Best apps to have when travelling

Billions of apps have been download over the last few years, and there’s hundreds targeted for the techno traveller. I’ve reviewed and read many, and generally decided that I wouldn’t use them in reality. Generally most are more gimmicky than practical. Below are my personal top 10 apps when travelling. All are free (some have pro versions that will cost you).

Trip It

This is a brilliant app. It syncs with your email account to recognise booking confirmations, and then automatically schedules out your trips and records all the important info.

Trip Advisor City Guide

Download maps, itineraries, venue guides and much more for many cities around the world. Once you’ve downloaded each specific city you don’t need WIFI to use it. Very handy if you don’t have a data package when on the move. Continue reading →

A few things that make Mobile Gaming so Interesting

If you are like most people then you probably own at least one mobile device. In addition, you’ve probably tried playing mobile games on your device too. Mobile gaming is on the rise and the creators of these games are investing even more in their development. Of course, not all of them are the same and some of them are more interesting when compared to the others. In other words, there are some things that keep players coming back for more. We are not talking about the simplicity or complexity of games because there are some simple and complex games that are popular too. There are a few different things that contribute to the popularity of mobile gaming in general.

The variety of games

According to many statistics, arcade games are by far the most popular games of this kind in the world. They have excellent graphics, short and interesting levels and smooth gameplay. Their difficulty increases with each level and players can usually continue where they have stopped playing or at least from some checkpoint.

However, what is really interesting is that mobile casino games are getting quite popular too. They are actually mobile versions of online casino games. Obviously, they are popular primarily because unlike other games, they can bring real financial profit to players. Poker, baccarat, blackjack, a plethora of slots – these are some of the mobile casino games you can play on your Android-based or iOS-based mobile phone or tablet. In addition, there are games that support other operating systems too.

While we are still talking about this subject, we will take the Arab world as an example. A few years ago, gambling was illegal in many of these countries. Today, there are many completely legal online casino Arabic options that are providing mobile gaming opportunities too. The authorities have realized that there is nothing wrong with having fun playing world-renowned casino games on a mobile device and making some profit along the way. Thousands of people in the Arab world are playing these games and they are more than satisfied with the joy, excitement, and profit they bring. Of course, in order to avoid making any mistakes, they do research before using any of these mobile casinos. Continue reading →

Toyville Heroes

Toyville Heroes: Overleap is a quite interesting game from the game development beginners Some Game Studio, in which you need to play for the toy characters and jump from one column to another. According to developers, it’s the first game from a series of games about this universe of toys. They call it Toyville Heroes.

Despite the fact that the game looks fairly childish, it’s hard to classify it as “game for kids”. At first play you will understand that scoring at least 5 points is not as easy as it seems as this game use a pretty difficult and annoying game mechanics.

Here’s how it works

At the beginning of the game your character stands on the column (which is actually abc-blocks) and has the target that spins around him all the time. Your goal is to jump to another column before the one on which you stand don´t crash (a timer at the bottom of the screen will always jog your memory). To perform it (by considering the rotation of the target) you need to accurately calculate the jump. You tap on the screen at that moment, when your character has to jump, and hold it until target reaches the next column, then you should release. After that your character will jump, and if you release at the right time, he will land on the next column. Otherwise, you will fall down. You will have to start the game again. In other words, you need to jump from one column to another, until you don’t fall (and there’s no doubt that you will fall. It’s the only matter of time). That’s it.

There are also a lot of characters, which open through the system, borrowed obviously from the popular game “Crossy Road”. It means, either you buy characters for real currency or take periodic gifts in the form of virtual currency, then put them in a “special” slot machine, which will open you a random character. And later you will be able to select them in the characters selection menu.

Another thing that matters is the fact that the game has already been translated into 4 languages: English, French, Russian and Kazakh.

Finally, it’s worth to say that we’ve met pretty interesting and exciting mobile game which has its own childish atmosphere.

Cool guitar solos and hot platforming gameplay at your fingertips

Run and Rock-it Kristie is a colorful auto-running platformer with a couple of original ideas and design choices. The premise is simple: Kristie is late to the show and needs your help on her breakneck run to reach the stage to give a spectacular guitar performance for her fans.

The game starts as a classic platformer, teaching new players the basics, but gradually increases difficulty by introducing new gameplay elements like air-vent bumpers, springy balloons, hazardous spikes and enemies as well as new mechanics like wall-sprinting, rope-sliding and attacking.

Controls are single-touch in the first tour and two-touch for the rest of the game – one for jumping and one for attacking. Mastering the controls is essential and here is why. The game comes with 30 bite-sized levels. Those who are simply looking to fly through all levels will be able to do it in a couple hours. But if you’re looking to perfect each one, you definitely won’t do it in one sitting.

Each stage has collectibles in the form of musical notes and golden stars which when collected together add up to a hundred points. Finish with all collectibles and you’ll be rewarded with a unique guitar solo performed by Kristie. The collectibles are placed all over the stage and is takes a bit of exploration to find all of them.

What it means is you’ll need to dash through each stage several times before finding out the route to pull off the perfect run which might sound tedious but comes with a definite feeling of satisfaction once you manage to successfully do it.

The game looks very good, features a variety of time of year, weather and time of day setups and has an original up-beat soundtrack.

While unlocking guitar solos is cool, sometimes it’s not enough to make you genuinely want to beat each stage perfectly. The developer is planning to add different character outfits to the game as a sort of a more “visual” reward for players. That’s actually a good idea, since it’ll create an additional incentive to beat stages perfectly for those who are more interested in looks, rather than audio goodness.

The verdict

Run and Rock-it Kristie has very easy controls, but can be challenging if you’re really willing to put your skills to the test. The game rewards skillful players with original guitar solos and lets you get access to all features and future updates with just a single in-app purchase. Try it; it’s a free download after all.

App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1021084072

Improve How You Manage Business with the Wrike iOS Project Management App

Move over Blackberry: the iPhone has truly become the de facto business phone for on-the-go professionals. We’re a bit biased, but it’s been our experience that the majority of iOS apps just work without a lot of hassle or headaches. Now if you’re looking for a great productivity app to download, we’re dying to introduce you to Wrike.

This isn’t a company that just barely sticks their toes in the waters of time management and project management. They are fully committed to continually improving their product to help entrepreneurs, teams, and businesses reclaim their time and manage projects from anywhere in the world. The Wrike iOS app is a newer offering, currently at version 2.1.4., and they’re continually working on bringing more and more of the desktop features to the app. But overall, this is a company that has really tried to go above and beyond in providing project management empowerment, education, and real-world advice.

Here’s what you can do in the Wrike iOS app:

* Get instant access to all your projects and tasks.

* Enjoy seamless integration between the web-based online project management software and your iOS version.

* Easily process a lot of tasks by just swiping left or right. This is one of our favorite features, because it makes it easy to manage a huge work list. If you need to schedule a task, swipe left. If you need to modify it in any other way, swipe right.

* We think the flexible tagging and categorization is one of the best project management tools offered by Wrike. Color coding on tags is something that we were happy to see, as it’s an easy way to quickly track down your priorities. You could have one color for your most urgent projects, another color for “maybe some day” tasks, and so forth. 52 colors (plus a “no color” option) means the sky is the limit.

Overall, we really liked the feel of the Wrike iPhone app. Of course, we’re not the only group out there talking about Wrike. Even entrepreneur Redfoo (from the popular music duo LMFAO) uses Wrike to manage his creative business, and went on video to talk about how he uses the software.

If you’re trying to make better use of your time and manage your projects more efficiently, Wrike is definitely a tool that can help you achieve that. However, we will say that as with any productivity app, it takes the right mindset to improve how you manage your time and work. Consistent action and determination will lead you to success with any app, but we feel that Wrike stands out at the top of the pack.

Besides, you’re on an iPhone! Put that gorgeous retina display to good use with a great app, and take care of your projects with finesse. Go on and check it out today; you might be amazed by how it helps improve the way you work.

Pool Empire – Don’t Miss This Game with over 8,000,000 Fans Recommendation!

Introduction

With people from around the world to play with, the ability to challenge your friends, high quality graphics and beautiful cues and tables, Pool Empire represents a lifelike pool stage for you and fills your pool need right from your mobile phone. You can experience fun, joy and challenge whenever you are online or offline.

Graphics

The graphics and special effects make the game feel so realistic. It looks elegant and the aestetics of the lighting in the game gives it a feeling of depth.

The balls in the game deserve a mention as they look like real spheres and not like a low poly count model. They do capture the sense of what a real sphere do in the real world, they are not just icons on the screen.

Gameplay

Pool Empire, based on American 8 ball rules, is a pool game with multiple gameplays, such as 1 vs.1, 8-player Competition, Bluetooth Battle, AI Battle, 14-1 Mode and so on.

You can play online in a one-on-one competition against another player in the world, or you can simply challenge your own friend. Also, you can just play offline if you don’t have an Internet connection or you just want to practice before playing with others.

According to Pool Empire’s Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/poolempire), a new version is coming. There will be some innovative gameplays, such as Puzzle Mode and Time-limited Mode and so on. Let’s wait and see.

Special Game Features

There are some extra special features worth noting. The mini games in the app provide you opportunities to win rewards. Meanwhile, you can record a video while playing and upload to community to share your winning. Continue reading →

Ready for a Feast of Dazzling Puzzles? Black Island Delivers In Spades

Let a gamer chill with you for a few hours, and eventually you’ll get to a topic that’s near and dear to every gamer’s heart: retro games. Specifically, adventure games. Who hasn’t grown up hacking and slashing their way across a world map? But today’s adventure games have gotten a big boost thanks to the iOS platform. Hey, we have no problem with Android phones around here, but it’s all about the iPhone and iPad as far as we’re concerned.

Let’s give you a new adventure game to sink your teeth into. This one is designed for the iOS platform, although there are alternate versions for the other systems. The game featured today is Black Island. We know: mild name, nothing really to see here…until you sit down and play.

Here’s the basics: it’s all about the point and tap, with heavy coats of storytelling. You get to look around for specific items and solve creative puzzles within the game. Don’t fail your quest, or you’ll never move forward in the game!

What’s really intriguing about Black Island is that there are short little video clips that extend the story beyond just the words, something that we thought was very clever. If you’ve played something like Skyrim, then you understand the importance of mini-movies within a game. It can bring an otherwise flat game to life in a matter of seconds. For well-crafted games like Black Island, it’s really just a buildup of interesting flavors that lead to something even more intriguing than before.

Black Island isn’t just for the Indiana Jones types in the audience; if you love to solve mysteries and always seem to know who the masked villain is before the big reveal, you’ll enjoy the challenge of this game just fine.

What we found most interesting is how the old and new were respected as the story unfolds. You have some strong elements of retro gaming, but not so much so that you can’t feel the modern overtones as well. This isn’t just for people wanting to relive the golden era of gaming; it’s for teens that need to have something interesting to play while they’re waiting on their parents. OK, the rest of us can play too, but if you have young gamers in the house you might have to wrestle your iPhone away…

This game is currently free until October 15th, giving you time to check out the game without having to remember a promo code.

The game is divided into three chapters. The first chapter starts out with a mysterious beginning: a lonely watchtower that shows the island perfectly, but you still can’t just climb it. How do you get up there without a ladder? You’ll just have to play and find out!

Download the game on the App Store

Official Website

Experience the world of Throne of Spirits!

Do you like RPGs but are tired of the endless grinding? Do you wish having an engaging game on your mobile device? Don’t worry, there is a solution for this.

The game, the team, the battle

Throne of Spirits offers a unique experience which draws influence from games such as Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem. Yes, you heard correctly. The game offers a turn-based strategy-RPG experience with appealing battle system and large pool of obtainable characters. Moreover, the graphics are colorful and offer delightful, yet dynamic, details such as moving wings in the character portraits. As for the team, you have a possibility to use up to five characters. As the player levels up, slots for three supporting spirits will become available in order to utilize spirits’ powerful combo skills. In addition,the player is allowed to use one friend as a helper. For new players: don’t worry, there is no need to have a full friend list as you can use strangers to help you out! The battle system offers strategic stimulus as team members are turned into chess-like pieces which are moved around the battlefield and have different roles. However, contrary to chess, these roles don’t affect spirit’s movement, but its attack range and possible skills. As a team leader, the players is able to cast various spells in order to help the team to win fights. Overall, Throne of Spirits values player’s tactical skills over the endless grinding.

Various modes open for further discovery

Throne of Spirits offers a few basic modes, namely Normal and Elite dungeon, which are accessible from the beginning. As the player levels up, more modes will be playable such as Special dungeon in the storyline. Moreover, modes such as Bounty, Treasure Cave, Mage Tower and Mythic Forest enable access to multiple resources. For competitive souls, Mine and Colosseum offer possibility to battle against other fellow players and test the strength of their teams. As this wasn’t enough, the guild provides possibility to play together, with friends or strangers, in order to complete guild specific dungeons.

Collect barbarians, goblins and Gods

As mentioned above, the character pool for Throne of Spirits is massive as it contains over 300 spirits. There are, for example, humans, barbarians, goblins and robots. Furthermore, these spirits are classified into different classes such as warriors, assassins, lancers, archers, healers and even pets to lighten the day. These spirits are assigned into various rarity levels from normal to super rare. If the player is lucky, a God might appear and further strengthen the team. The obtained spirits can be equipped and evolved, enabling boost to their statistics.

Why you should download?

The battle system, the characters and free-to-play – these are only a few reasons. Moreover, as explained above, Throne of Spirits has a diverse playing environment that keeps on expanding as players progress, to keep the user experience ever-changing and rewarding. There aren’t too many similar free-to-play RPGs with real-time PVP and therefore, Throne of Spirit is worth trying. The game can be found in App Store by following this link.

Best mobile apps and gadgets to manage your money on the move

Keeping an eye on your spending habits can be one of the safest ways to stay out of debt, and we all know that prevention is better than cure. If you are suffering from debt, keeping a track of your budget – and sticking to it – is essential in order to avoid the spiral of debt that could end up costing you a lot more than you originally intended.

Are there any apps and gadgets that can help you manage your finances?

Many of us will keep some sort of budgeting system, whether it’s a traditional pen and paper job or something more technological – even using a custom spreadsheet on your home computer can be one of the simplest and most successful ways to keep track of your household budget. But when are we most likely to spend money? When we’re out and about, of course! Having a spreadsheet or accounts book at home is all well and good but having access to your personal budget while you’re on the move is even better.

Aside from signing up to the relevant mobile banking services from your personal bank, you should also investigate the range of mobile apps on the market for keeping track of your personal budget. If you’re one of those keen Apple fans who recently managed to get their hands on a brand new iPhone 6, you’ll be pleased to know that there are a host of useful home budget applications available to download for the iPhone.

Best budget management apps

1) If you’re a student, opt for the My Student Budget Planner, a simple and easy-to-use little app that keeps track of the most essential components of any student’s finance: loans, grants, wages, savings and outgoings.

While not the most complex application, it allows you to organise yourself with a weekly budget (great if you work part-time or are paid weekly) and rapidly update your budget with outgoings. You can also see your expenditure and budget for a total yearly period – again, great for students who work on a slightly different timetable to regular workers.

2) For those wanting something fairly simple to keep track on their budget whilst out, rather than a fully comprehensive budget application, the Budget Me Free application is excellent. Presenting your information in a clear visual format, you set your monthly budgets for a variety of expenses (including groceries, eating out, and utilities) and input expenditure as you go along. Continue reading →

Fluttabyes

From the moment you launch Fluttabyes and the game’s logo starts dancing to the incredibly cheerful theme tune, it’s almost impossible not to start bobbing your head along with it!

Fluttabyes is a bright, family-friendly, “Connect 4” type game. You must match four or more butterflies of the same colour so that they can fly-away. You goal depends on which of the five game-modes you choose to play:

Survival

Matching butterflies earns you time as well as points and when the matched butterflies fly away, the grid is filled up again. Your time remaining is represented by the seeds on a dandelion; when all the seeds have blown away: it’s game over! If you match enough of a certain colour then you can earn a bonus Ladybird and if you match the maximum possible number of butterflies, you earn a Rainbow Butterfly.

Endless

This could also be called “Survival Practice” because it’s the same as Survival but without the time limit. This is a great place to learn how to earn the Ladybird and Rainbow Butterfly and then see what effect they have on the game grid.

Solitaire

In this mode, when you successfully make a match and the butterflies fly away, they are not replaced. Your goal is to clear the grid of all butterflies as quickly as possible.

Drop

Butterflies fall from the top of the grid at an ever increasing rate. It starts off slow but after approximately one minute it can get quite hectic! The aim is to last as long as you can.

Rush

In the final game mode, there is a fixed time limit of 60 seconds to obtain the highest score you can. To help you, the bonus Ladybirds and Rainbow Butterflies are easier to obtain.

All game-modes have an associated Game-Center Leader-Board so you can compete with your friends and all other players around the world.

If you want to try-before-you-buy there is a free version of the game called “Fluttabyes Free” which limits you to 60 seconds of Survival mode.

Both the full version and free version can be downloaded here:

https://itunes.apple.com/artist/red-chain-games-ltd/id848995108

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Iphone Game Reviews and Apps