iPhone app roundup: Myst, Isotope, Email and Walk

June 15, 2009 | Paul Boutin | Comments | |

We now get so many iPhone app announcements that doing a post on each one would turn VentureBeat into AppBeat. So I’m going to bundle a few of the more interesting ones together into roundup posts. I’m into the business opportunities of iPhone apps, rather than product reviews. When appropriate, I’ll link to 148apps reviews or other thorough product evaluations.

isotopeIsotope

Price: $6.99

148Apps rating: 4.5 out of 5

Isotope looks like an old-school arcade game from the Tempest era. It has spaceships you can build out to fight off your colorful enemies at a full 30 frames per second. You’ll have to earn your store credits, though. Maybe I’ve been hanging out with too many VCs, but that bothered me. Why can’t I buy upgrades with my iTunes account?

mystlogoMyst

Price: $5.99

148Apps rating: 4.5 out of 5

Yes, this is the Myst you played on your Mac in 1994, ported to the iPhone to wring another six bucks from your sweaty middle-aged hands.  Be warned, it’s still as contagious as the first season of Lost. Remember to plug in your charger before you get sucked into draining your battery.

myst595

emailnwalklogo1Email and Walk

Price: $.99

148Apps rating: 3.5 out of 5

Email and WalkWhy didn’t Apple build this in? Email and Walk connects to your iPhone’s camera to show you where you’re going onscreen, so you won’t walk into a lamppost. The one roadblock is Apple’s keyboard widget, which lacks a transparent mode. So you can only sort of see where you’re going while you type.

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About the Author, Paul Boutin

Paul (paul@venturebeat.com) covers Apple & the iPhone, social networks & social media, digital music & video, and any crazy Internet story. Paul wrote and edited for Valleywag from 2006-2008, after several years with Wired magazine and Slate. He writes regularly for The New York Times' technology section and sometimes for Wired and The Wall Street Journal. He studied computer science at MIT in the early 1980s, and worked as a software developer and network administrator for 15 years before becoming a professional writer. Follow him on Twitter at @paulboutin, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Myst!!! Brilliant! I never did finish it, now I can try on the train home from work, awesome!
  • Joe
    Yeah, email and walk is a funny concept but still useful.
    However, beware those OS updates!