Emerging Paid iOS Apps: Faux Security, Free Music & New Games
New releases are booming this week, with all but one of the ten highlighted iPhone and iPad applications coming out in the past two weeks. While games were the most dominant, several other types of applications showed strength as well, including faux security apps, music, educational software and note-taking.
New Titles Within Top iPhone Paid Apps List
Lock My Phone – Security Software — Faux security rises high this week. In at #8 is the application Lock My Phone – Security Software. Like many recent “security” apps, the title makes one’s iPhone lock screen resemble various security measures such as the Android “Dot Lock,” an optical scanner, fingerprint scans, and so on. Regardless, the $0.99 app (released August 6th) has not pleased many users with several scathing reviews. As for its creator, Lock My Phone is credited to Wizar LLC, a new, enigmatic developer which has three other iOS apps. All were released August 6th.
Flick Soccer! — Full Fat is an independent iOS developer from the United Kingdom which has frequented the top iOS charts with its past titles Flick Golf Extreme! HD and Flick Golf!. Its latest release is Flick Soccer! and already, the app has risen to #12 on the top paid iPhone app charts. At $0.99, the title is similar to its predecessors in that players use their fingers to shoot soccer balls in various challenges (e.g. against a keeper, breaking glass, or trying to hit the goal’s crossbar).
Fingerprint Protection PRO — Another “security” app is rising, but once again, users are not too happy with their fake protection gimmicks. At #18 is Fingerprint Protection PRO from another unknown developer, All Soft (though they have released two other iOS titles). The new $0.99 app touts its “being the best” iPhone protection, but is nothing more than a fake fingerprint scanner with animations and sound effects. Most of the poor reviews seem to stem from the expectation that the app actually works like a real security lock. Fingerprint Protection PRO was released August 9th.
“Free Music Download Pro” – Downloader and Player — Music is proving popular again with “Free Music Download Pro” – Downloader and Player at #21. The title costs $0.99 (currently on sale), and it allows users to download free and legal music to their iPhone, iPad or iPod. Released August 9th, it is credited to U.S. company BSOSoft. That said, the app appears to be a likely re-release of Zentertain’s top title, Free Music Download, as it is no longer available in the App Store.
Glass Tower 3 — Another new game rounds out today’s top paid iPhone apps list. Glass Tower 3 is ranked at #28 and is a physics-style puzzle app in which players attempt to remove blue, glass blocks from intricately stacked towers without breaking the red ones. The title is credited to publisher iDevUA Treelight, but linked to a small group by the name of Gadgetcrafts, a small Ukrainian iOS developer with about six iOS games under its belt.
New Titles Within Top iPad Paid Apps List
Anomaly Warzone Earth HD — The Electronic Arts division of Chillingo shows new activity this week, kicking off the top paid iPad charts with one of its newest published releases, Anomaly Warzone Earth HD (the game is developed by 11 bit studios, a 15-year-old Polish studio). The new game is technically a futuristic tower defense title, but now players take to the offensive, attempting to navigate units through the tower defenses themselves. Costing $3.99, the August 11th-released application is currently #8 on iPad and #35 on iPhone.
NyxQuest HD — Chillingo promptly makes a second appearance with another new game called NyxQuest HD. Ranked at #14 and #45 for iPhone and iPad respectively, the game is a side-scrolling adventure-puzzle game in which players take control of Nyx as she attempts to save Icarus within the mythology-enhanced world of ancient Greece. As it stands, the game is on sale for $2.99.
Bowling Game 3D for iPad — Moving down to #24 comes a title from a smaller company, EivaaGames. The title is dubbed Bowling Game 3D for iPad, and as one would assume, the app is a simple iOS rendition of actual bowling, hosting quality visuals and various bowling ball styles. As for its developer, EivaaGames is noted to be a studio out of Pune, India which was founded by only three individuals back in 2005. Bowling Game 3D was released August 10th and costs $0.99.
Note Taker HD — Note Taker HD is the first older app of the day. Updated August 11th with features such as preset pens, backup and restore options, and several bug fixes, the title is a note taking application that simply lets users write notes by hand with either their finger or an iPad-compatible stylus pen. The title is created by Software Garden, a small software company founded back in 1985 but was more or less dormant until 2004. Note Taker HD costs $4.99 and is ranked at #26.
American Presidents for iPad — The top paid charts are finalized today with a bit of education (just in time for school). In at #27 is American Presidents for iPad. Costing $3.99, the educational app is a historical compilation of presidential biographies, presented with stylized visuals. It was released August 5th and is credited to Peripatetic, a company of apparently two individuals that is, ironically, based out of Denmark. American Presidents is the company’s only noted iOS title.
