iPhoneVM - Virtual RAM is now a reality for the iPhone!

If you have an iphone 3GS, RAM is not an issue. However, the older models struggle sometimes, because lack of free RAM for 3rd party apps like games.

Well, there is a new tool on Cydia, via http://repo.beyouriphone.com source, that is said to have great results in increasing free RAM, iPhoneVM. Check the video above.

What this seem to do is making the iphone work like the new Nokia N900: it can use virtual RAM besides the normal physical RAM. Mind you, the N900 runs a variety of Linux (MAEMO), but in terms of hardware its a twin of the 3GS: same processor, graphical chip and RAM.

Ping! - SMS killer for iPhone

From time to time, there´s an iPhone app that ties simplicity with innovation. HeyWay was a great example, and now i found another.

Ping! is a very simple, yet very attractive messaging aplication, that uses Apple´s Push Notification infrastructure to deliver a SMS replacing solution. Effectively, Ping! is great for people wanting to text friends in other networks, or in other countries. It also alows easy sending of texts to multiple recipients. Ping! has all it takes to become hugely popular among iphone users.

If you want to pick it up, get it now while it´s free.

My biggest gripe with it, right now: like the majority of iphone apps, it does not work on wifi networks that are behing proxy servers - i hope this situation is adressed soon.

Looking for an iPhone IM app with group chat and push? Oneteam is the answer

BeejiveIM and IM+ are pretty cool multi-IM protocol iphone apps, both with push notifications support. But they have a great flaw - no support for group chat, meaning you can´t chat with 2 or more of your friends at same time.

Well, i´ve just tested an excelent option for people seeking for this kind of app: OneTeam. Better, it works on wifi networks behind proxy servers, something Beejive does not do (IM+ does). Also, the price is competitive (4,99 euros).

It´s also an multi-IM protocol client (yahoo, google, MSN, etc), but i prefered to create a oneteam jabber account just to have group chats with my iphone owning friends, and keep msn, etc, in Beejive. Group mode works through the creation of chatrooms, that can be protected with a password. Something cool, is that group chat also supports push notifications!

UCWEB - the only non-webkit based browser for iphone

Just 2 days ago, Opera Mini 5 beta was released, and the general consensus is that it improves an already awesome product. Among other features, what makes OM special it´s the speed, something that is result of it using a proxy server to compress web pages before sending it to the phone. This is specially useful for people with limited data plans (i´m one of them), because it uses much less data than "full" browsers (like safari), and for slow 3G or evem slower GPRS/EDGE connections.

I tested OM 5 and was left thinking how good it would be to have such an alternative to safari on the iPhone. Well, i remembered there is something - UCWEB, a browser that rivals OM on the java space, and uses the same kind of proxy technology. Better, it has an iPhone version (jailbreak required, of course), that i used on the OS 2.x days. Even better, it now has an OS 3.x compatible version.



Of course, the main limitation is obvious - it´s in chinese! Nevertheless, i can tell you it´s even easyier now to use it without understanding a bit of the language, because there´s now alot of self-explanatory icons.

To test it, add http://wap.ucweb.com/iphone/cydia to your cydia sources, and start saving some data and gaining speed when not using Wifi or HSDPA connections.

HeyWay Pro is out!

Following my last post, Apple decided to release HeyWay Pro!

I already tested it, and can say the new insert text note feature is awesome and works as expected.

HeyWay - Pro version coming soon to the Appstore

HeyWay was one of the first iPhone apps with push notifications enabled. Since then, it remained one of my favourite apps of all time, something impressive for a little free app.

HeyWay is a location service that lets you keep track of where friends, family and colleagues are. Send alerts with your current location to your followers, or send "Hey, Where Are You?" alerts requesting their location. All this using Push Notifications. It´s sweet.

Good news is that Niftybrick is bringing a premium version, that will add my #1 feature request: ability to add quick notes to the notifications! If the price is right, this is an instant buy for me!

Stay tuned!

(thanks to @mechanical_mind for the heads up)

Google Fast Flip

Lately, Google and Apple are no getting along very well. However, that does not stop Google to keep presenting iPhone users with awesome webapps, and that way avoiding the stupid Appstore approval process.

After Latitude, Google now releases Fast Flip,"a new reading experience that combines the best elements of print and online articles. Like a print magazine, Fast Flip lets you browse sequentially through bundles of recent news, headlines and popular topics, as well as feeds from individual top publishers". The specially adapted iphone (and android) version has even tactile page flipping.

It´s just fantastic. Try it at http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/mobile

Real Football 2010 - online multiplayer is a go!

I expected this for so long. A football game for the iphone platform with online multiplayer! Not only that, it will support all the Gameloft Live service features, namely push notifications to hook up with friends, like we can already do in UNO!

More details about Gameloft´s Real Football here. Nevertheless, i have a feeling RS competition will folow - both FIFA 2010 and X2 Football should have online multiplayer by the end of the year.

Apple´s It´s only Rock & Roll - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Here´s my views on the latest Apple keynote:

The Good

Steve´s back!
iTunes 9 with slick new features, namely app organization, home sharing
OS 3.1 release
Apple´s commitment to the iPhone has a gaming platform
Apple´s considering iPhone/ipod touch has pocket computers


The Bad

OS 3.1 is a bit lame. iPhone UI needs some changes (proper notification system, live widgets, etc). It also bring more problems for jailbreak
iTunes 9 still slow on windows
Ringtones store
Not giving the 8gb iPod touch the new processor/RAM used on the

The Ugly

No camera on the new ipod touch - this is nuts, i think it will cost them alot of sales. Lot´s of angry people out the 3GS

Gamelof does it again: Blades of Fury

3D platformer, check (Assassins Creed/Hero of Sparta), 3D Sandbox game, check (Gangstar), FPS, check (Modern Combat: Sandstorm), sports game, check (Real Soccer). Game genre after game genre, Gameloft has been proving nothing is impossible to be done right on the iPhone platform.

Yesterday, they delivered the first proper fighting game for the platform, Blades of Fury. Another very impressive console quality game, specially when we see how well it controls with touch input.

ngmoco renames their iphone FPS...again

Feeling the pressure made by Gameloft´s amazing Modern Combat:Sandstorm, ngmoco released new information regarding their upcoming online multiplayer FPS, now renamed to Eliminate, after being called LiveFire and Killtest. Will it be the last time?

Nevertheless, they did release some information that is actually very cool: users will earn credits based on how well they play in the game. Nice idea. Now release the game, please!

Modern Combat: Sandstorm: FPSs do work on the iPhone

Not that i had any doubt. I´ve been playing iFPS Online for some months, and that game, after some control fixes, showed me FPS games can work better on the iPhone than on any current handeld console (ds or psp), even for multiplayer online.

However, it lacked popularity, and specially, graphical refinement and a solid single player campaign. Well...once again, Gameloft stepped in and showed what can be done with iPhone´s /iPod touch hardware, even the older models. Modern Combat: Sandstorm is the definitive proof FPS games work on the iPhone and an amazing portable gaming experience.

However...it´s not perfect, because it lacks online multiplayer. Lets hope they´ll add it soon, or else ngmoco might grab the place of definitive online shooter with Killtest.

iFooty World Plus updated - now with Push!

Sometime ago i took advantage of a sale to get iFooty World Plus, based on the promise it would get push notifications through an update. However, people were getting worried because this update was submitted to Apple in late June, and was not getting approved. Well, finally, the appstore monkeys have let the update go through.

iFooty World Plus is the best app available to follow football (the real one) news and games, and with push notifications available for following your favorite teams, it became perfect. It´s closest contestant is Goal!, however it lacks many features and seems way to basic when compared, and it´s even more expensive right now (1,59€ vs 0,79€).

Word Ace - get it while it´s free!

Want something that combines classic word game and Texas Hold´Em, with superb online multiplayer, for FREE? Then grab Word Ace NOW.

Letmeknow: use push notifications to gather information

Find iPhone apps at AppStoreHQ

It may be obvious by now that one of my favourite iPhone OS 3.0 features are Push Notifications. It's something that when used properly can make apps/games become much more usefull - Beejive, UNO, Pushmail, are great examples.

Letmeknow is an information tool. It alows getting updates from websites, weather, youtube, etc, but my favourite source are RSS feeds. Unlike a similar app available on the AppStore (rsspush), Letmeknow actually shows text from rss articles on the notification (this is a must).

Will the real GTA please stand up? Hell yeah!

Last week i mentioned Gameloft´s Gangstar, the closest thing to a GTA game on the iphone platform.

Well, Rockstar must have felt defied by Gameloft, because they now decided to bring their super popular IP to the iphone platform, namely the highly praised DS title GTA - Chinatown Wars. True, it´s not full 3D like Gangstar (it´s 2,5d) or any of the home console titles, but still this is huge news for iphone gamers.

The release should happen during this Fall.