Fresh iPhone Apps for July 7: Magnetic Baby, Pixel Racer, Swords and Soldiers, Elusive Ninja (Appolicious)

Kick off the weekend a touch early with four new games from the iTunes App Store. Leading the charge is Magnetic Baby, a game that combines tilt controls with the skillful use of gravity to move a character around a small galaxy of planets to create a fresh physics puzzler. After that is Pixel Racer, an old-school racing game that’s all about quick reflexes. Swords and Soldiers is a mix between the real-time strategy, tower defense and role-playing genres, and Elusive Ninja challenges you to stay alive as long as possible by dodging ninja stars and bundles of dynamite.

Magnetic Baby (iPhone, iPad) $0.99

In a galaxy filled with tiny planets, you control a little orange ball guy who has been separated from his ball girlfriend. In order to reunite with her and finish each of Magnetic Baby’s stages, you have to throw yourself from planet to planet, using speed and gravity to your advantage. Along the way are stars you can retrieve that count toward your high score in each stage as you bounce from one planet to another, trying to get to the end as quickly as possible. To get all the stars, you’ll have to use precision movements and skill.

Magnetic Baby includes three ways to play, allowing you to switch between tilt controls, touch controls and a virtual pad to control your character. You get 63 levels for your buck, as well as Game Center support so you can see how you stack up against other players.

Pixel Racer (iPhone, iPad) $1.99

Simplicity is the key to Pixel Racer. In it, you pilot one of several race cars on an 8-bit course built entirely of right angles. Rather than test your skill at tilting to drive like more realistic racing games, Pixel Racer is all about reflexes, requiring you to make quick, one-button turns to avoid crashing and notch up the fastest time you can on each course.

You get access to 10 racers over 24 courses, and each racer goes faster than the last, earning you better times but requiring quicker reactions. Game Center support lets you see how your times stack up against other players around the world.

Swords and Soldiers (iPhone, iPad) $2.99

There seems to be no end to iPhone castle defense titles, but Swords and Soldiers works on the formula by mixing it with role-playing game elements. In each stage, you’ll gather resources by mining gold, upgrade your troops, summon soldiers and wage war against enemy forces who are marching against your base.

Swords and Soldiers takes you across three battle campaigns using soldiers from various lands and eras. There’s also a Skirmish mode, which lets you play battles outside of the campaign whenever you want, and Game Center support to supply the game with achievements and leaderboards.

Elusive Ninja: The Shadowy Thief (iPhone, iPad) $1.99

Elusive Ninja employs a great, cartoonish art style to drive its simple gameplay. You control a ninja under attack, with flaming arrows, ninja stars and explosives flying your way. The goal of the game is to avoid getting killed by them for as long as possible, using touch controls to dodge different weapons as they come flying at you, while catching sushi to replenish your health. The longer you survive, the higher your score.

There’s not much else to Elusive Ninja – it’s simple but challenging, requiring some fast reflexes to rack-up a high score. It also features support from OpenFeint and Game Center, which tracks your scores and let you see how you stack up against other Elusive Ninjas all over the world.

Download the free Appolicious iPhone app

Even more iPhone rumors: Apple to introduce new charging tech in iPhone 6 (Appolicious)

There seems to be no end to fresh rumors about future iPhones flying across the Internet in the last few days. Only yesterday we told you about a Wall Street Journal report that claimed the iPhone 5 would be a thinner and lighter revamp of the device, and now it seems the WSJ has even more new information to report.

Today’s earlier rumors concerned the iPhone 5, but in a report issued later in the day on July 6, the newspaper claims to have found some dirt on the next next version of the iPhone, which we’ll refer to as the iPhone 6. This is the device we’re all presuming from past history that Apple will release in 2012.

Try to bear with this, as the somewhat random and barely-sourced information can get confusing: when it comes to the iPhone 5, the WSJ reports that “sources familiar with Apple’s plans” told it that the company is putting together a thinner and lighter iPhone, but with the fundamental design remaining similar to the iPhone 4, which falls in line with most of the rumors circulating at this point. Apple didn’t announce the phone in June during its Worldwide Developers Conference because the phone isn’t (or wasn’t) finished yet, but it expects it to launch it in September. It appears the iPhone 5 will be a fair step up from the iPhone 4, with the A5 dual-core processor Apple put in the iPad 2 and an 8-megapixel camera among other changes, but while the improvements will be noticeable, they may not yet be game-changing.

Enter the iPhone 6, which the WSJ reports its sources have said may include “a new way of charging the phone.” It’s one of the features Apple is reportedly experimenting with, which suggests that while the iPhone 5 may be less of a drastic revamp, the iPhone 6 will be the kind of device that CEO Steve Jobs will have fun showing off at the inevitable keynote.

The iPhone 5 may still be an incremental update, it appears, even though Apple expects it to sell exceedingly well. Reportedly, the company is expecting 25 million units to be sold in the last three months of 2011 when it’s released. That suggests Apple expects the market to accept the phone more than Wall Street reportedly is, which the WSJ says is keeping cool on the phone, at least for now, because it’s banking on users opting not to upgrade until a better model comes along. So maybe Apple is trying to push in more definable improvements to drive sales, and maybe not.

The WSJ also came close to confirming another somewhat-weird rumor that Apple is working on a second, less-expensive iPhone. We heard this from an analyst last week without any facts to back it up. The WSJ reports that the person who let slip about the charging upgrade also said Apple was working on the cheaper phone that could also include an edge-to-edge screen.

I know, I know – it’s getting ridiculous with all these rumors. Still, at least some are starting to corroborate one another, but it’s getting hard to know what to believe or even to draw some decent conclusions about it all. The real bummer of all this speculation and secret, unsourced information is that while some of it will inevitably end up being true, Apple always finds a way to surprise us just when we think we know what’s going to happen.

Check back here for the next time someone decides to leak some iPhone information; I give it about 20 minutes.

Find what you’re looking for with these great Android search apps (Appolicious)

There are dozens of different search apps available on the Android platform to help you track down what you need. General browser apps like Google will point you in the direction of any general information you need, while others have more specific purposes. For instance, the Internet Movie Database is a resource geared toward helping you find out anything you want to know involving movies and film. Here, we have highlighted some of the most used and most reliable apps in the search genre.

General Search Apps

Google Search (Free)

Whether you're looking up the weather, a recipe, instructions on how to sponge paint your bathroom, how to play Pinnacle, Van Morrison's entire bibliography or a listing of all the local restaurants, clearly, Google Search is the key to a ton of different information. It's also a pretty handy app to use if you don't know exactly what you're looking for, as the app will start to give you web site suggestions as you type. Because Google is such an easy to use and valuable resource, it's no wonder why this app comes standard on all Android devices.

Voice Search (Free)

Voice Search is kind of like having your very own assistant. Quickly search your phone, the web, or navigate yourself to your destination—all by using voice commands. This is an especially helpful app when you're in the car and need to focus on driving, which will also save you some money on tickets. Sure, your hands are on the wheel and your eyes on the road in front of you, but you're still able to dictate a text message, call your mother or map out how to get to a client's house or your next lunch meet-up.

ShopSavvy Barcode Scanner (Free)

You can use ShopSavvy to check the price of an unmarked item while you're shopping, but it does even more than that. When you scan a product, the app compares it with other prices listed online and even at nearby local retailers, just so that you can make sure that you're paying the best price.

More Specific Search Apps

White & Yellow Pages (Free)

If you haven't done it already, now's a good time to toss out all those clunky phone books. Everything you need is in the White & Yellow Pages mobile app for Android. Look for people (that is, if the person you're looking for still has a land line) and businesses by name and use the app's GPS capability to navigate your way there. You can also add new contacts, save favorites, track your history or even go directly to a business' website.

Urbanspoon (Free)

You’re hungry, but can’t decide what to eat. Just give your phone a good hard shake. UrbanSpoon is like a restaurant slot machine, pinning down the neighborhood, type of cuisine and price that you're interested in. You can also lock-in a category if, say, you know you're in the mood for Chinese or you'd like to stick around the Brooklyn area. When you find something that looks good (and, mind you, you can give your phone a shake as many times as you'd like) you can call to make a reservation by tapping the phone number, read reviews by clicking the button at the bottom of the screen, or just read more about the restaurant by clicking the name.

IMDb Movies & TV (Free)

This one may not be as crucial as some of the others on this list, but it is still a helpful resource. Think about it this way: you're at a dinner party, in the midst of an entertainment discussion, and you realize that you can't remember the name of an actor or actress. While a few years ago you would rack your brain and insist that the name was on the tip of your tongue, IMDb will give you your answer in seconds. The app's mother site is dedicated to documenting every detail about every movie and TV show ever made, including who was in it, who made it, the plot, user ratings, trailers, photos, reviews, trivia, quotes and goofs. You can also use the app to find show times, watch trailers, browse photo galleries, get US TV listings, find latest DVD and Blu-ray releases, explore popular charts and share movie information.

GasBuddy (Free)

You just need gas when you're on Empty, and GasBuddy doesn't discriminate by brand. The app shows you where all the nearest gas stations are, whether it's Mobile, BP, Shell or independently owned, but it also tells you how much gas costs at each place on the map. If you're looking for a particular grade of gas, diesel or ethanol, for instance, Gas Buddy allows you to search based on this criteria. When you decide where you're headed, based on either price or proximity, Gas Buddy will map out turn-by-turn directions to that location.

Kayak Flight and Hotel Search (Free)

Kayak lets you search between multiple airlines for the best price on plane tickets. You can also track the status of your flight and easily book hotels and rental cars, too. Download this app before you go to the airport, that way, when you get bumped from a flight and need a quick replacement, you can do it headache-free with just a few quick taps of your finger.

Download the free Appolicious Android app