Tech Talk

For fans of classic role-playing games (RPGs), you will not want to miss Square Enix’s “latest” iPhone games. Yes, Final Fantasy (FF) and Final Fantasy II (FF2) are now available on your iPhone.

Other than the remastered graphics and audio, you will be experiencing the magical moments of the highly-acclaimed franchise that has been entertaining RPG fans for decades.

In FF, you guide a party of four characters, known as the Warriors of Light, on a quest to save the world. You get to choose their classes and names, lead them through towns and dungeons, interact with non-player characters (NPCs) and gain experience battling various foes.

Getting lost in the forest of Final Fantasy

As always in FF, combat is turn-based. This means you can assign each character to attack, defend, cast magic or drink potions. Thus, you have time to think and devise strategies to defeat your foes. There will be plenty of opportunities to practise your combat skills along the way.

The touch controls are pretty responsive during battle, and when it comes to accessing inventory or exploring the map. But you have to be careful to tap correctly when you want to start a dialogue with NPCs.

You go first... No, you go first...

Overall, FF delivers a great role-playing experience, even for newbies of the franchise.

Once you are done with FF,  you can continue with Final Fantasy II (FF2). While it feels and looks almost the same as FF, the game does sport slightly improved graphics and other gameplay differences.

Exploring the town in Final Fantasy 2

Unlike the original game, you don’t get to choose the names and classes of the four characters you control. At the start of the game, Firion, Maria, Guy and Leon are attacked by Palamecian soldiers and left for dead. After being rescued, Firion, Maria and Guy will set off to find Leon and subsequently, save the world (as usual).

During interactions with NPCs, you will get to learn key terms and can use them to ask other NPCs to advance the storyline. You can also arm your character’s right hand and left hand with different weapons. Thus, you can equip your warrior with two swords for maximum damage.

In Final Fantasy II, you can equip your characters with weapons on both hands

Like FF, FF2 has bonus dungeons that appear in later editions of the game.

The downside to these two apps is their price – US$8.99 each. Perhaps, Square Enix should have sold them as a bundle at a lower price. But the apps are still cheaper than their PSP iterations.

If you haven’t played the original, this is a great time to catch up on this addictive RPG franchise during your commute to work or school!

Now, Final Fantasy 7 on the iPhone, anyone?

Looking for a GPS navigation application for your iPhone but put off by the high prices (US$59.90 for TomTom!)? Fret not, with Papago! Singapore + Malaysia, you can finally own a good navigation app without breaking the bank.

There are two versions: Pro (US$19.99) and Lite (US$9.99).  The Pro version has built-in 3D landmarks and realistic junction views, which the Lite version lacks.

When you start up the application, it will assume that you are in Kuala Lumpur. Once you start navigating, it will even assume you are going there!

Thankfully, once you complete a computed route to a location here, it will then remember that last location.

For a phone navigation application,  it picks up GPS signals pretty quickly. It takes around five to  10 seconds for it to lock on and the map to re-orientate itself.

The interface is simple and intuitive. The large icons allow easy tapping even while you’re driving (not recommended though, as you’re not supposed to operate it while driving). Even typing in road names while the phone is on the dock is effortless. Finding points of interest is a breeze.

I particularly like the fact that the app even displays a small picture when you are nearing exits and junctions to make sure you make the right turn.

This application would have been perfect if it allows postal code search (stated as such on the iTunes App Store). I have tried finding my house via postal code but it does not seem to be working at the moment.

But for its price and usability, Papago! Singapore + Malaysia is by far the best value-for-money GPS navigation app on the iPhone for Singapore right now.

Tags: navigation

With Chinese New Year (CNY) coming up, it’s time to stuff your iPhone with apps that will save you time sending greetings, prevent your visits to relatives from being a catastrophe or simply kill time between transits.

Here are my red-hot recommendations:

1. 春节短信 (free)

Want something fresh and new to text your friends during CNY? With this app, you can choose from more than 1,000 SMS templates to send to your friends, loved ones and relatives.

You can select from several categories like “For Father”, “Jokes” or even “Valentine English SMS” (if you can’t read Mandarin). Tap on the template you like, and you can opt to email or SMS your loved ones. Or, you can add it to your collection for use later.

It saves time and looks impressive, too!

2. 新春吉祥话 (free)

Sick and tired of the boring “Happy Chinese New Year” or “Gong Xi Fa Cai” greetings? Impress your relatives during your CNY visits with your outstanding vocabulary as this app offers you more than 50 auspicious greetings.

There is one big caveat, however: you have to know how to read Mandarin. No hanyu pinyin to help you, dude!

3. Hipstamatic ($1.99)

Record this year’s CNY memories with this nifty camera app inspired by the original 1992 Hipstamatic plastic camera, which came even before the Lomo movement.

You can take cool nphotos that are vignetted, blurry, discoloured or oversaturated! In addition, have fun swapping lenses, films and even flashes (though they are technically filters) to get different feels and grains for your photos!

4. iCash SG (Free)

Realised that you don’t have enough cash to stuff into ang pows destined for your relatives’ pesky kids? Fear not, iCash SG will help you find the nearest ATM in no time.

With the ability to search for ATMs from the major Singapore banks, you can be sure to find the nearest ATM of your choice. However, it cannot inform you if the ATM has run out of $10 denominations or simply out of cash. Well, don’t be too picky!

5. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (US$9.99)

You know, kids these days love to wield a PSP in their hands during CNY visits, leaving it temporarily only to shake your hand before they return to the world that is the PSP again.

Well, show them you can be a baddie as well when you whip out your iPhone and play Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

Okay, it doesn’t seem so nice to break into cars or kill people during the festive period. But hey, this is just make-believe!

So, enjoy yourself this Chinese New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Spore Creatures continues the evolutionary journey by putting you on dry land instead of the primordial soup of its predecessor, Spore Origins.

Look mom, I have legs!

The game remains relatively the same with its bright colours and great audio. You control the creature you created by tilting your iPhone and moving it to consume smaller creatures, avoid bigger nasty creatures and pick up more DNA so that you can continue to evolve.

But there are more challenges here in Creatures. As you explore areas, you might need to drag a rock into a crevice to bridge two areas, or drag exploding plants to clear a path. There are also quicksands, wind tunnels, and many other hazards you want to avoid.

That doesn't look friendly...

In every new area, you will bump into boss creatures. You can choose to socialise with them or try to defeat them with force. Personally, I find diplomacy works better. These boss creatures usually want some crystals, so giving them crystals is much better than trying to defeat them.

The biggest fun lies in customising your creature. With so many body parts for you to pick and choose, you can fit defensive or offensive limbs to your creature. And don’t forget socialising traits like the mouth in order to work on diplomacy!

What to wear? What to wear?

While it certainly cannot beat the PC version of Spore, Spore Creatures will make a nice addition on your iPhone for casual gaming. Get it at $6.99 from iTunes Store!

Tags: spore, spore creatures

I don’t know how this app managed to get past the censors into the iTunes Store. But just imagine an app that allows you to download an episode of Gossip Girl Season 2. You can even download an entire movie from its DVD database!

Yes, there is such an app and it is W.TV Mobile TV. Based on the 3G video streaming platform from China Unicom Sichuan Branch, this app carries a variety of streaming content, including TV programmes from provincial  TV stations in China.

Supporting the H.264 codec, the app is really easy to use and you can search for your favourite TV show or movie painlessly. However, you can rarely download a full clip. An episode of say, Project Runway, is split into three parts, meaning you have to download three times to watch a single episode. In a way, it makes sense as 3G download is not the most reliable currently. I was able to download one part in around 5 mins.

However, the interface and the shows’ names are in Mandarin. So if you don’t read Mandarin, it will be a tad difficult. Nonetheless, you can rely on the universal language of pictures (aka thumbnails) to help you make your choice.

Oh, did I mention this app is free? Grab it from iTunes Store now while you can!

Disclaimer: I’m not sure if this app breaches any copyright laws, but hey, it has been approved by Apple!

Yes, it’s the end of 2009! More importantly, it is a super long weekend! Here are some iPhone apps for you to fully make use of your time to welcome 2010!

1. N.O.V.A (Near Orbital Vanguard Alliance)

If you wonder what’s the best first person shooter (FPS) game on the iPhone, look no further than N.O.V.A.

The single-player campaign puts you into the armour of Captain Kal Wardin as  he gets thrust into the fight to save humanity from the aggressive alien Judgers.

Blast these aliens back to space!

The 13 missions will see you through jungles, snow, spaceships and bunkers. Controls are surprisingly easy and intuitive. Graphics are fantastic, sound effects are great, and the voice acting is superb.

You can play with up to three players via WiFi or with a friend via Bluetooth for local multiplayer. It even supports online multiplayer via WiFi with a Gameloft LIVE! account.

In essence, this is Halo on your iPhone. Get it at $6.99.

2. Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X

Forget about Ace Combat Xi on the iPhone. Spend your money on Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X instead!

At the same price of $6.99, you get 13 missions and 26 licensed planes. The controls are more intuitive as well. Graphics are far more superior, with nice 3D-modelled planes and gorgeous environments.

Nice sunset... But wait, enemies beckon!

Support for local multiplayer of up to four players is available via WiFi, and Bluetooth (two players only). So, what are you waiting for?

3. Super Monkey Ball 2

Yes, you probably saw Super Monkey Ball in many iPhone advertisements. Now, its sequel is here to bring you more accelerometer fun!

Bananas, here I come!

With 115 stages to clear, better controls and graphics, this game is sure to numb your wrists and senses. In addition, it now has a mini Monkey bowling game that may well be more fun than the real game for some! Get yours at $7.99.

4. Ramp Champ

Find the games above a tad too difficult? Well, you can try some easy classic boardwalk games with Ramp Champ!

It's target practice with these clowns!

Simply roll a ball to hit targets of different breeds, and get some tickets in return. Accumulate enough tickets and you can redeem prizes. Unfortunately, you can only admire these prizes on the iPhone. Nonetheless, the game provides no-brainer fun! Plus, it’s only $1.99.

5. Appsaurus

Are you becoming more confused with the avalanche of apps on iTunes Store? Want more games but the iTunes App Store genius is not doing a good job? Well, Appsaurus is here to help you get to the apps you really want.

Choose your poison... I mean, your favourite app.

There are no complex algorithms as Appsaurus requires some “training”. Once you start Appsaurus, you will be shown a few apps and you tap on your favourite on the list, which will bring you  to another list and you repeat the action.

After a while, it should remember what you like and and offer you better recommendations. However, it does not know what app you already have and it has no access to iTunes Store ratings.

Still, it might prove to be a time-saver despite the time needed to “train” it. At $0.99, it may well be a worthwhile investment.

The great thing about technology is that there’s always something flashy and new just round the corner. It’s even more poignant as the year draws to a close.

The buzz on the Internet is that two possibly game-changing products might be announced in January (maybe, much to the chagrin of the companies releasing new gizmos at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas come Jan 8).

First up is a smartphone from Google dubbed the Nexus One:

via Mashable

It runs the Android operating system and the sleek hardware is supposedly made by HTC. Just take a look at the specs here.

But what might make the Nexus One really compelling and change the landscape of the mobile phone industry is that it might be sold by Google, so you won’t need to go through a telco to get one, or you could just slot in your SIM card on the device to use your existing mobile phone line and data plan.

Google could also take it a step further. What if, instead of SMS, you could send an unlimited number of messages via Google Talk? And, by using its VoIP service, Google Voice, you could have unlimited talktime? Sure, both services are very much dependent on your data plan. But with data plans becoming cheaper by the year, this could possibly free you of being reliant on your telco.

Consumers could win big on this one because no longer would they be tied to a telco just because of the phones it has on its palette (cue the iPhone in its early days). Telcos will have to work harder at making their services reliable, fast and attractive to retain and gain subscribers. By side-stepping the telcos, Google can put its Android phones in the hands of more users and grow its mobile search and other online services further. Putting more smartphones in the hands of people would also open up the market for mobile applications and services.

We’ll be pretty happy if the Nexus One does come out because we’ve yet to see an Android phone on our shores that has really wowed us.

Next up are rumours of the Apple tablet yet again, with the company expected to make a product announcement at its own event in late January. Apple has built quite an empire with just the iTunes App store and the iPhone alone, so it’ll be interesting to see what this new device will bring to the table, if it does exist.

What’s interesting is that some see the tablet as one of the possible solutions to the ailing newspaper industry in the United States, where many newspapers and magazines have closed shop during the downturn. Newspapers and magazines on the iTunes store? Well, Apple’s digital marketplace has proven that it could be an effective distribution system for content, thanks to the multitude of applications, music, movies and TV shows that it currently sells.

What could a digital magazine on a tablet look like?

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

And here’s another equally impressive demo:

Content producers are betting that the digital versions of their content, souped up with high-definition, multimedia content, might revive the interest of the masses in terms of eyeballs and paid subscriptions.

These two devices provide just an inkling of the big changes that might come in 2010. How exciting.

Tags: Apple, Digital magazines, Digital newspapers, Google, iPhone, Nexus One

Being an ardent fan of Wing Commander (there’s never going to another game like it!), I have been searching for a good space flight shooter on the iPhone.

While there are many such games on the iTunes App Store, not one has appealed to me so far. That changed when I spotted Star Wars: Trench Run. If you want to play a space fighter pilot, you might as well play one with the Rebel Alliance’s Red Squadron piloting a X-Wing fighter!

The game lets you play in Mission and Arcade modes. In Mission mode, you can play a series of missions, from dogfights against the TIE fighters to the final trench run where you try to destroy the Death Star. Regardless of the result, you will be treated to a movie cut-scene.

If that is too stressful for you, try the Arcade mode, which gives you the option of dogfight or trench. This is especially useful when you just want to kill time without going through the missions. The game remembers the last level you reached and you can continue from that level any time you wish.

Controls here are pretty simple. Tilt and turn to fly the X-Wing fighter. Tap on the lower right hand screen to fire. Tap on the lower left to activate Force Power to slow time so that you can increase your hit count. Tap on the top left to toggle between chase and cockpit view.

Though not crystal-sharp, the graphics are very good considering the platform. With the original music score and superb sound effects, the game stays truthful to the movie and really ups your adrenaline rush.

Even if you are not a Star Wars fan, you should get Star Wars: Trench Run as its simple gameplay will keep you fighting the evil empire for a while. If you are a Star Wars fan, what are you waiting for?

Get it at $4.99 on the iTunes App Store. And may the force be with you.

Tags: mobile games, Star Wars

Tired of manually inputting the contact details of clients gleaned from those name cards onto your computer or phone? Or tired of lugging around that bulky business card reader to hook up to your PC to do the job for you?

With the latest iPhone application Business Card Reader (BCR), all you need is your mobile phone.

First, you take a picture of the business card with the BCR app. Try to take the picture in the best possible lighting, or the app might not be able to recognise the fields. Once you are satisfied with the picture (it should be sharp enough to see all the details), tap “Use”.

The app will then scan and “read” the name card. Using ABBYY’s text recognition technology, it drops the  information into the appropriate fields on the iPhone address book.

The accuracy of the app usually depends on the type of business cards you are scanning. If you are scanning non-standard business cards, BCR might get the details wrong.

Sometimes, the fax number becomes the main number. Sometimes, the country code gets bunched up with the phone number. But just do a few corrections and you can save the contact to your address book.

BCR is definitely not perfect and it probably requires some updates to increase its accuracy. Nevertheless, it is a time-saving tool for those who regularly meet new clients or acquaintances in their line of work.

Get it at the iTunes Store at an introductory price of US$5.99.

For those still waiting for that elusive action role-playing game (RPG) Diablo III, there is one pretty nice action RPG  on your iPhone now – the Dungeon Hunter.

You play a young king on a quest to eradicate the dark forces from his land. It’s a cliched storyline that gives you the excuse to hack and slash through dungeons and crypts, killing evil denizens and picking up plenty of loot along the way.

You get to choose your character class – a sword-wielding Knight, a stealthy Rogue or the magical Mage. Personally, I prefer to hack and slash my way through in true Diablo style!

The game plays very smoothly without any drops in frame rate and the controls are simple and intuitive. The graphics is fantastic for an iPhone game, and the audio track is great as well.

There are a few side-quests you can complete other than the story-driven main quests in order to get more experience points. With more experience, you level up and get more abilities to strengthen yourself for the quests ahead. Basically, it feels like playing Diablo II on an iPhone!

Fallen foes will drop plenty of loot for you to pick up, like weapons, rings, armour and potions. In fact, managing your inventory takes up as much time as your hack and slash. However, there’s no way to teleport to town to sell your loot, but you can transmute your loot into gold at a lower price.

Another quirk I have with the game is that its viewing angle sometimes gets blocked by the surroundings. In addition, although your character level is saved automatically, you can’t save your progress. In other words, if you exit when you are in the middle of the quest, you have to play again from the last checkpoint.

These quirks aside, Dungeon Hunter is one hell of a game for anyone who loves Diablo, or for anyone who loves a nice piece of action while waiting to catch your flight, or your spouse to show up or just to kill time during lunch breaks.

So, what are you waiting for? Get it at US$6.99 from iTunes Store now!

Tags: gameloft