settings to your own ride preferences, tweaking track length, complexity of corkscrews, loops and coaster acceleration among other things.

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Ziconic says their upcoming 1.1 version (due the week of 2/23/2009) will include the ability to ride on suspension coasters, lets you adjust your point-of-view, and adds a nighttime backdrop among other things. Unfortunately, there aren’t any plans to take advantage of the iPhone’s accelerometer, so you’re at the whim of the coaster’s own acceleration and virtual gravity. Stupid laws of physics.

You can find SkyCoaster 3D over at the iTunes App Store for just 99 cents.

Now, Dope Wars is Candy Wars, and it’s available in the App Store for a mere $0.99. Now, instead of taking on the role of a drug dealer, the player is an illegal candy dealer in a future world that has banned candy in a desperate attempt to combat obesity. Instead of slinging weed, you’re trading in brownies. At Catamount Software, a sense of humor is clearly a job requirement.

They’re making no effort to hide the fact that the games are basically the same–in fact, they’re tracking news of the initial rejection and the new game’s acceptance on their official site.

[Catamount Software via Pocket Gamer]

Aside from new fish and new fishing spots, the update also brings a tournament mode to the game. In tournament mode, players can compete against the computer, against another player on the same iPhone/iPod Touch, or even via Wi-Fi versus other flick fishermen.

For those who are unfamiliar with the game, Flick Fishing is an intuitive and beautiful fishing game. Players have to find the right combination of bait, location and flicking & reeling techniques that works with each type of fish. It definitely does not get its name from the fact that players cast the line with just a flick of their wrist. Nope. Do you know why it’s called Flick Fishing?

Like all iPhone/iPod Touch apps, Flick Fishing is available at Apple’s App Store for $0.99. Honestly I don’t know how it plays, because I don’t have an iPhone, but Freeverse has a video demo over at their site so go check that out if you’re interested.

[via TUAW]