The magical kingdom of iPhone apps welcomes two new Disney titles with the release of two new Beauty and the Beast-themed apps. Also in today’s Fresh iPhone Apps, showcase a new Twitter search engine and roll the ball on a new Skee-Ball app for the iPad.
TwiStorm (iPhone) $2.99
This is the latest Twitter-based search engine dedicated just to scanning the various updates and Tweets of people connected with the social networking service. TwiStorm uses the same principle of web-based search engines, allowing you to search through the fields of Twitter for information related to specific topics. It also supports Tweeting from the app, which allows you to participate in discussions that interest you, or send messages to specific users.
I’m not exactly sure why you would need an app to go search through Twitter. Then again, I have an app just for seeing which of my friends is online playing Xbox 360 at any given moment.
Jsconsole (iPhone, iPad) $0.99
Programmers on the go get a small-scale platform for testing JavaScript with this app. Its developer notes that the app lets you test small bits of JavaScript, and other code, support for which is downloadable. The app also can link up to several popular JavaScript libraries for even more added programming convenience.
Glowing App Icons (iPhone) Free
When you download this app, it makes the app icons on your iPhone glow. It also includes some HD backgrounds and allows you to customize (to a degree) the icons on your iPhone, which is neat and adds another level of individuality to your phone. Plus it’s free, so even if the buttons look stupid, it’s not like you paid for them.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Lumiere (iPhone) Free
This one-trick pony of a game is part of a Disney marketing campaign to promote its re-re-release of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” this time on Blu-Ray. The app itself is free and features the animated candlestick, Lumiere, acting as your personal lantern. Lumiere functions like other flashlight or torch apps for the iPhone, except the game is, if you make noise or blow into the iPhone mic, the candlestick goes out.
“Beauty and the Beast” fans might enjoy this app, and really just having Lumiere, the movie’s best character, available on their iPhone. It doesn’t do a lot, but it also doesn’t cost anything.
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Rose (iPhone, iPad) Free
This one was released a few days ago, but it’s also worth mentioning because it’s available as part of the marketing for “Beauty and the Beast” on Blu-Ray. Another one fans (and only fans) of the animated film might enjoy, the Enchanted Rose puts the flower seen in the film on your iPhone or iPad, and after specifying if “your love” is a he or a she, you can pluck the petals from the flower in “he loves me, he loves me not” fashion.
Skee-Ball (iPad) $0.99
A digital rendition of the only real reason to visit a Chuck E Cheese, this iPad version of the classic game works by flicking your finger across the screen to roll the ball up the ramp. And just like real skee-ball, earning points in the game also earns tickets that can be redeemed for prizes. The app boasts 80 in-game prizes in all, notably among them a customized ball. I really hope it’s Ernie McCracken’s clear bowling ball with the rose inside from “Kingpin.” I would buy this app just for that.
