QuickTip is a fast and easy way to calculate tips on your next restaurant bill.

The app contains a simple slider that lets you easily adjust the tip percentage. Adjusting the slider will let you view the tip and total bill amount in real-time. Another handy feature is the app lets you round the total bill up or down to the nearest dollar with the tap of a button.

QuickTip also works with all international currencies. Handy for those overseas vacations or business trips!

Screenshots:

Get for $0.99 in the App Store: QuickTip
More Info: Spare Change Software

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Doug Penny, QuickTip, Spare Change Software

One of the best looking and most popular racing games yet in the App Store is Asphalt 4: Elite Racing.

The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is very easy. Grab onto your iPhone like a steering wheel and speed your way through 5 racing modes, and 9 cities.

If you’re a fan of multiplayer, Asphalt 4: Elite Racing has an exclusive Wi-Fi multiplayer mode. Grab your friends (and their iPhones) and buckle in for some intense racing right on your device.

If you’re a fan of the other popular racing games for the iPhone, i.e. Cro-Mag Rally, Crash Bandicoot Nitro Cart and Need For Speed… You’re going to really enjoy this title as well.

Screenshots:

Buy for $9.99 in the App Store: Asphalt 4: Elite Racing
More Info: Gameloft

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Asphalt 4: Elite Racing, Gameloft

Remember the carnival classic ‘Whack-a-Mole‘? Now there’s a new game you can play on your iPhone that is essentially the same idea. It’s called ‘Wack a Gopher‘ and is from Zenat Design.

In Wack a Gopher the goal is to, um, whack the gopher’s by touching the screen when and where they pop up at you. There are all kinds of levels and goals to reach, so this adds a little extra interest and playability to the game. 3 difficulty settings are also built-in, so if you get too good, crank up the difficulty would ya?

When ‘whacking’ the moles, be sure to use a light tap on the screen instead of a hard one. The latest update made a fix here, and changed up things so that you do not have to hit the screen so hard.

This one is currently selling in the app store for only $0.99. An appropriate price point me thinks.

Screenshots:

Get for $0.99 in the App Store: Wack a Gopher
More Info: 3 Wise Guy Productions

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: 3 Wise Guy Productions, Wack a Gopher, Zenat Design

Face Melter? Face Melter!? Yes, that’s honestly what the app is called! When I checked it out at the app store today I knew I had to write about it!

Face Melter is a very simple and fun app to use. Basically, it lets you take any image stored on your iPhone… and using your finger you can pinch, push and pull the pixels of the image around. Magnify eyes and blow them up to insane proportions with the touch of a finger. It’s kind of like molding with clay, except here you’re working with pixels!

It’s tons of fun, especially if you use it to distort a friends’ picture, and then set it as their caller ID picture. Each time they call you they will probably wonder why you’re laughing… But you’ll know the real reason.

Check out the screens below for some examples. Truly a fun and whimsical little app.

Screenshots:

Buy for $1.99 at the App Store: Face Melter
More Info: Face Melter

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Face Melter, Nico Becherer

MacWorld UK has reported that Spore is due to hit the virtual shelves today in the App Store. No idea whether this is true for the US and Canada stores as well, but I’ll keep an eye out and let you know.

Spore is one of the most highly anticipated games for the iPhone. The game was first announced in 2005, although it was said to have taken seven years to completely develop. The premise of the game is that it takes you through the process of evolution. From simple one-cell organisms up through advanced creatures capable of space travel.

Should be a good one!

[via MacWorld UK]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone Games, Spore, Will Wright

College Football fans have a new iPhone app that they can play with all day long. It comes from the Associated Press, and is called the AP Top 25 College Football 2008 Edition.

The app essentially gives you the AP Top 25 poll data, as it changes week to week. The poll has long been the standard measuring stick of a teams power in NCAA football.

Flip through the weekly poll with the touch of a finger. See who has moved up and down. Touch a team to view their progress during the season… Plus, you can get game scores, recaps, photos, podcasts and a whole lot more as well.

For only $0.99, this app gives you all kinds of bang for you buck.

Screenshots:

Get for $0.99 at the App Store: AP Top 25 College Football 2008

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: AP iPhone App, AP Top 25 College Football, AP Top 25 Poll

Are you a fan of LinkedIn? Do you use it all the time to network and organize your professional contacts? If so, I have some good news today.

LinkedIn is now available for the iPhone, and the application harnesses much of the power available via their main website. With the app you can get the latest updates from your network, find vital contact information, search for new or existing contacts and more. It’s the perfect companion to the busy professional on the go. Keep your network up-to-date, no matter where you are, with the LinkedIn app for the iPhone!

LinkedIn is available in 6 languages, and you can get it for FREE in the app store! If you use this social networking service, might as well plunk it onto your iPhone, right?

Screenshots:

Get for FREE at the App Store: LinkedIn

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: LinkedIn, LinkedIn Corporation, Social Networking App, Social Networking iPhone App

Movies is currently the top free app in the App Store. This simple and easy-to-use app lest you find local show times, buy the tickets, and even watch the movie trailers to give you a little bit of a preview. Use it when you’re in a pinch to find the movies that are playing close to you… Say goodbye to the newspaper, or even other online sites or services… With Movies you’ll get the info you need, fast, right from your iPhone.

The app also lets you view the box office leaders, new movies and coming attractions. Search the app’s database of over 50,000 movies (and growing) and a whole lot more.

For anyone that really loves going to the movies… This FREE app is an absolute must have.

Screenshots:

Get for FREE at the App Store: Movies

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Flixster, Jeffrey Grossman, Movies iPhone App

One of the top paid apps available in the App Store to date is Koi Pond from The Blimp Pilots.

The app is simple. Relax and clear your mind while staring into a clear pond of crystal blue water. Watch fish (Koi Fish, of course!) swimming in the pond. You can run your fingers across the surface of the pond, and create ripples across the water surface. Doing so will disturb the koi, and they will swim away!

To quote Monty Python, this one is completely different. But it seems to be very popular! The water simulation and colors are breathtaking… and there is even a 4 layer ambient soundtrack that you can fiddle with to get just the right balance for your listening pleasure. In the latest version you can even touch and move lily pads around the pond

For only $0.99, the app is priced right. If you need the occasional ‘zen’ or relaxing break during the day, Koi Pond might be what you’re looking for.

Screenshots:

Get for $0.99 in the App Store: Koi Pond
More Info: The Blimp Pilots

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Brandon Bogle, Koi Pond, The Blimp Pilots

Need to get your news instantly, no matter where you are? Good news is there are a number of great RSS readers for your iPhone, one of them being NetNewsWire.

Setup NetNewsWire, and you can read news from any site that publishes an RSS feed. NetNewsWire also syncs with all of NewsGator’s free RSS readers (NetNewsWire for your Mac!) so when you read a news item on your iPhone, when you get back to your Mac, the news item will be marked as read.

If you ever find the need to save a news item for later, you can do so using the ‘clippings’ feature. Any item you clip will become available on your other computers. Handy when you simply don’t have time to check it out… so it saves it for when you have more time.

I’ve used NetNewsWire a bunch in the past (for the Mac), and some others as well (namely NewsFire). Both of these perform well. I’ve found it really comes down to personal preferences… So my advice would be to try this one out, and if you don’t like it, try another

Many bugs and fixes have been addressed in the latest release… And for the price (FREE), it’s worth it for anyone that enjoys reading news via a solid RSS reader.

Screenshots:

Get for FREE at the App Store: NetNewsWire
More Info: NewsGator

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: NetNewsWire, NetNewsWire iPhone, NewsFire, NewsGator