Apps for the Heart - 5 Great iPhone Apps, to Celebrate Love

Here are five great apps from the Apple iTunes app store that keep the spirit of Valentine’s Day burning bright.


Iflirt, $0.99
In case you are still single, I suggest you get an iFlirt for your iPod. It cost $ 0.99, but is worth every cent. With an entirely user driven database of pickup lines, flirting and dating tips, you can think beyond those cheesy lines that everyone has heard before. But in case you want something cocky, go ahead and try something like “I am doing a poll and all I need is your name, your number and the directions to your apartment”. The application features separate sections for men and women and even a random idea generator. So if you are still trying get yourself a valentine, give this app a try; just make sure you are not peering into your iPod when you say the lines.

Valentine Radio, Free
If you do manage to pick up a date, then make sure you have the right music to play on special occasions. Love songs can bring out the mushy side of anyone, but sadly radio stations in India think there is no world beyond the latest Bollywood tracks. The free Valentine Radio app brings your favourite love songs from around the world under one button. The application features a line-up of 40 romantic channels and a stylish design that works with all versions of the Apple iPod software. All you need is a good wireless connection to stream the radio and enjoy your evening with your special one.

Absolut Drinkspiration, Free
So, we have a valentine and some great music, now for some drinks. Since none of us are masters behind the bar, just download Drinkspiration and let it come up with suggestions. The app can even tell you what is hot across the globe and suggest a drink by taste. You can also search for drinks that use the ingredients you have at home or something without any alcohol. So toast to a great night.

SpongeBob Jelly Fish Jam, Free
A few drinks down, you can check your agility by catching a few falling hearts. Play this Nickelodeon game right and you can have Sponge Bob dance for you. The sequence starts out easy, but this sure is no child’s play. There are even variants like the Bikini Bottom World to test your music skills. Give it a shot, and see which one of you can get Mr Square Pants to shake a leg.

The Story of Valentine’s Day, Free
Well, we all buy roses on February 14, but how many of us know about St Valentine. This app tells you his story in the most interactive way, backed by great visuals and easy-to-read text. The app tells how the third century saint got couples married off and how his death anniversary started being celebrated as the Day of the St Valentines.

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The above review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday 14 Feb, 2010, Yes the Valentines Day

Pac Man Lite on the iPhone

Another Lazy Sunday, well not really, this Sunday was a little tough, had a lot of errands to run at the house, finally was home for a Weekend after a long time, also planned to cook some Laal Maas, thanks to the recipe from SR Puri.

By the afternoon I was just poofed and realised I had not charged my DS console, and was in the mood to play an old arcade type game, what better than Pac Man, so browsed on to the App Store at Apple, using my iPhone, and lo and behold, found the free trial version of Namco's Original Pac Man. Downloaded and installed, I loved the Game.

Pac Man reminds me of a recent Joke I heard, "They say kids today are influenced by all those action games, if the games could influence people, my generation would be walking, with beep sounds coming off them". Anyway.. Pac Man just level 1 in the free version allows you to play the old Pac Man, with a DPAD controller at the bottom of the screen, though I would have loved if Namco used the Accelerometer to run the game, but hey it was fun, and a change. Though the full version costs about US$ 6, the missus would have been angry if I bought it.. so it's the free version for now, or the other arcade games I have on my DS

Must download this App.

Game Cost: Free / Version: 1.01 / Size 1.6MB / Current Average Rating: 4+

Passing Sunday: Scramble on iPhone

I love words, I love word games, but it usually takes two to play, crosswords in the news paper seem too tough for a guy like me to go through on a lazy Sunday, and everyone is busy relaxing or doing their own thing, that asking someone to play a game of scrabble, may just get you ignorant stares. So this sunday, I chose to download and install Scramble, a free game for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, on my iPhone.

5 minutes down, and I was addicted to it, addicted, that I thought to start a weekly blog post on an apple application for the iPhone, after all with so many free and paid applications available, it will have some nice combos, at-least some great word games.

Scramble, installed in about a minute on my broadband connection and I was breezing through it, and got the hang of the game in about 5 odd minutes. The game offers a 4x4 or a 5x5 Board of balls with letters on it, and I loved the fact that it offers a Qu and not just a Q in the balls when it comes up. You are shown how many possible words you can make and you go on and make the words. Though it did not like all the funny words I had up my sleeve, and the minimum word length is 3 letters (so no, you can't make AT / AX / IS / WE / ME).

It allows you to play either a 2 minute or a 3 minute game, though this is annoying at first, that you were only able to make a few words, but hey, if there is no deadline, how do you actually have fun.

The use of accelerometer allows you to tilt the phone in any direction (90degrees) and change the way the balls are laid out, so maybe you see some other words.

The game also allows you to play 2 player, passing the phone between people, or play with people online.

So if you are a word game fan, and want an interesting game to fall in love with, check out Scramble at the iPhone App Store

Game Cost: Free / Version: 1 / Size 3.1MB / Current Average Rating: 4+