Bite size apps news and reviews

Best iPhone, iPad & Mac Apps FREE or On SALE In Last 24 Hours (1/27)

Every day we sift hundreds of iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac apps who have reduced their price or gone free in the last 24 hours and hand select those we think you should consider picking up. Below is today’s curated list of the best apps newly on sale or free in the last 24 hours.

You can look at all 676 iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps and 40 Mac apps newly on sale or free by visiting our On Sale tab. Want to create a wish list and receive an e-mail when apps you specifically want go on sale or become free? Create an account (its free and easy) and add apps to your wish list to start saving more money today.

Click on the blue app title to be taken directly to the App Store to learn more about the app and to download it.

  • Batman Arkham City Lockdown (Games, Universal): $5.99 –> $2.99. “The inmates have escaped and Batman has his hands full defeating an army of henchmen and some of his most iconic villains. Scour the rooftops and the seedy underbelly of Gotham City through a series of one-on-one battles with the Joker, Two-Face and more, as well as the Batman: Arkham City Lockdown exclusive – Deathstroke. Choose from several Batman skins and power-ups as you punch, kick and combo your way to cleaning up Gotham City.”


Batman Arkham City Lockdown trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube

  • Hipstamatic (Photography, iPhone): $1.99 –> $0.99. “Digital photography never looked so analog. The Hipstamatic brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras of the past!”
  • Mini Motor Racing (Games, iPhone): $1.99 –> $0.99. “Mini Motor Racing plays like a favorite remote-controlled car showdown, combined with modern tech to nitro-boost your engines! Play multiplayer against your friends or rivals! Race in campaign competitions for big rewards! Upgrade your skills and cars to win more! It’s all here in Mini Motor Racing.”


Mini Motor Racing trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube

  • Quarrel Deluxe (Games, Universal): $2.99 –> $0.99. “Use a cool combination of word power and strategic cunning to crush your opponents and reign supreme. Come settle your differences with wordplay rather than swordplay; make verbal not chemical weapons; load up with letters not bullets and use chatter to batter your enemies into submission and rule the world. Compete to use your troops to make the highest-scoring word from the letters given then capture territories and conquer islands in this wholly original virtual board game.”

The Textbook Revolution Has Begun With iBooks 2


Click here to watch on YouTube

There is no doubt Apple has revolutionized the world. From the way we communicate, listen to music, use the computer and play games. Now it is changing the way we learn with its latest update to iBooks which introduced iBooks 2. This next generation of iBooks gives users the ability to download textbooks, for a fraction of the cost publishers charge for the hard copies. Although the app is universal, iBooks 2 is only available for use on iPads.

When I was in school (keep in mind I only graduated two and a half yeas ago) I would go online, check websites to find the cheapest place I could buy my books, use them occasionally for class, then at the end of the semester try and sell them back to the school for about one tenth of the price I paid for it. Not only did I waste significant amounts of time, I wasted money and not to mention paper on a book that would become obsolete once the newer version came out.

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All Work and No Play Makes ‘Order Up!! To Go’…A Dull Boy

Order Up!! To Go by SuperVillain Studios, published by Chillingo

When I first looked at this Order Up!! To Go, I was excited to finally try an app used to order food online and have it delivered! However, I was sadly mistaken. Instead of having a “productivity” app, I had a game where I became the restaurant owner, instead of gluttonous consumer, as I had so wished to be.

The premise of the game is the player starts as the chef of a fast food restaurant who lears how to cook burgers to perfection, pour the correct amount of soda and crisp the fries until they have a nice crunch to them.

The player begins with one order at a time and continues to add items to the order. The goal is to be able to cook the burger, cut the condiments, fry the potatoes, and pour the drink in the quickest amount of time and thereby keep the customer happy of course! For each order, the customer pays money based on how “perfect” each item is and how fast it was served.


Order Up!! To Go trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube 

After the orders at the fast food joint have been mastered, the user is brought to a map that shows an island with restaurants on it. As the chef, the user ends up purchasing a restaurant on the island that is theirs to command. The more money that is brought in by every successive restaurant, the more capital the chef has  to purchase more restaurants.

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Battle Creatures From Failed Experiments In ‘Extraction: Project Outbreak’

Extraction: Project Outbreak by Shortround Games, published by Chillingo

Chillingo’s Extraction: Project Outbreak is a top-down shooter where you take control of a soldier who must deal with creatures born from failed experiments. If you’re thinking: “that sounds a lot like zombies”, you would be right.

Extraction impressed me immediately with its visuals. The top-down angle works well with this type of game as well as allowing you a moment to look at the graphics, which by any measurable standards, are impressive. The game takes you through a poor village, a swamp, and finally a prison, each with its own aesthetic look. The game does a good job of changing locales right about the time you’re getting tired of seeing one.


Extraction: Project Outbreak trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube 

The gameplay is really what will draw most people in. It is incredibly simple, and I’ll go so far as to say the entire game can be played with one finger (though I prefer alternating thumbs), but most impressively, it works. You tap the screen to move, and swipe your finger over enemies, both singular and in groups, to shoot them. The same can be said for swapping weapons and throwing grenades. I was surprised to see how simple the controls are, and to their credit, they work well.

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Best iPhone, iPad & Mac Apps FREE or On SALE In Last 24 Hours (1/26)

Every day we sift hundreds of iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Mac apps who have reduced their price or gone free in the last 24 hours and hand select those we think you should consider picking up. Below is today’s curated list of the best apps newly on sale or free in the last 24 hours.

You can look at all 559 iPhone, iPad and iPod touch apps and 34 Mac apps newly on sale or free by visiting our On Sale tab. Want to create a wish list and receive an e-mail when apps you specifically want go on sale or become free? Create an account (its free and easy) and add apps to your wish list to start saving more money today.

Click on the blue app title to be taken directly to the App Store to learn more about the app and to download it.

  • Kingdom Rush (Games, iPad): $2.99 –> $0.99. “The acclaimed action fantasy defense game is now available for iPad in High Definition! Get ready for an epic journey to defend your kingdom against hordes of orcs, trolls, evil wizards and other nasty fiends using a vast arsenal of towers and spells at your command!”


Kingdom Rush trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube 

  • Ninja Runner (Games, iPhone): $0.99 –> FREE. “Welcome to the world of Ninja Runner! Where your reflexes and timing will be put to the test. Help the Ninja avoid obstacles and spring into the air using umbrellas. Soar through the skies using precise timing to activate your glide stick to go farther and stay alive longer.”

Taco Bell Releases Augmented Reality Fighting Game App

Taco Bell AR Gaming Experience

Corporations across America are increasingly developing apps as a way to connect with iPhone toting customers. One of the newest such apps is from Taco Bell who today released Taco Bell AR Gaming Experience, a free iPhone optimized app.

To use this app, you must first get a special $5 Buck Box from a Taco Bell in order to play the augmented reality based game. Not only do you get to play this augmented reality app with a $5 Buck Box but you’ll also get a cheesy gordita crunch, crunchy taco, burrito supreme and a medium fountain drink.

Interestingly, Taco Bell is concurrently running a promo with the $5 Buck Box where one PlayStation Vita is being given away for free every fifteen minutes. A total of 5,000 PlayStation Vitas will be given away (see details here). You’d think Taco Bell would instead give away an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

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‘Paper Toss 2.0’ Is Simple, Addictive & Hilarious

Paper Toss 2.0 by Backflip Studios

From Backflip Studios comes Paper Toss 2.0, the predecessor to Paper Toss that features more amusing office-inspired procrastination and, believe it or not, chaos.

There are six game modes and each includes the fan. Cubicle is set, well, within a cubicle. Toss the ball into a moving basket with Intern. Warehouse adds plenty of distance. Surroundings are an important factor in these three modes, as players can gain bonus points from banking shots off objects and people. There’s also an easy, medium and hard mode that are a stripped down version of Cubicle, Intern and Warehouse.


Paper Toss 2.0 trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube 

The random shouts and complaints are great considering the repetitive background noise of ringing phones and file cabinets. The graphics are well done … for an office setting.

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Best NEW iPhone, iPad & Mac Apps Released In Last 24 Hours (1/26)

Hundreds of new iOS and Mac apps are released every day contributing to the hundreds of thousands of apps already available in the App Store. Thursdays are when the brightest apps are released in earnest. Luckily for you, AppPicker looked through all new apps released in the last 24 hours and identified those with the most promise so you can download them and be the envy of friends and family.

Of all the apps released in the last 24 hours, below are the ones we think are the most interesting and useful.  Click on the blue app title to be taken directly to the App Store to learn more about the app and download it.

  • Baseball Superstars 2012 by Gamevil (Games, Universal, FREE): “Step up to the plate for the best baseball experience on the App Store, now looking better than ever before in crisp HD! The sky’s the limit with level restrictions unlocked, upgraded batting and pitching moves, endless customization, new super players and more play modes. Whether managing a team to the championship or training a rookie to the Hall of Fame, you’re in control of it all.”


Baseball Superstars 2012 trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube

  • Derby Days by Com2uS (Games, Universal, FREE): “Roll up your sleeves and start building the ranch of your dreams! Nurture your horses to be the best of the best and compete with neigh-boring horses. Breed your horse with your friends’ and customize them any way you want! Spruce up your ranch to provide ideal environment for your horse… With a stream pool and a corner track, there is no better place to call home for your horses. Watch them race in local derbies and compete for trophies in the championship!”


Derby Days trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube 

  • Dungeon Crawlers by Ayopa Games (Games, Universal, $1.99): “Take command of the Dungeon Crawlers team as they explore goblin-infested hallways, lava-drenched caverns, and other hostile environs in pursuit of loot, women, and monsters to crush. With gameplay drawn from the best of tactical RPGs and a personality inspired by action/fantasy comedy films, Dungeon Crawlers takes the tactics genre and injects it with fun 3D battles and much-needed humor.”


Dungeon Crawlers trailer
Click here to watch on YouTube 

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