Every morning I check the weather to decide what to wear. Well… I should. Often enough I just throw something on that’s either not warm enough – or too warm. But: There’s an app for that! The Feather Report will check the weather for me and tell me what outfit to wear!

Price: $1.99
Would I buy again: Yes
Learning Curve: Yes. Beginners.
Who is it forGirls. All of them.
Version tested: 1.6 iPhone 3G OS 3.1.2
Comparable Apps: Wordsworth
Available Languages: English
This App was tested by Kira
appstory.tv rating:

Download in iTunes | App Website

This is how it works:

• The first thing the app will do is find out where you are. Usually the GPS location won’t work, so I’ll type my location by hand.
• The app will then show me how to dress for the day! Usually I don’t posess exactly the shown clothes – but it gives mean impression on whatto expect outside. Also, it inspires me for new combinations out of my wardrobe. Apart from that all items are listed with name, price and link to the according online shop in case I spot a Must Have.
• Another feature of this app is the search. You can perform a search according to weather, occasion and body type! You can add the outfits you like to your favourites.

The Feather Reoprt will not only tell you what to wear – it will also kinda keeps you up to date on the current fashion. Quite awesome!

© Kira for appstory.tv, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: clothes, girls, Kira Song, wardrobe, Weather

The Puma Index promises to make drops in the market desirable. The app features a female and a male model wearing Puma clothes. When the Dow Jones falls, they let some clothes drop. If it rises, they put on more clothes. Unfortunately only interesting when the NY Stock Exchange is open…

Price: free
Would I buy again: Not really.
Learning Curve: Beginner
Who is it for: People interested in the Dow Index and Strippers, people who have nothing to do.
Version tested: 1.1 on iPhone 3G, OS 3.1.2
Comparable Apps: Ralph Lauren, Victorias Secret, WSJ – The Wall Street Journal
Available Languages: English
This App was tested by Kira
appstory.tv rating:

Download in iTunes | App Website

And this is how it works:

• It takes a while to call up this app – I suppose the models have to get dressed first…
• By the way, this app will use about 200 MB – quite a load.
• The male model will be busy doing something – like ironing or cleaning a motorbike.
• His girlfriend you can see by tapping “female” under the scale.
• She seems to be underemployed as well – depending on the index she’ll play with a bunny, lick a lollipop – or kill time in other ways
• The index is updated every few minutes.
• The videos are looped as long as the market stays the same.
• It gets a bit more entertaining when the index rises – the models show a sexy way to dress.
• When the index goes down, this app will be as good as it gets – the models strip some of their clothes.
• After stripping, the models have a new activity.

The “Puma Index is a time killer. But if you’re in to finances and watching people dress and undress, you might get a kick out of this app.

What I like about the Puma Index:

• Fun idea, entertains for a short while.
• When the Dow rises or falls, the models get into action immediately.

What I don’t like:

• The Dow Jones is the only avaiblable Index.
• If you’re not located in the Americas, you’ll mostly watch the models’ night life – which consists of sleeping, not partying.
• Gets boring fast.
• The size of 200 MB is humongous for a more or less useless app.

© Kira for appstory.tv, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: App, clothes, dow jones, fashion, iPhone, Kira, Kira Song, puma, Review, strip, time killer, Video

This is one of my favourite Apps! If you’re alone, it will give you relaxation. If you’re with friends, it’s going to give you laughs. Let me introduce you to Koi Pond!

Price: 0,79 €, 0.99 $
Would I buy again: Definitely
Learning Curve: Beginner
Who is it for: Fish lovers, party-clowns, people who want some in-between relaxation
Version tested: 2.5 on iPhone 3G, OS 3.1.2
Comparable Apps: Koi Pond 3D, Piranha Pond
Available Languages: English
This App was tested by Kira
appstory.tv rating:

Download in iTunes | App Website

This is how it works:

• When calling up the app, you will have a birds eye view of a pretty pond, apparently located far off from civilization. You see clear water, some water lillies and last but not lease, Koi fish roaming the scene.
• You can interact with the fish by touching the screen – you’ll see the fish scatter by your touch. Wait a bit and they’ll come back.
• You can alter the settings of this little Koi pond by tapping the bottom right corner.
• Here you can for instance change the water colors as well as the amount of fish (change) and greenery.
• Also, you can determine the sound and weather.
• The coolest thing is that you can hold your finger ever so lightly on the display – and the fish will come and nibble! Try that with your friends.
• You can also feed the fish by shaking the device.

What I like about Koi Pond:

• I love the graphics,
• the soothing atmoshpere is great,
• the finger-nibbling is my favourite part.

What I don’t like so much:

• The app has been around for quite a while and I’d expect some more creative options to be released soon.

© Kira for appstory.tv, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: App, Feed, Fish, iPhone, Kira Song, Koi Pond, nibble, Pond, relax, Review

Ever been to a party and the atmosphere is kind of lame? You sure need a friend that helps you to break the ice: why not a guinea pig?

Price: $0.99 €0,79
Would I buy again: Definitely
Learning Curve: Easy
Who is it for: Parents, Kids
Version tested: 1.3.1 on iPhone 3GS, OS 3.1.2
Comparable Apps: iKitty 4 Kids
Available Languages: English
This App was tested by Richard
appstory.tv rating:

Download in iTunes | App Website

This is how it works:

• SmackTalk! is a lot of fun
• You choose between 4 talking animals who make funny noises when you press the buttons
• most important feature of course is, that the 4 animals repeat everything what you say
• You can record up to 5 different texts to the hot buttons
• You can adjust the pitch and speed of the voices
• don’t forget to close this app properly before you go standby. Although the screen is dark, your little friends keep on repeating whatever you say.

What I like about SmackTalk!:

• great laughs for little money
• very basic but natural animation
• new features announced with updates

What I don’t like about SmackTalk!:

• keeps on squeaking on iPhone standby mode
• different animals – same sound, the voices are very similar

© Richard for appstory.tv, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Animals, Fun, funny, Manipulation, Mock, Party, Voices

The iPhone has a built in camera and photo app, all right. But let’s face it: It really isn’t that great – especially not on my old 3G. Plenty of developers have created work-around apps thanks to this fact. But one of the coolest apps around at the moment is Hipstamatic. It warps you back in time – by simulating retro lenses, films and flashes from analog times long gone.

Price: $1.99
Would I buy again: Definitely
Learning Curve: Beginner
Who is it for: Old-school and experimental photographers, whoever enjoys taking retro and vintage photos.
Version tested: 110 on iPhone 3G, OS 3.1.2
Comparable Apps: Lo-Mob, Camera Kit
Available Languages: English
This App was tested by Kira
appstory.tv rating:

Download in iTunes | App Website

This is how it works:

• The initial screen of the app shows the back of a retro camera while loading – looks pretty cool
• You can see the view finder, a button for loading the flash (which is only software, of course, but sounds quite real), and a big yellow button for the shutter release
• We’ll hit the release button and  hear the shutter,  then we’ve got to wait until the image is developed
• A little yellow light will appear in the corner saying “printing” – harldy visible
• When the green light is on, the print is ready
• The photo is automatically saved to the camera roll
• By tapping on a photo in the app’s image-roll, we get the information on the configuration we took the photo with; we can also post the image to facebook or mail it from here
• Further on, there’s a hardly visible navigation bar at the bottom with which you get to the settings: you can choose different lenses – or by new ones in the in app store, you can choose a different film here, you can swipe over them to change, or you can choose a flash in the next menu item.
• So there are alot of settings to experiment with, I whish I could save my favourite settings, though.
• By tapping the shopping cart you’re in the in-app shop which looks really nice.
• Generally I miss the option to use these filters on photos in my camera roll.

With Hipstamatic, you’ll have fun experimenting with lenses and films – just like it used to be in the good old days. And with a bit of practice, you’ll get surprisingly great shots from your not-so-hot built in camera.

What I like about Hipstamatic

• You can get extremely stylish photos.
• You’ll be surprised how one motif can look so different depending on the amount of light and dark areas in your photo.
• The possibilities of combining film, lens and lighting are amazing – the results can be stunning.

What I don’t like so much:

• I would like to be able to use the effects on photos from my camera roll.
• I’d like to be able to save my favorite settings.
• I’d also wish for a larger image resolution, but that is limited by the built-in camera.

© admin for appstory.tv, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: App, Camera, cool, Film, Flash, Hipstamatic, iPhone, Kira, Kira Song, Photo, Retro, Review, Video

Shopping list organizers are bound to inspire shopping races. You go in, get the job done – and get out! The App “Shopper” makes shopping more effective than ever.

Price:   $0.99 €0,79
Would I buy again: Definitely
Learning Curve: Easy
Who is it for: Anybody who needs a good laugh
Version tested: 6.0 on iPhone 3G, OS 3.1.2
Comparable Apps: Groceries, ShoppingList, ShopShop
Available Languages:  English, Dansk, Deutsch, Español, Français, Nederlands, Norsk, Português, Svenska, Русский, and 日本語
This App was tested by Kira
appstory.tv rating:

Download in iTunes | App Website

This is how it works:

• When calling up the app, I’ll be able to choose from your existing shopping lists or to create a new list (tap “+”)
• Now I can enter the name of my list.
• If I already have a saved list, I can simply copy the preferences by tapping “based on” and chose my existing list.
• I can now add items to my list by either text search (“+”) or by browsing the category aisles
• At the top of the shopping list my current store is displayed – this is the supermarket near my home which I’ve already added.
• By tapping it, the aisles re-arrange themselves to the aisle order in this supermarket. I defined the aile order when editing my stores.
• Now when I go to my supermarket, I am presented with the items I need in the order I walk past them. All I need to do is put the item in my cart an tap it in my list.
• One of the coolest features is the autmatic supermarket-recognition via GPS – my shopping list will re-order according to my current location!
• I can even share my shopping lists by email and synchronize them with my optional shopper-account online.

What I like about Shopper:

• List-sharing via email and synchronization with your optional shopper online account,
• I love the possibility to configure the aisles according to each store,
• I love the GPS-function which associates my location with the stores I am currently visiting.

What I don’t like so much:

• Comprehensiveness has its weaknesses, the app has grown and the many possibilities it have made it a bit confusing.

© admin for appstory.tv, 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: App, GPS, Groceries, iPad, iPhone, ipod touch, Isles, Kira, Kira Song, Manager, Review, Shop, Shopper, Shopping List, Supermarket, Video