40 Awesome iPhone Application Websites

iPhone applications are hotter than ever. So how do these applications stand out and get noticed?

One great way to do this is by creating a great website design that showcases these applications in the best possible way.

These sites are usually very focused, professional and clean. You will also notice that there’s usually a video displayed in an iPhone casing that shows how these applications are used.

In this post we bring you 40 excellent websites designed to showcase iPhone and iPod touch applications.

1. Tap Tap Tap

Tap Tap Tap develops games, entertainment apps and useful tools.

2. Weightbots

Weightbots helps you keep track of your weight. You can track your progress easily in a very beautiful and easy to use interface.

3. Sourcebits

Sourcebits is a software development company that has created several iPhone apps.

4. AirPhones

AirPhones allows you to wirelessly listen to audio from your computer on an iPhone or iPod touch using Wi-Fi, making it work like wireless headphones.

5. WordPress

WordPress, the popular blogging platform, also has an iPhone app. This app allows you to write and publish posts directly to your WordPress blog.

6. Things

Things is one of the top task manager applications for the Mac as well as the iPhone and iPod touch. It is easy to use and its many features increase productivity. You can even sync the iPhone and iPod version with the desktop version wirelessly using Wi-Fi.

7. Classics

Classics is an application that holds many great books that you can read on your iPhone.

8. Ego

Ego allows you to check your status on multiple different services such as FeedBurner, Google Analytics, Mint, and Twitter.

9. Mock Draft

Mock Draft allows football fans to watch highlights and scout players.

10. Parking

This app provides a timer and GPS location tracking to help you avoid getting a parking ticket.

11. iShots

A fun app that shows 20 recipes for shots, that is a fun app to play with on St. Patrick’s day.

12. Mint for iPhone

Mint is a popular budgeting application that is also available for the iPhone. You can check your account balances anywhere, and access accounting and budget information.

13. Behance Action Method

Behance’s task manager and productivity software on the iPhone is free. You can create To-Do items, manage project plans, and send notices to others.

14. Delivery Status

This application allows you to track packages from top shipping companies such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, and TNT.

15. Spoonjuice

Spoonjuice is another development studio that has several iPhone applications. They design and invent fun and playful applications.

16. Tapulous

Tapulous is the creator of Tap Tap, a Guitar Hero like game, and many other games as well as tools.

17. iFood Assistant

This application from Kraft gives recipes and food ideas for over 7,000 meals.

18. Gas Cubby

This application is an excellent tool to help you track gas mileage and maintenance records for your car.

19. Frenzic

Frenzic is another fun puzzle game for the iPhone.

20. Snow Reports

Snow Reports shows the latest snow reports from ski mountains worldwide. It shows information such as amounts of snow, weather reports, trail information and lift reports.

21. Bottle Rocket

Bottle Rocket is a development studio that has numerous applications, including games and helpful tools. One of these is Voice Recorder, which allows you to take voice notes.

22. Mustache

Mustache is another great development firm with three awesome apps, including an application to help users quit smoking, a Twitter search tool and a March Madness application.

23. Tweetie

Tweetie is a fully featured Twitter client and one of the top apps to manage your Twitter account.

24. Evernote for iPhone

Evernote is an application that helps you remember things by allowing you to create notes, take photo notes, record a voice memo and more.

25. Fieldrunners

Fieldrunners is a strategy game with stunning graphics, developed exclusively for the iPhone.

26. 1Password

This application saves and stores passwords to make logging into websites easier. It also synchronizes your passwords with the Mac version.

27. Firetask

Firetask is yet another task manager application. You can manage projects and due dates, along with many other features.

28. FileMagnet

FileMagnet enables users to move files from their computer to their iPhone very easily. You can copy files quickly, and it is cross-platform compatible.

29. Where To?

Where To? is an application that helps you find businesses based on your location.

30. Sketches

Sketches makes it easy for you take notes and sketch on the iPhone.

31. Tipulator

Tipulator does a great job at calculating tips. You can calculate a tip based on total cost, percent and number of people.

32. ShareCard

ShareCard is an easy way to move contact information to and from your iPhone/iPod touch and to other iPhones through email.

33. Parablox

Parablos is a fun and interactive puzzle game.

34. Pharos IV Assualt

A shooter game for the iPhone and iPod touch.

35. Noter2

Noter2 lets you sync your iPhone with the Noter Mac application. It allows you to easily create quick notes.

36. Real Soccer 2009

This is a fun and realistic soccer game for the iPhone.

37. Zumobi

Zumobi is a development firm with many iPhone apps.

38. FlightTrack Pro

A great app that helps you track your flights, check flight status around the world, check airport weather, and more.

39. Shooter

This is a tactical game based off the movie Shooter.

40. Monopoly

EA Mobile has a Monopoly application for the iPhone.

Which ones do you use? Can you recommend other great websites for iPhone applications like these?

Source : Webdesign Depot

Pocket adds text to speech functionality

While Pocket makes reading and saving information from the internet easier, it now also reads information to users with the new text to speech functionality

Pocket, a popular information saving application for Android which was earlier known as Read it Later, has received a new update.

Pocket application allows users to save information available on the internet in the form of text, images and videos available online in simple easy to read snippets. This makes it easy to find those interesting bits of information when needed later.

With the latest upgrade, Pocket has acquired a new function that allows the application to read out text saved in the app. It comes in real handy when the user is traveling or simply does not have the time to read.

With Pocket, users can select almost any web page, video or images and can save it for future reference. The application also makes content available offline so that users do not even need an active internet connection to see the content they have saved. Also, the content is available for all linked devices so that users can save that useful article on their mobile during the day to read later on the big screens of their tablet while they relax at home.

Pocket application, which was earlier paid, has been made absolutely free for Android users. Users can get the updated application right off the Android applications store or they can also use the following link to download it on their device.

Source : The Mobile Indian

Twitter app for Android gets a host of improvements

The new update brings added security and much better profile management for Twitter Android app.

Popular social networking website Twitter has rolled out a new update for its Android based application. With this new update, the Twitter application has now the ability to handle profile images and images entered in posts as well.

Users will now be able to view profiles with images that have bigger header shots too. Along with that the new update adds the ability to view photo streams from profiles and events all from within the application.

Also, the users of this new application can get the ability to see the images in full detail with the new added ability to zoom in on images, utilising the device's pinch to zoom functionality. With this new addition users can view images better and even in full screen mode right from within the native application and without having to use any third party solutions.

Twitter has now also improved protected account management including the ability to accept or deny follower requests. Last but not least, the update also brings much needed search suggestions for people, topics and hash tags. Searching for users will now be much more effective as the search widget in the app will suggest and auto complete names that users try to search for.

Source : The Mobile Indian

12 Essential Rules to Follow When Designing a Logo

The logo is the face of any brand — the very first impression — so its design is extremely important.

When executed correctly, a logo is a powerful asset to your client’s brand.

However, creating an effective visual representation of a brand requires much more than just graphic design.

Like any line of work that involves a set of specific skills, logo design requires plenty of practice and experience for it to be successful; knowledge is definitely power for any graphic designer.

For this reason, we have outlined 12 essential rules to follow in order to design an effective logo.

1. Preliminary Work Is a Must

Preliminary sketches are an important first step in designing an effective logo.

These can be as simple as paper and pen drawings or drafts made using a vector program, such as Illustrator.

The bottom line is that you compromise the final result if you rush, or skip, this step.

Start with 20 to 30 sketches or ideas and then branch out to create variations of the original ideas.

If nothing seems to work, start over and begin sketching new ideas.

An effective graphic designer will spend more time on this preliminary work than any other step in the design process.

2. Create Balance

Balance is important in logo design because our minds naturally perceive a balanced design as being pleasing and appealing.

Keep your logo balanced by keeping the “weight” of the graphics, colors, and size equal on each side.

Though the rule of balance can occasionally be broken, remember that your logo will be viewed by the masses, not just those with an eye for great art, so a balanced design is the safest approach.

3. Size Matters

When it comes to logo design, size does matter. A logo has to look good and be legible at all sizes.

A logo is not effective if it loses too much definition when scaled down for letterheads, envelopes, and small promotional items. The logo also has to look good when used for larger formats, such as posters, billboards, and electronic formats such as TV and the Web.

The most reliable way to determine if a logo works at all sizes is to actually test it yourself.

Note that the smallest scale is usually the hardest to get right, so start by printing the logo on a letterhead or envelope and see if it is still legible.

You can also test for large-scale rendering by printing a poster-sized version at a print shop.

4. Clever Use of Color

Color theory is complex, but designers who understand the basics are able to use color to their advantage.

The basic rules to keep in mind are:

• Use colors near to each other on the color wheel (e.g. for a “warm” palette, use red, orange, and yellow hues).
• Don’t use colors that are so bright that they are hard on the eyes.
• The logo must also look good in black and white, grayscale, and two colors.
• Breaking the rules sometimes is okay; just make sure you have a good reason to!

Knowing how colors evoke feelings and moods is also important. For example, red can evoke feelings of aggression, love, passion, and strength.

Keep this in mind as you try out different color combinations, and try to match the color to the overall tone and feel of the brand.

Playing around with individual colors on their own is another good idea. Some brands are recognizable solely by their distinct color.

For example, when you think of John Deere, you think of the “John Deere green” color, and this sets this brand apart from its competitors and, more importantly, makes the brand all the more recognizable.

5. Design Style Should Suit the Company

You can use various design styles when creating a logo, and to pick the right one, you should have some background information about the client and the brand.

A recent trend in logo design is the Web 2.0 style of 3D-looking logos, with “bubbly” graphics, gradients, and drop shadows.

This style may work well for a Web 2.0 website or tech company, but may not be effective for other kinds of brands.

Research your client and its audience before you begin your preliminary work.

This will help you determine the best design style from the start and save you from having to return repeatedly to the drawing board.

6. Typography Matters… a Lot!

Choosing the right font type and size is much more difficult than many beginner designers realize.

If your logo design includes text, either as part of the logo or in the tagline, you will need to spend time sorting through various font types — often, dozens of them — and testing them in your design before making a final decision.

Try both serif fonts and sans-serif fonts as well as script, italics, bold, and custom fonts.

Consider three main points when choosing a font to accompany your logo design:

• Avoid the most commonly used fonts, such as Comic Sans, or else your design may come off as amateurish.
• Make sure the font is legible when scaled down, especially with script fonts.
• One font is ideal, and avoid more than two.

Strongly consider a custom font for your design. The more original the font, the more it will distinguish the brand. Examples of successful logos that have a custom font are Yahoo!, Twitter, and Coca Cola.

7. The Goal IS Recognition 

The whole point of creating a logo is to build brand recognition. So, how do you go about doing this?

Well, it varies from case to case, but the goal with the logo is for the average person toinstantly call the brand to mind.

A few examples of this are the logos for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald’s, and Nike.

Just a glimpse of any of these logos is all you need to recognize the brands.

The key to making a popular and recognizable logo is to combine all of the elements discussed in this article: size, style, color, typography, and originality.

Overlooking any of these during the design process will impair the quality of your final design. Examine your own logo design and see whether it meets all of these criteria.

A quick test to determine if your logo is recognizable enough is to invert it using any graphic design software and see if you can still recognize the brand. Additionally, you should mirror the logo and see if it’s easily recognizable in this state.

Keep in mind that logos aren’t always seen head-on in real world situations, for example, on the side of a bus or a billboard that you drive by.

Therefore, you should make sure to view your logo design from all angles and ensure that it’s recognizable from any direction before submitting it to your client.

8. Dare to be Different

To stand out from the competition, you must distinguish yourself as a designer with a distinct style. Rather than copy another design or style, be innovative and stand out from the crowd.

So, how can you be different? Try breaking the rules of design and taking risks.

Try a variety of styles to find the one that works best for your client. Try different color combinations until you find one that makes your design truly original.

Have fun with the design program you use, and keep tweaking the design until you feel you’ve got it right.

9. K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple, Stupid)

The simpler the logo, the more recognizable it will be.

For example, the Nike swoosh is an extremely simple logo and is also one of the most recognizable in the world.

Follow the K.I.S.S. rule right from the start of the design process, when you are brainstorming ideas and doodling sketches.

Often, you’ll find that you start with a relatively complicated design and end up with a simpler version of it in the end.

Work the design down to its essentials and leave out all unnecessary elements.

10. Go Easy on Effects 

Adobe Illustrator, Freehand, Photoshop, and other graphic design programs are extremely powerful tools and have many filters and effects that you can apply to your logo, but don’t get carried away!

There’s a time and place for these powerful tools, but it is not necessarily to design a logo.

Of course, playing around and seeing whether they enhance a logo is fine, but just remember that simplicity is key.

11. Develop a Design “Assembly Line”

To produce consistently high-quality logos, you need to develop your own design process, or “assembly line.” This should include the following steps:

• Research
• Brainstorm and generate ideas
• Preliminary sketches
• Develop vector designs
• Send to client
• Add or remove anything the client wants
• Finalize the design and resubmit to client

Although you may want to tweak the order slightly, you should follow these basic steps with each logo design.

This will help you streamline your work, stay organized, maintain focus, and deliver better quality and more consistent results with each job.

12. Use Other Designs for Inspiration Only!

The last rule for designing an effective logo is quite simple: don’t copy other designers’ work! While there’s nothing wrong with being inspired by other designers, copying another person’s ideas or work is morally and legally wrong.

Gallery websites exist that let you use vector art images free of charge, with proper attribution under the Creative Commons License, but I strongly recommend not going this route.

These websites can be helpful for getting ideas during the brainstorming stage, but you’re better off starting your design from scratch and making it 100% original.

ZTE to launch Firefox OS phones this year

ZTE plans to roll out low cost smartphones based on Firefox OS. Currently the company sells phones with Android and Windows Phone OS.

China based mobile handset vendor ZTE will introduce a new mobile operating system later this year or early next year. ZTE, while announcing this, added that the OS has been developed in association with Mozilla, the maker of Firefox web browser.

However, it is not clear if this new operating system will be the same as the Firefox operating system which Mozilla has announced or whether it will be a different version specially designed for ZTE.

The confusion comes from a statement by ZTE spokesman David Dai Shu who said, "We are trying to increase our efforts in coming up with our own operating system, while introducing products based on Android."

Mozilla had earlier said that its mobile operating system has support from network operators like Deutsche Telekom, Sprint, Smart, Telecom Italia, Telenor and Etisalat.

If indeed ZTE gets its own OS made with Mozilla's help, it will fragment Firefox OS even before the platform is launched.

ZTE currently sells smartphones based on Android operating system and also has a few phones based on the Windows Phone operating system from Microsoft.

ZTE doesn't sell its own branded phones. Rather, its handsets are sold by operators under their own brand name. ZTE, however, has confirmed to The Mobile Indian that it plans to launch ZTE-branded phones in the Indian market soon and it is in the planning stages for the launch.