Nikolay Nachev

Die ‘Halbzeitwahlen in den USA’ begleitet die ‘New York Times’ mit einer iPad-tauglichen Webanwendung, die dessen Ergebnisse auf einer interaktiven (Land-)Karte visualisiert. VMWare stellt einen “View Client” für das iPad vor, der Anfang 2011 erscheinen soll. Konkurrent Parallels ist bereits seit Mitte Oktober mit ‘Parallels Mobile‘ (kostenlos, universal, App Store-Link) im App Store vertreten. ‘Next-Episode.net‘ bietet eine grausam gestaltete Webseite um seine (US-)TV-Shows im (Über-)Blick zu behalten. Die verbrüderte iPhone-Anwendung ‘Next Episode‘ (2.39 €; App Store-Link) ist kein annähernd so großes Verbrechen an den eigenen Augen, gewinnt in naher Zukunft jedoch auch keine Design-Preise. Nichtsdestotrotz: Der Funktionsumfang stimmt. Einzelne Episoden und/oder ganze Staffeln von der eigenen Lieblings-Serie lassen sich als ‘bereits angeschaut’ markieren. Des Weiteren existiert eine Terminübersicht von kommenden Sendeterminen sowie Inhalts-Zusammenfassungen der einzelnen Folgen. Kurioserweise besteht keinerlei Synchronisation zwischen Web- und iOS-Anwendung. Sicherlich wäre ein ‘Table Connect for iPhone‘ nicht unmöglich zu bauen; bei der jetzigen (Präsentations-)Form setze ich jedoch 10 Euro auf die Kategorie ‘Fake‘. Ohnehin ‘more appealing’: Das gigantische iPhone von Jack Black (Minute 1:34). (Danke, Wolfgang!) ‘Project Sword’, dessen App-Store-(Grafik-)Demo ‘Epic Citadel’ mit seiner Unreal Engine 3 bereits für Aufregung sorgte, ist unter dem (angeblich) finalen Namen ‘Infinity Blade’ weiterhin auf Veröffentlichungs-Kurs für Weihnachten 2010. Am heutigen Tag treten die neuen Telekom-Tarife (Affiliate-Link) in Kraft, die nach dem Ende der vorherigen iPhone-Exklusiv-Vermarktung um einige Details ansprechender ausfallen – sowohl gegenüber der eigenen Vergangenheit (MultiSIM, Tethering, VoIP) als auch seinen Mitbewerbern (-> Mobilfunkprovider-Übersicht). Die (Online-)Vertragsverlängerung um 24 Monate kann in einen höheren Tarif jederzeit erfolgen; gleichwertige und günstige Tarife sind frühestens nach 12 Monaten Laufzeit möglich. Read More

Browsing the App Store this weekend?  Here are ten new or updated apps worth taking a closer look at if you are: The application is free, but as it contains well-known music, you’ll have to use in-app purchasing to play further levels.  Likwid calls itself an interactive puzzle game, where you guide streams around the screen to unlock the music. Issue 0 of a new iPhone comic, centered around the stars of WWE wrestling.  From the screenshots, Tom Nguyen’s artwork looks really fantastic.  It’s free for now, but we expect future issues to have a price tag attached. If you use MacJournal on your computer, then you’ll probably have been waiting for this app to come along.  It’s going to set you back $4.99, but you will have access to the popular blogging sites and syncing with the desktop version. Digitally sign important documents without having to print them out and re-scan them back in.  Save your signature after ‘writing’ it on screen so you can add it later to documents in anything from Word and Excel to PDF formats.  You can also add dates, text and images. No more typing your search criteria, with Yahoo!’s latest search app you draw a circle and a line representing your destination and route on a map, then select keywords for what’s available in the area.  The app then provides addresses, telephone numbers and ratings too. The new Yahoo! search application has local maps, voice search, news, finance, sports and movie times.  There is a shake-to-clear function too. The official application for the hugely popular website of the same name.  Use it to discover and read the latest stories on the site, rate them as usual, save them and share them too. It’s the official comparethemeerkat.com iPhone app.  Do we really need to say anymore? It’s another farm-related game with plenty of opportunities to make in-app purchases for experience, coins, chickens, grandfather clocks or whatever it is they suggest you need.  Integrated with Plus+. This is a clever TV show tracker which allows you to add your favorite shows and then see when they’re next aired, plus read a synopsis or get some in-depth information.  If you miss an episode, it gets added to your My Shows section so you can catch-up online later. Push is coming soon and the app is currently at $0.99, 75% off its normal price. Read More

Michael E. | Mar 25, 2010 User rating: ( votes, average: out of 5)  Loading ...   Here’s an app you might not have known you needed until just this moment.  I’m referring to Next Episode by Nikolay Nachev.  What does this app do?  Let me ask you a question: Have you ever rushed to get home from work or school or wherever to watch what you thought was going to be a new episode of Chuck or House only to find that the episode was a repeat?  (…And what about this new thing with the mid-season finales followed by months-long hiatuses?  I started watching both V and FlashForward last fall only to see the first parts of season one end in November with no plans to return until March.  March???  What- you prime time networks think you’re HBO or Showtime?  It’s not like we’re talking Dexter, Weeds, True Blood, or Entourage-level shows.  These are new shows I’m still trying to decide whether I want to watch.  Three- and four-month hiatuses aren’t such a good idea when you’re a newbie and don’t even have a season under your belt yet.  I used to think Lost was bad about the big hiatuses, but at least this is its last season.  And don’t even get me started on The Sopranos.  Three things to say about that show: Lamest.  Ending.  Ever. Ok. Taking a deep breath and getting off my soapbox.  I went to a dark and scary place for a little while, but I’m back now…) Next Episode is an app I would think everyone with an iPod Touch, iPhone and TV should have.  Simply speaking, it will track and monitor all your favorite shows and tell you when a new episode is scheduled to air.  So, I now know that the next new episode of Chuck will air in 53 (!) days.  (…I’m still a little ticked about that, though I’ll deal…) But wait…there’s more.  Next Episode will show you what’s just aired, what’s on deck for the next day, and will even make recommendations for new shows you might like based on the shows you already like.  That’s nifty. And if you’re in the process of recording an entire season of 24 on your DVR, yet refuse to watch a single episode until the season’s either over or almost over (so you can watch them all over a weekend and get caught up), Read More

A couple weeks ago I wrote about the top 40 iPhone apps of 2009 in the App Store. This article got quite a bit of success (especially on Twitter) and a few of you asked me what where my favorite iPhone apps of 2009. I’ve had many apps come and go this year so I guess the best way to tell what my favorites are is to tell you the one I will keep with me for next year. Facebook – Need I say more? Indispensable if you have a Facebook account (note: you may want to join our Facebook page). Flight Control – My favorite iPhone game. Ever! It’s fun and addicting. My best score is 357 planes landed. Can you do better? Bejeweled 2 – My fiancée turned me on this game. I used to play it a lot but I got over it. Tap Tap Revenge 3 – I just downloaded it as it was free for a limited time. I drive my fiancée crazy with it because I always play the same song (Tap Tap DomiNation by Stroke 9). Pro Surfing – If you’re into surfing, this game is a must-have. Very fun and well done. Last time I checked, I was #3 in the world! Surf by Wavewatch – A great app for surfers. Gives you reports about pretty much any wave in the world. Even better, you get live cams of the spots when available! Surf Report – Yet another surf report app. Not as fancy as Surf by Wavewatch but it does the job very well. WordPress – I love WordPress as a blogging platform but the version 2 of their app is pathetically useless. It’s buggy, crashes all the time and provides very little features. Yet it’s still on my iPhone “just in case” they update it and make it a better app. Mobile Fotos – Probably the best mobile client for Flickr. I used to use it a lot to upload my pix to Flickr but now I just use the “email to Flickr” feature. Still nice to have it when I need to look for some of my pix. – One of the zillion flashlight apps in the App Store. This one does a great job for me. Skype – I don’t use this app much but it’s nice to have it, just in case I need to make a quick Read More