Internet radio has been an App Store staple ever since it first debuted two years ago, sparked by the huge success of Pandora’s free app. Ever since, thousands of internet radio apps have come out. So why review another new internet radio app?

Because this one has a lot going for it. It’s called Livio Car Radio, and after using it for a few days it’s found its way to the front of my app selection. There are some extra features in Livio’s app that help enhance your experience:

• Variety of stations: Over 42,000 AM/FM stations as well as internet-only streams with RadioTime
• Optimized for vehicle use
• Background listening: port your station into Safari so you can listen while using other apps on the iPhone
• Direct Tune: If you can’t find your favorite station, Direct Tune lets you put in a unique code or address to begin streaming that station
• Find local stations based on current GPS location
• When searching for a specific station or song, the listing will show the program or song currently being played on that station
• Find plenty of podcasts

At first I had a hard time getting used to the user interface, but as soon as I dedicated a few minutes of my time to actually learning it I found it to be a rather easy experience. Sure, it still has its share of UI quirks, but not more than any other internet radio app out there.

The issue I’ve always had with internet radio apps on the iPhone is that there never seems to be one that does EVERYTHING I need it to do for me; but to be honest the Livio app is the closest I’ve found that gets me all of my podcasts, specific radio stations, and particular programs that I always enjoy listening to, all on the same app.

My favorite part of the app was the fact that I can port my current station over to Safari so that I can multitask — be able to send emails and listen to my podcasts at the same time. This to me is a necessity for any app of this category, and Livio nailed it.

Be sure to check out the Livio Car Radio app on the iPhone. The app typically is available for $4.99, though it is on sale for Memorial Day weekend for $1.99 until midnight Monday.

Here is a press release giving a few details on the app:

Many of us with cars will be travelling somewhere for the weekend. We all know how painful it can be to find a good radio station, only to have it fade out as we drive out of the tower’s range or how difficult it is to find a station playing the genre of music I enjoy.

This is where the Livio Car Internet Radio app comes in. The app provides access to over 42,000 AM/FM and internet-only radio streams from around the world, covering all genres of music and news.  Just browse and choose the genre of your choice to tune in to any one of a wide variety of broadcast stations, or just swipe your finger to find a recommended station of a similar genre.

Here are a few of the feature highlights:

- Optimized for the Vehicle: Designed for use in the car, with large preset buttons and horizontal or vertical positioning.

- Biggest Variety: More than 42,000 AM/FM and Internet-only radio streams from around the world in partnership with the RadioTime® radio service.

- Direct Tune: Input a radio station’s unique code to begin streaming the broadcast.

- Easy Search Options: Browse available stations by genre, location, or language, and search by station call letters or keywords. Find local stations based on current GPS location.

- Station Recommendation: Swipe a finger across the on-screen dial and the app will tune to a station of a similar genre.

- Listen in the Background: Stream music in the background on the iPhone while using other applications (via Safari).

- Share with Friends: Post favorite stations for your Twitter followers.

Chances are, you know what TD is all about. You build towers that have different types of attack powers to any enemies that may walk past you, and the more enemy kills you have the more towers you can build and upgrade to higher powers. Slug Wars, in contrast, is a side-scrolling game in which your “towers” are actually slugs.

There’s three lanes that your slugs can enter on. Your slugs come in from the right, your opponent comes in from the left. The goal is to get three of your slugs all the way over to the far left side before your opponent can get three of theirs to your side of the screen. Each type of slug has different attack powers, so there is definitely some strategy involved in exactly how you can overwhelm your opponent and push them back far enough to get your slugs through the left side.

I found Slug Wars to be an enjoyable game, and I was entertained throughout the whole experience. I was, however, concerned that since it involves slugs, the gameplay itself turned out to be rather slow. I kept hoping the slugs would start crawling faster, attacking faster, etc. It also lacks multiplayer over WiFi or 3G, which I’m hoping will be resolved in a future update.

Overall, I found the $1.99 price tag to be fair given the level of gameplay, entertainment value and challenge. It’s certainly worth a look, so go grab it at the App Store or click on the button below.

Do you have a stage 5 clinger that you’re just finding it difficult to cut loose? Perhaps you want to celebrate your 2 year anniversary by moving in a different direction. What if you find breaking up with your significant other on Facebook is too impersonal? There’s an app called Erase Ur X that can help you dump that special person in your life, without actually having to do all the hard work yourself!

EraseUrX will create a personalized message for your soon-to-be-ex, you can send a photo from your camera roll, or record an audio file to be sent as a message to the lucky recipient. This way that person gets the same news you would’ve delivered in person, but without you having to see them cry or risk getting slapped or punched. No more emotional drain.

And if you are truly curious, I am definitely being sarcastic. I have issues with anyone who would choose to break up with their significant other this way. But I’m not really surprised that an app like this is around. Rather, I’m surprised it took this long for somebody to come up with the idea and follow through with it.

According to the app’s Twitter, the app is coming soon to the App Store, but doesn’t specify when.

Here’s my question of curiosity: How did the beta testers try it out? Is one of the requirements of beta testing that you actually have to break up with someone using this app? I suppose you could let your recipient know it’s pretend, but still.

Check out EraseUrX’s website here.

]]> http://www.yournextapp.com/2010/01/need-to-break-up-with-your-significant-other-theres-an-app-for-that-too/feed/ 0 http://www.yournextapp.com/2010/01/broken-sword-iphone/ http://www.yournextapp.com/2010/01/broken-sword-iphone/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:00:51 +0000 Brad http://www.yournextapp.com/?p=702

I have a confession to make: I’ve never played Broken Sword. I hear it’s a very popular point and click game that I probably should know all about and have beaten the game 5 times already.

Perhaps I don’t have that experience to live with, but I can certainly have something close to it with the upcoming iPhone version of the same game. This time it’s titled “Broken Sword: Director’s Cut” and will have around 20% longer gameplay time. It will also add in touchscreen controls, new graphics, and brand new puzzles and dialogue.

The game will be expected by the end of the month sometime, so keep a close eye on it.

Did you play Broken Sword? Am I a moron for not having played it before?

via TechDigest

So you own a iPhone 3GS and love the fact you can take videos of random stuff, but you’re annoyed because the video can occasionally get shaky. It’s awfully difficult to take decent videos, let alone professional-grade videos. Now, there’s an accessory for that!

Tiffen, a company known for making camera accessories, has announced a steadicam gadget nicknamed the “Smoothee” which is a complex-looking contraption that you strap your iPhone onto and, using a counterweight, allows you to take incredibly steady videos without the shaky movements.

The Smoothee can also be attached to a tripod or any type of flat surface, which allows greater freedom to move the Smoothee out and about in whatever kind of environment you may find yourself in.

There is no price or availability yet.

Here’s a video showing off Tiffen’s Smoothee Steadicam. Let me know what you think after:

via Cnet

I was a huge fan of the original Zenonia on the iPhone. It was one of the first true RPGs you could find for the platform, and it was done rather well. While not completely smooth all the time, it was still enjoyable for being a pioneer of the iPhone RPG market.

Naturally, then, I was pretty excited to hear that a sequel is on its way. Most iPhone sequels I’ve experienced have been much better than the originals, which is saying a lot considering sequels only come out if the original is successful enough to merit a second one.

In this sequel, titled “Zenonia: The Lost Memories”, you can choose between four different classes of characters (as opposed to three in the orig): paladin, shooter, magician, and warrior. More interestingly though is the introduction of new levels of difficulty. In Lost Memories we’ll get to choose between Normal, Hard, and Hell modes. The more difficult the game is, the more secrets, treasures and bosses you can face.

Another exciting addition to the game is online multiplayer. Gamevil tells us that players can download their characters and compete against friends (or foes, in this case). We don’t know if this is just for a local network or if you can match up with someone from anywhere.

Release time will likely be March.

Look, there’s really nothing original about this concept. It’s a zombie shooter game for the iPhone and iPod Touch that looks from the top down. Like THAT hasn’t been done before. But what is worth mentioning on this site is the fact that it’s Dawn of the Dead, based on George Romero’s highly successful motion picture of the same name, as well as its remake from 2004.

I guess I should reserve judgment for until the game comes out, and then we’ll see. Developed by Byte Mark, it has already been submitted to the App Store. This means we’ll likely be seeing it within a few days, if not even sooner.

So here’s how gameplay is set up. As mentioned previously, it is a game played looking down from above. The game is set in Crossroads Mall, and you can play the nurse, the salesman, or the cop (I hope we get to ride around on a Segway! Now THAT would make the game cool). At your disposal you can defend yourself from the zombies using bats, axes, golf clubs, and a whole bunch of guns. The campaign involves taking you through all five levels of the mall; you can also choose to play up to 12 different challenges.

You know you’re into Dawn of the Dead movies, zombie attacks, and anything else dealing with the undead. You fantasize about zombies really existing and taking over the earth. Thus, I know you’re going to get this game with intense eagerness. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait long!

About three months ago we all got quite excited upon learning from Digg head honcho Kevin Rose that an app was in development for Digg. It was discovered as Rose “secretly” played around with an early version of the app as he was being interviewed by Arnt Erikson and Thomas Moen. Whether he meant to show it off or not, it was one of those “gotcha!” moments, where Kevin was caught with the app red-handed, and had to say something about it.

Yet, we still have seen nary a mention of the mythic iPhone app, let alone any sort of sneak peek or tentative release announcement. Digg has been absolutely quiet; perhaps that was exactly how most of the folks at Digg wanted it to be. Kevin did mention that nobody was even supposed to know about the app back in October.

So with as much time that’s passed, and not having heard any more rumblings from Diggnation about this, when can we expect to see the new app come out? Thus, I’m calling out Digg. C’mon guys, give us something to work with. We know it takes time to perfect an app at least to the point that it’s presentable, but we’d like to at least be comforted in knowing that Rose was right and there is still something in the works.

It’s time to step up, Digg. Share with us your thoughts and feelings please.

At CES 2010, we found another rather interesting tidbit coming down the pipeline. Your Next App could very well be a remote control for your TV, as long as you own a Vizio.

The above picture, captured by Engadget at the CES, shows off this upcoming iPhone remote control. Yet there’s no additional accessory required, from what we can tell. How can this be possible then? Turns out most new Vizios are coming packed with WiFi accessibility; thus the remote controls makes sure that it connects to the same network and presto, you’re connected wirelessly to your TV!

Clicking on the link below will take you to a video taken at CES that shows a couple parts of the remote. As far as I can tell, it seems like a rather basic version and is likely still in development stages. So we may still be a couple months away from seeing the real deal. Still, keep holding your breath, Vizio owners — the iPhone is about to become a whole lot cooler for you. Ready to have something new to show off to your Blackberry friends?

via Engadget

After creating the title for this article, I’m strongly considering starting a series titled “What The:” that cover really cool concepts coming to life on the iPhone that I would’ve never thought of myself, which puts me into total awe that somebody came up with such a cool idea AND pulled it off. And in this case, could likely end up becoming Your Next App.

Mophie, a company now famous for its Juice Pack cases that charge up your phone as an external battery whilst in the case (thus giving your iPhone one additional battery), announced a Juice Pack TV case at CES 2010. This case will allow you to view FLO TV on your iPhone, effectively combining a case, external battery, and mobile TV receiver all into one.

We don’t really know much about how it’ll work yet, but I am pre-emptively assuming that an iphone app will still be required in order to accept the TV accessory, as is permitted now with OS 3.x. It’s 2 mm thicker than the standard Juice Pack case, and CES showed off demo units in red and black. The Juice Pack TV will be popping its head out for sale sometime first half 2010. We don’t know any price details yet, but I personally am expecting to see it around $100 or higher.

via EngadgetMobile; photo courtesy Engadget