While I often claim this weekly free app roundup has something for everyone, this week’s list will certainly appeal to those young at heart, as gamers and music fans will delight in G4, ReBounce and HiDef Radio.
But for the sake of diversity I’ve also got a yoga app and the LinkedIn app, which by no means require you to be young at heart.
The gaming app for when you’re not playing games
Based on the network’s website, G4TV.com, the free app G4 is pretty close to a must-have download for any iPhone-owning gamer. It’s almost entirely video content, from news about upcoming releases to video reviews and everything in between, though you can also read reviews and look up cheats for your favorite games. There is also a section to get more information about shows on the network, such as “Attack of the Show,” “Web Soup” and “Ninja Warrior,” including clips and schedules. The app does an admirable job of bringing the website to you in a more iPhone-friendly format, with a simple four- button menu at the bottom of each screen and a sub-menu at the top of each screen. When you consider the price and amount of content, there’s really nothing to complain about here, and this download is recommended for any video game fan.
Downward facing app
The transition from a video-game network inspired app to a yoga app is sure to be an awkward one, so let’s just jump right into this. Pocket Cocktails’ 101 Yoga Poses (Free) is a perfectly titled app that shows you pictures, instructions and tips on how to perform 101 yoga poses. The most obvious thing lacking in the app is video instructions, but between the photos and detailed directions, there’s enough included for you to get your yoga on. The app is laid out well, though at times you can get lost in menus. You can search poses by name, positions, yoga types, or even shake your iPhone to get a random one. The full version costs 99 cents and will take the annoying ads away for you, but aside from that, the lite version is just about the complete app – for free. That’s not a bad deal, and something yoga enthusiasts should definitely look into.
Reinventing radio
Speaking of aptly titled apps, HiDef Radio Free is yet another one that gets right to the point with its name. With this beauty of an app, you’re able to listen to more than 30,000 radio stations via an EDGE, Wi-Fi or 3G connection. When I used a Wi-Fi connection, the stations had good sound quality — and I didn’t have any service interruptions. The stations are searchable by genre – just about every genre you could think of – and you can search by artist name, or even enter your own station feed. Unfortunately, even with all those options the app isn’t the easiest to navigate, though it’s far from unusable. The full version of the app (HiDef Radio Pro) includes extra features such as skins, a sleep timer and a background mode, among others, for $1.99. Pandora is still my music app of choice, but this one has a place in any music fans’ collection.
Get linked in
First things first: LinkedIn is not as entertaining as the other apps on this week’s list. In fact, it sort of sticks out like a sore thumb. But it’s still an incredibly useful app and, of course, free. For those unfamiliar with the site, LinkedIn is a sort of business version of Facebook, so instead of poking and posting photos, you connect with business colleagues and recommend employees. Possibly the coolest part of the app is its “In Person” feature that is similar to the Bump app and allows you to connect to other LinkenIn users instantly. Despite the inclusion of different visual themes, the app isn’t very pleasant to look at and doesn’t boast an especially great design. But once again, it is useful and a handy app to have around – you know, for when you’re not listening to music or playing video games.
Free lite game of the week
Romper Games’ ReBounce: Brick Breaking Evolved – Free is a lite version of the 99-cent ReBound: Evolved Breaking. Despite the curious name choices, this is a solid iPhone game that uses a pretty familiar premise. Columns of marble, gears and “specials” slowly inch up your screen and you have to fling a puck around before they get too tall. You get extra points for breaking multiple pieces at the same time, and the gears can only be eliminated by hitting bombs in the vicinity. In short, it’s a nice blend of action gaming and puzzle gaming. The lite game allows you to play the tutorials and a shortened version of the actual game, while the full version includes 10 self-generating levels and 40 levels in all.
