I was convinced to purchase this particular game after playing the eight levels they give you in the free version. It was only 99 cents, and considering that I’d had the chance to play the game before buying, I shouldn’t really complain. Just Fillin’ reminds me of Jezzball, except with bubbles.

The objective of the game is to create bubbles to fill the water while avoiding the spikes that bounce around. The graphics are not all that complex, and it’s definitely not as cute as the icon might have you believe, but it’s a quick and easy game to play. It kills time. There are an unlimited number of levels, so this game could go on forever! playtoniq ALSO has a few other applications out called Aqua Apps. They are also 99 cents each.

On a side note, I got all gold medals on Sway last night. There were two levels that were particularly difficult, but I had them beat using the right combination of characters! So until they come out with new updates, I’ve beat the game!

While visiting in LA, Alex showed me one pretty awesome [FREE] application that will save you money on iPhone applications – BargainBin.

Basically, it updates whenever an iPhone application goes on sale of 50% or more or becomes FREE [sometimes for a very limited time]! You can browse by category, or by “Bargain” or “Free.” Simple to use. To see more information about a deal before proceeding to the application store to buy it, you can hold down your finger on the selection and wait for the menu to pull up more information. You can also easily email a deal to a friend! The one part I am not a fan of is that when you click the selection, it takes you to the store for download. You have to restart BargainBin to get back to browsing the deals. It’s probably not something that can be worked around just yet, but it’s free and easy to use otherwise.

Despite the minor inconvenience, BargainBin is perfect for catching some really good deals or just trying out a bunch of random applications. If they’re any good, I keep ‘em. If not, delete city!

Illusion Labs [based in Sweden] makes one of my latest favorite iPhone games, Sway. Cutest game ever!

You start off with Lizzie the Lizard, and as you progress, you unlock her friends [the part that keeps me playing]. The graphics are quite impressive on this game, and you spend your time swinging from block to block, collecting stars and dodging obstacles. My favorite character to use is Ninja Man, but some of the other characters have longer arms [Monkee and Scarlet] and prove to be a bit more useful on some levels. Box boy is extra springy too! Using your left and right thumb, you control the swaying action of the character. When you let go of the screen, your character takes off, and when you put your finger back on the screen, your character will latch on to the nearest block. The objective of the game: Collect stars as quickly as you can to the finish line of each level. Rescue friends on the “Save a Friend” levels.

Yup, I shelled out $4.99 for this one after doing a test run of Sway Lite. Some of the levels are quite tough, but there are checkpoints on each level to save the spot you’ve reached in the level. You also have unlimited number of deaths, so you can keep on going. Quite entertaining and fun! I’ve gotten really into the game, and my fingers get all sweaty. Oops! It looks cute, but it is still tough.

Well worth the $$ spent. I’m down to one more friend to rescue, but I’m hoping there will be future updates with more levels + friends.

With all the free time I have now, I may spend some of it crocheting Ninja Man – see pattern here!

Here are screen shots of some of the friends:

Fairlady Media brings to the iPhone world a mobile version of the popular arcade game, Whac-A-Mole.

Is it just me, or does it seem like I find joy in playing games where the cute and cuddly creatures on the little iPhone screen are smacked around? Just this one and that Crazy Penguin Catapult.

It’s one of those games that keeps me on my toes and makes my fingers spastic! Each level is about 30 seconds long [there are time bonuses if you whack a clock], and you can’t miss any or there are penalties.

Whack ‘em All! is for all ages and tests your hand-eye coordination. You have to whack those goofy-looking moles, rabbits, gophers, and skunks, while watching out for kittens.

The silly music will stick to your head as you advance from level to level, knocking the animals out with the mallet. You get extra points for multiple whackings at once, and when you shake your phone, there’s a special mallet that takes care of all the pests in the garden.

Best of all, the game is free if you’re not afraid of a few ads. Otherwise, contribute the 99 cents to check the game out!

Originally, I downloaded the Lite version of the Crazy Penguin Catapult game from Digital Chocolate just to have something to play around with. After beating it, I deleted the app and moved on with my life. But then not too long ago, I re-downloaded the game. Catapulting penguins at polar bears was back in my life.

RV caught the penguin-catapulting bug and ended up downloading the paid version for $4.99. There are many complaints that the $4.99 version is too short, and I’ll have to agree. For such a short game that can be beaten in a few hours, $4.99 is hefty. However, it has actually provided RV and me quite a few hours of entertainment. Yeah, we’ve beaten the game several times, but the silly power-ups have kept us coming back. Gotta love the Rubber and Super Bounce Penguins, Ninja and Double Ninja Penguins, Ice Breakers, Twins and Triplets…

CUTE, right? Oh, casual games. They’re the next big money maker…

Side note: The rain boots didn’t make it again. One more try by the delivery guys before I can call them to arrange a pick-up or something.

So I went and bought an iPhone in January. The main reason for switching away from my reliable network at Verizon was the wide variety of applications available. Carrying the iPhone was like carrying a mini computer around. Since I don’t spend a lot of time talking on the phone, only having text messages and applications [useful and not] seemed like a great idea. I don’t regret the decision to switch, even if it means a few dropped calls here and there with the parents.

Ever since I started using the phone and downloading applications, I’ve been meaning to write reviews of the applications downloaded. Once the reviews are written, I’m deleting the apps I’m not actually using. I hate the clutter!

For this first review, I went ahead and found four free Twitter applications. For the most part, you can do the same things within each application. So I’ll just focus on what I like/don’t like about each.

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TwitterFon from Naan Studio: This is my favorite of the bunch. It loads quickly and is very easy to use. It’s fairly simple in design and doesn’t clutter the page. You input your account information on the Settings page, and you are set. Clicking on an individual Tweet brings you to the user info page. If there are links within the tweet, clicking on the tweet on the user info page will bring you to all the links in the tweet. I like that it doesn’t open up into a new browser, and you can easily navigate your way back to TwitterFon.

Let’s see. What else? There are no advertisements. It’s open source. While your Twitter page will only show the most recent tweets, you have the option to load all stored Tweets. I also like that you have the option of setting it to scroll to the first unread tweet on the page. The background color for the tweet is different, so that you know which ones are new. Makes for easy following. NEAT.

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Twitterific from Iconfactory: First off, a cute icon! They try to be user-friendly by having helpful hints that pop up with instructions on how to use the application. Double-clicking takes you to individual Tweets. You can scroll through these individual tweets by sliding along the page. It’s an option to have, but I think for me, the list view is more useful. There is a mini browser within the application, which allows for browsing while you’ve got the application open. However, there’s also the option of opening up a page in Safari.

Twitterific Premium is $9.99, which seems a little hefty for a Twitter application. There are advertisements in the free version, but they are not so annoying that I’d readily spend $9.99, even if it was to support artists and developers. I’ve read other reviews. It’s not significantly different from the free version.

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Twinkle from Tapulous: Again, cute icon. When you turn your iPhone sideways, a world map pops up, showing the latest tweets. It does a live update as it receives each of the tweets, which is neat to watch. I like that there’s a whole network of Twinkle users in addition to the people on Twitter that you can send messages to, even though I’d probably not use the option. The application is more colorful than the others and has cute little chat bubbles, which is alright, but doesn’t really add value.

There is one thing I don’t like though. It doesn’t show all of your tweets. If you have a lot of them and you haven’t been checking them, they don’t all show up on the page. I don’t know which ones are included for viewing… As of 13 hours ago, the response from Tapulous is that the number of tweets displayed, as well as tweets already read, are not YET an option. Sounds like there will be more changes coming. For now though, I’m not all that intrigued by the fancy colors and twinkling.

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Twittelator from Stone Design: This was a last minute download as I hadn’t heard of it until today. Of the four, the name of this application is the one I like least… The Groups page is rather plain looking, but it takes you to: Friends’ Tweets, My Tweets, My Replies, Everyone’s Tweets, Featured Tweeters, Bookmarks, etc. The pages are simple and not too cluttered. Pleasant to the eye. You have the option of sliding your finger along the screen to scroll, OR use the down arrow.

There is a paid version of this application – Twittelator Pro for $4.99. It’s got Dingbats fonts you can add to your tweets, several themes you can apply to the application, and sub-groups for quick messages to a group of friends.

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After trying all four of these out, it’s clear which one is my pick – Twitterfon. I wanted something simple and functional. I wanted something quick and sleek. I didn’t need the fancy bells and whistles. But who knows? Others might.

Now to delete the excess!

In case none of the four are appealing, I’ve also heard good things about Tweetie too.

Looks like I survived the Christmas Eve dinner/party with all the relatives as well as Christmas with RV and his family. His mom has a lot of sisters, and they each have a bunch of kids, so it was a nice big family gathering. We did the whole White Elephant gift exchange, and I ended up with these two silly ornaments. I don’t even have a tree! I guess it’s time to put up a mini one and start the collection going…

I gifted RV with an Apple iPhone. Yeah, he’s one of those guys now. Actually, he’d been wanting one for awhile, and I was curious about the hype. Folks, they’re pretty darned useful. At least some of the applications are. I’m tempted to getting one for myself if the rates aren’t so bad, but for the time being, I’m going to use RV’s. But we went into the AT&T store on Christmas Eve to get the phone. It wasn’t activated until later in the evening, so before he knew what was happening, I grabbed the phone, threw it back into the box and wrapped it up. Talk about a test of patience. Luckily, it wasn’t yet activated, or he’d probably have thrown a fit.

On Christmas morning, the kids were awake before the parents. Didn’t do much though since there weren’t a lot of presents to be opened. By the time we went outside for some fresh air, it was probably 4pm. It had been stormy off and on. RV and I found a local hookah shop/lounge that was open, so we checked it out before Christmas dinner with the family. Yes, we shared a piña colada-flavored hookah for Christmas. How totally random! After Christmas dinner of prime rib, asparagus, and mashed potatoes, we went for a drive to the beach.