The Apple iPhone has many wonderful applications that will keep you informed and entertained –according to your needs. Just recently, plenty of new games have been added to the iPhone library including device-exclusives such as Metal Gear Solid Touch and Ace Combat Xi. Ports of games such as Curse of Monkey Island, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars and Phoenix Wright are also heading for the iPhone.

Still, for the more practical people, there are applications that are more than just games. There are applications made for people who love to bake or keep track of stocks. There are also apps for travelers and writers. While apps like currency calculators and recipe guides have a more long term purpose, there are also event specific apps that will help you out in specific concerns.

The new Findaproperty.com application is made for people who are already looking for a house. Maybe you want to finally settle down, or you simply need to crash someplace with a larger room, then this is one of the best applications you can get.

Not everyone has the time to go to every single open house just to see that the bathroom layout is not to your liking –online information about houses for sale are readily available. Making all this information even more accessible is the mobile app which lets you study your options on your mobile phone.

Details such as exact addresses, realtor contact info, and images of the houses on sale are viewable on the app.

If you are ever fed up with your neighbors or simply cannot stand the state of your basement and would want to move out, try downloading this handy little app to help you out with your needs.

Read more about this interesting new mobile phone application at the original article on Stuff TV.

It has only been a couple of days since the release of Rockstar’s mobile port of the original NDS and PSP title; Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. Within this past two days, the game has rocketed all the way up to the number slot, beating previous favorite Call of Duty: World at War Zombies (a game based on the bonus Zombie mission from the PC version of Call of Duty: World at War).

The Grand Theft series has seen plenty of success on the consoles and on the PC. While previous installments for handheld platforms have met with only a moderate degree of success such as the “City Stories” series (Vice City Stories, Liberty City Stories); the new Chinatown Wars installment focuses on a redesigned world with a redesigned visual look.

Unlike previous portable GTA games based on the old GTA III world, Chinatown wars follows the city layout of new GTA IV version of Liberty City. Even more radical in this version is the used of Cel shaded 3D graphics, a long leap from the old traditional 3D look.

Gameplay wise, the game focuses using the touch screen commands for handling event commands such as breaking into a car (which varies according to the type of car, basic hot wiring for jacking old models, and some light hacking for the newer vehicles with electronics) and disarming or arming bombs. As one might expect, the iPhone version plays a lot more like the NDS version as both devices have touch screen controls; the PSP version uses a different system.

As to be expected of Rockstar Games, GTA: Chinatown Wars’ story is delivered straightforward gangster movie approach with heavy language and mature themes. The plot is nothing new for fans of the genre –an action adventure with layers of intrigue and betrayal. The nice thing about Rockstar’s delivery is that most of the characters are both notable and memorable. If you have not gotten this game yet and you are itching for some fun and action, then this app should be next on your download list.

What is the cost of harmony these days?

It is a common fact that misbehavior requires a degree of discipline in order to correct. While punishments are not made for the benefit of the parent, it is too common for children to misinterpret the disciplinary sanction as a corrective measure.

Meet the “Wheel of Doom”, a silly little iPhone application that gives users a roulette wheel of punishments ranging from simple measures such as taking a “time out”, to seriously devious ones such as “No Videogames”.

The app is not meant to help come up with punishments; after all, it does not take a creative mind to come up with “No Dessert”. Instead the app is intended to be used as a buffer for the parent.

It is important for children to understand that it is not by their parent’s hands that they are being punished, but through their own misdoings. However, when parents have to enforce a punishment, children will direct their anger at the parent, thereby losing perspective of the situation. Too often children will hate being told to “go to bed early” and will just keep hating the parent because of it. Having the application will give the children something else to blame for the misfortune of not being able to watch TV (or whichever punishment they receive).

For 59p, this is still a very expensive application. All it contains is a single rotating wheel and multi-colored panels –hardly anything a developer would have problems creating. While the concept is ingenious, there are plenty of other ways to properly discipline a child.

The bottom line, get this app only if you feel that you really need it. Despite the sense behind the idea, there is also the fact that parents should learn how to properly discipline their children without the use of contraptions.

If you are like me then from time to time you marvel at the sheer number of application available for the iPhone – then perhaps take a moment to wonder about the apps that didn’t quite make it.

For your enjoyment, here are a few such apps that didn’t quite make the grade.

Chess Wars

An update for this particular app waited for six weeks to be reviewed, only to be rejected – or so it seemed. In fact nothing actually happened; the developer waited 6 weeks, no progress was made, so he went on a little rant online and finally Apple got in touch. Why was this chess app rejected (or at least ignored)? The bubbles in the game were too similar to those in Apple’s SMS application; he was literally advised to “make them less shiny”.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus makes me personally think of gum trees and koalas, although in fact this is actually an eReader that accesses the text from various out of print titles. Amazingly this was scrapped in the review process; we can only imagine because someone realized that it would be possible to, for example, get an erotic fiction book on there. I’m not even joking – it made it into the store, but only after being slapped with a 17+ rating.

Murderdrome

Ok, so maybe the title is slightly questionable, (or slightly awesome?) but Murderdrome was reportedly the first digital book that Apple actually banned. The book was a futuristic sport comic that more or less involved brutal battles to the death. Even though apps can now make use of ratings, (such as Eucalyptus,) Murderdrome is still sadly missing from the App Store.

If someone asks what the rage about all the applications, additional content, feeds, subscriptions, live streaming, music download and data consumerism is about, the typical consumer standpoint on the idea is that these features are taken, purchased and installed on demand by users to customize a mobile phone to serve specific personal needs.

From a seller’s standpoint, it is all about profit; and this is probably the reason why the Apple iPhone is successful in terms of satisfying both consumers and sellers.

In a recent study by the media law firm Olswang, results indicate that Apple iPhone users are the biggest potential consumers of digital content.

A year or so ago, a German application developer created an application that served to be nothing more than a status symbol. The app was nothing more than a screensaver that showed bright red gem on a black screen that would indicate to the public that the iPhone user is the owner of the said application. The app was named “I am Rich” and it was priced at 999 US Dollars. Apple naturally took down the application, but not before eight individuals have purchased the app.

Anyway, back to the Olswang study. Their research covered not only iPhone users, but non-iPhone users as well (though they have not disclosed what mobile devices the other study samples used). In various levels of data consumerism, it showed that iPhone users consistently bore a significantly greater chance of purchasing than any other.

The study does take into account that most iPhone users tend to be from affluent social backgrounds, still, the numbers are far too big to ignore.

In areas where 58% of the general public would be willing to make a purchase, a study of iPhone users alone yielded a result of 73% (watch a new movie on a phone); and in cases where general consumerism is low at 40%, a good degree of iPhone users would still be willing to fork out some cash (40%  of them) to watch a movie on the phone that is already out on DVD.

O2 originally had the iPhone 3G as a time exclusive device for quite some time.  “Quite” is an understatement for two whole years.

With Orange UK recently releasing the iPhone and Vodafone announcing that they too will be having the device on January of 2010, O2 has just not lost exclusivity, but also price control. Just a week prior to the Orange launch of the iPhone, O2 started coming up with new promotions for the device. Competition can truly be a good thing.

Tesco will be boosting O2’s market share on the iPhone as they too have announced that the Apple iPhone will be available through them as well. Interested buyers may sign up at the pre-registration page at the Tesco website though there are still no details regarding the specific release date.

The official press release from Tesco dated November 25 states that the Tesco will be releasing Apple iPhone products “through its joint venture partnership with O2”. Specific details regarding this are still unavailable, but it is confirmed that all iPhones to be sold by Tesco will be under an O2 pay-as-you-go or monthly tariff plan.

Tesco is a general retailer specializing in a wide range of everyday products ranging from groceries to consumer electronics to clothing and even financial services. The company currently holds the position of third largest retailer in the world (next to Wal-Mart).

The Apple iPhone is a smart phone with multimedia functions. Originally marketed as an iPod with call features, the device gave Apple Computers a foothold in the mobile industry. Thanks to the social status and iconic image of Apple products, the iPhone quickly became a fashion fad for non-tech fans and a gadget of high curious value for the spec-conscious. Naturally, many fans of the iPod easily migrated to the iPhone as well. The iPhone became a rousing success for its marketability and amazing hardware and software features.

From the moment iPhone was made available for all mobile carriers there was a change in the sales figures.

Now, with the most recent figure being release, it could be concluded that this move to work with more network carriers has worked for Apple. The sales have received major boost in Europe and the figures are through the roof.

According to the recent research conducted by Bernstein, since the distribution network was established in the whole of Europe and UK, there has been a boost in market share value of Apple iPhone. From 21 percent in the previous quarter, the figure has increased to 32 percent.

According to the figures recorded in France alone in Q3 of 2009, 600,000 Apple iPhones were sold in the market.

Pierre Ferragu, who is an analyst of Bernstein, added that the expansion in the distribution of iPhone, which has served quite well for Apple Inc. This has helped in almost doubling the sales of the company in the past 3 months. They have taken the space made void by BlackBerry.

According to Carolina Milanesi, a Gartner Analysts, at this moment, France serves as the biggest market for Apple iPhone across Europe.

Neil Mawston, analyst at Strategy Analytics, said that France saw the exclusivity end in April. Their figures show that shelf share almost tripled and market one doubled in a single quarter.

Mawston added that with the UK market is almost similar to the French one. However, there is a comparatively stronger response in UK and thus, it is expected that an even better result will be on the cards.

One of the setbacks of owning an iPhone is that you cannot insert any other sim card into it, even if you are traveling abroad, but soon this will no longer be the case as O2 unfolds plans to unlock the iPhone.

The controversy of unlocking the iPhone has been cleared up by O2, as O2 has announced that it will be unlocking iPhone at no cost for all pay monthly customers during their contracts, but will charge a fee at the end of the contract term thereby allowing consumers use the phone freely on any network they please.

This has been confirmed through an interview with the CEO, Matthew Key, who confirmed this himself saying the network will allow customers to unlock the iPhone and once their contract period is completed they can freely move to any network of their choice. The unlocking service is available to all customers who call the customer care line and request for this service for £14.97.

The unlocking allows users to place any network’s sim into their iPhone. The unlocking is expected to take a space of 14 days and will be confirmed via text message.  Some other networks in the UK like Orange have started offering the iPhone 3G and 3GS, which is available for pickup at Apple retail stores and other approved stores.

O2’s monopoly over the iPhone ended on the 10^th of November, while Orange and Vodafone had put the device on sale giving the populace the opportunity to choose a variety of networks to use on their iPhone.

Orange has been confirmed as the second official iPhone carrier in the UK, with a subscription of over 250,000 subscribers on their iPhone network.