Mobile Apps Round-up: Apple Rejects App Cataloged

The commercials and ad campaign may claim "there's an app for that," but what about all those apps that didn't get the official approval. As a member of the aging Generation X, this reminds me of the holiday tradition that was Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, and the whole subplot with the island of misfit toys.

Before I get distracted with a rant that it seemed even in the 1960s to be politically incorrect that Rudolf was banned from reindeer games because of the color of his nose, let me get to the point. Where exactly do all those rejected apps go? It seems that the closest analogy to misfit toys would be the AppRejections.com Web site that now catalogs the so-called "unusual" or even "unfair" rejections. And while this may be a time of miracles, the owners of this site should know - like many a child who isn't a character in a movie - that many times that must-have gift doesn't appear under the tree, and "fair" isn't really at issue.

Already Phil Schiller, Apple senior VP, has defended the company's approval in an article in Business Week. So yes, there are plenty of apps that are rejected, but too often what people fail to see is that this is Apple's business at stake. It has created a successful marketplace and at the end of the day it is a store. Stores have the right to decide what is in the best interest for its particular business and what makes it on their shelves.

ScanTastic Black Friday
Last week was Black Friday, and it seemed that many users had a "scantastic" time, using developer's Big in Japan's barcode-scanning ShopSavvy app for the iPhone and Android handsets. Over the holiday weekend, the company reports that more than a million users scanned at least one product, and that Friday itself counted for 612,488 individual ShopSavvy users. This was a reported sevenfold increase. Consumers can use the ShopSavvy app to comparison shop with more than 20,000 retailers worldwide. 

With the barcode information you can search the Web for best prices on products and compare with online retailers, as well as nearly all the major brick and mortar shops. The most popular product scanned was former Vice Presidential hopeful and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's book Going Rogue.

Other top products included:

• Top Toy: Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Mr. Squiggles
• Top Video Game: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
• Top Camera: Nikon Coolpix
• Top Laptop: Sony 15" Laptop w/Intel Dual Core Processor
• Top Netbook: Compaq Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor
• Top Desktop: eMachines Desktop w/AMD Athlon Processor
• Top HDTV: Emerson 32" LCD 720p HDTV

1. Walmart
2. Best Buy
3. Target
4. GameStop
5. Macy's

1. New York
2. Houston
3. Los Angeles
4. Dallas
5. Chicago

FitnessBuilder Social - This is the world's first workout sharing iPhone, and it lets users share workouts with family and friends, send "challenge" messages and even rate your workouts. This app is available now for $9.99 for a one-time purchase fee and includes more than 2,000 exercise images and videos plus 200 workouts. It is also available with a $4.99 month subscription ($19.99 for six months, and $34.99 for a year), which offers 500 works and continuously updated content.

Flick Kick Aussie Rules and Flick Kick Rugby - There is football as we know it in America and then there are those football-esque games from around the world (and we're not talking soccer). If those are more your speed, then Flick Kick Aussie Rules and Flick Kick Rugby might be worth heading to the scrum. These games allows players to experience the respective games, even if you don't know the rules. These are available via the Apple App Store for $1.99 each.

Extreme Sledding - What is more extreme than sledding? Well... just about everything, but Muse Games lets you hit the slopes at ridiculous speeds in this new downhill racer game. It is available now from the Apple App Store for $1.99.

Super Monkey Ball 2 - The tilt and roll puzzle game that is more fun than (not going to say it) is back, with 115 stages and now with a new multiplayer mode for local Wi-Fi play with up to four players. Let the good times roll with this one, which is available now at the Apple App Store for $9.99.

Schrodinger’s Rat - This adventure game will have you feeling like a rat in a maze, but that's because your job is to save the various rats that have been lost in the name of science. You'll get to test all 117 elements of the periodic table, while the hardcore players can even unlock the special Rare Element Series! Think of this as good old geek fun, and it is available now for an introductory price of just $0.99 from the Apple App Store.

Drunken Santa Klaus - We didn't say every game would be in good taste, and while this one might push the bounds a bit it has a certain charm. As a tipsy Santa (don't let the title fool you) you must try to get the gifts delivered by Christmas morning. Just don't run over Grandma. This one is available for $1.99 from the Apple App Store as well.