Interesting apps from the new iTunes App Store

Posted on the July 10th, 2008 under Business, Technology, iPhone by Al

The new iTunes Apps Store is now available via iTunes v7.7. I briefly browsed through some of the available apps and noticed the following.

Flashlight – ExactMagic $0.99
Flashlight is a simple tool to turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a simple flashlight to help you find your way in a dark room or to see what that thing on the floor of the movie theater is that you keep stepping on.

Ummm, I already use my Treo, and various other cell phones, as a flashlight to navigate in the dark “simply” by activating the screen.

Hold On! – IMAK Creations – Free
Compete to see how long you can hold the button! The timer shows your progress down to the millisecond and stores your personal all-time record. Develop your perseverance and improve your concentration skills to make you more productive!

Sounds kinda boring to me. I’d rather participate in this challenge.

SeattleBus – Deallus Software – $14.99
SeattleBuss provides real-time arrival and departure times for bus stops across the greater Seattle Metro area. In short, SeattleBus is intended to answer the question: “Where is the *!&^!*# bus?”

Is the Seattle transit system so bad that I need to spend $15 for realtime info?

Alarm Free – Masayuki Akamatsu – Free
Alarm is a self-defense/emergency alarm with a freefall detector.How is this used for self-defense? Again, just like Flashlight my Treo could be used for self-defense (do not try this with an iPhone, just keep an old Treo or Windows Mobile phone handy)
CowToss – Digital Thought Software – $0.99
Cow Tossing. Pull the cow down, release, and watch it fly!

This would never get old. Right.
Morse-It – Francis Bonnin – $0.99
Morse-It is an easy to use application that allows {you} to translate and interpret Morse code. Type some text and it will be automatically translated into some fullscreen flashing effect of the associated Morse code. Some sound will also play accordingly. Your “SOS” message will be seen quite far away!Not sure what to think about this one. It could come in handy if you’re shipwrecked, otherwise you better hope other people have this app so they can consult its “full Morse alphabet.”
Zen Garden – Peerium, Inc. – $0.99
Take a few moments and relax with your pocket Zen garden. Draw designs in the sand with a single finger. Or, use multiple fingers for a nice rake design. Shake your garden to smooth out the sand and start anew.

I’ve never gotten into the whole Zen garden thing. It did make me wonder if there were any Feng Shui apps, so I searched but there are none yet.
iAstronomica – Astistic Techworks – $19.99
iAstronomica is an astronomy program that generates sky charts at any time, from anywhere on Earth. The planetarium shows all the planets and stars visible to the naked eye, as well as meteor showers, the Milky Way, the ecliptic and the current moon phase.

What can I say? I had to include this one since I’m an amateur astronomer.