iLounge

SpaceSampler is a new smart audio convolution app from Periscope Audio Lab that allows users to apply filters to recorded audio and share the resulting files online, essentially doing for audio what apps such as CameraBad and Instagram do for photos. Users can apply filters from an included comprehensive collection of high quality Impulse Response filters captured from real gear and acoustic spaces to add a wide variety of effects to any type of audio source. The app provides a fast convolution algorithm with a simple, intuitive interface allowing users to record their own audio and then quickly and easily apply filters. Users can choose between WAV and MP4 formats for encoding and the resulting files can be shared via e-mail MAPI Audio Copy, Dropbox or SoundCloud. A built-in recording browser is included for easy file management and recordings can also be reloaded to create multi-layered effects. SpaceSampler requires an iPhone 3GS/4/4S or third- or fourth-generation iPod touch running iOS 4.3 or later and is available from the App Store for $1.

Evernote has updated Evernote Hello with several new features primarily designed to improve finding and entering contact information. Evernote Hello is an app designed to help users keep track of new people they meet by allowing quick entry of faces and contextual contact info that can be easily viewed and recalled at a later time, leveraging the Evernote service as a form of digital business card folio and social memory aid. Evernote Hello 1.1 allows contact information to be entered by sharing the iPhone, typing it in manually or selecting from the iOS Contacts list, including instant search of the address book while typing. Contacts can now be searched for within the app by information such as name, e-mail address, location, calendar event and more. The new version also now includes language detection during name entry to adjust for cultural naming differences as well as automatic phone number formatting based on language and locale. Further, links can now be added to entries in the iOS Contacts app to jump directly into Hello from the system address book. Evernote Hello requires an iPhone, fourth-generation iPod touch or iPad 2 running iOS 5.0 or later and is available from the App Store as a free download.

GoodHumans has released an update to eMailGanizer Pro, its advanced e-mail client for the iPhone and iPod touch. Designed for users who receive high volumes of e-mail, eMailGanizer analyzes the user’s filing patterns and presents a sorted list of the most relevant folder choices to speed up the process of triaging the inbox and moving messages into folders. The latest version adds support for a Universal Inbox for users with multiple e-mail accounts and Smart Folders for purposes such as collecting unread messages. Additional enhancements include new swipe navigation gestures for moving between messages, the ability to automatically advance to the next message after filing, group messages by thread, and batch mark messages as read. eMailGanizer Pro requires iOS 4.2 and an IMAP-based e-mail account and is available from the App Store for $5

Fishlabs has released an update to Galaxy on Fire 2 HD, the high-performance version of its popular space adventure game adding the Kaamo Club and preliminary support for the upcoming Valkyrie HD expansion pack scheduled to be released in the coming weeks. Introduced to the standard edition early last year, the Kaamo Club feature allows users to purchase their own space station in the Shima system where they can stash extra cargo and additional space ships. The new version also introduces the ability to directly purchase in-game credits as an alternative to trading, adds Chinese, Japanese and Korean language support and fixes two common bugs from the previous version. Galaxy on Fire 2 HD is a universal app specifically designed for the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 and is currently available from the App Store for $5.

Xobni has released an update to Smartr Contacts for the iPhone adding several new features and enhancements including the ability to access linked e-mail messages from directly within the app. First released last month, Smartr Contacts provides a contact management solution primarily targeted at Gmail and Outlook users that provides an aggregated view of contact information from multiple sources such as e-mail conversations and social networking profiles. The initial version provided a listing of recent e-mail conversations, but lacked the ability to actually view individual e-mail messages; the recent update provides support for viewing, replying and composing e-mail messages directly from the history screen in the app. Additional enhancements include an improved login screen, improvements to iPhone Contact integration and a number of other bug fixes and enhancements. Smartr Contacts for iPhone is available from the App Store as a free download.

In response to the recent revelation that social networking app Path was uploading iOS users’ contact data to its servers, the company has apologized and released an update to the iOS app providing proper disclosure of the feature and prompting the user to either opt in or opt out. Path had originally implemented this feature to provide more accurate friend suggestions and notify users when somebody in their address book joined the social network. However, the feature originally silently uploaded the user’s entire contact list to Path’s servers without requesting any permission or even notifying the user that this was occurring. Path co-founder and CEO Dave Morin apologized today in a statement on the company’s blog:

Morin also indicated that the company has deleted its entire collection of user-uploaded contact information from its servers, and users will now need to specifically opt into the feature in the new version of the Path application to re-upload their contact information. Further, users who opt-in and later change their mind can request that their content be deleted by sending an e-mail to Path. The latest update, Path 2.0.6 is available from the App Store as a free download.

Tapbots has released Tweetbot 2.0, the latest update to the popular Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod touch. The new version features an updated timeline view with in-line image thumbnails and active links that can be opened with a single tap. Additional UI improvements include new views for direct messages and tweet replies and a redesigned New Tweets notification bar. Users can also now enable timed auto-refresh and enable Readability mobilizer for viewing web pages. The update also includes a number of other smaller UI and performance improvements over the prior version. Additionally, Tapbots has also released a native iPad version of Tweetbot, building on the features found in the iPhone version with an iPad optimized interface, including such features as multiple timeline views, configurable Smart Gestures, the ability to display custom navigation tabs and more. Tweetbot 2.0 for the iPhone and iPod touch and Tweetbot for the iPad are available from the App Store separately for $3 each.

Evernote has released an update to its universal iOS app adding a new predictive note titling feature and making several performance and UI improvements. Evernote 4.1.8 can now automatically assign titles to new notes created in the app using information such as location, time, current calendar appointments and other contextual information.  The update also makes improvements to note editing performance, provides easier access to notebook sharing and note formatting options and fixes a number of synchronization issues and other problems. Evernote 4.1.8 is a universal app and is available from the App Store as a free download.

Angry Bugs has released The Hacker, a new iOS game that takes players back to the green-screen era of computing, placing them in the role of a War Games style hacker. The game “installs” a special Glider Operating System on the iPhone and iPod touch which provides access to connect to remote servers around the world with modules for decryption, synchronization and bypassing of security systems along with a mail system and game emulator. The player must use these tools to hack into and explore remote networks, solving puzzles and mini-games as they hack their way into major global servers to get to the bottom of a sinister plot that unfolds as they wander the ‘net. Game Center integration is also included with leaderboards and over 30 achievements to unlock. The Hacker is available from the App Store for $1, with additional expansion packs available as in-app purchases for $1 each. [via CNET]

YoYo Games has released Froad, the latest game to be built using its GameMaker platform. The new survival game puts players in control of an amphibian tree-dwelling character who must catch his favourite bugs in order to keep his hunger at bay while avoiding nasty bugs such as bees and wasps. Players control the game by tapping on the screen to flick out Froad’s tongue and try to catch as many bugs as possible. The game provides simple, single-tap gameplay with two bug-filled worlds that include both day and night cycles with unique bugs to both capture and avoid. Game Center integration provides six different leaderboards and over 60 achievements to unlock. Froad is a universal app and is available from the App Store for $1.

Atari has released an update to Breakout: Boost adding a new Valentine’s Day themed level pack available via in-app purchase. Breakout: Boost is a universal iOS adaptation of Atari’s classic arcade brick breaking game, expanding the original concept with enhanced graphics and deeper gameplay features such as unique power-ups and special brick types. The new pack celebrates Valentine’s Day with 50 new romance-themed levels incorporating brick layouts with candy heart sayings and cute pictures. The new pack also includes a special Cupid’s Arrow power up and a new set of achievements. Breakout: Boost is a universal app requiring iOS 4.1 or later and is available in two versions: Breakout: Boost (free) provides five original levels with over 250 more available via in-app purchase in levels packs for $1 each; Breakout Boost+ ($1) provides the same features as the free version with 100 levels included. The Valentine’s Booster Pack is available as a separate in-app purchase for either version for $1.

M5859 Studios has released Inside the World of Dinosaurs, an interactive dinosaur encyclopedia for the iPad. Narrated by Stephen Fry, the app provides a comprehensive multimedia encyclopedia that features the entire catalogue of dinosaurs from Archeopteryx to Zuniceratops, including a library of 60 fully animated and interactive dinosaurs displayed in three-dimensional models that users can spin around and view at any angle. Users can zoom in to closely study details such as skin texture and colour, view animated fight sequences and scrub backward and forward to analyze dinosaurs’ walk cycles.

Created as a collaboration with subject matter experts in science, literature and digital art, Inside the World of Dinosaurs provides over 310 fully interactive 3D models, 60 expertly modelled photo-realistic dinosaurs, 40 fully interactive 3D recreations of dinosaurs in mid-flight, 200 pages of detailed original text, 5 hours of narration by Stephen Fry, 84 videos and historical pictures and much more. Inside the World of Dinosaurs requires an iPad with iOS 4.3 or later and is available from the App Store for $14.

Sprite Labs has released an update to Paint FX, its photo effects editor for iOS, adding native iPad support and several new filters and effects. Paint FX is a photo effects editor for iOS that provides the ability to apply filters and effects to an entire photo or only specific areas of a photo as well as the ability to layer multiple effects on top of each other. The app provides a large number of pre-defined filters and effects that can be further customized by the user including adjustments for brightness, contrast and saturation, and masking tools allow users to apply a given set of effects to only specific portions of an image. Resulting images can be shared on Facebook or sent via e-mail. With the most recent updates, Paint FX is now a universal app, adding native iPad support and higher-resolution photo support for the iPad 2 and significantly extends the number of filters and effects available. Paint FX is available from the App Store for $2.

Apple has released a minor maintenance update to iBooks, addressing an issue where iBooks textbooks may not open under certain circumstances. An update to iBooks Author has also been released on the Mac App Store expressly to provide an updated version of the End User License Agreement. The original iBooks Author EULA drew criticism for a clause suggesting that Apple was potentially claiming exclusive distribution rights for any commercial work produced with the iBooks Author application, preventing users from distributing such works in other formats. The new EULA adds some necessary clarification, with an update to section 2.B.(ii) which now reads

The new EULA clause clarifies that Apple is enforcing exclusive distribution rights solely on content packaged in its own proprietary iBooks format, but that users retain their rights in their original content and may distribute this content outside of the iBookstore in any other format.

The NFL has released three official iOS apps for this year’s Super Bowl XLVI. Super Bowl XLVI Official NFL Game Program (free) for iPad has been updated for this year’s event packing over 400MB of exclusive NFL video and other multimedia content plus additional interactive content chronicling the Giants’ and Patriots’ road to the championship, along with memories of past Super Bowls and key moments from the 2011 season. This app is for the iPad only and requires iOS 4.3 or later.

The SB SLVI Guide is a free universal app designed for those attending the event in person, providing a detailed guide to local restaurants, nightlife and official Super Bowl events, along with a 3D map of Indianopolis and an interactive 3D map of Lucas Oil Stadium for game day. The app also provides a connection to NFL Huddle to follow the social media buzz around the event and features to mark your parking spot and help find the right seating section in the stadium. This universal app requires iOS 4.3 or later.

Lastly, the Super Bowl XLVI Commemorative App ($3) for the iPad provides in-depth content for fans of the Super Bowl series including each team’s road to Super Bowl XLVI, a breakdown of the game, written recaps and key stats and bonus feature content including all-time, all-star teams and Super Bowl history. This Commemorative app will also be updated with additional bonus features once the game is over to include official video highlights of the game along with interviews, pictures, animated plays, stadium shots and more. The app is iPad only, requires iOS 4.3 and is currently on sale for a pre-game discount price of $3.

Readdle has released Remarks, a new note-taking and PDF annotating app for the iPad. Remarks provides the ability to create text notes and freehand sketches that are saved as PDF files that can be easily viewed, printed and edited on the desktop or shared via e-mail. In addition, Remarks provides the ability to quickly and easily annotate existing PDF files, providing tools to highlight, underline, and strikeout text or simply draw predefined shapes or freehand annotations directly in the document. PDF files created or annotated in Remarks can also be shared and edited by other Remarks users for team collaboration. The app also supports iTunes File Sharing for transferring PDF files between the iPad and desktop and provides the ability to open PDF files directly from other supports iPad applications such as Dropbox, Safari and Mail. Remarks requires an iPad running iOS 4.2 or later and is available from the App Store for $5.

6 Wunderkinder has released an iPhone app for Wunderkit, its new cloud-based project management service. Wunderkit is designed to help users organize their tasks and projects collaboratively with friends, family and colleagues by providing a social layer. The iPhone and iPod touch application supports all of the main features of the web app including the ability to create and organize workspaces for individual projects and areas of responsibility, create and edit notes and tasks and interact with friends by commenting on project updates. The iPhone app also allows users to invite their friends from Facebook and Twitter to collaborate on workspaces and provides a stream view collecting all status updates and recent activity in a single timeline for quick reference. Wunderkit requires iOS 4.0 or later and is available from the App Store as a free download.

Pro media production software developer Avid has released Avid Studio, an advanced multimedia editing suite for the iPad. Avid Studio incorporates leading film-editing technology into an intuitive iOS app that allows users to quickly and easily edit video, audio and photos directly on their iPad. Users arrange their clips in the Storyboard view and can then move over to the Timeline view for making precision edits and adding professional transitions effects and a soundtrack. Video, audio and photos can be imported directly from the iOS media library or users can import content from external devices using the iPad Camera Connection Kit. Built-in tutorials are included to get users started quickly and a number of advanced features are available for enhancing video content such as multi-layer 3D animations, transitions and titles, layered composite video tracks, picture-in-picture effects and high-quality motion titles and graphics with full presentation and animation controls. The resulting movie can be uploaded directly to services such as YouTube and Facebook for sharing or can be exported to Avid Studio for the PC to continue with more advanced editing tools. Avid Studio requires an iPad running iOS 5.0 or later and is available from the App Store for $5.

Norwegian indie developer Machineboy has released Duration, a new app designed to provide a simple and elegant timer for everyday tasks down to the second. The app provides a large animated countdown display that makes it easy to visualize how much time is left even from a distance or for kids who can’t yet tell time. Unlike the iPhone’s built-in Clock app, Duration also provides the ability to set the timer to intervals in seconds, making it useful for counting down shorter intervals such as timing a turn in a game, boiling the perfect egg or timing short workout sessions. The app provides five coloured themes and five custom alarm sounds with optional tick-tock sounds and vibration features. Duration requires iOS 5.0 or later and is available from the App Store for $1.

Capcom has released an iOS version of the popular Nintendo DS mystery adventure game, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. Originally created by Shu Takumi, father of the critically acclaimed Ace Attorney series, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective combines Takumi’s signature style of quirky humour, logic puzzles and an intriguing storyline wrapped in a unique art style. In the game, players take on the role of Sissel, the ghost of a murder victim with no memory of who he is or what happened to him; players must unravel the mystery of Sissel’s demise by guiding him through dynamic environments, possessing and manipulating objects and solving puzzles before time runs out at daybreak. The game features intuitive touch screen controls optimized for the iOS platform, enhanced graphics and incorporates Game Center support. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a universal app requiring iOS 4.3 or later and is available from the App Store as a free download and includes Chapter 1 and 2; subsequent chapters are available via in-app purchase in three different packs for $5 each or $10 for all chapters.