Download Squad

Winamp 1.0 for Android review: now with free MP3 downloads and streaming

Sebastian Anthony — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:10:00 EST

Moments ago, Nullsoft released Winamp 1.0 on to the Android Market. It's free to download, and we can safely say that it's best music player for Android. It's so good that it might even whip the llama's ass. [Disclosure: Nullsoft and Download Squad are both owned by AOL]

With the bump to version 1, Winamp for Android introduces a bunch of cool new features. Most notably is the ability to download and stream MP3s from Spinner, but there's also a new Featured SHOUTcast Stations area and extensive UI changes throughout.

The lock screen player has been redesigned, and you can now control audio playback with swipe gestures. Accessing vast amounts of artist information and news directly from the Now Playing screen is now really easy -- and finally, Wi-Fi sync of music from your desktop PC is now a lot more stable!

Read on for our hands-on experiences with each of Winamp 1.0's main features.

Gallery: Winamp 1.0 for Android: beautiful and functional

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Winamp 1.0 for Android review: now with free MP3 downloads and streaming originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IMDb Android app update brings major redesign, trailers, global showtimes, and more

Matthew Rogers — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST

The official IMDb app for Android just got a big update, and it does not disappoint. Along with a complete design-overhaul, the app has been stuffed full of IMDb goodness to the point that it's now more enjoyable to use than the actual website itself.

The redesign is very sleek. They've basically taken the original palette and layout, expanded it all, and turned up the sexy. As nice as it looks though, the biggest thing I noticed was that everything about the app is blazingly fast. It's so fast that it's a bit off-putting, because using IMDb.com has always felt to me like an exercise in extreme patience.

Movie trailers now take center stage, literally, which makes sense since they're one of the big reasons that people like going to IMDb in the first place. The fully revamped app makes trailers, and other media, a priority now with the very first screen you see a springboard for viewing trailers of upcoming and top new movies. The trailers themselves play better than I had anticipated, and like the rest of the app, they load quickly.

Between the design and the new features, including international movie showtimes, the app is extremely functional. I was able to sprint through several movies, TV shows, actors, and news stories in seconds -- which is far more than I can say for trying to load the website in a mobile browser.

Gallery: IMDb for Android - Updated February 2011

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IMDb Android app update brings major redesign, trailers, global showtimes, and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NBA Jam for iPhone is just as fun and addictive as the classic SNES version

Jay Hathaway — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST

If you loved NBA Jam on the Super Nintendo console back in the '90s, the iPhone version will transport you back to the slammin', jammin' days of yore. If you're new to the classic two-on-two basketball game, prepare to waste a whole lot of time, and get some ice ready for your sore thumbs.

NBA Jam for iPhone is a faithful translation of NBA Jam Tournament Edition, featuring at least three regular players (plus one or two unlockable characters) from every NBA team. Unlockable bonuses abound, and you can even shell out for some in-app purchases if you want extra characters and play modes without doing the work. The controls take a little getting used to -- especially if you choose to play with gestures -- and the lack of an online multiplayer mode is disappointing, but the overall gameplay experience is worth your $5.

Below, we bring you a closer look at the small-screen NBA Jam experience.

Gallery: NBA Jam for iPhone

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NBA Jam for iPhone is just as fun and addictive as the classic SNES version originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Top 5 free BlackBerry Messenger-style cross-platform chat apps

Samuel Gibbs — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST

Ever since early in the evolution of the BlackBerry, RIM's BlackBerry Messenger has been the envy of all other smartphone users. By creating an always-on Instant Messaging platform that linked phones to phones, RIM managed to provide a service that not only replaced the need for text and multimedia messaging, but also didn't interfere with any desktop IM protocol that you might use. OK, some desktop IM services like Gtalk let you take the 'focus' from your desktop when you log-on using your smartphone, having all messages directed there; but it's not the same as having a dedicated always-on, always-mobile IM service.

Up until recently, BBM was about the only application to provide this kind of phone-to-phone messaging service over data, but with the dawn of the App Stores, a whole host of BBM-clones have sprung up. Today we're going to be taking a look at five of the best free and, for the most part, cross-platform solutions. It's important to note that none of these apps will connect you with the BBM service, nor are they capable of connecting to any other messaging service than their own.

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Top 5 free BlackBerry Messenger-style cross-platform chat apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Shopper for iPhone: fast, accurate product search and price comparison on the go

Samuel Gibbs — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:15:00 EST

Google Shopper has made the jump from Android to the iPhone and is now available as a free download in the iOS App Store. Currently only available to US and UK-based shoppers, Google Shopper brings the best bits from the Google Mobile app and blends it with price comparison. You can scan barcodes, take photos of cover art, or voice search for what you want. Then all you have to do is select the product you're after and hey-presto you've got product details, reviews, and not only online price comparison and stock check, but local too. You can even browse the site of your online merchant of choice from within the app, or locate the nearest brick and mortar store that's selling your item using Google Maps.

Gallery: Google Shopper for iPhone

The product cover art scanning seems to work a lot better for books than video game boxes, but the barcode scanning worked incredibly fast and accurately. The voice search is also up to Google's usual standards, but isn't activated by placing the phone to your face like the Google Mobile app for iOS.

It's strange that Google Shopper wasn't just built straight into the original Google Mobile app like Google Goggles was, but it's fast, free and handy, so there's no reason not to have this on your iPhone next time you go shopping.

Google Shopper for iPhone [iTunes] - Free

Google Shopper for iPhone: fast, accurate product search and price comparison on the go originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 04:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dead Space for iOS review: console-quality survival horror on the iPhone and iPad

Samuel Gibbs — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST

Dead Space is one of EA's best and biggest original IPs, and now to mark the release of Dead Space 2, the sci-fi survival horror franchise has made the leap to the portable screen. Dead Space for iOS charts an exclusive-to-the-App-Store prelude to the frightfest that is Dead Space 2. But does the visceral horror, suspense and thrilling action translate to the mobile screen? I took a look at the $9.99 Dead Space for iPad to see whether the game's managed live up to its 'console-quality' hype.

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Dead Space for iOS review: console-quality survival horror on the iPhone and iPad originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ramps becomes addictive iPhone game

Samuel Gibbs — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:00:00 EST

With console-quality iPhone games coming at you left and right these days, it's easy to forget that games like Rolando were the stars of the show a couple of years ago. Now, in the same vein as Rolando, one of our favorite time wasters has made the jump to iOS -- introducing Ramps for iPhone.

The premise, like many other popular time waster-style iOS titles is simple: get the rolling smiley ball into the cup. As the name might suggest, you use ramps to guide the ball from the outlet at the top of the screen, past various crazy obstructions, into the cup at the bottom. The levels start off fairly easy, with obvious straightforward solutions. As you progress however, death traps come into play, obstacles block the easy path, and the cup becomes only just big enough to take the ball.

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Ramps becomes addictive iPhone game originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter for Mac is a slick, fast new update to Tweetie

Jay Hathaway — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST

The long awaited Tweetie 2 for Mac has finally launched, with a new name: it's now Twitter for Mac. When Twitter bought Tweetie, they announced that developer Loren Brichter would be turning the iPhone version into an official Twitter for iPhone, but the Mac version of Tweetie wasn't getting Twitter branding -- and effective became a hobby for Loren.

Twitter has an official blog post explaining how they reached the decision to release an official Twitter app for Mac, and it has to do with the October "Hack Week" they gave their employees to work on new projects. Loren spent that week polishing up his idea for Tweetie 2, and the Twitter brass loved it so much that it was anointed an official Twitter client.

Gallery: Twitter for Mac

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Twitter for Mac is a slick, fast new update to Tweetie originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 12 best apps for your new Android device

Erez Zukerman — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 13:30:00 EST

So, you found a brand-new Android device under the tree a few days ago. Congratulations! Now what? In this post I'm going to recommend the very best apps to get off on the right foot with Android. If you've been using Android for a while, chances are you know most of these. Still, you might find a hidden gem or two. These are all based on my own use, so while the list is subjective in nature, these are not just shiny apps we've noticed in the market -- they have all been tested in real life for quite some time. Here goes:

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PERFECT Web Browser for iPad review

Samuel Gibbs — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST

The Holiday season is almost over, but the hunt for the perfect iOS browser is still in full swing. On the chopping block today we've got PERFECT Web Browser for the iPad. With a name like that you might be setting yourself up for a fall, but judging by the numerous five-star App Store reviews, we just might have a Mobile Safari-beater on our hands here. Read on to find out how PERFECT fared.

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PERFECT Web Browser for iPad review originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Double Exposure Pro photo blending app for iPhone

Samuel Gibbs — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST

The iPhone has packed a pretty good camera ever since the iPhone 3GS was launched, but it was the iPhone 4's five-megapixel camera that really brought out the photographer in iOS. Now that we know we can take decent pictures on an iPhone, photo modification apps have really come into their own, and Double Exposure Pro is no exception.

Essentially allowing you to combine two photos into one, with filters and control of the blending, Double Exposure Pro lets you create some really interesting and unique photos. Although a lot of apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic already allow you to apply filters and effects to photos, not many other apps allow you to blend two photos together on the iPhone. Double Exposure Pro uses a pretty simple slider based interface that allows you to combine photos, apply filters, or make adjustments to brightness and contrast with either a slider bar or by sliding your finger across the photo. There's even a pretty comprehensive help menu in the app that'll explain the features and guide you through the process should you lose your way.

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Double Exposure Pro photo blending app for iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DLS goes nose-on with NoseDial for iPhone

Samuel Gibbs — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 20:40:00 EST

Earlier in the week we told you about the app that aims to solve the iPhone user's winter dilemma. Do you a) take off your gloves and let you hands freeze, but be able to use your iPhone, or b) attempt to use Voice Control with the only button available? Well now with NoseDial, you have a third option: use your nose.

As your nose is normally the only thing that's left exposed with any sort of point on it, NoseDial attempts to put it to good use -- but does it work? Hit the break to see us put it to the test in our nose-on review.

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DLS goes nose-on with NoseDial for iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 20:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trillian for Android review -- not quite worth your money yet

Sebastian Anthony — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST

Earlier this week, Trillian, one of the oldest third-party IM client developers, released its Android app. I've always found Trillian a bit gimicky -- kind of like a 'Super Mega' Windows Live Messenger, with more bells and whistles than I really need, and a bloated, hard-to-navigate UI as a result.

Trillian for Android, I'm sad to say, is no better. Ultimately, it's functional but it feels like the shedding of its beta moniker was more than a little hasty. If that wasn't bad enough, it'll cost you $5 from the Android Market.

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Trillian for Android review -- not quite worth your money yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yelp's new iPad app is a feast for the eyes

Jay Hathaway — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST

Yelp, the social reviews network known for its community of food-obsessed users, now has a Yelp iPad app to complement its previous mobile offerings. The iPad's large screen is a treat for food lovers, allowing for larger photos of venues and their dishes. It's as if Yelp and Foodspotting -- the mobile food photo app -- had a gorgeous, iPad-sized baby. According to Yelp, "It's a whole frigging new app."

The Yelp iPad app's user interface is quite different from the iPhone version. In landscape mode, it keeps the list of venues and their star rating in a sidebar, and devotes the remainder of the screen to reviews and large photos. Switch to portrait, and you can view search results as a list, a photo grid, or a map. Another feature you'll find in the iPad version of Yelp, but not in the iPhone app, is the ability to write reviews without loading up Yelp.com in your browser.

All in all, Yelp's iPad app doesn't add a ton of new functionality, but it does add a ton of new visual flair, especially in the photo search results grid. Even if you only occasionally use the Yelp website on your iPad, your eyes will thank you for getting the app instead. You can grab it for free in the App Store now.

Yelp's new iPad app is a feast for the eyes originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video Review: About.me lets you easily create a personal landing page

Erez Zukerman — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST

About.me is a direct competitor of Flavors.me; both services try to help you create a personal landing page, hooked up to your "social media presence" on other sites (Facebook, Flickr, et al).

About.me left public beta a few days ago, and I decided to give it the video treatment today. I've put together an extensive review covering most of its features from a first-time user perspective. It's meant to be simple to use, and in the video you can see how friendly it is to non-techies. It basically allows you to create a beautiful page for yourself without writing a single line of code, and get a whole bunch of analytics while you're at it. Check out the video review after the jump!

At the end of the video you can see that Flickr integration did not work for me; that's not About.me's fault - it's because of my Flickr sharing configuration.

[Full Disclosure: About.me was purchased by Download Squad's parent company, AOL, shortly after Erez recorded his review. -- ed.]

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Video Review: About.me lets you easily create a personal landing page originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switch is a multi-user Web browser for iPad

Samuel Gibbs — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST

The iPad could arguably be described as the ultimate in couch computing. The problem is that as a couch computer, its single user operating system means that everyone has to use the same account. When the next person logs into their Gmail or Facebook, you have to log the previous user out, essentially creating an annoying cycle of logging in and out, as the iPad skips between multiple users. Now, some apps already have a user account-type system, games often support several players or logins, but for the most part the iPad is likely going to be used to consume Web content.

Continuing our iOS browser series, in steps Switch (not to be confused with our adopted mother, Switched), the iPad browser with multiple user accounts. This simple, yet elegant solution simply provides you with a series of user accounts, complete with a cutesy avatar or picture of your choice, when you fire up the app. Tapping on your user account takes you into a separate browsing session with your own bookmarks, history, cookies, cache, and most importantly, logged in Web accounts. If you don't trust your friends and family to keep their nose out of your business, each Switch user account can be password protected. There's also a nice temporary Guest account feature to cater for visiting friends, which wipes their browsing data once they exit.

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Switch is a multi-user Web browser for iPad originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reeder RSS app makes the jump from iOS to Mac desktops

Jay Hathaway — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:31:00 EST

Reeder, one of the best RSS readers for iOS devices, has just landed on the Mac. It's still in the draft stage, but it's got all the features that make the mobile version awesome. It pulls your feeds straight from Google Reader, making initial set-up extremely quick and easy. Integration with sharing and bookmarking services also carries over from the iOS version of Reeder: Instapaper, Read It Later, Delicious, and sharing via email are all included, along with several others.

In terms of looks, Reeder definitely has an iPad flavor, with the toolbar integrated into the window title bar. You can add your choice of sharing buttons to that toolbar using preferences. The reading area is divided into resizable sections, with your list of feeds and folders on the left, stories from the selected feed or folder in the middle, and the reading area on the right. Reeder is really meant to run full-screen.

As this is a draft, some key features have been left out. The most glaring omissions are feed organization and search, but there's no doubt that they'll be included in a future release. So far, so good, though. Reeder already looks like the most promising OS X feed reader to come along in quite a while.

Reeder RSS app makes the jump from iOS to Mac desktops originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Feed: design takes the lead in this Google Reader iPad app

Samuel Gibbs — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST

When you look at some apps it's pretty clear that the design of the user experience was left a little late in the development cycle. It's common practice to employ a designer to finish off what the developer has already put in place, polishing the pixels if you will. That's certainly not the case with The Feed, as its claim to fame is that it's been made purely by a design firm, Ocean Observations, from the get go -- but does it show?

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The Feed: design takes the lead in this Google Reader iPad app originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sparrow is a sexy, minimalist (but still very beta) new email client for Mac

Jay Hathaway — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 06:26:00 EST

Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, E-mail

If you're sick of Apple Mail, a new app called Sparrow might be the antidote. This lean, mean app is to email what Tweetie is to Twitter. By that, I mean that it borrows a lot of Tweetie's sexiest UI elements, including the interface for switching between accounts, the hotkeys and the sidebar navigation. Apart from looking great, the app has a very small screen footprint, with the full text of your messages hidden in a slide-out drawer.

Sparrow may outclass Apple Mail in looks, but it's got some notable weaknesses. First, it only works with Gmail (and Google Apps for your domain). Second, it doesn't support some of Gmail's most important features, including filters. I also noticed some syncing problems, but they were easily fixed by deleting and re-adding my accounts.

Keep in mind that Sparrow is still in beta, and it's got the kinks to prove it. Support for other IMAP accounts is planned in the future, though, and the few minor issues it's got should be resolved before it goes 1.0.

Sparrow is a sexy, minimalist (but still very beta) new email client for Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 06:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The most common words used in 1-star and 5-star App Store reviews

Sebastian Anthony — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Apple, Mobile

I'm not quite sure if this one counts as 'news', and you'll probably want the 30 seconds of your life back afterwards, but anyway: Marco Arment (of Tumblr and Instapaper fame) has compiled a list of the most commonly used words in 1- and 5-star App Store reviews.

In true American style, awesome and worth are at the top of the 5-star list. As Marco points out, it's very nice to see simple so high in the 5-star list, but words like ever, never and done are a bit odd. I don't have an iOS device, so I can only guess, but are people writing reviews that read 'This app is awesome. I don't know how I ever got along without it. I will never leave home without it'? And where does touch figure into positive reviews? I hope it comes from 'it also works on my iPod touch!'...

The bad-review list reads like a litany of woe: waste and money come first, quickly followed by crashes, useless, deleted and stupid.

Interestingly, both lists emphasize cost and value: i.e. when an app works well, it's 'worth its weight in gold', but when it doesn't work, an app is 'a useless waste of money'. As Marco highlights, though, talking about the price when you've paid hundreds of dollars for the device itself is a little silly.

My favourite word, if you're wondering, is right at the end of the 1-star review list: Apple.

The most common words used in 1-star and 5-star App Store reviews originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's not Netflix, but Clicker's iPhone app does offer a lot of Web TV

Jay Hathaway — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Utilities, Video, iPhone

Clicker.com is like the TV guide of web shows (and TV shows online). It doesn't get as much hype as Netflix and Hulu, but does offer a lot of video content. Clicker is mostly worth talking about because of the iPhone app, though. Basically, it points you to content from all the video sites you watch for free (YouTube, Break.com, Revision3) and adds the ability to buy iTunes videos.

With Clicker's app, you're really downloading the packaging. It doesn't do anything you couldn't do on your iPhone already, it just combines those functions into one wrapper and adds some social sharing features.

Clicker will support Hulu Plus and Netflix eventually, but you'll still need the corresponding apps to watch. It's conveniently coming out around the same time as this morning's Netflix for iPhone announcement, but Clicker just isn't as exciting.

It's not Netflix, but Clicker's iPhone app does offer a lot of Web TV originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MessageParty is a location-based iPhone chat app

Jay Hathaway — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Social Software, iPhone

Could MessageParty be the newest chat trend? It's an iPhone-only, location-based chatroom. That means you can jump in and start talking to people near you, in your city, or even in the worldwide "everybody" room. It's easy to set up, using Facebook Connect to log in, and there aren't a lot of frilly features. There aren't even direct messages, which really keeps the "party" in MessageParty. Just set up a room for your location or event, and off you go.

I could see this catching on in a few particular markets: high school or college campuses, for example. Mashable suggests it would work well at conferences. So far, MessageParty has around 750 users trying out the Everybody Party, and I've seen 7 people signed in here in Seattle. The interface is insanely easy to figure out, so this could catch on big-time ... it just needs a big event to drive it, the way SXSW in Austin helped launch Twitter.

MessageParty is a location-based iPhone chat app originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Incident brings retro graphics and unique gameplay to the iPhone

Jay Hathaway — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Games, iPhone

The Incident's retro pixel graphics look anything but iPhone-esque, but this little gem of a game takes full advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer and touchscreen. You control a guy who's caught in a falling heap of every kind of debris you can imagine. Think Tetris, but instead of blocks you have to deal with couches, cars, Easter Island heads, and more. Oh, and instead of arranging the falling stuff, you have to climb it.

Tilt your phone to run across the heap, and tap the screen to jump. Along the way, various power-ups (and infuriating power-downs) cross your path, and you'll need all the powering up you can get to make it to the higher levels and figure out the cause of The Incident. Extra lives are easy to come by early on, so save them up, because you'll need them later. There are also achievements to gather up once you beat the game, which add extra dimensions of play.

The best thing about The Incident is its charming attention to detail. The game reveals new objects as you advance higher up the stack, and it contains a seemingly endless supply of junk to drop on you. The worst thing is getting used to the tilt controls, but once you do, it's a lot of fun.

The Incident will run you US$2 on the App Store.

The Incident brings retro graphics and unique gameplay to the iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mayorama could be the ultimate Foursquare companion, but it's not quite there yet

Jay Hathaway — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Web services, Social Software, iPhone

If you're a mayorship-obsessed, Foursquare-loving, check-in fiend with an iPhone, Mayorama could be the best 99 cents you spend this week. It promises to show you the status of your mayorships -- how many check-ins you have at each venue, and how many to go until you become mayor -- and give you a list of targets (nearby vulnerable venues you can check into). Even if you're just wondering how many more morning Starbucks visits will make you mayor, 99 cents isn't a lot to pay for the info.

The thing is, Mayorama's not quite there yet. It has trouble grabbing your info from Foursquare (it works, it just displays a message saying that it didn't), and it can only show nearby venues. I get that being nearby means valid check-ins, but what if you just want to see whether driving across town could make you mayor? You can't, because your check-in history is the one part of the app that doesn't load.

I'm sure these problems will be cleared up with an update, but there are also some essential features for mayorship-hunters that ought to be included. A venue search would be nice, for one thing, and that has to be available in the Foursquare API. Also, the ability to check in off the grid would be really nice. It sucks to spam your friends with your repetitive mayor-seeking check-ins, and Mayorama doesn't give you the option not to broadcast. I find myself checking Mayorama and then switching to the Foursquare app to check in siliently.

This could be the app I've been looking for to put the fun back into the whole mayorship thing, but it just doesn't quite work as advertised yet. Still, for a buck, it's well worth trying.

Mayorama could be the ultimate Foursquare companion, but it's not quite there yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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StumbleUpon's new iPhone app is a killer way to waste time

Jay Hathaway — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Fun, Web services, iPhone

If you've got some time to kill on your iPhone or Android device, StumbleUpon's new mobile apps are a good bet. I've been testing the iPhone version of StumbleUpon this weekend, and it has everything you'd want from a StumbleUpon mobile experience. The app's free, and it's tailored specifically to mobile browsing, so it beats opening the StumbleUpon website in Safari.

There's a toolbar for quickly skipping to the next random site or rating with the thumbs up/thumbs down buttons, plus thumbnails so you don't have to load a whole page if you're not interested. Logging in tailors the stumbing experience to your interests and allows you to sort by the topics you've listed in your profile. Unfortunately, you can't edit your profile or interact with your StumbleUpon contacts using the app, but you can browse your friends' favorites lists.

I do have one small gripe with StumbleUpon on the iPhone, though: I wish there were some way to filter out sites with extensive Flash content. StumbleUpon handles YouTube videos admirably, but having to skip past Flash sites on an iPhone is a little annoying. Fortunately, you're always just one tap away from the next random site!

StumbleUpon's new iPhone app is a killer way to waste time originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSX4droid brings thousands of emulated PlayStation games to your Android phone

Sebastian Anthony — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Games, Android

Earlier this week I reviewed NESoid, a tidy little Android app that lets you play the vast library of NES games on your smartphone. It's no surprise that my 600MHz smartphone can emulate the NES's 8-bit 1.8MHz (really!) processor -- but boy was I shocked when I installed PSX4droid and found I could (almost) play Final Fantasy VII on my phone.

Note: just like the NES emulator, it's almost pointless to play PlayStation games on a phone without multi-touch capabilities. PSX4android will work on your Android 1.6 phone, but don't try to play anything more complicated than Tetris clones.

First things first, PSX4droid isn't a free app: it costs $5.99 on the Android Market. That said, given how gaming experience will vary wildly depending on what phone you own, I would recommend you torrent PSX4droid first before spending money on something that might not work. There's also a non-exhaustive list of compatible phones that you can check beforehand. In general, if you have one of the newer 1GHz+ Android 2.0-or-later smartphones, PSX4droid should work.

Update: you can also buy something from the Android Market and get a full refund within 24 hours -- so you can do that instead.

OK, now on with the actual review!

Continue reading PSX4droid brings thousands of emulated PlayStation games to your Android phone

PSX4droid brings thousands of emulated PlayStation games to your Android phone originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hands on with Fring, the all-in-one VoIP and IM app for Android

Sebastian Anthony — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Social Software, Mobile, Android

Today... my Android phone arrived!

Yes, I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I had hoped that someone would send me a review sample of a sexy HTC or something, but alas... cheap bastards... Anyway! This means you'll now be treated to reviews of Android apps. Most of them will be free and available from the Android Marketplace, but I will also occasionally turn my attention to the slightly seedier selection of under-the-counter apps.

I actually wanted to review Skype first -- to make the most of my unlimited data package -- but as you may already know, it's not available for Android yet. Instead, I turned to Fring, a free app that communicates with just about every messaging network out there. MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, Twitter... and Skype!

Yes, you can make and receive Skype video calls with Fring. Also, don't despair if you don't have an Android phone -- you can install Fring on just about every breed of smartphone, including the iPhone.

Continue reading Hands on with Fring, the all-in-one VoIP and IM app for Android

Hands on with Fring, the all-in-one VoIP and IM app for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inside the new music streaming service Rdio, quick review and gallery

Sebastian Anthony — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Audio, Internet, web 2.0

Last week news broke of Rdio, the new brainchild of the Kazaa and Skype creators. Everyone was very briefly elated until they found out a) it's USA-only, and b) it's still in the middle of private beta testing. Still, thanks to the kindness of a Download Squad reader, and some network hacking (I live in the UK), I can now tell you all about Rdio! If you prefer pictures, there's a high-resolution gallery after the break.

First, it's entirely Web-based, with a very lightweight almost-no-features Adobe AIR app providing desktop access. The Web interface is seriously slick: a music player occupies the left, and fancy AJAX updates the right. Much to my delight, even back and forwards navigation works! (It's about time an AJAX site made it work...)

Second, I can confirm there's a lot of music available. Still no Beatles though! It'a a breeze to create collections, playlists, or download music. It actually feels a lot like Last.fm, but with a more responsive interface.

Third, the recommendation engine is pretty good. I wonder if they coded it themselves or licensed something from Last.fm or Pandora.

Finally... the social aspect! This really is Spotify meets Last.fm. You can see your entire music listening history (pretty cool) -- but you can also see your friends' entire history (a bit scary).

Continue reading Inside the new music streaming service Rdio, quick review and gallery

Inside the new music streaming service Rdio, quick review and gallery originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HelloMovies helps you quickly find what movies to watch

Erez Zukerman — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Utilities, Web services

HelloMovies is a quick and easy-to-use website for filtering the enormous glut of films into a more manageable list of stuff you might actually enjoy watching.

Using a simple sidebar filter, you can quickly whittle down the complete list of films by genre, style, approximate release date (very approximate - think "1990's"), language, and even by films that won a major award.

Once you narrow the list down to a manageable size, it's time to sort. You can sort by release date, popularity, or rating. I'm not sure how popularity is determined, but the ratings seem like a nice mashup of Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, Netflix, and something called "The Critics' Choice" -- which originates from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The site also has its own internal rating system that it throws into the mix.

While the site itself seems a tad lacking in suavity or design chic, don't let its simple look deceive you. The results seem very solid, and the interface is usable and fast. I will definitely be coming back to this one.

HelloMovies helps you quickly find what movies to watch originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Use Flickr's Camera Finder to see how a camera performs in real life

Erez Zukerman — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Business, Photo

Flickr is one of those websites that are so chock-full of stuff (whether it is features or just images), I almost always find something cool when I go prowling around in it. And the other day I found out about something which many of you may know, but was certainly new for me: Flickr's Camera Finder.

When you take a photo, the camera includes its own make and model, as well as a whole bunch of other data, into the image file as metadata (EXIF, in camera-nerd parlance). When you then upload said photo to Flickr, the site automatically knows what was the exposure level, did you use the flash or not, and of course, the exact camera make and model used to take the photo!

Approaching the problem from the other side, when you want to buy a new camera, it's very easy to get its exact specs, as well as insanely detailed reviews from DPReview and the like. And while that is an important step, it certainly doesn't give you the whole picture (get it? Ha!)

One of the most important questions to answer is "what kind of pictures does this thing take when handled by a non-pro, in day-to-day conditions?" And that is exactly what the Camera Finder lets you find out. The tool lets you browse endless amounts of photos taken with the exact camera you're thinking of buying. It also has one of my favorite features in web tools generally: human-readable URLs. To see how my own camera is rapidly declining in popularity, you can just go to http://www.flickr.com/cameras/canon/eos_digital_rebel_xti/.

Now, if only they would add the same thing, but for lenses ("Lens finder"), that would truly take things to the next level.

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Use Flickr's Camera Finder to see how a camera performs in real life originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 04 May 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Location Battle, Round 2: Foursquare and Gowalla both update iPhone apps!

Jay Hathaway — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Features, Web services, Social Software, iPhone

In this corner, with a big head start, a huge userbase, and tons of features, it's ... Foursquare! In this corner, with millions of dollars in funding and a great-looking new design ... Gowalla!

By now, most people know that Gowalla and Foursquare have been going blow-for-blow in the location-based social gaming fight. Despite entries from Google, Yelp, and (soon) Facebook, these two services have the strongest iPhone apps out there right now. But if you're only going to sign up for one, which one should you pick?

Both Gowalla and Foursquare have their plusses and minuses, so read on for a comparison of their new iPhone apps (which both updated on Tuesday ... ooh, drama!) and decide for yourself.

Continue reading Location Battle, Round 2: Foursquare and Gowalla both update iPhone apps!

Location Battle, Round 2: Foursquare and Gowalla both update iPhone apps! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Nexus One Review

Brad Linder — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Features, Hardware, Mobile, Android

Google first unveiled its Android operating system for smartphones in 2007. But the Google Nexus One, which was launched last month is the first phone with the Google name attached to the hardware. Google sells the phone through its web site and handles tech support for the smartphone, although mobile service is provided by T-Mobile (and soon Verizon) in the US.

The Nexus One has a faster processor than almost any phone on the market, which makes it incredibly responsive. And it runs Android 2.1, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. Because this is the first true "Google phone," it's also likely that the Nexus One will be first in line for new over-the-air updates to the operating system and Google's mobile applications such as Google Maps and Google Calendar. Earlier this month Google released one of the first updates for the Nexus One, which made the phone one of the first Android-powered devices to support multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom.

I've been a fan of mobile computing ever since I first realized that you could use a handheld device to manage your calendar, read eBooks, and play video games. My first PDA was a short-lived Philips Nino 300 Windows CE device, and between 2000 and 2005, I purchased at least a dozen different PDAs and handheld PCs including the Compaq Aero 1550, and HP Jornada 720, before settling on a Dell Axim X50v running Windows Mobile 2003SE which I've used for the past 5 years.

The Axim is a great little PDA with a 624MHz CPU and a VGA display. But the OS is starting to show its age and can't run many recently launched mobile applications. And the version of Pocket Internet Explorer that came with Windows Mobile 2003SE is all-but-unusable. Overall, I'm starting to get tired of carrying around a 5-year-old device, even if it does many of the things I need a mobile device to do.

So when Google contacted Download Squad and asked if I'd be interested in reviewing one of the newest, most hyped smartphones around, I jumped at the chance. I've tested the phone for the last few weeks, and there are a lot of things to like -- and some room for improvement.

Continue reading Google Nexus One Review

Google Nexus One Review originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yelp iPhone app gets Foursquare-style check-ins

Jay Hathaway — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:24:00 EST

Filed under: Social Software, iPhone, web 2.0, Mobile

Foursquare and Gowalla have been locked in a battle over the emerging market for location-based social networking, but wait ... here comes a new challenger! Actually, it's an old, familiar challenger: Yelp. Yelp has gained a massive base of users and venues as one of the biggest user-submitter review sites on the web. It only makes sense to build check-ins and a leaderboard on top of that, so that's what Yelp has done. iPhone users can now check in to venues, and the feature should roll out soon for other devices.

Certainly, Yelp won't be as robust a game as Foursquare or Gowalla ... at first. People are going to have to rethink their Yelp friends lists in light of the additional privacy most people demand when they check in to locations in real time.

Someone who writes good reviews might not be someone I want to know my whereabouts all the time. Yelp also needs time to build badges - so far, there's only one, for being a regular at a venue. It's nice to be able to see that a reviewer actually frequents the establishments he's writing about, but Yelp will have to step up its themed badges to compete with Foursquare.

On the other hand, if huge numbers of existing Yelp users decide to embrace check-ins, it could be game over for Foursquare and Gowalla.

[via Techcrunch]

Yelp iPhone app gets Foursquare-style check-ins originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Palm Pre Media Sync Showdown

Nik Fletcher — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:28:00 EST

Filed under: Audio, Photo, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Palm, Commercial, Shareware, Freeware, Mobile

Ever since Palm and Apple started their dance about the Pre's ability to sync with iTunes, I've been keeping an eye out for alternative ways to move media to my Pre.

Over the last few weeks I've been putting three applications through their paces with my Pre to find a suitable workaround for this glaring omission on Palm's part: MarkSpace's GoGadget for webOS, Salling Software's Media Sync and doubleTwist. All three applications are available for Windows and Mac OS X, however in this review were tested on Mac OS X.

Photo by whatleydude

Continue reading Palm Pre Media Sync Showdown

Palm Pre Media Sync Showdown originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Strong opinions on tea are brewing at RateTea.net

Jay Hathaway — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:00:00 EST

Filed under: Social Software

I was surprised at the huge response to my post about Steepster, a Facebook-esque social network where people can connect to discuss their favorite teas. I'm even more surprised to find that there's more than one social tea site out there. The folks at RateTea.net recently invited me to take a look at their (sort of) competing offering. The two sites are actually quite different, though, so serious tea aficionados will want to check out both.

RateTea.net is more review-centric than Steepster. If I had to compare it to a major social site, I'd go with Yelp: anyone can sign up to rate and review, or you can stop by as a guest to take advantage of other people's exper-tea-se (sorry!). There are no fancy profile pages to fill out, just a place to write your review, and a scoring scale to grade teas on aroma, flavor and value. In the future, this will allow RateTea to recommend new teas for you based on the ones you've already rated. I'm more of a coffee guy myself, but it sounds like a good idea to me.

Strong opinions on tea are brewing at RateTea.net originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Christmas Giveaway: Tales of Monkey Island

Sebastian Anthony — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Games, Holiday Gift Guide

The Secret of Monkey Island, published in 1990 by LucasArts, formed the basis of what would become one of the greatest adventure game series ever made. Playable on Ataris, PCs and Macintoshes, Monkey Island was the game that would turn every-day computer users into gamers. Followed up by Sam & Max Hit The Road in 1993, LucasArts created, cemented and effectively crowned themselves kings of the the graphical adventure game genre. Perhaps it's a good thing that they stopped producing adventure games soon after the fourth title in the Monkey Island series. Sometimes it is good to leave on a high note, right?

High note or not, it left many of us begging for more. We've been yearning for more Monkey Island for almost a decade -- but no longer!

We finally have a successor, an upgrade of the franchise that is more than worthy of its inclusion in the Monkey Island universe: The Tales of Monkey Island. Thank you Telltale Games for revisiting and rejuvenating this classic, hilarious and much-loved franchise that played such a pivotal role in the development of so many gamers.

For a brief review of the game, and details of the ten (10) copies of The Tales of Monkey Island that we're giving away (all 5 episodes!), keep reading.

Continue reading Christmas Giveaway: Tales of Monkey Island

Christmas Giveaway: Tales of Monkey Island originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Livescribe's Pulse smartpen store hands-on

Victor Agreda, Jr. — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:05:00 EST

Filed under: Text, Utilities, Hardware, Windows, Macintosh, Web services, Holiday Gift Guide

There's little to add to my glowing review of the Livescribe Pulse smartpen I wrote for TUAW last year. This is one of those gadgets that you show people and it looks like magic. It kinda is magic, I think. But this year's model introduces an app store for the pen (plus some nifty paper products), making it a desirable platform for anyone who takes their notes seriously.

Read my review for the hardware scoop; the newer models now have an improved cradle. You can now charge and keep your computer asleep, for example. The desktop software, which allows you to sort and annotate your notes (plus many other tricks covered in that earlier review for the Mac version of the software) is similarly the same but slightly upgraded. What matters is what's in the pen, since that's what you'll be using every day.

The pen runs Java applications specifically made *for* the Pulse smartpen. Now, earlier there had been some tech demos for 3D audio (the pen records in 3D, and it is very cool) and what amounted to built-in utility apps. Stuff like calculators and a simple piano that you draw and tap to play. Like Apple launching the iPhone with a limited set of pre-built applications, the Pulse had only a few "apps" but that was fine. The app store for the pen opens the doors to a huge variety of other applications, much like Apple's store does for its mobile platform.

The Livescribe Store also looks and feels nearly identical to Apple's -- at first. There's more than just apps here; there are paper products (you use special paper with the pen) and pens themselves. When you go to check out, you notice the lack of polish. Every purchase, even the free stuff, requires about three times as many clicks at it takes to buy something on the iTunes App Store. I'm not sure why people don't understand this seemingly obvious notion that consumers want to consume quickly. Especially for a pen, you know? But the entire store is a website, really, so perhaps app purchasing can be streamlined later. For now, it is catering to the physical side of the store by requiring shipping info with your orders.

Gallery: Livescribe Store

Continue reading Livescribe's Pulse smartpen store hands-on

Livescribe's Pulse smartpen store hands-on originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panda CEO and CTO talk Cloud Antivirus 1.0 as download link goes live

Lee Mathews — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Security, Windows, Freeware, Windows x64

Panda Cloud Antivirus is one of the more talked about releases of 2009. Its new spin on the traditional antivirus model -- like many new programs which embrace cloud computing -- has been met with both praise and criticism. Panda themselves are bullish on Cloud AV, and I was fortunate enough to speak about it with CEO Juan Santana and Senior Research Advisor Pedro Bustamante.

To Santana and Bustamante, Panda's beta testing period was huge success. One way they measured is by taking a look at what Collective Intelligence -- the remote muscle powering Cloud AV -- has processed so far. "Right now, there is about 25 terabytes of data in the Collective Intelligence database," said Santana.

"About 60% of that," he continued, "is malware. We're receiving about 120,000 new files a day, of which 60-70,000 are malicious." In total, Collective Intelligence has processed more than 80 million files so far and generates about 150 gigabytes of log files per day.

On top of that, Cloud AV scored an impressive 99.4% detection rate in a recent round of testing. That figure put it ahead of free favorites like Avira, Avast, AVG, and even Microsoft's new Security Essentials.

Continue reading Panda CEO and CTO talk Cloud Antivirus 1.0 as download link goes live

Panda CEO and CTO talk Cloud Antivirus 1.0 as download link goes live originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows Mobile 6.5 review roundup

Brad Linder — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows Mobile

Microsoft has pulled back the thin veil that was covering Windows Mobile 6.5 and launched its next generation operating system for mobile phones. And it's pretty much exactly what you would expect based on all the information that's been coming out over the past year or so. That's to say, it appears to be a minor, mostly cosmetic update to Windows Mobile 6.1.

A number of tech news sites have published detailed reviews of Windows Mobile 6.5. And here's what they generally have in common: Microsoft has tweaked the home screen to make it more attractive and more user friendly. The program launcher has also received a minor cosmetic update that makes it easier to navigate with a finger and no stylus. But there's no good way to sort programs or arrange them the way you like them. And when you actually launch the applications you're often greeted with programs that haven't changed much since Windows Mobile was called Pocket PC 2002. For instance, the calendar is as ugly and feature-free as it was 7 years ago.

The web browser is actually a pretty major improvement. It's based on Internet Explorer 6, which may be incredibly out of date when it comes to desktop browsers. But for a mobile web browser, it's pretty good at rendering most of the web content you'll encounter. It also has improved navigation buttons that don't take up as much on-screen real estate. Those buttons disappear when you're not using them. The browser supports Flash, and you can zoom in and out of web pages to see the full page or just the text area you want to read.

Windows Mobile 6.5 review - Engadget says not much has really changed
Windows Mobile 6.5 1st Look - Mobility Site has what is probably the most extensive walkthrough of the bunch
Windows Mobile 6.5 Review: There's No Excuse for This - Gizmodo has lots of pictures, lots of complaints
IE 6 for Windows phones: Interface improved - CNET suggests that Internet Explorer 6, at least, is a welcome update
Windows Mobile 6.5 disappoints; no Start customizations and stylus still required - ZDNet decides Windows Mobile 6.5 fails to live up to even relatively low expectations

The long and short of it? If you're leaning toward getting a Windows Mobile phone anyway, Windows Mobile 6.5 has a few features that you might like. But it's hardly a home-run hit that will help Microsoft compete with Apple, Palm, Google, Symbian, and other mobile platforms. We'll have to wait for Windows Mobile 7 to see any major changes in the platform.

Windows Mobile 6.5 review roundup originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brizzly: full-featured web client for Twitter

Jay Hathaway — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Web services, Social Software, Microblogging

Invitations to Brizzly, a new web-based Twitter client, have been flying around all over the place in the past few days, and I finally got a chance to try it out. Brizzly offers a lot that the standard Twitter website doesn't, but it also introduces a couple of annoyances that ultimately led me to stick with Twitter.com.

On the plus side, Brizzly allows you to save drafts of tweets, a feature I wish Twitter.com would incorporate. Its threaded interface for direct messages is also nice, and looks a bit like a Google Talk window. If you DM a lot, Brizzly will definitely make it easier to follow your conversations. Brizzly also tells you when there are new tweets in your stream, so you're not fruitlessly hitting refresh to read Twitter. Keyboard shortcuts are handy, too: The j and k keys scroll up and down, which Gmail and Google Reader users will be familiar with. On top of that, photos and videos are displayed inline, instead of making you click through.

Brizzly's not all great, though. It's unfortunately just not a very pretty website, and I don't think I can look at it every day. I'm not saying we're in Fugly Friday territory, but the design is weak, especially the prominent trending topics box. I also miss having my follower/following numbers and my friends' icons in the sidebar, the way Twitter.com does it. Some people might find that useless, but I would say the same about trending topics. It's all a matter of taste, so if Brizzly's array of features fits your needs, and you don't mind its appearance, you should definitely give it a shot.

Brizzly: full-featured web client for Twitter originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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