"If there is an app for that"

Blast the Enemy Away in Bunker Buster

April 22, 2016 by macjeff

Bunker Buster is a fun game that challenges your quick thinking skills as you blast away buildings. Offered for free in the App Store, this game features a continuous barrage of action during each round of gameplay.

Reviewed by Marilyn Chau

Features:

Just like its name indicates, Bunker Buster, an app by Humanoid Mobile, is an app where you goal is simple: You must destroy the bunkers and other buildings before you’re destroyed yourself.

This is accomplished by bombing enemy turrets with your own drones before the turrets have the chance to take you down. High scores are kept in the app, letting you challenge yourself to beat your best each time you play.

When first starting out, figuring out how to best manage and utilize your resources takes a little time to get used to, but once you get the hang of things, the mission of Bunker Buster becomes much more manageable.

The in-game action is quick and simple to understand, making Bunker Buster an exciting little game to play.

However, long video-style advertisements in between rounds of gaming really kill your momentum and detract greatly from the overall enjoyability of the app.

Appearance and Layout:

Bunker Buster iPhone Game

Bunker Buster is a very simply designed app. While this simplicity is appealing to some extent, a bit more detail into the graphics of the game would definitely have been appreciated.

The graphics of Bunker Buster are reminiscent of an era in mobile gaming when non-detailed games were more common. Because of this, this game definitely feels more dated than it is.

The layout of this app is fine though; an easily understandable tools bar at the bottom of the screen keeps you informed of your playing options constantly, and a simply designed home screen leaves very little room for navigational confusion.

Value:

As indicated above, Bunker Buster is a free app. However there are a lot of in-app ads that appear in between games.

If they were just pop-up picture ads, then they wouldn’t be quite as disruptive, but as it stands, most of them are fairly long video ads. Because the ads are so long, it really makes it difficult to get into any rhythm of gameplay with Bunker Buster, and a player’s interest in the app definitely dwindles while these ads go on.

Bunker Buster requires iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. A small expedited fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Pryvate Now Offers a Secure Way to Call, Chat, and Email

April 22, 2016 by macjeff

Reviewed by Sarah Hanlon

Pryvate Now is a powerful app that delivers secure communications between users. In a world where security is quickly becoming a top priority, this is a very intriguing app.

Concept and Functionality:

Encrypted private communications apps like Pryvate Now function by requiring all parties involved to use the same app.

In the case of Pryvate Now this enables serverless RSA 4096-bit encryption, although requiring both parties to use the same app can also pose a problem because it’s not always easy to convince other people to download apps on their device. Of course in a business setting this may be less of an issue.

Setting up Pryvate Now, a free iPhone app by Criptyque, is pretty easy though, and only requires a phone number and email address.

Once you’ve created an account, your 30 day trial begins. During this trial, you have unrestricted access to everything that Pryvate Now offers. This is a great opportunity to take the app for a test drive and see if it’s the right fit for you.

While testing Pryvate Now, however, I did notice that the app uses a registration server that must be functional in order for users to access features within the app. If the registration server is down, you cannot make phone calls or access email.

Features:

When it comes to navigation, Pryvate Now certainly isn’t difficult to figure out. There are many features that look just like other apps you use, including the dial pad for calls. You can also securely chat with other users and even browse your email within the app.

Pryvate Now iPhone App

The privacy of your communications is assured through the use of RSA 4096-bit encryption, which is VERY strong and virtually unbreakable.

I do want to mention that Pryvate Now is available on many different platforms and mobile devices, meaning iOS users and Android users alike can communicate with each other.

Value:

Pryvate Now is available to download from the App Store for free and is designed for iPhone. Once you are free trial is up, you have to commit to a subscription in order to ensure full functionality of the app. Subscriptions vary from $5.99 per month to $59.99 per year.

Overall, Pryvate Now is designed well and your actual communication does not rely on servers or middlemen but it does use a validation server in order to grant access to the app. This means that users are stuck if the server goes down. We expect the service to implement redundant validation servers with hot backups to eliminate this issue. Hopefully it will be changed soon so the service is uninterrupted.

Pryvate Now requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Buddy Rush: The Legends is the Cutest RPG Ever

April 22, 2016 by macjeff

Reviewed by Marilyn Chau

Company 100 Inc.’s Buddy Rush: The Legends game offers players the opportunity to lead characters to fight in the “cutest RPG.” Free through the iTunes Store, this app is a sequel to the previously created Buddy Rush game.

Features:

Buddy Rush: The Legends is an thrilling RPG that brings the charm of round, cute-looking little cartoon characters to the arena of battling iOS games.

Players in this game can choose different characters to play, with the additional option of accessorizing them to make them uniquely yours as well. Battling is set up to be against players all over the world, but this PVP mode is not really the main focus of the app.

Instead, Buddy Rush players are challenged to embark on different missions that are all designed to “help bring peace to the kingdom.” This app features many different characters and battle pieces, making it a bit of a hefty space-taker on your iOS device.

Operations seemed to run fairly smoothly though, which was definitely appreciated during battles. Buddy Rush, like many other apps of its type, is meant to be played while connected to wifi.

While outfitting your character throughout the app is definitely possible without making any in-app purchases, it should be noted that a lot of the optional in-app purchases are offered to improve your Buddy Rush experiences.

Appearance and Layout:

Buddy Rush: The Legends iPhone Game

As promised, the developers of Buddy Rush: The Legends have created a game with “cute” graphics.

The cartoon characters are bubbly and unique, giving an interesting “cutesy” twist to a game of battling opponents and questing for treasures.

Colors are vibrantly bright, keeping in line with the overall mood of the game. As with most games, getting used to the layout and controlling of Buddy Rush takes a little time at first, but other than this initial period of getting oriented, the layout is pretty easy to understand.

Value:

As indicated above, Buddy Rush: The Legends is a free app. However, just like with Candy Crush or Clash of Clans, there are a lot of optional in-app purchases that could really hike up the cost of playing this game. All that being said, you can play entirely for free if you choose to.

Even though these purchases are purely optional, they seem like they could really be useful within the app, making players more than likely to try them out.

Overall, while Buddy Rush is a fun game, it’s playability “value” is brought down a little by the importance of these in-app purchases. Still, for fans of the game’s characters, Buddy Rush is well worth trying out.

Buddy Rush: The Legends requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Experience English Myths and Legends with Preston Sterling

April 22, 2016 by macjeff

Reviewed by Marilyn Chau

Preston Sterling (full name: Preston Sterling and the Legend of Excalibur)is a story-game app by Animated Arts Creative Gmbh.

This beautiful hidden object game transports players “into the world of English myths and legends” and is a must-play game for anyone into King Arthur.

Available for $1.99 through the iTunes Store, this app is designed with anyone who loves puzzle storyline hidden object type games.

Features:

Designed to be a puzzle-filled storyline, Preston Sterling sends players out in a world of danger and intrigue as they guide the game’s protagonist to find the mythical sword of King Arthur. Like most games of it type, Preston Sterling takes players a little time to get used to figuring out how and where to control its character; in-app tips keep you informed on how to best navigate levels when you’re just starting out though, so these little guidance-feature definitely makes Preston Sterling a very user-friendly app.

There are no in-app purchases, so you also don’t have to worry about needing to purchase any extra help to assist you through the puzzles. This app is available in English, German, and Russian, giving it a multi-language appeal.

However, while controlling the characters in this app was easy to get the hang of, and the puzzles were fun, I was really disappointed in the length of the game; for most storyline puzzle apps it takes longer to complete all of the challenges than it does in this app.

While this makes it a great option for beginners, anyone looking for a longer storyline challenge will probably be disappointed with their purchase.

Appearance and Layout:

Preston Sterling iPhone Game

The appearance of Preston Sterling and the Legend of Excalibur is really its greatest feature.

Specifically, the graphics of this relatively inexpensive app are very impressive. The characters are obviously all cartoon depictions, but the level of detail put into the graphic design aspect of Preston Sterling is well above that of many other puzzle storyline apps.

Figuring out how to control your character is pretty easy, and the layout of the app also makes general in-app navigation impressively smooth as well.

Value:

As mentioned previously, this app costs just under $2. There are no in-app purchases or ads in Preston Sterling and the Legend of Excalibur, a fact that certainly helps add to the value of your initial investment.

The graphics and storyline for this app are impressive and the attention to detail is definitely appreciated we just wish the game took longer to complete. This adventure has a relatively short storyline and so you wind up finishing it fairly quickly.

While this short storyline/gameplay might appeal to anyone with a very short attention span, users looking for a more long term gaming investment will be disappointed with this app.

Preston Sterling requires iOS 6.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Keep Your Customers Satisfied Using Kounta’s POS App

April 22, 2016 by macjeff

POS | Point of Sale by Kounta iPad App

If you’ve been out shopping lately you’ve likely gone into a store that is using an iPad for checkout.

While many developers target their Point of Sale (POS) apps to replace the cash register, Kounta has its sights set higher.  

The Kounta POS for iPad is an amazing next-generation Point of Sale system that sets a new high water mark for functionality and ease-of-use.

Developed with the hospitality industry in mind, Kounta will easily fit into any bar, restaurant, cafe, bakery, and so on. You get the idea.  The retailers of the world weren’t forgotten, though, and will also be impressed with how much functionality can fit inside this cloud-based app.

Features:

POS | Point of Sale by Kounta iPad App

One of the first things you notice is that the POS screen is fully customizable to make taking orders or ringing up customers easy and intuitive for your staff.  It is easily tailored to your business so you make it what you need it to be. Plus, the Fast Cash button speeds up the line, as do integrated credit card and mobile payments.

Besides keeping track of your sales, you probably also want to keep track of your customers. POS makes it easy because you create profiles for them in your POS.  Knowing their buying habits makes it easier to create a personalized experience, stay in touch with them through social media and email with offers and rewards.

The app is cloud-based, but works offline, too, so you’re not stuck if your internet connection goes down.  Updates and backup are part of any of the premium packages so you’re free to run your business.

Layout and Design:

With a clean easy to understand design, training your staff won’t be difficult. You can even store menu items as recipes and have the right amount of each ingredient deducted from your stock each time it’s ordered. Any product bundles can work the same way.

It seems that quite a bit of thought has also gone into improving the flow of operations to reduce human error, resulting in happier customers.  Orders are automatically routed to any or all of your multiple printers, with locations defined at the item level (e.g. sandwich prints to kitchen, coffee prints to drink station).  

The ability to track and calculate consumption and waste arms owners to make smarter purchasing decisions.  Table layouts and advanced tipping features make Kounta ideally suited for any cafe or restaurant.

Kounta’s advanced reporting and analytics platform gives even the smallest of businesses access to the kind of sophisticated data analysis the largest companies have been using for years.

Overall Value:

We appreciate the fact that a free trial period is offered for this business app. If you decide this app is for you and will work in your business, the subscriptions range from $50/month to $150/month.

For all this app can do, from facilitating the shopping/buying/ordering experience to providing in-depth analytics and customer management and marketing, this seems like a pretty good deal to us. Oh, and by the way, it’s also available on the Android platform.

POS | Point of Sale by Kounta requires iOS 7.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. A small expedited fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.