Any of our long time readers know that Astraware is one of my favorite mobile game developers.  Their Astraware Sudoku was one of the first apps I reviewed, and is still among my favorite Sudoku apps of all time.  Three years ago, in June 2007, Astraware released a fantastic pack of Solitaire games, the aptly names Astraware Solitaire.  At that time, when I reviewed the Windows Mobile version on my Dell Axim, I had this to say:

Anyone can make a computer solitaire game.  Heck, people have been doing that since the early days of programming on the TRS-80 (which used magnetic tapes to store data).  Only Astraware, however, would be twisted enough to turn this simple game into a vicious competition as you scramble to complete your trophy deck,and unlock new images with which to adorn your cards.  They have turned card backs from a simple novelty into a badge of honor and accomplishment…something to brag about.  As they have done with so many other games, Astraware has taken a game with which we thought we were intimately familiar, and twisted it into something new.  Simply put, Solitaire is a shining example of Astraware at its best.

So, I had some pretty high hopes for the iPad version, which one would expect to exhibit the same awesome game play…only better since they could take full advantage of the immense high definition screen on the iPad.  As usual, Astraware far exceeded my expectations.

Right off the bat, you can tell that this is going to be a lot more than just a port of the same game we saw for Windows Mobile.  The home screen gives you instant access to twelve fantastic solitaire games.  Take a minute and enjoy the icons on the cards leading into each game.  These characters play no real role in the games, but offer a light hearted approach to the whole app. 

Tap any of the cards to enter the menu for that game.  I really liked the fact that all of these menus kept with the card game theme, dealing out four cards.  Starting with the upper left, you have a little information about the game.  Tap this one to play.  To the right of that one is your stats for the game.  Bottom left shows the rules of the game.  You can tap this one to customize the rules.  Finally, the bottom right card offers the instructions.  Tap this one for all the rules.  I do wish there had been something more akin to a tutorial.  The rules of these games can get pretty complex, and I always find a hands on tutorial is the easiest way to learn to play.

Let’s go ahead and go back to the main screen for a minute.  Across the top are your main menu items.  Here, you will find the trophy room.  Like the Windows Mobile version, which impressed me so much, your job is to win or accomplish other tasks in order to earn gold cards.  Complete the gold deck and you will unlock it for use in your games.

The other cool thing about this version of Astraware Solitaire is the fact that everything you see before you is completely customizable.  You can choose from dozens of different card backs, a myriad of table colors and styles, and even two different arrangements for the card faces…three once you unlock the full gold deck.  What is great here is that any image on your device can be turned into a card back or table image.  Which means you can have a lot of fun, like the game I created in the above image.

That brings us to the games themselves.  I thought Astraware did a fantastic job with their selection of games.  They had a pretty even mix of difficulty levels, as well as some games based on skill and others based on luck.  This balance means there will be something for everyone from traditional Klondike solitaire to extremely complex Freecell.   In other words, there is something in here for everyone.

The only thing left to look at are the games themselves.  Like some other Astraware games which have come to the iPad recently, I was a little disappointed.  There is not a lot of graphics in a solitaire game.  Pretty much just the table and card backs.  Still, I thought Astraware did a very nice job bringing the game to the big screen of the iPad.  They did a lot more than just make the game bigger to fill the screen.  The ability to use any image on your device as the background makes this a fantastic looking app.

The animation was smooth, which is important for a game like this.  The cards moved across the screen just as easily as the real thing (and considerably more accurately than playing with real cards).  The cards just glide across the screen, landing perfectly at their appointed destinations.

The first time I encountered Astraware Solitaire, back in June 2007, I felt I had found a truly unique solitaire game.  Today, over three years later, that is still exactly the description I would use.  It is not every day you find things like an entire deck of rewards, which can be combined to give you a whole new game play feature.  Card games like this rely on smooth animation and a strong AI understanding of the rules in order to immerse users in the game play experience.  With this one, Astraware nailed it in 2007, and has been improving ever since.  This is one of the few games I have played that truly felt better on my iPad than it did in real life.

Astraware Solitaire is available from the iTunes App Store for just $0.99.  The best part, however, is that this is a universal app, which means iPhone users can upgrade to the iPad version absolutely free.

When I was using Windows Mobile, I took a close look at the top available weather apps, and was literally blown away by SBSH Pocket Weather.   not only was it fantastically accurate, but it took full advantage of Windows Mobile’s propensity for customization.  In a nutshell, the app could be skinned to display pretty much any way you wanted, and with an active community of skinners, non-techies like me could still get their home screen groove on.  I was pretty excited not long ago when we learned that an iPhone version of this amazing weather app was in the works, and today I received an email from our friends at SBSH announcing the release of Pocket Weather for iPhone.  The best part?  It is FREE!!  and coming soon for the iPad.  Keep reading for the full press release.

SBSH announced today the release of the best weather tracking app in the world – PocketWeather for iPhone! Better yet, it is available for free!

PocketWeather brings worldwide weather reports directly to your iPhone/iPod Touch wherever you are, wherever you want to go, and whenever you want! PocketWeather is the most powerful weather tracking solution for iPhone, featuring a robust weather engine wrapped with a stylish and simple to use user interface. PocketWeather features were carefully designed to create the best weather app in the world!
PocketWeather for iPhone Highlights

• Summary – Complete current conditions, Sun and Moon phases with sunrise/set times and much more! Including both basic details and the most advanced weather data!
• Forecast – A one stop view for all your weather forecasting needs! 10 days basic forecast, detailed 10 day forecast for advanced data and hourly forecast.
• Graphs – Graph representation of weather forecast parameters, including yearly averages details!
• Maps – Satellite and radar images, METAR stations data and worldwide earthquake reports – the coolest details all in your iPhone!

Click here to read the release note from our development team and get the complete details about the new PocketWeather for iPhone release.

Pricing and Availability

PocketWeather for iPhone is available for free!
PocketWeather can be downloaded from iTunes App Store at the following link:
http://itunes.apple.com/app/pocketweather-1-weather-app/id375727893?mt=8

Further Information and Download Details
PocketWeather for iPhone web-page and screenshots
PocketWeather is also available for the following platforms:
PocketWeather for Windows Mobile Touch web-page and screenshots
PocketWeather for Windows Mobile Smartphones web-page and screenshots

Support Information
SBSH Support team is available 24/7 to help you with any inquiry
Visit SBSH Forums to share ideas and share your experience with other SBSH users and our development team

Welcome to another great JAMM Giveaway! This time we will make you choose the game you prefer among those currently available from Herocraft. The good news is that we haven’t yet established the number of licenses, but we now they will increase with the numbers of participants!

You may also found interesting today JAMM Developer Interview of game creator Herocraft, who is gently providing us the licenses.

Back to the giveaway, wonder what the rules are? As simple as they can be.

Visit Herocraft site and see what titles are currently available. Then leave your comment below, explaining the game you would like to win and why before 11:59 PM Friday, June  25 (EST). On Saturday we will randomly pick the winners.

Just to remind you what we are talking about:

Farm Frenzy: Try your hand at running a full working farm, keeping an eye on all the animals and selling your wares at market in this fun-filled action-packed arcade game.

Spaceport: A fresh unusual logic game which tasks you with managing a spaceport and ensuring the safety of a whole armada of starships. Good luck captain!

Revival 2: The best turn based strategy for mobile phones is coming back!

Stolen In 60 Seconds: Gold winner of Samsung Game Development Contest 2007, the unique project, with combined genres of strategy and puzzle, is ready to reveal all of the dark corners of the criminal world!

8 in 1: Arcade Park: The Arcade Park collection has been carefully designed to revive legendary games from the past — this pack represents great value with 8 arcade games in one!

Postal Babes: The beautiful gun-toting Postal Babes are back and now they have their own videogame! Help the Postal Babes save the hot University freshers from a group of maniacs who’ve taken them hostage.

Euro Fighter: Take to the skies in your Euro Fighter and annihilate enemy targets on land, sea and air in an effort to put an end to global terrorism.

Ball Rush Aqua: Modern technology brought to a legendary classic: Ball Rush Aqua is an enthralling Arcanoid style game that realizes the eternal ideas of the original, yet brings the whole experience bang up to date!

This is just a selection of some of the games available, so visit Herocraft’s site for the full list and make your choice. And remember, we haven’t yet established the number of licenses, but we now for sure they will increase with the numbers of participants.

So, call your friends and join the Herocraft party!

Now, this is a deal!

Link: Herocraft

The next stop on the JAMM Developer Interview Series finds us sitting down with Alex Polukord, the Sales and Marketing Manager of HeroCraft.  HeroCraft is responsible for bringing several different titles to a vast array of mobile devices / operating systems.

As you read the interview below, please note that JAMM’s questions are in bold font while Alex’s responses are normal.

Finally, please note that we will also be running a HeroCraft contest in conjunction with the interview this week.  Be watching for the separate post on it later today.

What is your role with HeroCraft?

I am the Sales and Marketing Manager for Smartphone and PDA Games. Discovering new markets, new clients, reports, updates, releases, promo campaigns – that’s my job. It’s regularly hectic, you know.

Your waiting for a physical keyboard Android 1 GHz monster could be to an end with the Motorola Droid 2 coming on Verizon. Meanwhile let’s give a look to its review.

I have tried a Motorola Droid (Milestone) and I think it’s a great device.

The Droid 2 will walk the same path of its predecessor, and will look very similar, with minor changes to the keyboard (arrow keys instead of the 5-ways pad) and to its sharp edges, which have been smoothed.

The big difference will be in the inside, as the new Droid 2 will be powered by a 1 GHz TI OMAP3630, instead of the original 550 MHz TI OMAP3430, and will take advantage of twice the RAM, i.e. 512 MB instead of 256 MB. Graphics will be still powered by the same PowerVR SGX530 GPU.

The hands on video is linked below, but I suggest you to visit Android and Me for the review and benchmarks test.

Via: Android and Me