Macintosh/iPhone software update roundup – December 18, 2009

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for December 18, 2009:

Macintosh

• YourHead Software today announced the release of Kiwi 1.0, a themeable Twitter client for Mac OS X. Kiwi is a full-featured Twitter client that supports multiple accounts, groups, searches and rules/filters. Kiwi also gives users the power to change the look, or theme, to match their desktop. Kiwi comes with nine built-in themes, with more available online. Plus, Kiwi is extensible with an API for building themes from HTML and CSS.
• Hyperbolic Software has announced Tidy Up! 2.1.3, the latest version of the award-winning duplicate finder and disk tidying utility. Tidy Up! has become a must-have utility to reclaim disk space being taken up by duplicate files and packages. Tidy Up! locates duplicate items using a wide range of criteria including owner application, time created or modified, name, label, extension and content. Version 2 introduces nearly 50 new features to this already comprehensive tool.
• Zevrix Solutions has announced a $50 price reduction on PDF Checkpoint, an automated PDF preflighting and conversion solution which combines both power and simplicity. Remarkably fast, PDF Checkpoint preflights, exports as images, splits and reduces size of multiple PDF files, and allows to route files according to preflight results. The price decrease is intended to make the program more affordable to the users of PDF workflows with less demanding production requirements. The program price has been decreased to $69.95 (down from $119.95).
• Eternal Storms Software has announced the immediate availability of flickery 1.7. flickery is a unique desktop flickr client for Mac OS X 10.5 which combines the flickr photo-community with the ease-of-use and elegance of Mac OS X. Easily upload photos and videos to your Flickr photostream, organize items in photosets and groups, browse Favorites, and more. flickery 1.7 features preferences for users to customize the look and feel of the application and many minor improvements.

iPhone/iPod

• Taito has rolled out a major update for the iPhone edition of Bust-A-Move / Puzzle Bobble. In addition to adding some extra polish and making some minor fixes, they’ve also added in-app purchase support in the form of Bub’s Shop. Here, players can acquire a number of fun extras, including a new Cooperative Play mode (a first for the Bust-A-Move series!) that allows two people to play together using a single iPhone or iPod touch. And for those players who have mastered the original 180 Story Mode stages they’ve also made available several 50-stage Puzzle Packs.
• The classic edition of Space Invaders for iPhone was updated over the weekend with OpenFeint support, a first for any TAITO game. Achievements and global leaderboard support are among the new OpenFeint-related features now available.
• j2sighte has released A Doodle Fly 2.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch users. Featured by Apple in the “What’s Hot” section, A Doodle Fly provides custom fun and creativity. Users can draw or import their own character to fly to the moon and find out if the Ancient Chinese were right about a rabbit living on the lunar surface. A Doodle Fly is the developer’s follow up to their hit game, A Doodle Flight.
• Global Delight has released a Pro version of Camera Plus for the iPhone. Camera Plus Pro aims at making the iPhone the default camera for any occasion with its capturing, editing, sharing and managing options. With features such as Point Zoom, Timed Capture, Burst Mode, Filters, Anti-Shake, Flash, Crop and more, Camera Plus Pro provides the user with a lot of flexibility for capturing pictures and editing them.
• ClickSpace Technologies Inc. has released Tap Forms Database 1.8.2 for iPhone and iPod Touch users. Tap Forms Database is the ultimate organizational tool. It takes care of all recorded data, eliminating the need for additional programs. The app offers an impressive form format to hold an extensive array of information. Its ultra secure environment is passcoded, lockable and uses a strong, government sanctioned encryption.
• Quapps Interactive has announced Willville & Graytown’s Sarcastic Soundboard 1.0 for iPhone and iPod devices. Willville & Graytown’s Sarcastic Soundboard is a soundboard of 36 sarcastic remarks to be used in any situation with hilarious consequences. Ever wanted to tell somebody they are boring when telling you large story’s? How about the awkward fake laughs when somebody tells an unfunny joke? Be the envy of your friends with the only sarcastic soundboard on the AppStore.
• Koolhaus Games Inc. has announced the release of iMP: Surf the Music 1.3, a new music game created specifically for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Players generate their own funky soundtracks by gathering bits of funk to trigger music loops and audio accents. Different versions of the soundtrack can be created providing a unique and fresh audio experience. Intuitive tilt controls and simple to pick up game play will provide hours of fun for casual and seasoned players alike.
• Sit-Net SA has released The Brand Generator Pro 1.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch users. The only iPhone app of its kind, The Brand Generator Pro creates marketable brand names using data derived from semantics and trends. The Brand Generator Pro is driven by market positioning linked with last trends semantic suffixes and prefixes. This app is the brainchild of a veteran marketing professional and has been designed to produce similar results to that of expensive, specialized agency software.
• TimeStream Software has released the new Adventures of Tom Sawyer Notescast, turning iPod Classics and nanos into eReaders. Now, for the first time ever, iPod users can read this classic American tale on their iPod legacy device wherever they go and whenever they want. True love, buried treasure, a haunted house, a mysterious cave and even murder await Tom and his friends in this true American classic.
• GameFly has announced the GameCenter 1.1 update. The updated app, now available on the Apple App Store, includes more video game screenshots, hi-res videos for most of the 5,000 titles included in the app, expanded news coverage from Shacknews.com, and performance enhancements designed to increase usability for iPhone and iPod touch users.
• Bottle Rocket Apps has announced Prairie Chute 1.5, an update to their popular “pick up and play” casual game for iPhone and iPod touch. Prairie Chute features a parachuting prairie dog that you must safely guide to the right hole. Its starts off fairly easy, but after a few rounds buzzards, coyotes, land mines and electric fences will try to impede your progress. Players can chart global high scores and collect achievements through the Agon social network.
• Easy Beat is a fun and easy type of beat box application. You can record 9 different sounds and use them instead of drums or percussion. There are no difficult tasks necessary to create your own sound pads. Tap recording icon and make 9 sounds into the microphone. The application creates the sound for each button automatically. Then, select your favorite music from your ipod library and arrange it with your pre-recorded sounds.
• Herp Games has announced Imagine the Scale 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch. This entertainig educational app takes the user on a journey through the relative size of things in our universe. One can zoom in from the dimension of one billion light years to the realm of the atom. The overall style and design of the application focusses on the experience of a beautiful and relaxing flight through the displayed objects accompanied by a soothing piano background music.
• Maverick Lifestyle Corporation has announced the availability of the Nica Bluetooth Home and Car Bundle. The special bundle package includes the Nica headset, Car Dock and Desk Dock in a single package, offering a complete solution for Bluetooth users who want the convenience of a headset in the car as well as in the office or home.
• Have a talent for outfitting the fashion-challenged, rescuing the latte-starved and making Romeo and Juliet inspired love connections? Then Clueless [iTunes App Store link] from Paramount Digital Entertainment on the iPhone and iPod touch is for you. Now available for purchase at the App store, Clueless is like, the ultimate high school challenge where players must tap into their inner social goddess to make their friends runway fantasies and cute boy dreams come true. Avoid making friends cry “as if!” by matching them up with all the items they crave to land a ride to the next level.
• iPhone 3g/2g users can now record videos on their phones without having to jailbreak. iVidCam encodes recorded videos as mp4 video files, 3-7 fps, impressive 280×380 resolution, no recording time limit, and allows users to wifi transfer their recorded videos to their desktop for safe keeping. iVidCam is currently priced at only $1.99 (launch sale price). iVidCam Free has just been approved as well and features all the iVidCam paid features but with a banner in recordings.
• Appliya Studio, one of Japan’s premier iPhone app publishers, is pleased to announce the beta release of their latest iPhone App publication tool, the App Builder. App Builder is a web-based system that allows anyone to make a fun iPhone app utilizing images from Flickr. You can add any of the countless Creative Commons images on Flickr to your custom app, or add photos from your own Flickr account. For a limited time, users can take advantage of the following offers:
• Red Cabana Studios has announced R.O.F.F.L.E., an all-new action game for the iPhone and iPod touch. R.O.F.F.L.E. is a unique sandbox-style platform shooter – you spawn enemies when you want, kill them when and how you want. Experiment endlessly, no pressure – these enemies don’t attack (until future updates). Solid gameplay, an epic soundtrack, and the addicting cycle of completing achievements to unlock new weapons and maps keep you coming back for more. Frequent updates with new Weapons, Maps, Achievements and more. Be sure to watch the the action-packed Preview Trailer!