Flappy Bird – 1, Mankind – 0

I decided to hop on the Flappy Bird bandwagon after seeing an ominous Facebook post warning the rest of the world that no matter how bored you are, DO NOT download Flappy Bird. Apparently, this game which has been out since May 2013, recently and mysteriously went viral.

That kind of a warning is the surest way to get someone interested in this quiet little game that suddenly went viral. Kids everywhere are playing it, adults like myself can barely get past the first pipe!

The game certainly doesn’t score points in the looks department. I instinctively look for Mario and perhaps a colorful red and white mushroom to pop out. The art here is rather plain and dull looking.

Flappy Bird has generated enormous attention as the game du jour with some writers mystified and frustrated about the game’s soaring popularity. Maybe because it’s free? Maybe because it’s supposed to be simple but it’s not? Is it because this game unites both iPhone and Android users, therefore, the entire smartphone toting world? Are mobile games going downhill? Whatever reason it may be, it’s undeniable that Flappy Bird now gets 15 minutes of fame the same way Candy Crush took over the world for some time.

Perhaps the game’s real secret is its infuriatingly simple premise : just get past the spaces between the darn pipes by tapping on the screen to propel your flappy bird. Tap too hard and you will hit the pipe. Tap too slowly you fall into the pipe instead. Timing and excellent eye to hand coordination is the name of the game. Believe me, it’s not as easy as it seems.

For some reason, Flappy Bird is more of a tappy bird, in my humble opinion, but knowing this doesn’t make me push past my all time high score of four.

iCloud: How To Transfer Content from Your Old iPad to Your New iPad

When the old gives way to the new, the excitement of a new device wanes a little when faced with a daunting prospect: transferring a year or years’ worth of apps and files from the old device to a new one.

When I bought the new iPad (3rd gen) in Singapore a few weeks ago, I didn’t bring my mother computer with me, only the iPad 2 I was using before that. Without my computer and itching to try out the latest iPad, I thought of installing the stuff from my iPad 2 to my new one it via iCloud. To cut a long story short, it worked! So I’m sharing my experience doing the hassle-free transfer for those of you who would want to do the same.

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iOS App Review: Say Hello to the New appSIZED Report Card!

Appsized report card

 It took a lot of thinking, but finally, appSIZED now has an official review rating system to make app shopping a little easier for you, dear reader.

The appSIZED report card summarizes what an app is all about and if you should get it. The criteria is pretty easy to understand, and I believe it covers what we all look for in an app.

You’ll see how the report card works in upcoming app reviews, so please stay tuned!

 

appSIZED: Top 10 iPhone and iPad Games of 2011

Quirky jellies. Adorable warriors. Reformist prison guard. Giant dancing unicorn. Funny army troops. FBI’s oddball puzzle agent. Elegant hand-to-hand combat. Cheerleader vs zombies. Ardanian wit meets tough strategy. These are appSIZED’s Top 10 iOS Original Games for 2011.

It was not easy coming up with appSIZED’s Top 10 games for 2011. This year, I wanted to give credit to iOS original titles – that is, fun, compelling and high quality games that first appeared on the iOS platform. The following games were chosen for the following reasons: they make use of the touch screen and multitouch well, they have excellent graphics and sounds, and they bring something new and/or great to their respective genres. I highly recommend that you put them on your app shopping list.

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How to Update to iOS 5.0.1 on Your iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

The latest update to iOS 5 is important for a number of reasons, the primary one being that it lets us users get a taste of how it is to be able to download software updates directly to our mobile device. This means update anytime, anywhere, without PC tethering.

One touted feature of iOS 5 for iPads, iPhone and iPod Touch is the wireless syncing and updating of your iDevice without having to be physically connected to your PC. Back in the day, it was simply a pain to download software updates via iTunes or even directly download the firmware- the perpetually busy iTunes server usually timed out on me just before the update was finished.

Of course, the prospect of a direct download now available on iOS 5 can be scary. A critical question is, how big a file is an update and how fast will it download and install? What about our data? What if it gets lost in the installation process? Having successfully updated to iOS 5.0.1 on my iPhone and iPad 2, here are some tips:

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Strategy, Tips and Tricks: Monsters Ate My Condo!

As you may know already, I love Monsters Ate My Condo, and I am still trying to work my way up in the leaderboards. As a certified M.A.M.C. addict, I’d like to share with you some of my strategy, tips and tricks. (Note: check out the review of the newly released Super Monsters Ate My Condo here)

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iPhone 4S = iPhone 4 Steve and His Legacy

Amid excitement about the possible launch of the iPhone 5, a rather disappointed world was instead introduced to the iPhone 4S by new Apple CEO Tim Cook in his first public appearance in that capacity. A few hours later, Apple announced to the world that Steve Jobs had passed away. Then the rather subdued tone of the iPhone 4S launch made sense.

The death of Steve Jobs, Apple’s iconic founder and widely regarded as its heart and soul likewise raised questions, does the iPhone 4S really mean “iPhone 4 Steve” and if not, why not call it iPhone 4 Steve in honor of the man? Let’s dig a little deeper into what-isn’t-the-iPhone-5 and what could be the last – or the first of many, of the legacy of Steve Jobs.

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