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Posted: 27 Mar 2011 07:05 PM PDT

This week, March 20-27, US iPhone carrier AT&T announced a $39 billion acquisition of the US operations of rival carrier T-Mobile. Presently, AT&T offer three data plans for the iPhone: 200MB for $15/month; 2GB for $25/month; 4GB (includes tethering) for $45/month. It’s not yet known whether new plans will be introduced, or how reception and future bottlenecking will be affected. A conference call scheduled for Monday should clear things up. However, Jeff Scott notes that “while both AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM carriers, their respective 3G networks work on different frequencies meaning that the current iPhones used on T-Mobile would only work in the lower speed Edge network.” We’ll report back Monday if anything interesting comes our way.

On the applications front, 148Apps awarded the Editor’s Choice badge to two applications this week: Disc Drivin’ HD and Green Day Revenge. Reviewer Carter Dotson was suitably impressed with the iPad counterpart of Disc Driving’ for iPhone and iPod Touch, which he reviewed earlier this year. It was also awarded the Editor’s Choice badge. The new iPad version “is just as addictive as when it first came out. Even months later, I still find myself regularly playing and checking for moves, so the game's lasting appeal cannot be questioned.” Read the full review here.

Disc Drivin' HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $2.99

Our Rating:

:: CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-03-18 :: Category: Games / Action

Green Day Revenge by Tapulous, Inc., makers of taptaptap, took the badge for its impressive graphics and sound, as well as its excellent gameplay. “When it comes right down to it, Green Day Revenge hits all of the sweet spots necessary to be a successful rhythm/music game, without having to break the mold of user expectations” writes Blake Grundman. Read all about it here.

Green Day Revenge

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Buy Now: $4.99

Our Rating:

:: ROCK ON!
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-03-21 :: Category: Games / Music

In other news, earlier this week Phillip Levin wrote an article on Earthquake Lite, a free application that monitors where the earth is tremoring. “You're able to sort through lists of events filtered by location, magnitude and time. There's also full Google Maps integration in the app, giving you a detailed map to get a better idea of the event's location and surroundings.” The application is a stark reminder of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that hit Japan on March 11, the fourth largest recorded in the world.

Earthquake Lite

Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Buy Now: FREE
Released: 2010-06-04 :: Category: Weather

Favorite Four took a turn to the social side this week, with a rundown of the best applications to use if you work with multiple social networks, like Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn. TweetDeck, Sociable, Pingle and Pixelpipe all made the list. Episode 77 of The Portable Podcast is also available, featuring guest Vincent Messina of Android Rundown.

Finally, if you’re an Angry Birds fan then you’ll be glad to hear that our review of Angry Birds Rio HD is now live. Available for $2.99, 148Apps awarded it 4 stars.

Angry Birds Rio HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Buy Now: $2.99

Our Rating:

:: NEW PLACE, SAME BIRDS
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2011-03-22 :: Category: Games / Arcade

That’s all for this week – check back next for a summary of the latest happenings. Our forum is open for registration, where you can discuss all these games, applications and more, with other 148Apps users. Thanks for reading!

[ This Week at 148Apps: March 20-27 is a post from 148Apps ]

Apps mentioned in this post: Angry Birds Rio HD, Disc Drivin' HD, Earthquake Lite, Green Day Revenge

NewtonApples Review

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 10:04 AM PDT

NewtonApples Review

By Jennifer Allen on March 25th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: SIMPLE FUN
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

NewtonApples is a simple yet entertaining arcade game that takes a look at just how Newton figured it all out.

Developer: Edenpod
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.63 out of 5 stars

Newton’s laws of motion don’t immediately spring to mind when thinking of subjects for games to be based around. Certainly not when it comes to the extent in which NewtonApples focuses on the tale of Newton being hit on the head by an apple. A clever mix of a few different game mechanics that you’ll recognise from titles such as Fruit Ninja and various flick based games, NewtonApples offers some great yet frantic fun.

At first, you’ll wonder what all the fuss is about. Sure, NewtonApples looks gorgeous and you’ll be beguiled by the cute yet well drawn animations of Newton himself. Each stage offers some lovely backdrops too with some great nods to pop culture such as the E.T bike flying across the screen and some of the seven dwarves appearing too. It’s subtle rather than garish. But the first couple of stages feel almost too easy. Popping an apple here and the odd slice movement to clear the green ones – it’s not taxing. It turns out that’s because it’s easing you in. Things get frantic soon enough.

Red apples require a quick tap to clear them, green apples require you to make a slicing movement across them (which you can do en masse if the opportunity arises) and leaves have to be flicked off screen. Individually it’s simple enough but collectively, there are a heck of a lot of objects coming down the screen desperate to knock poor Newton out. this is even more true on hard mode. Besides the main part of the game and an endless mode, there’s also 2 mini games. Admittedly they do feel a little bit like filler but the Hungry Worms game gave me fond memories of my days playing Snake and both games offer brief distractions.

NewtonApples is a simple little game but entertaining. Throwing in a small section about the laws of motion is a great touch and adds to the experience. For $.99 you could do a lot worse than spring for this. Just don’t expect much depth.