Best Apps for iOS, September 2011

Tiny Tower

Who knew running a skyscraper could be so addictive?

I dreamt of Tiny Tower last night. Pixelated people surrounded me, mouths agape, as I wandered through their impossibly tall residence. Worse than this, as I woke, I didn’t sit back and think “maybe I’m investing too much time into this game”, I thought “I wonder how my tower is going?”


Basically, you own a skyscraper wherein residents live and work. The businesses within generate ‘coins’, and profit margins are decided by the skills of the workers.

And what do you do with said coins? Aside from buying stock for the many businesses, you buy new levels for the skyscraper.

Like a poker machine, there is no game over. You build to earn coins, and you earn coins to build, ad infinitum/nauseam/mortem.

But I love it so much. Forget getting anything done on your iOS device while a game is in progress: (optional) notifications make sure you never miss out on re-stocking a floor, and guarantee that the game never leaves your mind.

The game is free, but you can purchase extra ‘Tower Bux’ that you can use to speed up progress or upgrade your elevator. You needn’t pay a cent, though, as you can earn bux through bonuses.

Free > NimbleBit > Link

Localscope

LocalScope allows you to search Google, Bing, Foursquare, Twitter, and Wikimapia for anything nearby. You can search by a keyword of your own choice – say, ‘ham steaks’ – or by picking one of the many categories, like ‘Pub’.


The ability to search across social networks differentiates this from, say, the standard Google Maps, as does the integration with Navigon MobileNavigator, MotionX GPS Drive, Waze Social GPS Navigation, MetroView Australia and NewZealand and TomTom's navigation app, allowing you to jump straight from the results to turn-by-turn navigation.

$1.99 > Cynapse > Link

MultiBong

Everybody loves Pong. Or, at least, everybody knows of Pong. One of the earliest video games, Pong has entertained geeks for about half a century.
 

MultiBong is pretty much the same, only made for a touch interface. You slide the paddle to simultaneously protect your goal and fling the ball at the opponent’s.

The iPad version offers gameplay for up to four people (only two on the iPhone) across seven different game modes. There are 11 different bonuses to come across, ranging from big ball to time warp.

$.99 > Febo > Link

FunkBox Drum Machine

iOS has a plethora of music/beat creation apps, but this one is notable a) for its retro, yet functional interface, and b) for its emulation of nine classic drum machines, including the 808, 909, CR-78, LM-2, MRK-2 and more.


You can also use your own samples, and export your loops as audio or midi, or sync it with other midi devices over CoreMIDI.

As a testament to the quality of the app, it was used by The Gorillaz during the recording of their latest album, The Fall.

$4.49 > Synthetic Bits > Link