hideNtweet – Hide & Seek For The iPhone And Twitter

update Jul 5: hideNtweet is now available for FREE via iTunes – click here to download

(written by guest author Tim Giron. follow Tim on Twitter @timgiron)

hideNtweetLogo11 It’s 10:15 on a Sunday morning and I am crouched in one of the many alleys in a small neighborhood near Arizona State University.  I check my iPhone map display and see a red plus sign moving in my direction; it’s the seeker blocking my path to the home base.  Blue dots indicate the positions of the other players, full grown men experiencing a high tech version of the classic playground game.

cthurst_capture11    IMG_0009_11

This is hideNtweet and we’ve been invited by the developer, John Ellis of Dove Valley Apps, to take part in a beta test.  Realizing that the direct approach is not going to work for me, I move off a ways and wait for John, who is currently "it", to chase after somebody else.  Once he does, I loop around and head for the base location, which is thankfully near a hammock in the shade.  For the next round, I choose to be "it" and the chase is on again!

finding_homebase11    john_tags_home11

hideNtweet creatively utilizes the technologies available on the iPhone to fuse the virtual and physical worlds.  The camera is used to identify a home base and to tag other players as caught.  The GPS and map, complete with sweeping radar indicator, shows all of the player positions.  And, to top it all off, the app uses the online Twitter service to announce threeGhostsWhite11 significant game plays to the participants.

While it is much more fun to play with others, the game also has a "solo" mode where 4 ghost characters will try to evade and outwit you.  Ingeniously, the ghosts move through the camera view when you close in for the capture.

ghost_capture11

If you’re interested in joining in the beta test hijinks, gather up a few friends and head over to http://hideNtweet.com to apply.  Please note that since the application is currently in beta test, some of the screens may change before release.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Wow! Talk about a unique gaming experience for the iPhone … totally looking forward to the release of this app. With all the garbage and repeat apps (how many tic-tac-toe apps? – too many!) in the App Store, we applaud Dove Valley Apps for thinking outside the box and working on something truly creative and first of its kind. Rock on guys!

And don’t forget to sign up to be a beta game player … DO IT … it’s fun, free and will make you feel better. Click Here to sign up now.

May 30, 2009 | Filed Under anti-KRAPPS, Games | 4 Comments 

We Were Wrong – We Are Sorry

Here at KRAPPS, we are far from perfect. We screw up – we make mistakes. But we have integrity. We can look ourselves in the mirror and say … You KRAPPS Are A Dumb Ass! Rather than sit around and blow sunshine up each other’s asses, we can admit it when we are wrong.

sorry2 Three weeks ago we wrote an article Hooking Up With The Gerbil. We came down pretty hard on an iPhone developer group called Arctic Gerbil. We called them out for spamming the App Store with SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE (689) apps. We laughed at the Arctic Gerbil and compared them to some loser dude who hits on every chick he meets, hoping one  would finally say “yes” to his advances.

Well guess what … we were wrong for picking on the Arctic Gerbil. Our attack was brash, stupid and totally uncalled for. So we admit it … and we apologize:

Dear Arctic Gerbil … Our Bad – We Are Sorry!

arcticgerbillogojpg Seriously, think about it. Let’s say you were a gerbil and you lived in the Arctic … life would kind of suck. It’s not like you could golf or skateboard … you’d freeze to death. It’s not like you could catch a movie or a play … there ain’t shit to do in the Arctic. So really you are relegated to indoor activities like sitting on the couch, drinking beer, picking your nose and watching TV. Good times in the Arctic!

But at least the Arctic Gerbil is productive … they are all about iPhone love … reproducing like rabbits in heat. Wham – Bam … a hundred apps. Boink – Boink … another three hundred apps. And with a total of SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY NINE apps – that Arctic  GerbilKiss22 Gerbil is one horny bastard.

So today we peeked back into the Arctic Gerbil’s love nest … just to see if they still had the iPhone love. WOW – we were not disappointed! There’s been a whole lotta loving going on – to the tune of over 477 apps in just three weeks … bringing Arctic Gerbil’s total love count to 
ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED SIXTY SIX (1,166) apps!!

From what we can tell, their current love child is the iNewsPro application. There are TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY of these bad boys in the App Store. Just think of any city and chances are the Arctic Gerbil spawned it. iNewsPro Enid … Houma … Natchez … Toccoa … Visalia … Elmira … Danville … Kokomo … Yuba City … plus 271 more.

iNewsPro22

But don’t be a hater! Remember, we were wrong for bashing the Arctic Gerbil. We should all be so lucky to have such love in our life … especially the 280 love child iNewsPro apps. And Apple … please, no need to “fix” the Gerbil … after all, what the world needs now is more love in the App Store.

May 29, 2009 | Filed Under News | 28 Comments 

Kittens & Puppies Suck – Just Kill Them

CrazyiPhoneDeveloper2 The sheer volume of completely whacked out apps never ceases to amaze us. It’s like cruising through the developer nuthouse where every programmer is completely psycho. Seriously – we’re thinking these devs are hopped up on nitrous oxide or just sniffed too much glue in elementary school.

How else can you explain Poop apps? Before the iPhone, we would have never thought of looking between our legs and studying our scuba divers.

Then there’s the Bikini Fart app. If hearing and smelling farts from a chick in a bikini brings you joy … DUDE … you have ISSUES!

Vomit, Urine, Spanking, Lice, Sex Algorithms … the list of freak show apps goes on and on.

One of the most bizarre apps we’ve covered is Sexy Alphabet … targeting individuals who get pleasure from hearing the alphabet recited by a sexual way. Uh hello CRACK HEAD … we don’t give a shiat who’s saying them … the ABC’s are NOT SEXY!

And surprise surprise … from the same developer of Sexy Alphabet (dude call himself  “theM”), comes these two latest classics:

Angry Kittens Attack and Crazy Puppy Massacre 

 

KittyDesc

PuppyDesc

I know this is getting old and tired … but as Apple likes to say …

Want To Kill Kittens And Puppies?
There’s An App For That!

Yeah sicko … welcome to the App Store Asylum. No need to push and shove – there’s plenty of sick and mentally unstable material for everyone. Even those who get off killing kitties and puppies … ha! ha! ha! … APPLE is so brilliantly EVIL!

Kitty22    Puppy33

May 28, 2009 | Filed Under Games | 24 Comments 

The Science Of Sex

HotChickMeterSCORE So there is this whole sub-category of KRAPPS that supposedly measure and detect things … Meter and Radar apps. Like the Douchemeter and Hot Radar apps we previously wrote about. Also stuff like … Hot Chick Meter … Ghost Radar … Love Meter … Pirate Radar … or Cool Meter. Not the most brilliant apps … certainly a novelty and good for about 137 seconds of entertainment.

But in these apps’ defense, they don’t claim to be the second coming of Koi Pond (uh, which is another subject … why is Koi Pond so freaking popular). These apps are pretty whack … but they know it … and don’t pretend to be as important as that Pope2You app (hey, it’s the Pope … that’s gotta be an important app … geez).

Well we came across a Meter app that is breaking the mold of this KRAPPS sub-category. We were actually quite floored at the research involved in producing such an application … it must have took years or clinical trials and various research methodologies to produce this next app … Sexy Meter Pro.

This is not your basic novelty Meter app. With Sexy Meter Pro, you can scientifically determine is your subject is REALLY sexy or not. And since this sexiness is determined scientifically … well then, there you have it … it’s TRUE. We at KRAPPS are simpletons … we don’t understand all this sexy science mumbo jumbo. So rather making a feeble attempt at describing the app and it’s technology … just read the Sexy Meter Pro description (pardon the English as a second language bit):

SexyMeterProDescFINAL

You see! We told you so! … “the true sexy meter … analyzing her photo … doesn’t generate random samples … score based on skin color, lip shape, eye contact … advanced algorithms will not disappoint you” … Heck, just look at the results screenshot below – the subject scored 82.3 points – HELLO! – 82.3 points! – Sexy Meter Pro nailed it!

SexyMeterPro22

Oh and trust us, developer Chen Li is NOT kidding about his instrument – he truly believes and knows that Sexy Meter Pro provides valid scientific results (just like OJ knows he didn’t kill his wife – LOL) … heck, dude is working on even better algorithms for his next update. Freaking genius!

But hey … not all devs can be such mensas. So memo to devs – Never Use The Words SEXY and ALGORITHM Together In An App Description … this science is way beyond your comprehension. Unless of course you are kidding – but you’re not – but we think you are -  but your not – you are? – not! ARGH!! … sex and science, what a bunch of KRAPPS … not?

May 26, 2009 | Filed Under Entertainment, Photography | Leave a Comment 

Bizarre iPhone Promotional Techniques

With over 40,000 iPhone apps available for sale, getting “noticed” is a huge challenge for developers. So besides releasing a quality app, marketing plays a key role in the success of that application. We’ve seen some pretty unique and interesting promotional efforts by POOP-THE-WORLD-TP2 developers attempting to get noticed.

The BurnBall iPhone game was the first app to create a community competition. BurnBall players would join tribes (teams) and compete against each other for prizes.

Imangi Studios held a contest involving their Little Red Sled game which challenged players to submit a screenshot of their most radical sled maneuver.

Then we have Poop The World. Clever (aka whack-jobs) folks behind this dookie diary app. First they have their own line of branded toilet paper for promotional campaigns. Then they  created a series of really bizarre promotional videos. The one below is an absolute riot. An imported takeoff from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video … it contains dancing zombies, hysterical subtitles, Snuggie references and other madness. Make sure you watch it a few times and read those subtitles – freaking insane!

 

May 25, 2009 | Filed Under News | 6 Comments 

Recap: Week Of May 18

iphonekrappsV1GIFIn case you missed any of the festivities, quick links to this week’s articles.

May 18: Squishy Guts And Blood – Gross! – if this stuff floats your boat, we have an app for you

May 19: Make A Stripper Smile – There’s An App For That – the iPhone gets street cred

May 19: Apple Gets The Joke Late – Rejects Approved App – Apple is very confused, so are developers

May 20: Apple Wants Sexy But This Is Just Too Weird – iPhone apps keep getting stranger

May 21: Fun With The Apple Profanity Filter – Apple saves children from burning their eyes

May 22: Hot Dog Down A Hallway – does this controversial game contain offensive material?

May 23: Cows, Poop And Fire – Leave It Alone Dad – yes proud parent, your kid’s doo-doo does stink

May 24, 2009 | Filed Under Recap | Leave a Comment 

Cows, Poop And Fire – Leave It Alone Dad

So did you hear about the new iPhone game Moo Cow Fury? Yeah, it’s pretty hysterical -involving racing cows, poop and fire. Sure it doesn’t come close to competing with EA in terms of polish and shine, but with an amusing premise and decent enough gameplay, we can think of worse ways to spend a buck. Click here to check out a gameplay video or visit the App Store to download Moo Cow Fury … two versions: $0.99 [iTunes] or Free ad-supported [iTunes].

MooCowFury1

Argh! Wish we could stop right there. But we can’t … oh daddy, what were you thinking:

MooCowFuryDesc

Yeah, we get it … daddy is a very proud parent and encouraging young Nicholas. Seriously, that kind of support is awesome! There are so many 100% suck deadbeat dads in the world and it’s a breath of fresh air seeing that Nicholas has a great dad (yo Nicholas! – don’t forget – Father’s Day is June 21 – do something nice for papa!). But to throw the 12-Year Old Kid card into the title of the app … well, just a tad over-the-top. Then to lead off the game’s description with this detailed explanation of Nicholas’ quest to learn Objective-C and produce an iPhone app … well, yeah … it’s over-the-top.

MyKid Come on dad … we’re talking RACING COWS … POOP … and FIRE! Moo Cow Fury kicks butt on its own and we’re buying it because cows that poop while avoiding fire makes us laugh (yeah, we’re whack like that).

Not to turn this into a debate … but with 40,000 competing apps, something had to be done to get the pooping cow fire game noticed … so we guess Apple forced the 12-Year Old card hand. Hopefully it’s an Apple thing and not a delusional bias thing … yes Nicholas – your poop does stink … LOL.

Anyways … no doubt about it … geek 12-year olds who churn out iPhone games rock! And since we’re on the subject of geek kids … don’t forget to show some love to 9-year old Lim Ding Wen and his Doodle Kids [iTunes].

So the only question remains … whose app(s) rocks more … daddy or son Nicholas? LOL – we love you Nicholas dad!

May 23, 2009 | Filed Under Games, News | Leave a Comment 

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