iPhone Hill

Here’s an app you might not have known you needed until just this moment. 

I’m referring to Next Episode by Nikolay Nachev.  What does this app do?  Let me ask you a question:

Have you ever rushed to get home from work or school or wherever to watch what you thought was going to be a new episode of Chuck or House only to find that the episode was a repeat? 

(…And what about this new thing with the mid-season finales followed by months-long hiatuses?  I started watching both V and FlashForward last fall only to see the first parts of season one end in November with no plans to return until March. 

March??? 

What- you prime time networks think you’re HBO or Showtime?  It’s not like we’re talking Dexter, Weeds, True Blood, or Entourage-level shows.  These are new shows I’m still trying to decide whether I want to watch.  Three- and four-month hiatuses aren’t such a good idea when you’re a newbie and don’t even have a season under your belt yet.  I used to think Lost was bad about the big hiatuses, but at least this is its last season.  And don’t even get me started on The Sopranos.  Three things to say about that show: Lamest.  Ending.  Ever.

Ok. Taking a deep breath and getting off my soapbox.  I went to a dark and scary place for a little while, but I’m back now…)

Next Episode is an app I would think everyone with an iPod Touch, iPhone and TV should have.  Simply speaking, it will track and monitor all your favorite shows and tell you when a new episode is scheduled to air.  So, I now know that the next new episode of Chuck will air in 53 (!) days. 

(…I’m still a little ticked about that, though I’ll deal…)

But wait…there’s more.  Next Episode will show you what’s just aired, what’s on deck for the next day, and will even make recommendations for new shows you might like based on the shows you already like.  That’s nifty.

And if you’re in the process of recording an entire season of 24 on your DVR, yet refuse to watch a single episode until the season’s either over or almost over (so you can watch them all over a weekend and get caught up), Next Episode will also track your unwatched episodes and provide episode summaries.  (What?  I can’t be the only one who does that….)

I really like this application.  The UI is slick, everything is broken down into nice little categories that show me exactly what I want to see, and I was able to just jump right in and start using it.  Couldn’t ask for anything more.  Except maybe a link to iMDB within the app so I can check out all those geeky things I like to check out on that site…

Oh, and one big incentive if you’re thinking about buying this app: Next Episode is currently having a 75% off launch sale.  Pick it up for just .99 cents while you can and make sure that you always know when new episodes of your favorite shows will air.

(Provided they haven’t been cancelled…)

Man, I’m in a negative mood right now.

iTunes Link – Next Episode

Version 1.0

Tested on an iPod Touch 3.1.3

Warning: Skip the text part of the greeting card!

Luck O the Irish is on sale for free – normally $.99

If you’re Irish… or just looking for an excuse to get out and party… chances are you’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day sometime within the next week, or at the very least you’ll be updating your Facebook status with a very clever “Happy St. Pat’s!” or something to that effect.

If your Irish-ness only goes as far as Facebook, Luck O the Irish will help you take it one step further by walking you through its Irish greeting card maker. The seven templates it includes look fairly slick and professional, and as long as you’re just sticking a picture in there you’ll be just fine. Photo handling is pretty bad (but repositioning is pretty easy), and forget about inputting any text because it’ll look ridiculous. Once you’re done putting photo in frame the image gets saved to your camera roll so you can post it to your profile via a Facebook-friendly app (which this one isn’t), or you can just email it.

For hardcore revelers, Sync Studios also included Irish-themed drink recipes and drinking games, plus there are links to info on a whole lotta St. Patrick’s Day parades worldwide.

Luck O the Irish has plenty of flaws that are mainly in the greeting card department, but it does enough things well that it’s worth picking up for free if you see shamrocks and green beer in your very near future.

iTunes Link – Luck O the Irish
Version 1.2

You Are Rich is on sale for free – normally a complete ripoff!

When the iTunes App Store first opened up in the summer of 2008, some jackass named Armin Heinrich released an app called I Am Rich which was basically a jpeg image of a red jewel that included some kind of “secret mantra” intended to make you believe you hadn’t just flushed $999.99 down the drain. Fast forward to… uh… today… and now you can get the very same app for free! Well, not exactly the same app, but pretty damn close.

I never saw the inner workings of the original “rich” app because (a) I was never quite drunk – or rich – enough to buy it, and (b) it got squashed by Apple within a few days after being released. But hey! Now you can see what that app *probably* looked like on the inside for free… red gem, idiotic self-affirmations, and all. And then you can say holy crap I’m glad I didn’t just waste $99.99! Yes, that’s what You Are Rich costs on a normal day, $99.99… more recently it was $.99, but that’s still $.99 too much.

So if I think this app is such a waste of time, why am I announcing the sale? Consider it a public service! If you get this app right now while it’s free, you’ll never have to wonder what it would be like to drop a single dime on an app designed specifically for morons with money to burn. Ok, to be fair, a lot of apps seem like they’re designed for morons but this one, like the 2008 ripoff it’s copy-catting, is in a league of its own.

iTunes Link – You Are Rich