Appletell reviews four apps from SpoonJuice

You don’t need me to tell you there’s quite a diverse collection of apps in the iTunes App Store. SpoonJuice has embraced this diversity within their own catalog; they’ve currently got four apps available for iPhone and (three for) iPod touch, and the collection is fairly eclectic. In this roundup, we’ll take a look at them all: Nightstand, Fun Booth, The Plateau, and the free Air Balloon.

Nightstand

Category: Utilities
Seller: Rohit Singal
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 4.2MB
Version Reviewed: 2.9
Price: $0.99
Age Rating: 4+

Nightstand is a collection of the alarm clock displays you grew up with. It comes with six options=: binary, flip, classic LCD, colorful LCD, glow and metanoia clocks. Four of these can be seen below, but note that this is just a sample image of your options; you’ll only actually get one of these at a time.

I’ll admit I got quite a kick out of the flip clock, since a similar clock accompanied me throughout my childhood. It would’ve been even cooler if it had the soft glow of the light that allowed you to view it at night, but you don’t need that here, obviously. The others are equally well done, with incredible attention paid to the details of how these clocks looked.

Aside from the clock options, there are some nice features, too. You can set multiple alarms, dim the screen, use your own music for the alarm (or choose from eight built-in sounds), and view in portrait mode for keeping your iPhone or iPod touch docked overnight (I kept mine horizontal thanks to the Xtand).

It’s a deal at $0.99, but be warned…a recent update did break some of the functionality, including the ability for the alarm to go off when your iPhone is locked. Obviously, an alarm that doesn’t work can kill a day (or a career), so you may still want to consider using a trusty desktop alarm clock (or the iPhone’s built-in alarm capabilities) for those days that really matter.

Appletell Rating:

Buy Night Stand

Fun Booth

Category: Photography
Seller: Rohit Singal
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 3.0MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Price: $0.99
Age Rating: 4+

When I first launched Fun Booth, I didn’t get it. It didn’t seem to work, and was rather pointless, regardless. But then I used it the proper way, and found myself having a bit of fun with it.

There’s no shortage of apps that allow you to drop props on top of photos for “humorous” effect, but this one simplifies the process so much that you can’t help but stick with it for a while. You can use photos from your library or take a new one, then simply hit a button or shake your phone to rotate through the props. Fun Booth detects the face in the photo (provided it’s a decent, straight forward shot) and throws on a mask, a hat, etc.

It’s not a perfect science, so some fits may be weird. You can resize the prop, but not much else, so you’re stuck with what Fun Booth gives you. Some props work better than others, but it’s so easy to cycle through them that people will hold on to the phone for quite some time in order to see them all (or give up, since the random generator will often skip some props while showing others multiple times). Be warned, too, that some of the props are comically violent, such as a knife or ax in the head. I imagine that will put off some people, so SpoonJuice would be wise to allow users to shut such images out.

Once you’ve got an image you like, you can quite easily share it via e-mail, Twitter and Flickr, and you can assign the images to your iPhone contacts. Fun Booth isn’t the most powerful or customizable of these apps, but its sharing capabilities and ease-of-use make it worth a look for those seeking a fun diversion.

Appletell Rating:

Buy Fun Booth

The Plateau

Category: Games
Seller: Rohit Singal
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 9.8MB
Version Reviewed: 1.2
Price: $4.99
Age Rating: 4+

Here, we have SpoonJuice’s most expensive app, but also the best. It’s a unique puzzle game that never really feels like a game. If that sounds like a criticism, I don’t mean it that way. Rather, the seamless integration of impressive visuals and fluid gameplay just make it feel like you’re interacting with some futuristic technology. It’s weird, but captivating.

It’s easier to just play this game than describe it, but I’ll try. You’ve got a collection of orbs, and the orbs are connected by multiple lines. The object is to drag the orbs around the screen so that none of the lines intersect. You’ll start off with a fairly small number of orbs with only a few lines connecting them, but things will get quite messy quite quickly.

The puzzles are randomly generated, so it’s never really the same game twice, even after completing the 50 levels. However, the solutions are sometimes just as random. There were times when I approached a level with no strategy—just random dragging—and still solved it quite quickly. But that doesn’t detract from the experience. The graphics and audio effects combine for a somewhat hypnotic effect, pulling you into the game.

The multiple game modes provide more or less of a challenge, so if you want to make this a brain exercise rather than a chance to relax, you’re given that option. Still, there are undoubtedly some who will play this and think it’s just the dumbest thing ever. That’s fine, and at $4.99, it’s a hard lesson to learn. But if you’re a puzzle gamer who’s tired of aligning three similarly colored jewels or finding a boot amongst the mess of objects in a photo of someone’s attic, this is a game you have to try.

Appletell Rating:

Buy The Plateau

Air Balloon

Category: Entertainment
Seller: Rohit Singal
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later
Compatibility: iPhone only
File Size: 83.4MB
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Price: Free
Age Rating: 4+

I tend to not review free apps. They’re free, so what’s the point in me suggesting whether it’s worth it. Just go download the app and try it out yourself. But although no rating will be assigned here, I do want to let you know it’s available.

Air Balloon is just what it sounds like; a simulated balloon. There are six types of balloons from which to chose: regular, bat, cyclops, monster, penguin and pig. The animal shapes are fun, but a bit uninspired.

Regardless, the point is to blow up the balloon and make it pop as quickly as you can. The faster you inflate it, the higher the score (and the sooner you pass out). Inflating the balloon requires a combination of placing your finger at its tip and blowing into your iPhone’s microphone. Hence, no iPod touch compatibility.

The design is solid and the effects are nice, but as far as gaming goes, there’s not much here. It’s free, though, and it’s likely to keep kids entertained, so it’s worth a look.