With the iPhone approaching its fifth iteration, a monumental milestone for the lifecycle of any product, an Apple fanatic has to hope that Apple has something up its sleeve for its release. While evidence is building that changes are in the works, nothing is for certain until Apple itself removes the sheath on the highly desired product. As the normal, annual release window for the iPhone has already passed, the rumor-mill has been speculating that the delay has been partly caused by new changes in the physical product, along with the development of iOS 5 and iCloud.

I myself still have a 3GS and was hoping I would be able to update this June to the new model, so I’m holding out that the new phone packs some killer updates. Additionally, upon past analysis, it seems that the 3GS was a very mediocre upgrade and I am also hoping that the supposed “4GS,” as other sites have been calling it, incorporates more than just faster speeds. The following is a list physical features that I, as well as many other fanboys, would love to see.

Bigger Screen

Most Android phones, the iPhone’s biggest competitor, seem to have a much larger screen than Apple’s product. While the product will no doubt continue to remain relevant, to keep up and hopefully surpass competition, Apple should definitely expand iPhone screen size. This would allow better gaming and video display (movies and FaceTime), a larger touch keyboard, and more open space between apps on the Home screen (a la the iPad) for a less busy feeling. Supposed pictures have leaked out of iPhones with larger screens, so it looks like Apple has taken notice to what others are doing. But, who is to say that the larger screen will actually happen? The Motorola Droid 2, with a much larger screen, is already on its second iteration and gaining followers. If Apple knows what is best and wants to halt customers from switching to phones with larger displays, they know what they need to do.

NFC

Rumors have also been circulating that Apple is toying with near field communication technology in the next iPhone. This technology is popular overseas and could act as a payment device or e-wallet as some call it. Potentially, the phone could store your credit card data and would allow the user to “swipe” their phone instead of your card. My phone is always within easier reach than my wallet and I’d think this feature would be great for speedy transactions. While NFC technology is not widely used so far in the US, if Apple, being a leader in just about everything these days, does incorporate this feature into the next iPhone, you can expect a huge increase in adoption of this tech.

Larger Storage Capacity

iTunes was released over 10 years ago and people have been building their music libraries ever since. Lately, it has become a struggle for me to decide what music I want to remove from my iPhone in order to put new music on. I know I’m not the only one with this problem. A 64 GB model, along with a low-end 32 GB model, would be great for keeping more media on the phone: more music, more videos, more pictures, and more apps.

Better Cameras

Thankfully, the iPhone 4 included a camera upgrade. Again, since the competition has bested Apple in the photo-taking abilities, Apple should include an 8 megapixel camera. With all-in-one devices becoming almost universally popular, this feature would only strengthen the possibility of iPhone adoption. I remember the days when I carried an iPod, a Blackberry (*sigh*), and a camera. With an 8 megapixel, we can safely remove the camera from our pockets or purses and not have to suffer from low-quality photos. A better front-facing camera is another feature that would be great to see. As Apple pushing for FaceTime to become the default video-calling program, a high megapixel front-facing camera would help Apple define its products as best-in-class for this service. Let’s just hope we can use the network for this too.

With only a few months to wait before an announcement, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for these features.

About the Author: August Drilling works for CliqStudios.com, an online site for Kitchen Cabinets, and can always be found with iPhone in hand.

I recently came across an announcement on Twitter about a new Breakout type game called Radial 50 that was just released in the Appstore.  I figured I would give it a spin and see what new twists it has added to one of my favorite games.  So what is Radial 50?  Here is their description from their website:

A new spin on an arcade classic – Radial 50 features fifty intense rounds, challenging gameplay for both beginners & arcade veterans, and a location based leaderboard to track your scores against friends.

[singlepic id=54 w=320 h=240 float=left]Radial 50 definitely offers a new “Spin” on this classic game since your game board is now round.  The objective of the game is the same though, control your paddle so that you direct the ball at the bricks and break them up so they are removed from the game board.  As the game pieces are removed from the board, your goal is to get to the middle of the board and hit the diamond to finish the level.  The game offers 50 levels of game play and starts out slow so that you can learn the controls and figure out the rules of the game. The developers did a really good job at offering some good tutorials at the start of the early levels to help teach you the rules of the game.   As you proceed through the various levels, the game play really starts to pick up and the help will start to go away.  As you learn the game, you can also go into the options menu and disable the help all together.

The first challenge with the game will be learning how to control your paddle. You control the paddle by sliding your finger up and down in the control paddle area.  The paddle area is controlled by user preferences and can be set to right or left.  This takes a little bit to get used to because you easily find yourself dragging your finger horizontally around the panel to rotate it.  From what I can tell the paddle will still move, but the farther you get away from the control paddle area the less the paddle will move.

[singlepic id=56 w=320 h=240 float=right]Once you learn how to control the paddle, you primary objective is to project the ball towards the targets.  Striking the targets will eventually unlock the center defense, allowing you to strike the inner most diamond and advance to the next round.  As you break down these targets, you begin to accumlate points.  Points are also accumulated by collecting particles as well as completing the round in a timely manner.  You also have to make sure that you don’t let the ball strike the wall too many times which will eliminate your health. Health will regenerate over time, but once you lose all health the game is over.    Whats is also nice is that the game offers some feedback as the ball hits the wall.  This is helpful for times when you are using your paddle to collect particles, and you lose track of the ball.  When the ball hits the wall, your iPhone will vibrate a bit and you will know that you need to move your paddle to block the ball so it won’t hit the wall anymore.

You also have the ability to earn various bonuses throughout each round, or as the round completes.  You can get bonsues based on time and health, but you also get bonuses on the number of particles you collect.  For example, you can get a bonus if you complete the level without losing any health.  You can also earn some bonsues for the number of particles that you collect throughout the round.

The game also offers an extensive list of achievements that you can try to complete.  There are 20 different achievements available to you, but some of them do not unlock until you reach other achievements.  I should also note that achievements don’t give you extra points that would affect your ranking in the leaderboard, they are just their for your own personal goals.

[singlepic id=59 w=320 h=240 float=left]Radial 50 also offers a nice social aspect to the game.  The game offers the ability to post your various scores to their leaderboards.  The leaderboards have various categories broken down by by your device and your city, all the way up to a global leader board across everyone who has registered with the community.  The registration process was simple and you can easily post your latest score to the leaderboard, as well as Twitter and Facebook.

The only real gripe that I have with the game has to do with a side effect that is caused by the fast game play at times.  The ball will easily get lost in the mix because of how fast it can move at times.  I would also like to see them expand on various game modes that are available.  This would give you more exposure to all of the levels in the game.

Overall, I was very suprised about how fun this game is.  The game play is fun and addicting, and I think people will really enjoy the various challenges that the game provides.  For $1.99, I would highly recommend this game, but be prepared to get hooked.  Make sure you visit the website link below and check out the “First to 50″ Contest link.  They are giving away some great prizes to the people who can complete all 50 levels.

Enjoy, and don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Radial 50 [iTunes Link]
Radial 50 Website

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Have I ever mentioned that when it comes to utility apps for the iPhone, I just want the app to be simple and I want the app to work as described.  I really don’t like utility apps that try to do too much or try to be too fancy.  Today I was in search of a app that will help me keep track of my iPhone battery.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, I do not accept the theory that we should dumb down the iPhone to save the battery.  Because of that, I wanted to find an app that would help me predict how much longer I can surf the web or listen to music.  I opened up the search utility of the AppStore and I found MyBatteryLife from KVApps.  Here is a blurb from their marketing page on the AppStore:

myBatteryLife displays the current percentage of battery life left on your iPhone or iPod Touch.  With a large percentage and visual indicator you can quickly your remaining time.  ”myBatteryLife” will determine your hardware to calculate a the remaining hours and minutes for different uses.

[singlepic id=37 w=320 h=240 float=left]What I really like about the display is that its clean, big, and easy to read.  You get an estimate on how much battery you have left for talking, listening to music, or watching videos.  The app also gives you an estimate on how much time you can spend on the internet and breaks it down based on your connection (3G, Edge, Wifi).  This could be helpful for when you are really running low, you can get an idea of what you have left if you did disable 3G.

The one thing this doesn’t take into consideration is how much battery you have wtih doing some of these activities simutaneously.  Obviously that would be a bit tricky for them to guess and you just need to make that judgement yourself.

I highly recommend that you check this app out.  Its a great little utility application that helps you keep track of your battery which is very important when it comes to the iPhone.

MyBatteryLife from KVApps [iTunes Link]
KVApps Website

Sometimes when you buy an iPhone app from the app store, you just want it to be simple and do what it says. MemoryInfo by Recession Apps is just that kind of app.  Here is part of the description from the app store:

The new iPhone 3G S has double the runtime memory of the previous iPhones and iPod Touch. The iPhone 3G S has 256MB of runtime memory. Therefore, most of the time, you will have more than 35 MB of runtime memory available and MemoryInfo only frees up memory if you have less than 35 MB of runtime memory.

However, if you use your iPhone 3G S extensively and open many web pages in Safari and read large email in the Mail app, your runtime memory can still drop below 35 MB. You will then need to use the Free Memory feature to free up memory on your iPhone 3G S.

MemoryInfo pretty much does one thing and that is it helps free up memory so your iPhone doesn’t crash. According to their site, your iPhone has 4 types of memory:

1. Free memory is available for use whenever applications or processes need them.
2. Inactive memory is memory that was used by applications or processes but do not need it right away.
3. Active memory is memory that is currently being used by applications or processes.
4. Wired memory is memory that is currently used by System processes. This memory is not available to applications.

It appears that MemoryInfo works by freeing up active and inactive memory by killing off non-system processes, all by the click of a single button.  The app also lists out all of the processes that are currently running as well as your current battery usage.

Since the app is only $.99 and memory is precious on the iPhone, it really is a no brainer when it comes to purchasing this app.

My only recommendation would be to add another column to the system process list that lists out how much memory each app uses.  This would be purely informationaly, but would be a good addition for tech nerds like myself.

MemoryInfo [iTunes Link]

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BONUS:  Tweet this review to be entered into a contest to win a copy of SimplyTweet. Click here to Re-Tweet! We have a few promo codes to give away.

SimplyTweet (version 1.6) by MotionObj is a Twitter client that provides a simple to use interface to help you manage your various accounts on Twitter.  SimplyTweet comes in 2 versions, a lite version that is free and a paid version that will cost you $3.99.  You will want to check the SimplyTweet website for a break down of the features between the two versions.

Product Highlights

1. Manage multiple accounts.  This is a pretty big feature for most people that use twitter clients, so its nice to see that it supports this functionality
2. Built in browser.  This is another nice feature that makes following links easier.  The built in browser will launch when you click a link in a tweet.  The built in browser does support panning and zooming, but does not allow you to view the page in landscape mode.  The options menu does provide a few other nice features.  You are able to open the current page in Safari, and you are also provided with an option to read later which will save it to your Intrapaper account
3. Conversation view.  This view is helpful to view a particular conversation wtih someone or view a conversation about a specific topic
4. Custom views give you the ability to group friends together and view a timeline based on who is in your view.  For example, you can create a view that has your family grouped together.  When you click more link, the view will be listed there for easy access.
5. Trends are listed in the more options menu so that you can find out about the hot topics that are being talked about on Twitter
6. When composing tweets, you have lots of options at your finger tips.  You have easy access to creating  a reply, as well as replying to multiple people at once.  Just swipe a tweet and you are on yoru way.
7. When editing a tweet, a shortening option is available that will attempt to shorten the tweet for you.  It doesn’t appear to be tied to a URL shortening service, but it will abbreviate words when applicable.
8. Twitpic integration allows you to share a photo from your iPhone

Overall I think SimplyTweet is an awesome Twitter client.  Most of the features you come to expect in a Twitter client exist.  The ability to manage multiple accounts, and the conversation features are the features I like the most.  It would be nice if the built in browser would support landscape mode, but since its easy to jump to Safari I can easily over look the missing feature.  For $3.99, I would highly recommend giving this app a try.

SimplyTweet Lite [iTunes Link]
SimplyTweet [iTunes Link]

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