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Because I’m a huge fan of Angry Birds Star Wars II, I downloaded Angry Bird Go! as soon as possible. It’s a free to play app, and considering it’s yet another Rovio release, I was expecting only excellence from my aviary friends.

One of my favorite aspects of the Angry Birds franchise lies in its seamless use of iOS control mechanics. With the series moving from a physics based platform to straight up racing, there is a slight change. You won’t be sliding your finger to create a target path for your birds, as most of the navigation deals with tapping the left and right directional arrows on your device to navigate your kart. Gamers who would rather tilt their device to move their vehicles also have that option.

The only true aiming comes at the race’s starting point, as you slingshot the driver once the competition begins. As Angry Birds vets know, a slide of a finger gets the bird in shooting motion, and once that digit is released, the winged warrior is sent flying off.

During this race, my poor slingshot skills ends up giving my driver an eighth place start. It’s a disadvantage that I just couldn’t overcome, even though this racing challenge required my car to finish in the top three spots. The free power boost, located on the right side of my device, helped me cover a bit of ground, but it still wasn’t enough.

The variety of challenges also brings a fresh feel to the proceedings, and even though this app isn’t the most complicated or nuanced app in town, its steak and potatoes approach doesn’t disappoint. If you want to go head to head against another racer, just click on the Versus mode. Want to ride solo and dodge obstacles on a track? Simply enter the Time Boom section and race against the clock. Since I’m slowly turning into an annoying, kale munching health nut, burning rubber isn’t the only thing that’s on my mind. To lessen my iOS caloric intake, I entered the Fruit Splat mode, which challenges me to run through as many fruits as possible during the race.

Those watermelons sure look tasty, and unfortunately Angry Bird Stella is simply gawking at the fruits instead of smashing them. If the fruit bar, which is featured on the top of the screen, isn’t fully erased by the finish line, Stella fails her mission. Since I’m not exactly the grace under pressure type, you can probably guess the outcome.

Since it’s free to play, Angry Birds Go! contains in-app purchases. Under the freemium model this is a necessary evil, but thankfully it doesn’t completely detract from the experience. Players who decide not to plunk down any cash won’t be able to play this game ad infinitum once they run out of gems to recharge the birds’ energy bar. The worst case scenario, however, is you will have to wait several minutes for Red to enter another race. If you’ve already unlocked Stella and her energy bar is still fresh, then simply enter matches using my favorite pink bird. She’s great in a pinch, even though she’s in her own little bubble.

Upgrading your kart is also a necessity, as certain races can’t be entered if you don’t meet the requirements. To increase your various skills, you thankfully don’t have to pay out of your own pocket, as the gold you accrue during your matches pays for the improvements. Although there are a healthy amount of coins available during the race, winning the challenges is the fastest way to fill your coffers. Red isn’t in the best of mood these days, but pimping out his ride might do the trick.

Angry Birds’ continued appeal has even transcended the video game genre with the release of its animated series and its successful line of toys. By placing an Angry Birds Go! telepod over your device’s camera, you can transport that respective character into the race. This extra feature, along with a charming and refreshingly catchy soundtrack, pushes this app over the edge – in a good way. It’s that rare freemium experience which offers gamers a ton of intriguing elements and game play without forcing us to spend a dime. It’s hard not to fall in love with this app.

Angry Birds Go! is a first rate kart racer which delivers the goods. There’s a good shot that one of these challenges will keep you glued to this app, and when it comes to replay value, Rovio knows how to hold our attention. Several weeks later I’m still playing Angry Birds Star Wars II, and I know that come Christmas time, my karts will still be crossing the finish line.

Viber 4.0 has just hit app stores!  The updated app carries new features such as; Stickers, push-to-talk voice messaging, and it also has support for Android tablets.

CEO Talmon Marco recently said, “This is the most exciting release we’ve had for Viber since we launched the platform…Today’s updated version brings a vast new range of features and functionality to Viber.”

On top of the list of the new features is the push-to-talk instant communication option, which allows users to send short voice messages to each other. The app creators are very happy with this new feature as it simplifies the typical PTT process.  The old process involves the user recording a message before sending it and then waiting for the recipient to download it and listen. Using this new feature however, Viber users can cut the average 60-second response time to approx five seconds.

For fun, the updated app also comes with a new Sticker Market, where users can find a large selection of cartoon images to express their emotions. Viber has unveiled two new featured characters, Mayo and Blu, as well as exclusive content to tie in with annual themes and holidays. Users can choose from more than 300 stickers priced at $1.99.

Android users can take advantage of the updates by downloading the Viber app on their tablet. It works in the same way as the desktop application.  The app carries over mobile contacts and synchronizes messages and calls on all the users’ devices.

For those running Android 4.0 and up, they will have access to improved notifications, the ability to send messages while on a call and a Light up Screen setting for incoming messages!  “Viber has always aimed to provide a complete communications experience,” Marco said. “With the new features we’ve brought to the platform, Viber lets users connect and stay connected in more ways than ever.”

SOURCE: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2427025,00.asp

GameSalad is an application that allows you to create games for a variety of platforms. So in essence, this app can help you create your first game in no time. If you are an indie game developer or someone interested in creating a soon-to-be iOS smash-hit, GameSalad is probably the best and easiest way to get your hands dirty and let your creativity run wild.

In a few words, GameSalad is a game creator tool that grants you the ability to develop games across many platforms without ever writing a single line of code. Cool, right?

That is just scratching the surface of GameSalad, though. The power behind the app allows you to easily create games for iOS, Android, HTML5, and Mac without ever having to worry about porting them over and over.

Although GameSalad strives to be easy and accessible to anyone out there, it is good to note that this application can get extremely complex. The games you can develop may not be Diablo III, or Call of Duty grade, but that doesn’t mean that you’re limited to just a few things here and there. On the contrary, GameSalad can help you create the next big thing on the Mac App Store probably giving us a chance to feature your game here!

It is kind of hard to tell you how GameSalad works without transforming this review into a full-blown tutorial, but here is a small rundown:

When you start, you’ll first be asked if you want to create a blank game, start with a template, or open a saved file. When you are ready to create your game, you’ll be taken to the Game Creator. There, you can choose the platform your game will play on, input a name, description, instructions, and tags for your game.

Once you are done with that, you’ll move on to the Scenes tab. There you can add Scenes which are basically the different screens and scenarios or levels your games will have. For example, one scene will act as your intro screen, the other will function as your main menu, while a third will be the game itself.

After that, you have the Actors tab. Actors are basically anything that exist within Scenes. (Yes, there is quite a few keywords used by GameSalad, so the manual will really help you out.) These Actors can range from buttons, controls, and backgrounds to enemies, player characters, and visible (or invisible) objects. They (as well as Scenes) can be edited separately. You can give them names, colors, actions, and more.

To shed more light on the things you can accomplish with this app, let’s take a look at some of GameSalad’s key features.

No Coding Necessary – This is perhaps the biggest promise GameSalad will give you. Aimed for designers without much or any coding knowledge, the ability to create games without having to worry about code is both satisfying and encouraging. The editor gives you an immense variety of options to bring your dream game to reality, so you won’t need to spend months writing code.

Testing – GameSalad comes with the GameSalad Viewer that allows you to play and test your games on all your devices in order to polish your game free of any bugs, that is. But that is not it. While you can test all your games across devices, you can also test them right from the GameSalad Creator. Additionally, you can test your game on Safari.

Publishing – Some of you will love GameSalad for this feature alone. And why shouldn’t you. It is not only intuitive, but it also saves time and effort. Basically, this feature let’s you publish your game to the GameSalad Arcade with the push of a button. You can also publish your game directly to the web, Mac, or any iOS device (and Android if you have the Pro version). There is more, though. If you need to update your game, you’ll be able to push that update with ease. Once your update is pushed, GameSalad will take care of the rest and automatically update your game no matter where it is embedded.

Even though GameSalad let’s you develop a game without writing one line of code, there is one down side to it. GameSalad can be outrageously intimidating. With ton of options, menus, features, and complexities that power the app, getting into GameSalad is no joy ride. But that applies to any application, really. I mean, if you give Photoshop to someone who has never heard of it, they will most likely be intimidated by the sheer amount of features Photoshop processes. This is true with GameSalad as well.

This is where the GameSalad Community comes in. If you give the same person Photoshop and a link to PSD.TutsPlus, he or she will probably be able to conjure up something pretty sweet. With GameSalad, you have a great deal of documentation, help, boards and video tutorials at your disposal. There is absolutely no excuse to not try it out.

Oh, and if all fails, just play around with the app’s options. Hitting the wrong thing isn’t the end of the world.

Nope, GameSalad is not the end all be all game creation application, but, it does empower you with everything you need to create a sweet iOS game. While, yes, GameSalad can be a little complex as you get more into it, this app is still a sweet tool to have if you want to create mobile games without knowing how to code. That by itself is reason alone for aspiring game designers to take a look at this great application.

One of the more amazing things about our smartphones is that they don’t just put the capabilities of computers and cameras into small, portable form factors, they also leverage the combination of being both these things to give ordinary users the access to tools that previously required advanced photoshopping skills. Case in point: today, a new application called Groopic is launching that lets you take group pictures that also include the photographer snapping the photo.

Over the July 4th weekend at the beach, a gaggle of teenagers near me were snapping iPhone photos of each other standing in front of the waves. I overheard one lament, “I thought you wanted to take a photo with me!” I do, the other had replied, explaining that she also wanted a picture of the others together. The group then rearranged themselves into various configurations over and over so everyone got to be in a picture next to their friends.

Groopic could have solved their problem of wanting a group photo — well, so could have handing their phone over to one of the many beachgoers packed onto the crowded sand, I suppose. But maybe the teens didn’t want to bother anyone, or risk some stranger dropping their phone in the surf.

So instead, they just missed out on a real group photo.

Designed by a company called Eyedeus Labs, Groopic uses patent-pending technology developed by a team of five that includes nearly two PhD’s (one is just wrapping his up, explains CEO Ali Rehan). Combined, the team has over 25 years of experience in computer vision research.

The company is focused on creating a new genre of camera-based applications that use computer vision, Rehan tells us. “Using our computer vision technology, we aim to bridge the gap between vision research and industry and, in turn, reshape how people interact with smartphones and cameras,” he says.

Launching first on iPhone, Groopic is the company’s first product. The app is targeted at those aged 18 to 34 – the ones who take the most smartphone photos. Using the app is simple enough. In three steps, users take two photos with their iPhone, then mark the photographers in each one. Groopic then does its magic to automatically combine these incomplete pictures into one.

There are some limitations to the technology, of course. The app requires you stand or sit to the left or right of the group if you’re the one whose image is being swapped out. But, as the clever in-app tutorial teaches you, actually mashing up the two photos only takes a few taps. Snap the photos. Tap the photographers (no need to drag your finger around to outline them, just tap them.) And you’re done.

Rehan says the research team is also involved with prototyping other new technology, and currently has a number of proof of concepts built on PCs that are being ported to smartphones. “Right now, we have some really interesting ‘natural user interface’ gaming demos on cellphones,” he teases.

Eyedeus Labs is now working to bring Groopic to Android. But for now, Groopic is $1.99 in the iTunes App Store here.