iShot Machine Gets an Update
Posted by Jeff Morgan (07/18/2009 @ 1:04 pm)
About a month ago I wrote a review on Oasys Mobile’s iPhone application, iShot Machine. At the time the app was ridden with more than a few bugs, but boasted a decent shot library that excelled in recipe quality. Oasys just released an update for the app that includes a few fixes and a much-needed update to their randomizer.
As far as I can tell, they’ve fixed all the bugs I was able to find in my test run. There’s no more crash to springboard and the shot expansion works as it’s supposed to. The randomizer also seems to be truly random at this point. I haven’t been able to duplicate a string of random shots yet.
The update does mention “improved search functionality,” though on testing it, it doesn’t seem the search function is working at all. Searching by name, again for ‘Lemon Drop,’ now yields zero results. The same is true for ‘drop’ and ‘wild,’ both of which are used in a wide variety of shots.
My guess is the search thing is just a missing bit of code somewhere, either left out or left in by mistake during debugging. As for the rest of the update, it’s a major improvement on an already decent app. Watch for a search update soon.
Posted in: Apps, iPhone
Tags: app review, cocktail apps, iPhone, iphone 3G, iphone 3gs, ishot, ishot machine, ishot machine app, oasys apps, oasys mobile, top iphone apps
App Review: iShot Machine – Plenty Of Shots, Just a Few Bugs
Posted by Jeff Morgan (06/21/2009 @ 2:49 pm)
Oasys Mobile, the developers behind the Uno-styled card game app “Oh No!” and Hooters Crazy Eights, just released a new application for the drinker in you: iShot Machine.
Like many other shot/cocktail applications, iShot Machine aims to bring as many recipes as possible to your iPhone, making it easy to find that recipe you’ve drunkenly forgotten, all from within a sleek, slot-machine-like interface. Unfortunately, several of the iShot Machine’s features are plagued by bugs or hampered by an awkward search function. Despite its bugs, iShot Machine delivers a decent recipe count in a clean interface that allows you to store your favorites for quick access.
The Good:
First, iShot Machine has more than 3,000 recipes in the paid version, giving you access to a whole load of shots should you need them. That recipe count is just shots, mind you, so if you’re looking for a full cocktail app, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Granted, some of the shots are repeats, like the ‘Vulcan Mind Meld’ and the ‘Vulcan Mind-Probe,’ but with 3,000 options you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding something new.
I’m also a fan of the ‘Favorites’ feature within the app. This makes it easy to find the shots you like best when you’re a bit intoxicated. It’s easy to remember the recipe for a grape bomb, but some of the more complicated drinks may elude you at the bar. Use the favorites feature to keep them close.
Probably the best feature of iShot Machine is simply the quality of the recipes. I frequently spend my weekends bartending, and since the iPhone came out, I have at least one group of people a weekend using applications like this to find their next drink. Most of them are terrible – proportions are off, mixtures curdle like a Cement Mixer, or the product tastes like piss (when it wasn’t meant to). From the couple hundred shots I’ve looked through so far, most of them look legit, and I’m interested to try a few myself.
Lastly, the controls are clean, with options to view shots in full screen or the smaller slot-machine screen below. It’s easy to favorite and rate shots, and wouldn’t be too much trouble to press the right item, even if you were a little drunk.
The Bad:
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Posted in: Apple, Apps, iPhone
Tags: app review, cocktail apps, iPhone, iphone 3G, iphone 3gs, ishot, ishot machine, ishot machine app, oasys apps, oasys mobile, top iphone apps
Tap Dat App – AT&T myWireless Mobile
Posted by Gary Fairchild (06/20/2009 @ 4:00 pm)
AT&T’s free myWireless Mobile app has been out for quite a while now so if you live in the US and don’t have it already, you should. This app is a simple way to view just about everything related your wireless account as well as add features to your plan and monitor your usage. It’s quite convenient and in my opinion, should have been available since the iPhone was first released.
So, from the home page, you can click Bill & Pay, Usage, or Features. Under Bill & Pay, you can view your last payment, payment date, current balance and due date, as well as bring up PDF copy of your current bill. Pretty handy to have that all in one place. AT&T also gives you the option to make a payment from this screen as well. It was nice of AT&T to give us the ability to pay the bill from this app because we all want to make sure AT&T gets their money on time.
The Usage section is just what you’d expect. You are able to view Anytime, Night/Weekend, Mobile to Mobile, and Rollover Minutes used from the main screen. A nice addition for those of us on family plans is that you can also see all this information per individual. This would be convenient for parents as well as nosey husbands or wives. Also available in Usage is your data used which includes messaging as well as internet.
Finally, the Features section is a way to upgrade your plan. AT&T wanted to make sure anyone, anywhere with and iPhone and this app can always add more features to their plan. Not paying enough for your iPhone plan yet? Well go ahead and add Roadside Assistance or maybe VoiceDial for Postpaid. In all seriousness though, if you are traveling abroad it is easy to use this app to add Expanded Internation Roaming or 20 MB Data Global Add-On without having to call customer service.
So there you have it, AT&T myWireless Mobile app for the iPhone. It’s free and convenient so I recommend downloading it.