All Entries in the "Social Networking" Category
WeeMee Avatar Creator in Review – amazingly creative avatar creator!
Everybody uses avatars. Whether you IM, troll forums, or even comment on this review, social networking avatars are everywhere. That little image is your greeting to the world. For some, avatars are just small images of their real selves, for others they are used to show their love or support for various things. Whatever the case may be, we all use them – that is unless you want to blend into the background. The WeeMee Avatar Creator that we announced in February is a great avatar creator that’s been getting some much-deserved attention.
SHAPE Services updates IM+ with Retina Support, Rolls out new IM+ for web
SHAPE Service’s IM+ Pro app (TMA Review), easily one of the best instant messaging apps for the iDevice, has just received an update (v4.3) and it now has retina support, ensuring that all your chat sessions will look nice and crisp on the iPhone 4. Here’s what’s new in this version:
- New themes and wallpapers
- Hi-res graphics for iPhone 4
- Full VoiceOver support
- Setting own display picture from iPhone 4 front camera
- Improved contact search
Aside from supporting a slew of messaging services out there (MSN, gChat, ICQ, AIM, Skype etc), IM+ Pro is also a universal app, meaning that it’ll work on both your iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad after a single purchase. If you’re still looking for a robust and feature filled IM app, IM+ Pro is as good a choice as any on the App Store (you can also try out their free IM+ Lite).
Twitepad In Review – All The Twitter Your Jesus Tablet Can Handle!
Twitepad is a Twitter client designed for your shiny new Jesus tablet, made to maximize what you can see and do on the popular social networking service. It offers column after column of content (similar to what you’ve seen in apps like TweetDeck) allowing you to keep up to date on all your twitter content in one fell swoop. Read on to see if i can sum up my experience in 140 or less.
Apple’s Awesome iOS 4 Apps
Apple seems to be on a roll of late with App Store app lists. First came The Best Games You’ve Never Played, a roundup of hidden gems that haven’t quite burned up the app charts. Now they’ve released the Awesome iOS 4 Apps list, a collection of apps and games that have been updated to take advantage of iOS 4′s new features, like support for the Retina Display and Multitasking/Fast App Switching. Here are some notable that have made the list:
Apple Inc. , iMovie – $4.99- Element Collection , The Elements for iPhone 4 – $9.99
- Software Cellular Network Ltd, Truphone – Free
- PopCap Games, Plants vs. Zombies (TMA Review) – $2.99
- PopCap Games, Bejeweled 2 + Blitz – $2.99
- Steve Sprang, Brushes – iPhone Edition – $4.99
- Marco Arment, Instapaper (TMA Review) – $4.99
- TomTom , TomTom U.S.A. – $49.99
- Sophia Teutschler, Articles – $2.99
- Gogo Apps, Inc., Tap Tap Revenge 3 – Free
Now I haven’t tried all 42 apps on the list, but I don’t think I’d consider all of them to be awesome. I suppose it’s all a matter of personal preference and interests (and of course, apps that actually have been updated for iOS 4 already). The entire Apple roundup can be found right here on iTunes.
Pushme.to app gets 2.0 update AND it’s free for limited time
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Pushme.to, a superb messaging app for the iDevice, has become even more versatile thanks to the latest 2.0 update. Much like Ping!Chat and WhatsApp Messenger, Pushme.to allows users to send and receive text messages for free right from their iPhone/iPod Touch (think SMS without the added cost). With the 2.0 update however, Pushme.to further distances itself from the pack with the added ability to chat with anyone via a web browser. That’s right, the other party doesn’t even need to have an iPhone or the app to carry out the real-time chat session. All they need to do is visit pushme.to/yourusernameon a browser and bam!, you’re ready to go. I’ve tested the service quite a bit and it works like a charm. Throw in push notifications and you’ve just made it that much easier for friends and family to send you a quick message or two. Some of the other new features include:
- Free registration for web (non iPhone) users
- Completely redesigned, messages organized per conversation
- Ability to link Pushme.to usernames to iPhone contacts
- Avatars support both on the web, and from iPhone contacts
(automatically uploaded to the web when linked from iPhone) - Softer incoming message sound
Best of all, Pushme.to is now FREE for a very limited time (down from $2.99). If SMS and staying in touch is your thing, I HIGHLY recommend that you download the app now and snap up your unique username. It’s already become one of my favorite apps.
Pushme.to: free instant messages on iPhone and in the browser – Free
BeejiveIM for iPad now Available
BeejiveIM , one of the most popular and fully featured instant messaging clients for the iPhone/iPod Touch, is now (finally) available for the iPad. It’s been the go-to IM app for many on the iDevice due to it’s many features, which include:
- Reliable and efficient networking: be connected 24/7, and it’s gentle on your battery.
- Be connected even after you close the application. Get notified instantly when you get a new message with Push Notifications.
- Works with multiple IM networks, multiple accounts per network: AIM®/iChat, MSN®, Yahoo!®, GoogleTalk®, Facebook IM, ICQ®, Jabber, and MySpace IM.
- Send and receive files, including pictures and voice notes. View and forward received documents.
- Desktop-like instant messaging with all of your IM buddies from a single intuitive user interface.
With a shortage of premium IM apps for the iPad at the moment, it’s definitely good to see the release of BeejiveIM for iPad. However, unlike BeejiveIM’s biggest competitor IM+ (which is a universal app that works for ALL iDevices), BeejiveIM for the iPad will set you back another $5.99 (currently on sale). Loyal users of the IM app who now own an iPad likely wouldn’t mind ponying up a few extra bucks, but still, it’d been nice if it were a free download for existing customers.
Beejive, Inc., BeejiveIM for iPad – $5.99 (TMA Review – iPhone version)
Creme In Review – Twitter’s creme de la creme?
As long as the world turns there will always be Twitter clients hitting the appstore. Right, so there are more hits than misses and nowadays with so many Twitter clients, an app needs to speak to a niche need/market if it’s going to take hold. Otherwise all that work could have been for very little. Today I have my hands on Creme by Directionality Studios. Sloganed “Creme de la creme” which crudely translates to “Best of the best”, Creme is a prime example of one that could swing either way. Read on to see if this Creme, was frais (that’s French for fresh , or curdled.
Feel free to discuss Creme in our forums.
Official Twitter app now live on App Store
Twitter’s official app for the iPhone/iPod Touch is finally available for download on the App Store. For those not aware, Twitter announced earlier last month that they’ve acquired Atebit’s popular Tweetie app (my personal favorite on the iPhone) and re-branding it as “Twitter”. While the overall design hasn’t changed, its release version is now 3.0 and a bunch of new features have been introduced, including:
- Search has been reorganized, now you can search all tweets and find users in the same spot, view Top Tweets and Browse Suggested users.
- Search results now include Top Tweets, try it with Trends…winner combo!
- You can now use Twitter without an account! Search, Browse uses, view trends and top tweets.
- Sign-up is now availabile within the application as well, complete with Suggested user list.
- More tab has been re-organized to accomplish all this. Users with one account can add a second account under the Accounts and Settings button here.
- Actions we’ve found people use most, like Retweet have been moved to the main actions bar.
- Minor tweaks were made to tweet rendering so they match Twitter.com tweets
Aside from the fact that the Tweetie Twitter is widely considered as one of the best clients on the iDevice, the app is now FREE with the re-release. So for those of you who use alternative twitter apps like Osfoora and Twitterena, will you be making the switch over? For the price, you really can’t go wrong with an awesome client like Twitter.
Twitter, Inc., Twitter – Free
Facebook’s eroding privacy VS your growing mobility
Facebook is all fun and games on the iPhone; and why shouldn’t it be? you’ve got scores ways to disseminate your preferences and personal information to the web, all through the lens of ‘social networking’. It wasn’t always that way though, and in lieu of recent official decisions such as the Digital Economy Act, the sharing of personal information makes loads of sense, at least from a witch-hunting perspective. Facebook has had to erode its privacy policies to manage stay on top of the social world; if it hadn’t, it’d be snowed under by the next aggressive phishing trend.
Just a friendly reminder to mind your own information whilst farming, mafia’ing, and facing around on the good – and now stodgily pervasive – social network agent.
Osfoora In Review – Big offerings from a little bird
They say that the only guaranteed things in life are death and taxes. As an app reviewer, one thing I can definitely guarantee is that there is always ANOTHER Twitter app to review. I had done my best to stay away from them as much as possible, however lately I’ve been in the mood for change and scrolling through the appstore I came across the oddly named Osfoora (translated: Little Bird). Read on to see what’s up with this strangely named little app.
