Free apps roundup for August 13th, 2010

Today is Friday the 13th, but I’m not one to be superstitious. I mean, if today were so bad, would I have such a long list of free apps for you to check out this weekend? Doubtful. There are a bunch of great utilities and limited time freebies to be had.

• Grooveshark – Quite possibly the best streaming music service available, now on iPhone. The only difference is that you’re limited to 30 days of free use, then you’ll have to sign up for a $3 a month plan. So, unlike the regular online service, this one will eventually cost you. I suppose they have to make money somehow. Still, you have to be excited that Grooveshark finally got approved on the App Store!
• NinJump – This app comes from the same guys who made Paper Toss, which is an awesome casual game. This app is also very casual, and challenges you, a ninja, to jump as high as possible by killing ninja squirrels on the way up. Sounds ridiculous, which in the past has often been the case for fun games.
• Barcode Hero – Here’s another social app that allows you to scan the barcodes on products you own to keep track of them and maybe brag a little. Plus, you can use it to scan stuff you want and compare prices. It uses the same technology that makes the RedLaser app possible. After you scan enough stuff, it will even make recommendations.
• iUtility iCount – An app that takes your potentially faulty memory out of the picture when counting. Just tap the button to keep track mindlessly of totals.
• Gyroscope – A fun way to visualize the data that comes out of your iPhone 4′s gyroscope. Pretty much just a toy that looks like a gyroscope, but it’s a pretty nice gryoscope.
• Livio Car Internet Radio – Once a fully paid app, Livio streams Internet radio and is tailored for use in the car. The buttons are big and the interface is polished. And just like all the other great iOS 4 streaming apps, you can listen in the background. Internet only stations are free, and you can buy access to 42,000+ more stations in the app if the hundreds available aren’t enough.
• BotmHD – A Best of the moment reader. They gather the best, in their opinion, 5 to 10 pieces of media online for the day and point you to them with this app. Could be a great way to fix some boredom.
• Pixelitis – This app is awful, but not as awful as what makes you want it. If you’ve ever had a stuck or dead pixel, you know what true pain is. It’s often the only spot on the screen that you ever look at after you first identify it. But others often can’t tell what you’re talking about. This app helps you highlight these spots to make them easy to identify. Might help to download this, ID your stuck or dead pixels and take it to the Apple Store, though I haven’t heard of that many stuck or dead pixel issues with iDevices lately.
• CineXPlayer – The only way to watch Xvid movies on your iPad. Load this app up and transfer your Xvid files to the app in iTunes and you’re good to go. Course, you could just reencode your videos in the first place.
• Adobe Photoshop Express – The mobile version of Photoshop is now universal, meaning it’s optimized for iPad! Multiple photos can be edited at once on the iPad. Definitely worth another look by iPad users.
• PAC-MAN Lite for iPad – Everyone loves PAC-MAN, perhaps just not paying for it. You can at least experience a portion of the full game with this lite version that looks almost like an arcade machine front.
• Dark Nebula Episode One – Episode two of this game has just been released, so to celebrate, they’re making episode one free for this weekend. It’s a pretty fun game where you are an orb trying to make your way from the bottom of the map to the top. There are, of course, various obstacles. Grab it now; you’ll be happy you did.
• Icons HD FREE – Want one of those fancy homepage backgrounds that really highlights your icons? This app has a few that you can grab for free.
• Retro Fighter – States that it is currently 50% off, though it’s now free, so I’m not sure if this is a math, typing or clicking error, but it was free the last time I checked. It’s similar to Geometry Wars. You pilot a ship that’s being attacked by alien shapes. And instead of seeking mental help, you fight back!
• Touch Nitro Racing – This one is free until Sunday. It’s a mini racing game with pretty cool looking graphics. Worth a peak.
• Genius Scan – Another freebie that won’t last long. This app lets you take pictures of anything and turn them into PDFs. This is a great way to “scan” a document or capture text on a whiteboard. It won’t transcribe anything for you, but you’ll have an electronic copy. Works great.