iPhone Applications

Most people think of tag as a child's game, however it can foster competition and a whole lot of running around. Now adults can play tag with their friends and the latest update to the Nike+ GPS iPhone app. The new version adds several games that will have runners setting up athletic contests between them and their friends in no time.

It's simple, track your run and then tag your friends using the app. They have three days to participate while you sit back and see who picks up their iPhone and runs. They can try to beat your distance, time, or even just be the first one to step up to your challenge.

Google has updated the Google Mobile app once again, this time to version 0.7.3.5675. The notable changes are added functionality to the Google Goggles part of the app centering around photo recognition. For those not familiar with Goggles, the app recognizes images and allows users to search using a photo taken with their iPhone camera.

The new version will recognize print ads from August 2010 forward, making it possible to simply snap a photo of a magazine or newspaper ad to get more information about a product or manufacturer online. Not only this, but Google has incorporated a Sudoku puzzle solver into the mix. Snap a photo of the puzzle that has you stumped and Goggles will show you the solution.

After only four months, VLC Media Player is no longer available on the App Store. This free app makes it possible to play a variety of media formats on iOS devices without first converting them to the normal iPhone video format. If you haven't already downloaded the app, you've missed the boat.

The problem stems from incompatibilities between Apple's App Store Digital Rights Management (DRM) policies and the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) that governs distribution of some open source software including VLC. In fact, many observers were surprised to see Applidium's port of VLC appear in the App Store in the first place.

As you're already likely very aware, countless iPhone owners overslept the first two days of 2011 because of a bug in the iPhone's software that prevented alarms scheduled to go off on January 1 or January 2 from doing so. Apple acknowledged the bug publically, and indicated that not only was a fix in the works -- but that iPhone owners could expect their alarms to begin working on January 3 without needing to do anything. The only problem? For many of you, January 3 rolled around, and your alarm failed to go off yet again. The good news? There appears to be a simple fix.

Looking for a way to sync your clocks and watch the ball drop in Times Square? Most people will just watch television, but now you can bring the whole experience to a new level with the Times Square Official New Year's Eve Ball App 2011. This free download is packed with features for your iPhone.

Not only is there a commercial-free streaming webcast of the event included, a countdown clock is synced to the ball and displayed in your local time zone. Assuming you're not in Times Square, you can measure how many miles away you are from the center of New York City's biggest NYE party.