Filed under: App Review

As a tabletop board game, Hive has been around since 2001. It draws inspiration from classic abstract strategy games like chess and shogi but does away with that pesky board (see also: Tile Chess). The iPhone/iPod touch app [US$1.99, iTunes link] brings everything from the physical version to your pocket, and if clever placement of bug-decorated pieces is your thing, the game is well worth the download – at least for a short while.

The Game

The rules of this two-player game are entirely simple. Each turn, you either add a piece to the hive (you can think of the hive as the board) or, if you've already placed your queen bee, you can move a piece in the hive. The object of the game is to surround your opponent's bee and, like in chess, each type of piece (different kinds of bugs) has its own movement abilities, so knowing when to move where is a challenge and certainly part of the fun. Beetles climb on other bugs, the ant runs around the hive, and so on.The full rules are detailed in the app's tutorial, or you can watch a video review after the jump (or get the rules PDF). Read on to discover if these bugs are the kind you want invading your iPhone.

We're getting closer and closer to some of the stuff we see it science fiction literature and films. Siri [iTunes link] is a small Silicon Valley startup with a really breakthrough product that for now only works on the iPhone.

Here's the deal. You download the free app, start it up, and tell it what you want. It could be "Will it snow in Des Moines today?" or "Where can I find the nearest burger" or it could be "Find the nearest parks". It parses your comments, runs out to the web for a few seconds and comes back with a lot of suggestions. It gives you buttons to call the places you've found, or to show them on Google Maps and get you directions.

I tried to get a bit fancier saying "Make me a reservation for 2 at the nearest Olive Garden tonight at 7." The app figured out Olive Garden didn't take reservations through their service, but it provided me a number for the nearest Olive Garden and offered to map it.

App Genie [iTunes link] takes a lot of little apps and combines them into one for U.S. $0.99. Even if you only use 4 or 5 that's a good price. Some of the apps require web access, some require the 3GS iPhone, and the weather app only works in the U.S.

Here are a few I found useful... and some not so much:

Product Search uses your camera to scan barcodes on 3GS phones. It worked well, and linked the barcode to products with price comparisons. There are apps that only do this that sell for more than this app.

Language Translator. Type in one language. Translate to another. This app needs web connectivity. You can email the results which is a nice feature. There are dozens of languages. My check of German looked good. My Icelandic isn't so hot, but if you need this function, it appears to work well.

There are all kind of Country Facts, i.e. population of Angola or ethnic group distribution in Canada. Lots of facts, in a handy place.

Then there is Amazing Facts. Tap it and you'll get some piece of obscure information. Tap it again and you get more.

There's a Unit Converter, a Tip Calculator (natch). a Magnifier that lets you zoom in digitally with your camera. There is a Battery Level meter for your iPhone with voice, that gives you the percentage of battery on your iPhone, talk time, and estimates for how long you can play video or audio files. It also provides an estimate of how long you can browse the web.

There is a nice Checklists app with templates for a variety of activities like shopping, trip planning and house chores. Each checklist has sub items, and those are reasonably complete and helpful, or you can create your own.

There's a Where am I? app that shows your location on a Google Map, which I think is reaching since it's already available on your phone.

There is an up to date Currency Converter. It's web based, and handy if you are on the road a lot out of your native country.

For less than a dollar this is a great app, even though it may duplicate some functionality you already have on your iPhone or iPod touch. I thought the product scanner app alone was worth $0.99. The rest is gravy.

Some screen shots below:

Week after week you'll find it on the "Top Paid" list in the App Store and with good reason; RedLaser is, no doubt, one of the most useful iPhone applications out there! TUAW's Mel Martin originally wrote a review of RedLaser and thought it was quite capable. See the gallery here.

Just what is RedLaser? Think of going through a checkout line in any store: the clerk takes your item and scans it with a gun-like apparatus that reads the item's barcode with a red laser. The price of the item immediately shows up on the cashier's screen.

The RedLaser app is for just that purpose, only it's your iPhone camera that takes a picture of the barcode and then goes out to find the price it's sold for by everybody in Internet shopping land. Immediate comparison shopping!

Case in point: Shortly after purchasing my iPhone and loading the RedLaser app, I needed to purchase a hands-free device to comply with the new California State Law. My husband and I went into Best Buy and found what I wanted for $80. We took a picture of the barcode and, voila--21 websites with their prices displayed! Including one well-known mega site offering it for $38.50.

We took the hands-free device to the check-out and asked if they still offered price-matching. We were told that they did--"just bring in the ad." "What if it's not in an ad?" I asked. "What if I can show you on my phone? Would you match internet prices?" I asked dubiously. "Well..." came the response with some hesitation, "sure, we can do that." And just like that, we saved over half on the retail price. After having a comparable result on my second RedLaser shopping trip, it hit me that this little app could potentially make it possible for my iPhone to pay for itself!

Now, not every retailer is going to offer price-matching--and most probably won't match internet prices, but if there's no rush, you always have the option of going home and ordering it online to take advantage of the best deal.

Two thumbs up for RedLaser, which has earned its right, hands down, to be called the best iPhone app. Move over Yellow Book! RedLaser and your iPhone have discovered the 21st century way to "let your fingers do the walking."

I first heard of Typewar from a Twitter pal who challenged me to beat his score on the web-based game. I was happy to see that my 26 years of Mac work had given me a fine eye for different fonts, as I was able to easily slam my buddy to the mat. If you've never played Typewar, it's deceptively simple -- you're shown a letter and asked to choose which typeface (i.e., "Optima" or "Gill Sans") is being displayed. Your score is calculated depending on the number of correct choices you make, and you're then compared to other people who are playing the game. Every once in a while, you get pushed to a new level and a new typeface is added to the game.

Now Typewar is available for the iPhone and iPod touch, so I decided to give the game a try in a portable format. It made the move well, and it's still a fun and challenging game. The app [US$1.99, iTunes Link] is from game inventor Eldarion and developers at Massively Overrated, and does an excellent job of moving the game to the iPhone.

You log into the game using your Twitter account or create an account to join in on the fun. The account allows you to keep track of your statistics, both so you can gain bragging rights against the rest of the Typewar world and know just how awesome your typeface identification skills really are. The game moves along quickly, with short delays at each level change as Typewar downloads a new typeface to your iPhone.

If you're a designer or just a Mac or iPhone user who likes typography, you'll love Typewar. Take a look at the gallery below for more pictures of the game in action.

"There's an app for that"

Perhaps the most memorable tag line since the iPhone's unveiling of the App Store, which now hosts over 100,000 third-party applications and over 3 billion downloads. Whether they be free or costly, it seems iPhone users are addicted to apps. The versatility of the iPhone and its technology leaves room for impressive applications, more specifically: Remotes. These applications allow users to remote control their iTunes or a presentation while others act as a wireless mouse with impressive capabilities. Here is a short list of some remote apps that are worthy of any app collection.

Remote [iTunes Link]: Arguably the most popular remote app that not only allows users to control their iTunes library or Apple TV from the iPhone, it is also free! This app provides easy navigation through your iTunes library and Apple TV with options to control volume output, edit playlists and even update your Genius results right from your phone. The layout looks similar to the built in iPod function on the iPhone with familiar controls at the bottom and album artwork on display. Since it costs nothing, this app is a must have.

Air Mouse Pro [iTunes Link]: More complex than the Remote app but far more versatile. Turn your iPhone into a wireless mouse that does it all: touch pad or accelerometer based navigation, full keyboard (normal and landscape), numeric keyboard, web remote, music remote and much more. Cycle through applications on your computer or even shut it down. The price is only $1.99 and requires a free software download from the server website that must be installed before using. With it's capabilities and low-price, this app is a no brainer.

Keynote Remote [iTunes Link]: A solid remote app worth the $0.99 that allows you to control your slide presentation through your iPhone. A simple finger swipe on the screen and up comes your next slide. The app also boasts some solid features such as being able to see your personal presentation notes or seeing a preview of your next slide all on your iPhone.

These and most other remote apps work only through WIFI connectivity but create a remote control for just about anything. Other worthy remote apps like Simplify Music [iTunes Link] allow you to access your entire iTunes library over 3G, thus saving space on your iPhone. Whatever you want to control, the iPhone allows it to happen so start downloading!

Podcasting is an art best learned by experience. In order to be a good podcaster, it helps to have a good speaking voice, excellent topics to talk about (or fun guests), and equipment and software to assist you in recording and editing your podcast. It also helps to make a lot of mistakes, since you'll learn from them.

A while back, I wrote a post about how to use an iPhone 3GS, Garage Band, and Posterous to do "quick and easy" podcasting. While that method has the desired results -- your podcast has a feed that can be subscribed to, and it actually sounds pretty good -- it forces you to stick with one website on Posterous to create the feed. Many podcasts are associated with a website, so it's important in many cases to have the ability to upload a podcast file to an FTP server.

That, and my continuing quest to make my podcasting as easy as possible, is what got me interested in iPodcaStudio from Vault Multimedia. iPodcaStudio [$0.99, iTunes Link] is an iPhone app for recording, editing, and uploading your podcasts easily. While it isn't as full-featured as it could eventually be, iPodcaStudio is a good start at a complete podcast studio on your iPhone or iPod touch running iPhone OS 3.0 or greater.

Catan. If you've ever visited, there's a good chance you're passionate about it.

First unveiled as a traditional board game in 1995, the now-classic trading and settlement game has evolved over the years to include dozens of scenarios, expansions and reworkings, from limited edition game maps to browser-based Internet versions. Naturally, the Settlers of Catan is now also available for the iPhone [iTunes link], and it's a a damn good condensed version.

First things first. This is the full, but basic, game. The original ruleset isn't condensed at all, but none of the expansions are present in the current version. While long-time board gamers might scoff at simple "vanilla Settlers," the basic game as presented in Exozet's iPhone version acts just like the tabletop big brother. You can choose to play on the fixed beginner board or a random map, you can play with three or four people (or bots), you can trade, you can go for longest road, etc. All the things that make Catan such an enduring game are here, and that's great to have in your pocket.

Read on to find out more about Catan: the First Island on the iPhone (and iPod Touch).

I admit it. I am iPadded out. I am iTired. I am suffering from iBurnout. So it was with pleasure that I found an addicting little game for the iPhone and iPod touch called Crush the Castle [iTunes link]. It's a free medieval game where you use an ancient trebuchet to smash a variety of castles and the inhabitants standing nearby. Crush the Castle is physics based, so you have to swing a heavy projectile in the air and release at just the right point to flatten the castle off to the right of the trebuchet. After a few tries it gets damned addictive.

You have more than a dozen castles to crush in two different kingdoms. If you do well, you get some medals. If not, you are rebuked by the king. The animation is good, the physics seem accurate, and the sounds of castles coming down and soldiers screaming adds to the fun.

At each new level, the distance to the castles from your siege machine increases, so you really have to get the release point for the projectile just right.

Crush the Castle is a port of a Flash-based game which you can play for free online. If you really get into the mild mayhem, I'd suggest you look at the US$1.99 version [iTunes link] which has 90 levels, 10 types of ammo, and an editor so you can design your own castles before you knock them down.

Both versions get great reviews from users, and I'm in agreement. It's helping me forget all the endless iDebates over the iPad and work my iAggressions out on my iPhone.

The free version is no risk, except for the time you are sure to lose. Let me know if you get hooked too. Check out more screen shots below:

The iPhone wasn't designed from scratch to print things, but it can be done. I've reviewed some solutions in the past, including one that required you to run a small print server on your computer, which then directs your print jobs to any local printers. There are also some apps that print photos directly to printers.

I've just tried ePrint, which has some limitations, but gets the job done without any print servers. There are two versions of the app: The free version, ePrint Free [iTunes link] lets you print contacts, notes (more on that later), photo albums, and even brings up the camera so you can fire off a snapshot and print it immediately. The paid version [iTunes link], meanwhile, is U.S. $2.99 and adds the ability to print web pages as well

Setting up is easy. The app will find your printers in a snap if your phone is in Wi-Fi mode, and you are running Bonjour zero configuration setup on your network. You can also elect to enter the IP addresses of your printers as well. If your printer is color, and you send color images, you'll get them in color.

There are a few catches, however. To print a web page you either have to enter a URL for it in ePrint, or set a preference to bring up the last web page viewed. When you go to print notes in either app, it doesn't mean from your Notes app. ePrint can only print from the ePrint Notes app, although you can still copy and paste any text into it and print away. That's how I test-printed an email, because Apple doesn't allow any way to print an email or anything else directly. After doing a 'select all' on an email, I copied and pasted it into the ePrint Notes app, and it worked just fine.

So you're in college and just got a fancy new iPhone for the holidays. Sure, Flight Control and maybe the TUAW app are already on your home screen, but a few "educational" apps may help mom and dad feel like they got their money's worth. Here's a breakdown of some of the best iPhone applications for the college student.

iStudiez Pro [iTunes Link]
One of the hardest parts of college is keeping everything organized. Between classes, homeworks and exams, it's a lot to remember. iStudiez Pro is a great application that helps make life a little easier. Organize all your classes, exams and professors into a simple easy to understand interface that tells you what you have to do and when. The $2.99 application offers a few different schedule views and a "Today" view that shows you what you have ahead of you for the day.

Alarm Clock Pro [iTunes Link]
If it wasn't for your phone, you might not ever make it to class. Alarm Clock Pro creates a great looking digital alarm clock that trumps anything the iPhone's default alarm clock can offer. With customizable themes, the app allows you to wake up to an iTunes playlist and includes a built-in flashlight. A free version is also available which waters down customization options and doesn't include the ability to wake up to music.

Outside [iTunes Link]
Living in a college dorm has it's perks and it's downfalls. Certainly, not having the ability to quickly run outside to see what the weather is like is a big negative. Outside is a new application that answers your burning "What's it like out there" question you'd otherwise be asking your roommate. The $1.99 application has a inventive interface that looks out of a window and gives you basic information about the weather where you are. In addition, the app supports push notifications to alert you when the weather calls for gloves, an umbrella or even a t-shirt.

ZipCar [iTunes Link]
If you're lucky enough to be on one of the growing number of campuses that have a ZipCar program, they you have to check out their awesome iPhone application. Easily find, reserve and track available zip cars with just a few taps. The free application can also help you find important locations and will even lock/unlock the car for you.

Things [iTunes Link]
Whether you like it or not, actions do really speak louder than words. Saying you'll meet with your professor about your exam grade or that you'll clean the common room is one thing, but remembering to actually do it? Well, that's a different story. Things is designed to keep you on track. More than just a to-list application, Things allows you to break up your responsibilities and organize tasks to help get them done. In addition, Things originated on the Mac and syncs flawlessly and quickly with the iPhone app, making sure what's done is done for good!

Diner Dash [iTunes Link], the popular and addicting time-management PC game by Playfirst has made its way to the iPhone. In this game, you play Flo, an entrepreneur who ditched her dayjob to fulfill her dream of restaurant ownership. The game begins with Flo working in a dumpy greasy spoon, but as you progress through the levels and earn more money, upgrades become available, leading Flo to her ultimate goal: Running a thriving restaurant empire. Here's an iPhone game overview and review of Diner Dash.

Gameplay: As customers enter the cafe, Flo must arrange seating, take orders, serve food, drop off bills, and bus tables -- all while monitoring everyone's happiness. A simple premise, but as you progress through the levels, gameplay becomes more difficult -- more demanding customers, more tables, and higher daily financial goals.

To pass a level, you must meet the cash goal. Earn cash when customers are seated, served, and given appetizers and desserts. At the end of their meal, customers tip Flo based on their happiness level, indicated by the heart meter. Like most time management games, chaining (completing the same action in a row) and color matching (matching a customer's clothing color to the seat) earns you extra cash.

If you get bored with the levels, try your luck at the Endless Shift mode. Endless Shift has a nonstop stream of customers coming through the door and ends when too many people get angry and storm out.

Controls: Diner Dash is an excellent fit for the iPhone's touchscreen interface. Dragging customers to their seats with your finger and tapping to queue Flo's actions is simple and intuitive. Trying to switch customer seating arrangements to activate the color-matching bonus is tricky and takes time to master, but otherwise, game control is easy.

Graphics and music:For a cartoon game, the graphics, animations, and music are all well-done. Don't like the music? Select "iPod Music" option on the main menu to listen to your own tunes.

Diner Dash fans might be disappointed to learn that the iPhone adaptation is the same as the PC game. However, priced at only $4.99 -- a bargain compared to the PC game's $19.99 price tag -- you might not mind replaying the game on a mobile device.

Diner Dash is the perfect game to pick up when you have a few minutes to spare. Passing a level typically takes about three to five minutes, so there's not a lot of time commitment involved. But once you play one level, you'll think, "Just one more...", and the next thing you know, two hours have passed!

Diner Dash is available for purchase in the iTunes store.

TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page.

• Note: As of testing the app about 20 minutes before the post is scheduled to go live, I found that pictures will upload, but it gets stuck on 'processing', eventually timing out. My uneducated guess is that their servers are temporarily down.

My name is Steve, and I'm a recovering engineer. Although I'm no longer a practicing engineer, I still hold a Professional Engineer license and I'm still interested in most things dealing with engineering. That's why I perked up when I received an email from MultiEducator, Inc., a software development firm known previously for multimedia history CDs and their Historycentral.com website.

Their new Formulator Series of specialized iPhone calculators for engineers, architects, plumbers, and construction professionals features 22 individual apps priced between US$0.99 and US$17.99. Since my background is in Civil Engineering, I requested a review copy of Civil Engineering Formulator [US$4.99, iTunes Link] to get a feel for the depth and breadth of a typical Formulator Series app.

A look at the web page for Civil Engineering Formulator shows that the app began with 75 formulas in the Civil Engineering areas of beams, bridges, columns, elevators, piles, plates, roads, soil, and structural steel. Over the next few months, the app is to grow to more than 200 formulas, at which time the price will increase for new buyers. Civil Engineering Formulator also includes almost 100 conversion formulas, as well as 50 area calculations.

WordCrasher [iTunes link] is a little gem that deserves a much wider audience than it's currently receiving at App Store. With just 17 ratings to date, this little $0.99 application needs better exposure. Hopefully this review will help. WordCrasher offers a word puzzle game that mixes Tetris-style game play (don't let the letter tiles reach the top of the screen) with Scrabble-like word creation strategy (build words from the letter tiles to eliminate them from play). If you're a word puzzle enthusiast, you'll definitely want to check out WordCrasher.

Developer Kevin Ng's graphics are phenomenal, which might be hard to tell from this low frame rate video, which shows me playing the app for a level. A lot of work has gone into them, making the moment-by-moment gameplay extremely satisfying. I particularly loved the rotating menu sequence that starts each session. It's a visual style I haven't seen on other apps, and it gives WordCrasher a unique visual "voice" that stands out from the crowd.

WordCrasher offers two game styles: marathon, where you play until you Tetris out of room, and flood panic, which introduces the cool concept of slowly filling the bottom of the game level with "water". Tiles begin to float up from the bottom as well as pile in from the top. It's a nice twist, and especially challenging. If I have any complaint, it's that the built in dictionary tends to be fairly prosaic. A lot of Scrabble-standard words are regularly denied. I'd love to see Ng offer more flexible dictionary support for those of us who tend to geek out on word games.

On a side note, WordCrasher uses OpenFeint to manage its top scores system. Seeing OpenFeint initially made me think there might be some sort of interactive gameplay between anonymous participants, say Crash Wars or something like that. but alas no. That's not to take away from my opinion about the quality of the game as is. As it stands, WordCrasher is fabulous. It is likely to be staying on my phone for a while. Word game enthusiasts will love it. Recommended.

TUAW is commonly provided with not-for-resale licenses or promo codes to permit product evaluations and reviews. For more details, see our policy page. Promo code requests are not guarantees of reviews.