I started out gaming at the early age of 5, but soon enough most of my friends gamed in one form or another, it’s the most regular thing in the world, right? A kid playing around with videogames, back then it felt like the most natural thing in the world, but even then I felt like something was amiss.  I was always more dedicated, more emotional and more addicted (some would say) to gaming.

My gaming addiction became clear around 11^th grade.  It was obvious that gaming was not a phase or a toy for me.   Gaming was a major part of my life, it was what I had been doing for as long as I can remember and it was probably the thing I was most attached to. Soon enough I was the weird guy playing videogames, of course the videogames sub-culture exists, but to the rest of the world you’re a grown man playing with toys.  None of them understood the magic of gaming.  They thought it was silly, stupid and annoying. You could take away school, friends, house, clothes or whatever else and I probably wouldn’t mind nearly as much as if you took my XBOX.  It was at this time I started feeling society slowly but surely pushing me aside, and me pushing myself further away from it.

Until now.

Well, not right now, but in the last couple of years (specifically with the release of angry birds) suddenly… everyone games.  Granted, they don’t pull all night COD sessions, but they’re gaming, and they’re addicted; wherever they go, whatever they do, they’re mobile casual gaming console (or ‘phone’ as some of you sometimes call it) is with them.

Having looked through the very extensive list, I would like to narrow it down to my top 10 iPhone apps for Halloween 2011.

#1 – Angry Birds Seasons

The top of the list has to go to Angry Birds Seasons. Once again the team at Rovio have come together to release another version of the already incredibly successful Angry Birds franchise. In this episode we will be able to waste away the hours by catapulting those eager birds at those green obnoxious pigs in pumpkin patches. Expect to see jack-o-lanterns as well as skeletons popping up all over the place. A highlight is of course a brand new bird that has been introduced to the family!

#2 – Plants vs. Zombies

The next game on my list is of course the ever popular Plants vs. Zombies. Of course this game is not specially designed for Halloween but any game that contains zombies will make an appearance at this time of the year. PopCap, developers of this app, have joined in the Halloween cheer (or should that be chill) by giving an amazing 66% off discount for in app purchases!

#3 – ZombieBooth: 3D Zombifier

With the help of the ever improving iPhone camera, photography apps are becoming more and more popular. From age booths to fat booths, you can do it all on the iPhone. To fit in with the holiday spirit(s), MotionPortrait have released ZombieBooth: 3D Zombifier where you can take your friend’s picture, your dog’s picture or even your own picture and zombiefy it! Nothing says Halloween like a couple of real life zombies!

 #4 – The Berenstain Bears Go on a Ghost Walk

Now one for the kids, we all know and love the Berenstain Bears but unfortunately for them, they are not immune to the powers of the supernatural. Released at a special Halloween price, The Berenstain Bears Go on a Ghost Walk, will undoubtedly prove extremely popular reading once all the trick and treating has been completed.

 #5 – Mickey’s Spooky Night Puzzle Book

Mickey Mouse is also determined to get a slice of the Halloween pie with Mickey’s Spooky Night Puzzle Book. This is an interactive puzzle book, specifically designed for those with smaller fingers. Follow, and take part, as Mickey and his friends explore the haunted house!

 #6 – Zombie Highway

You are all alone on a long desert highway and there are zombies everywhere and if you don’t get them, then you can trust that they will get you! This is the challenge that faces you on Zombie Highway. Its Grand Theft Auto meets I am Legend! Are you up for the challenge?

 #7 – Vampire Origins RELOADED

Enough with the zombies, another of the long suffering creatures of the night are the vampires and in Vampire Origins RELOADED. In this game you are Vincent, a recently resurrected hero and vampire to boot. Help him on his quest to avenge the death of his one great love!

 #8 – DOOM Resurrection

Again, not a specifically Halloween themed app but an app to certainly get you in the mood is DOOM Resurrection. The team at id Software has outdone themselves with this one and there is no doubt this game will keep you hooked for hours as it is up to you defeat Hell’s minions. Once again the fate of the world rests on your shoulders!

 #9 – Pro Zombie Soccer

Back to the zombies now, but these are zombies with a difference – zombies playing soccer! A lot of people might say that there is nothing new here and most modern soccer players are zombies but in Pro Zombie Soccer things are taken to a new level. Score a goal and kill a zombie – does life get any better?

 #10 – Zombie Gunship

Last, and by no means least, we have Zombie Gunship. The premise of this game is simple – see a zombie? Kill him! See 100 zombies? Kill them all! The survivors of the apocalypse are depending on you and your AC-130 ground attack aircraft! The more you kill the higher up the leaderboard you go so literally go wild!

So there you have it, my top 10 apps for Halloween 2011 but don’t put away those iTunes vouchers quite yet as you can rest assured that sooner rather than later, the Thanksgiving and Christmas apps will be popping up calling out to you! Until then – be afraid, be very afraid!

Kevin Swaine is a Content and Community Manager at Blonde 2.0

Post written by Jonah Balfour

I’ll start this post by saying that I am one of the faithful. I’m an Apple fan if there ever was one and I’m one of those people that give Apple fans their reputation as cult-like followers, worshiping at the altar of Steve Jobs.

I have never owned a non-Apple computer. I started using Apple computers when I was a kid and took my first steps into the world of computing on the Apple IIs in my school’s computer lab. At home it was the same. We briefly owned some generic PC thing, but my father soon found out that it was near to impossible to get anything done using MS-DOS. So instead, Dad brought home a Mac and my family fell in love. We owned one of the original form-factor Macintoshes (a Mac Classic) along with a Mac LC, a Centris, and perhaps a few others that most people have probably never heard of. I spent hours of my early teenage years drooling over Mac catalogs looking at the latest and greatest products coming out of Cupertino. Yet, in the blindness of my youth I didn’t know just how mediocre those products were in comparison to what was to come.

As a kid I wasn’t aware of Steve Jobs or of his trials and tribulations during his first stint as CEO of Apple. But his return to Apple happened to coincide with some of the most formative years of my life – my late teens and twenties. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 when I was seventeen and he quickly introduced the first new product of this era: the new iMac. I remember seeing an interview Jobs gave where he showed off his new gumdrop-like creation. It was a revelation.

Suddenly, this company which I had given my loyalty to during the dark days of the mid-nineties was cool again, they were innovative again, and (at least for me) the company was magical. The iMac was so different than everything else available it beggared belief that it was real. Hell, it was fun just to look at the thing. So, like many other Apple creations, the original iMac ended up in the computer room of our house.

It must have been at some point in college, around 2000, that I started to appreciate the power that Steve Jobs had. I began reading what might have been the very first Apple blog, back before anyone even knew what a blog was. The site was called “As The Apple Turns” and it was there that I first learned about the so-called Steve Jobs “Reality Distortion Field.” The RDF described Job’s unique ability to bend reality to his will. Listening to the man was hypnotic. He possessed the singular ability to wrap an audience around an idea and to shape his message until it was almost impossible to see things any other way. I started watching his keynotes whenever I could and each one was more impressive than the next. Each announcement gave me more ammunition in my seemingly endless arguments with my friends about why I owned a Mac, a PowerBook 1400 or the original flat screen iMac, instead of some nameless, “cheaper” PC.

It went on like that throughout my twenties. I would look forward to the next Apple announcement, to the next keynote, to the next magical moment when Jobs would unveil something unbelievable, something that convinced you that he and Apple HQ were the real world equivalent of Willy Wonka and his chocolate factory.

It’s amazing to think how many truly magical moments there were. I don’t mean this in the sense of real magic, but rather in the sense of a modern magician who uses illusions to entertain.

Think of the introduction of the original iPod Nano. Jobs stood there on stage explaining the concept to his audience – of how the original iPod was about putting a thousand songs in your pocket. He then wowed the audience when he pulled out the new Nano, not from his regular pocket, but from the small pointless one that no one knows what to do with. It was a classic magic trick – a mix of misdirection and sleight of hand. The Nano was there in his pocket the whole time while he was speaking, yet no one ever expected him to pull it out the way he did. Jobs pulled the same trick when he announced the MacBook Air. He showed the photo of the manila envelope that the Air could fit into, and then walked over to another corner of the stage where the Air had been sitting the whole time, hidden in plain sight inside one of those envelopes.

And now, I look around me and Macs are everywhere. iPods are everywhere. iPhones are everywhere. Somehow, we won. Apple is the largest tech company in the world, and by some measures the largest company of any kind in the world. No one finds it strange that I own a Mac anymore.

All of this happened because of Steve Jobs. So now, with him gone, I’m sad. I didn’t personally know Steve Jobs. I never met him and it seems odd that I should be saddened by the death of a man who is in reality a total stranger to me. But I’m nevertheless saddened, if only for the rather selfish reason that I loved to watch the presentations that he gave and I love what he did for a company that I have been a customer of for as long as I can remember. Steve Jobs allowed me to carry on with my childlike belief in magic well past the time when that should be forgotten. It’s hard to let go of that. It’s hard to accept some of the difficult things in life and let go of your childhood.

And it’s also hard because now that we’ve won, what do we do next? Where do we go from here? Steve’s not here anymore to tell us what the next great thing is and there’s no new announcement to look forward to. We’re on our own. That’s the way it is, and now … it’s time to grow up.

Jonah Balfour is a Copywriter and Community Manager at Blonde 2.0.

1) Facebook – I couldn’t live without the Facebook application installed on my iPhone
2) Viber – the application which enables me to make free calls to other Viber users over 3G and WiFi with superior sound quality
3) Instagram – My favorite photo sharing app. The guy who built its interface is a genius
4) Foursquare - My favorite check-in app. Mind you that Facebook places isn’t yet accessible on the iPhone in Israel.
5) Dropbox – enables me to view documents we’re working on in the office while on the go
6) Waze – helps me find my way when going places. Thank goodness because my direction skills are horrible
7) Angry Birds – A great time procrastinator for me
8 ) Twitter – So I can tweet anything at anytime
9) Hashable – The app which enables me to easily make introductions between people
10) Shazam – So I can identify any song at any time. Good for bets as well!

Happy new year everyone!

(Guest Post by Ilan Peer)

Since I don’t have an iPhone, it rarely happens that I update my location status, or tweeting where i hang out. To top this all off, I don’t even fully utilize this cool app that I’m writing about! Since it really caught my attention, I wanted to share my thoughts on foursquare – an application that allows you explore your city – has unlocked a certain code for location based service engagement and positively affected income of many local businesses.

An interesting fact about foursquare is that one of their Founders, Dennis Crowley, is a also the former Founder of Dodgeball – another location-based social network that was acquired by Google (can you see the pattern here?). I once read that Dennis was a student of Clay Shirky – which makes his background very credible. Foursquare started with 12 cities and have already reached 53!

The simplicity of the foursquare game is amazing. People “tag” places and venues to get points and badges that will place them in a higher social graph. Meanwhile, local businesses enjoy the uprising of visits to their establishments. The latter part may sponsor a free drink or snack for the mayors (user with most visits to their venue). It is easy to see how this service is addicting when distinguished members of the high-tech industry Tweet about their mayorship.

Here is the foursquare business plan and it’s simple: there are about 150 venues offering mayor specials (treats exclusively for top visitors).

The game is based on a social network of recommendations. Whether it’s a new pub, a special dish or friends’ based recommendation, there are 3 advantages that you can benefit from:

1. Find Your Friends – if not, what the heck are we all doing in facebook??

2. Points and Badges – getting recognition, free drinks and nachos!

3. Explore the City – as they put it: “Think less ‘the food here is top notch!’ and more ‘Go here, do this’ “

These tags and friending-up people are very common these days: follows, lists, groups and fan pages – all these “sort us up.”

It is like when Twitter came up with lists. I think Twitter is in need for people to sort and list the huge directory of people in their data base. As far as foursquare goes, us users will probably turn to little Yellow Page agents, going places, tagging and passing info on to as personal tips (hence the friends layer: the WOM effect).

I’m very close, yet still far from using foursquare since they have not hit Tel-Aviv yet. When foursquare does decide to hit tel aviv, i bet you’ll see me running the streets looking to tag new venues and becoming the mayor of my favorite diners.

Until then, I’ll give it a try with the Israeli new site called CUin.co.il which allows users to look up their friends from Facebook (via Facebook connect) and see where they have checked in.

Update:
Foursquare announced they will open their service for Tel Aviv city in the next few days
Article at Nana10.co.il [in hebrew]

And a presentation by Dennis Crowley at Mobile Monday Amsterdam:

photo by: the lovely miss604

Ilan Peer is the Advertising and Marketing Manager at Blonde 2.0

He is a veteran in the Israeli interactive industry. He’s experienced in creative, design, UI, account managing and media buying. Technology is his fetish. He’s an early adaptor and a gadget freak.

When done properly, a branded iPhone app can achieve brand international exposure for relatively little investment. However, if not done properly, the brand will suffer from bad criticism and the money will go to waste. Take for example – the useless iPhone application made by Taco Bell. This application had the potential to be very cool, giving redeemable  coupons and a location-aware store finder; but instead, the app only calculates the various 79¢, 89¢, 99¢ items on their Value Menu that you can purchase with the spare change in your pocket. Definitely a missed opportunity.

Unlike Taco Bell, Beck’s has recently launched its new iPhone application - Gig Finder – and this app actually places giving value to users in top priority. Users can search for gigs in any location supported by the Last.FM database worldwide, allowing  music fans globally to stay connected to their local live music scene. This app is available for music lovers worldwide and has been localized for the English, German, Italian and Romanian languages. With quick access to information about upcoming gigs showing in the area, Beck’s Gig Finder makes it impossible for any music lover to miss a gig. This application allows users to always be on the know regarding where and when their favorite bands are playing.

The Gig Finder is an all-inclusive application locating local gigs but also providing helpful directions via Google Maps as well as giving the inside scoop on special guest appearances. The app also enables music fans to browse their favorite music artist’s information on the Web, tune-in to their YouTube videos and also share this information with family and friends.

When compared to its competitors, Beck’s is the only free iPhone application out there giving these specific capabilities. A cool feature included that I particularly like empowers music fans to tag gigs as ‘Favorites’ and receive push notifications/reminders about these upcoming shows.  The app is offered in multiple languages – including Italian, German and Romanian.

Below you’ll find a demo video showing exactly how helpful the Gig Finder really is. By creating such a useful app, Beck’s shows users that they care more about giving them value than just creating yet another useless branded app.

Download Gig Finder yourself here to explore the app.

Xsights is a new start-up company that has just come out with its Light iPhone app which enables its users to bring print to life. Xsights makes it possible to transform static printed items that can be captured through the cell phone’s camera into an interactive multimedia experience.

Xsights empowers its users and lets them add a creative, personal touch to their printed items. While using Xsights’ advanced technology, users have the ability to take any printed object and connect it with links of their choice. With Xsights Light app, these printed images become a door to endless opportunities of content. Users can “attach” a YouTube trailer, a 3D view of a specific street via Google Maps, a Wikipedia page, a Facebook or Twitter profile or any other link to invitations, greeting cards, photos, maps or business cards.

In addition, with Xsights, users can now also view movie trailers of the top 100 movies showing in US theaters currently by taking pictures of any of the digital images in the “More Things to Capture” section on Xsights website: http://xsights-services.com/Movies.aspx

All of the images that appear in Xsights’ “More Things to Capture” section are already uploaded to their servers, therefore users can take a picture of any of these movie posters, games or logos when they appear in magazines, wall posters, bus stops or anywhere else outside, take a picture and view their relevant clips moments later.

“See it. Capture it. Bring it to life!” is Xsights’ slogan. The Xsights solution enables users to take a picture of any pre-defined object and receive immediate relevant and interactive online data. Xsights inspires its users to imagine a future world where soon everything they see around them will be considered “clickable” from landmarks, wall posters, street signs, ads, theater listings in magazines to book covers or billboards. Clicking on the item with their mobile phone’s camera will allow users to receive additional layers of information and open up doors to endless interactive content. The technology that Xsights specializes in is known as Augmented Reality. Welcome to the world of tomorrow.

Key differentiators of Xsights when compared to its competitors: Only the Xsights application can identify minute objects – even a small icon or text. In addition, Xsights also works in any condition – even if the printed item is wet or crumpled.

Xsights has just launched its iPhone app and will soon launch its BlackBerry version. Other selected J2ME handsets will also get Xsights soon.

Download the Xsights Light application from the iTunes Apple Store here: http://appsto.re/xsightslight.

Want to create your own interactive message? Watch the video below to learn how:

(Disclosure WorldMate is a client of Blonde 2.0)

WorldMate has updated their travel iPhone app and now enables users to share their itinerary with family, friends and colleagues, plus get a 5-day weather forecast wherever they are in the world. The new version WorldMate 1.6 offers the new features for free and Gold subscribers.

This is a great update for Road Warriors (men and women who spend their lives traveling for work) to stay connected with their iPhone contacts. With one click – they can share their itinerary with any of their iPhone contacts.

Another fantastic update is the new 5-Day Weather Forecast with three new options:

• Current city: Get the 5-day weather forecast for the city you’re currently in. Don’t get caught in the rain without an umbrella, or in the cold without your coat. You’ll leave for work knowing exactly what to expect.

• Itinerary Cities: Get the 5-day weather forecast for the cities on your itinerary, so you know if you should pack an umbrella, sunscreen or both.

• All Cities: Select any of the cities listed for a 5-day weather forecast.

Get the upgrade now at the App Store and share it with your friends and colleagues!

WorldMate was generous enough to give us 10 iPhone Gold app invites for Blonde 2.0 readers. Who wants ‘em? First 10 to comment on our blog will get them!

It has been almost 2 years since the premier of the original iPhone so advancement in this piece of magic is inevitable. While the next iPhone is rumored to keep its basic design and color option, it will be upgrading its features and hardware. Since the camera quality is not up to par with competing phones, this feature will be the first to get some attention. Same notion goes to the video department. We’re to expect a better lens, sensor, and autofocus as well as video recording. Speed, memory, increase in storage and the megapixel count increases for photography, is also a given.

While iPhone’s daddy, the “tablet” will miss this year’s WWDC, it’s rumored that the new Mac OS X operating system, Snow Leopard might be presented. It will supposedly feature flat dark scroll bars like those in iTunes and a minimalist window design with translucent black-glass headers. The new Macbooks will be updated with built-in 3G capabilities. What would be even better is we could swap out our iPhone SIMS and use it in the MacBook for connectivity on demand.

So, no major surprises are predicted this year. The iPhone will once again be the star, and the software will get its needed upgrade.

Image Credit: Macnerd93

WorldMate

But that was then when making mobile apps meant being pre-installed on a pre-sale phone. The world has moved on since the launch of the iPhone to a new world of online application stores. Now with after the SDK 3.0 and right before the expected launch of iPhone 3.0, WorldMate has come to the iPhone app store.

In many ways this is a huge validation of the iPhone platform, it’s one of the first dedicated for business applications of the kind that are huge in the BlackBerry world to make the platform jump to an appstore full of shall we say “less serious” applications (you can see more of this attitude in the latest WorldMate Max video embedded below).

It’s easy to see why they are coming to iPhone, the potential market is huge; there about 40 million business travelers in the US that take over 200 million trips totaling $200 billion in sales.  According to WorldMate these “road warriors” are continually jostled around with 30%+ of flights are delayed or cancelled, with meeting schedules change all the time, and because there’s a lot of stress trying to make split second decisions in unfamiliar environments with a lack of relevant information.  What’s more, these travelers spend on average $1000 per trip. WorldMate is the only service to that can help by effectively aggregating this disparate information.  But that is only half the battle.  WorldMate further distinguishes itself in that it can take this information and turn it into solutions.  For example, if your flight is delayed, WorldMate will let you know and then suggest all the alternative flights you can take instead to make it to your destination on time.

WorldMate in both its free and Gold versions have both shot to the top 20 apps in the travel category and it seems that not only is WorldMate ready for iPhone, iPhone is ready for WorldMate.