The Download Blog

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Is the iPhone finally coming to Verizon? According to an article over at Apple Insider, sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain say Apple has contracted to produce a UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone, making it compatible with more networks worldwide. The sources say the move indicates that Apple is specifically targeting Verizon and that we may see Verizon iPhones by the end of next year.

Whenever I talk to anyone about the iPhone, they always say the same thing; they love the device, but wish that AT&T had better coverage. I happen to agree, because even where I work in San Francisco (a supposedly "hot" AT&T zone), I get really bad coverage at my desk and often need to walk to another part of the building to get decent reception. I even have to walk over to a window to send text messages! Maybe these new Verizon rumors will light a fire under AT&T to improve its coverage, because you can bet a lot of people will be jumping ship if Verizon gets the iPhone next year (including me!).

This week's apps include a free app to explore the latest NASA info and a game where you race at high speeds on a cushion of air.

View tons of images from several NASA missions including classic Space Shuttle shots

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

The NASA app (free) gives you all the latest news, images, and video of current space missions from NASA. Get up-to-the minute updates of current missions with this official NASA app and follow the path of your favorite spacecraft. The interface is extremely easy to navigate, with buttons across the bottom for current missions, images, videos, and news updates. The missions screen lets you sort by your particular interest with info and multimedia about the International Space Station; NASA's recently unveiled ship, the Constellation; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; and several others.

The NASA app is perfect for those interested in science and space exploration with plenty of images and video to get a window into projects NASA is currently working on. The ability to follow current and future missions is particularly interesting because if you hear about a launch, you'll be able to track a ship's progress and follow along with the latest news from the mission. Anyone with an interest in science, space exploration, and current NASA missions should definitely grab this free app. When the next mission comes, you'll have a free tool on your iPhone to follow along as astronauts trace their path across the sky.

Use the pedal on the right to boost when the outer (yellow) meter is filled up

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Ground Effect ($3.99) is a hovercraft racing game with beautiful 3D graphics and challenging gameplay. Tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to steer your hover craft and use onscreen controls to accelerate and break. The game is set up with tracks laid out across a ring of islands in a tropical setting. Choose from 10 different styles of hovercraft and race through check points around 14 different tracks you will unlock as you progress. You can race to unlock new tracks or choose Ghost Race to try to go for your best time against a ghost of your previous best lap.

Ground Effect has excellent 3D graphics and a control system that's easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. Your hovercraft automatically accelerates to it's cruising speed, but you'll need to use the gas pedal to get a momentary boost to push you past opponents. Once the boost meter goes down, you'll need to wait some time before you can initiate another burst. As the game progresses and you race on harder tracks, you'll need to use the brakes at just the right time to quickly navigate sharper turns. Anyone who likes racing games and wants something a little different than the usual auto-racing type of game should check out Ground Effect. Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer option at this time, but a solid Wi-Fi multiplayer might be the thing to make this game truly great.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Are you excited that the iPhone may soon become available on Verizon? What other good science apps have you tried? What do you think of Ground Effect? Let me know in the comments!

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The latest Apple rumor is that the iPhone 3G will soon be replaced by a low-priced 8GB iPhone 3GS. Apparently, Rogers Wireless in Canada sent out a memo that implies the $99 iPhone 3G pricing announced at WWDC earlier this summer was to get rid of inventory to make way for the faster 3GS. Though nobody knows what the price might be on the new iPhone (or even if this rumor is true), it would be exciting to see a smaller 3GS for those who don't need all the space. While we wait to see what the next thing out of Apple might be, let's check out this week's apps.

This week's apps are both games including a recently discovered word game and a tower defense game in which you'll defend planets from invading aliens.

Added challenges like burning tiles and bonus books make this game highly addictive.

(Credit: CNET)

Bookworm ($2.99), by Popcap Games, is a word game in which you tap the screen to select adjacent letter tiles to make words. A cartoon drawn bookworm sits on top of the gameplay area and the idea is that as you complete words you are feeding the hungry bookworm while also getting points. You can play the game in Classic mode (no timer) or a timed version to add to the challenge. I've reviewed a similar game before called WordsWorth, but Bookworm has some unique features that definitely make it worth checking out.

What makes Bookworm especially fun are the added challenges you need to contend with as you make words. Flaming tiles will appear that slowly burn downward through your stack of letters if you don't use them quickly. If a flaming tile reaches the bottom, your library burns and the game ends. My favorite feature is the special collections--when you select certain words like "Red," for example, the game pauses briefly to show you a list of color names that give added bonuses as you cross them off the list. There are several categories of special collections and the effect is that you start to search for words that will complete your categories. On the start-up screen you can view your bonus book list to see which categories your working on and view stats for your overall gameplay. Anyone who likes word games will like the basic play of Bookworm, but the added features and challenges make this game worth the money.

Make sure to upgrade your towers as you go or you won't stand a chance

(Credit: CNET)

Star Defense ($1.99) from Ngmoco (makers of Rolando) is a tower defense type of game where you're job is to defend planets from an alien onslaught. The graphics are great for an iPhone game and the sounds and music add to the feeling of battling an endless alien invasion. Like other tower defense games, you have several gun towers to choose from, with some of them better at taking out certain types of enemies. You'll quickly realize that a good mix of towers is the best strategy, but as you try harder levels, you'll also have to manage the money you get from kills and upgrade your towers to make them more effective. Like other tower defense games, you'll need to beat a certain number of waves of enemies to complete a level.

What sets Star Defense apart from other tower defense games is the interface and level design. Your available towers are on the right side of the screen, making it easy to drag and drop them into position. The planets are in full 3D, so you'll need to swipe your finger to rotate the planet to get to where the action is. Not being able to see the entire path at one time adds an extra element to the gameplay because sometimes you'll find yourself rotating the planet frantically, trying to place towers that will kill escaped enemies. To make it more challenging, the paths travel around each planet in different ways, so you'll need to consider the best placement for each tower. Overall, Star Defense is an excellent addition to the tower defense genre, with enough of a variation on gameplay to make it worthy of your download.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Do you have a word game on your iPhone that's better than Bookworm? What's your secret for playing the harder difficulty levels in Star Defense? Let me know in the comments!

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I usually write about iPhone apps at the end of the week, but today (and only today) there is a sale on a game that is too good to pass up. In celebration of the MLB home-run derby and all-star game this week, developer's Com2uS have decided to have a 1-day sale on their extremely popular game Baseball Slugger 3D (usually $2.99). You can get the game today for only 99 cents and, after having played the game, I can tell you it is definitely more than worth the money.

I had initially passed over this title because I already bought Gamevil's Baseball Superstars 2009 (another great baseball game). But instead of playing a complete baseball game, Baseball Slugger 3D is all about competing in the home-run derby either for your personal high score, or against other players online.

Tilt your iPhone to line up your bat in the strike zone and touch the screen to take a swing

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The control system is excellent--tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to adjust where you will swing in the strike zone. When the pitch crosses the plate, touch the screen anywhere to swing. It takes some practice to be able to line up your bat with different types of pitches, but you get the hang of it fairly quickly. The challenge is in hitting several home runs in a row, which you'll need to practice if you plan on trying your luck against other skilled players online. I should also point out, the system for online matching with other players is superb, letting you start playing almost immediately. As you play, you can even see how your opponent is doing with a picture-in-picture display in the upper-right part of your screen.

Even if you have only a passing interest in baseball, Baseball Slugger 3D is so well-made that it would be worth the money at its regular price of $2.99. But for 99 cents, this home run hitter is a no-brainer with good-looking 3D graphics, customizable uniforms, great controls, and seamless online gameplay.

(Credit: CNET)

The new "Star Trek" movie hit theaters last weekend and by the time the numbers rolled in Monday, it's become clear that apparently being a Trekkie isn't as nerdy as we thought. Though I'm not a costume-wearing, conference-going "Star Trek" devotee, I've been a fan since I was kid and watched all the movies and most of the TV shows surrounding the "Star Trek" universe.

This week, I decided to check out the Star Trek game for the iPhone, thinking it would probably be a cheap, simple game to provide just another way to bring in money during the movie release. But after playing for a little bit I realized it was a better game than I expected.

This week's apps include a surprisingly good "Star Trek" movie-inspired game and a fun e-mailing app that keeps you from running into things as you walk.

You'll have to watch out for low-hanging beams and branches, but mostly this app works as advertised.

(Credit: CNET)

Email 'n Walk (free for a limited time) is frankly kind of a silly iPhone application, but I couldn't resist talking about it here. The idea is simple: start up Email 'n Walk, type in your subject, and start typing a message. While you write, Email 'n Walk uses your iPhone camera to show you what's in front of you so you don't run into anyone. I took it for a test run outside our offices here in San Francisco and even though it felt a little silly, the app works as advertised. When you're done, hit send and you'll be transferred to the iPhone mail app to add recipients and send your e-mail.

Some of the comments from users I've read at other sites and at the iTunes Store have a grander vision for this "technology," saying it should be implemented into the iPhone OS. Just think, then everyone could be focused on their iPhones in any app, while they walk down the street. I'm not sure that's such a great idea, but since it's free right now, grab Email 'n Walk as one of those "look what funny things my iPhone can do" type of apps that's difficult to pass up. One glaring drawback is that it doesn't work for texting. I just hope they don't come out with Email 'n Drive--yikes.

Photon torpedos, phasers, and deflector shields make you almost unstoppable.

(Credit: CNET)

Star Trek ($2.99) for iPhone is a surprisingly good top-down, shoot-'em-up game in the vein of classic arcade hits like 1943 and other iPhone offerings like iFighter and Sky Force Reloaded. Unlike most movie-inspired games, it looks like plenty of thought went into Star Trek for iPhone and it's worthy of a look for fans of this genre of shooters.

The object of Star Trek for iPhone, like most games of this type, is basically to blow away wave after wave of enemies while you use your finger to maneuver the Enterprise out of the way of countless bullets. The graphics are quite good, and though the gameplay is mostly pretty easy, what makes Star Trek for iPhone especially fun is the ability to upgrade your weapons and shields in between levels. There also are a lot of enemy drops to grab that make your guns and shields better for a limited time. You can choose between quickplay to jump into the action or campaign mode to follow the story from the beginning. Overall, Star Trek is a surprisingly good movie-inspired game, but even with clever additions like upgradeable weapons, may not be the best in the top-down shoot-'em-up genre for iPhone. Still, "Star Trek" fans will probably like this game.

What's your favorite iPhone app? What do you think of being able to see transparently through every app so you can walk? Do you still think "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is the best "Star Trek" movie ever? Do you like the iPhone game? Let me know in the comments!

Open-source and currently in use by planetarium projectors, cross-platform Stellarium brings astronomer-level features to stargazers of all levels of interest. It's not quite as robust as its competitors, but it's also a much faster program. It doesn't suck away your RAM into a black hole when loading or running. Be aware that it only runs in full-screen mode, making any other programs you're running inaccessible except for the ALT-Tab switcher.

The default catalog includes 600,000 stars, with upgrade modules that can push that up to 210 million stars. The constellations of 10 different cultures are included, as well as illustrations and asterisms to help you visualize what the ancients saw. There's a full Messier catalog of nebulae, too. The dawn, dusk and atmosphere backgrounds were good, but not great on our monitor. They probably look better on a planetarium dome, which is why it's useful that Stellarium also includes a fish-eye view for curved surfaces. Besides equatorial and azimuthal grids, users also get shooting stars when appropriate, eclipse simulation, and skinnable landscapes. Stellarium incorporates star-views from the moon.

The controls are a bit hard to find, but there is a nifty record feature to make your own planetarium shows. Some of the interface features could be revamped and improved, including the somewhat confusing options settings and the hard-to-see interface controls. Users who need something more academic and less distracting than Google or Microsoft's offerings, as well as those who have a need for an open-source planetarium, will be impressed with Stellarium. Fortunately, that could be any of us.

The way things have gone this week, you'd be hard-pressed to find a mention of anything not related to Google Chrome.

Now that we've gotten the obligatory nod out of the way, it turns out that cross-platform Stellarium is one of the coolest apps around.

Full sky view of the constellations, their boundaries, and the Milky Way.

(Credit: Stellarium)

It won't report on your Web surfing habits, either.

Open-source and currently in use by planetarium projectors run by Digitalis Education, it brings astronomer-level features to star-gazers of all levels of interest. It's not quite as robust as Google Earth or Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope, but it's also a much faster program. It loads at--well, not quite the speed of starlight, but it doesn't suck away your RAM into a black hole when loading or running. Running a Web browser or e-mail client simultaneously won't crash your computer, either. However, to further the planetarium simulation experience, it only runs in full screen mode, making any other programs you're running inaccessible except for the ALT+Tab switcher.

On with the show. As I mentioned, the feature set is heavenly, and this is with the program still in beta. The default catalog includes 600,000 stars, with upgrade modules that can push the count up to 210 million stars. The constellations of 10 different cultures are included, as well as illustrations and asterisms to help you visualize what the ancients saw. There's a full Messier catalog of nebulae, too. The dawn, dusk and atmosphere backgrounds were good, but not great on my monitor. They probably look better on a planetarium dome, which is why it's useful that Stellarium also includes a fish-eye view for curved surfaces.

Search for a planet, nebula, constellation or a specific star. Press enter, and Stellarium centers on the object. This is Earth from the moon Phobos, orbiting around Mars.

(Credit: Stellarium)

Some of the visualizations were pretty cool, too. Besides equatorial and azimuthal grids, users also get shooting stars when appropriate, eclipse simulation, and skinnable landscapes. Because this is a computer simulation, and not an observatory in the Andes, Stellarium incorporates star-views from the Moon. I'd like to see other objects in our solar system added as locations.

Along with being full screen, the interface de-emphasizes its presence. Controls live in the lower left corner and are transparent--some users might find them hard to see. When tweaking options, though, a standard Settings box opens. There's a nifty record feature in the interface, too, so that you can create shows that highlight specific constellations or other stellar objects. Labels appear when you mouse over a planet or star, and stay in view once you click on them.

Once I got the hang of the atypical navigation, I couldn't find much to complain about except that when you run the program for the first time it asks that you set your current location. Unless you know your exact coordinates, easy enough to look up on the Web, the mouse-over map of the world was too small to use easily.

Stellarium should appeal both to users who need something more academic and less distracting than Google or Microsoft's offerings, as well as those who have a need for an open-source planetarium. Fortunately, that could be any of us.

After taking Candace Clicks to a nice dinner for Valentine's Day, Power Downloader thought it would be a good idea to go look at the night sky. To get the best view, Candace and Power made their way just outside of town where the lights from the city wouldn't detract from their view. Though the view was amazing, neither Power nor Candace knew much about which stars they were looking at besides the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and the North Star.

Access to several informative overlays are found on the left side of WinStar's interface

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The next day at the Powerlair, Power Downloader decided to find a program he could send to Candace which would help identify the night sky as a way of remembering their night together. After some searching at Download.com, Power came across an application called WinStars. With this application, Candace could explore the galaxy in 3D, look at well-known constellations, and track any of a number of comets and satellites. Several different overlays would let Candace look at the names of stars, planets, and constellations. She could also retrieve detailed photos from the Internet if she wanted a closer look. For even more realism, WinStars would let her view the sky in Planetarium mode, which frames the stars nicely with an outdoor scene to simulate looking up at the night sky from earth. Included animation controls would put the stars in motion at the click of a button.

After sending off an e-mail to Candace with a nice note, Power Downloader delved further into Winstars' many features. He quickly realized the program was so packed full of features, Astronomy enthusiasts and students would appreciate all of the expert-level tools. Though Candace might not use Winstars more advanced features, Power hoped she would open the program and be able to relive their Valentine's trip to see the stars.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

While Power Downloader was sifting through criminal case files recently, he received an e-mail from Kitty Kilobyte who had gone back to school. After telling him of her latest "impossible" assignments and new "amazing" friends she had made, Kitty had an interesting software request. Kitty wanted some way to make her computer stand out from the rest of her classmates. She figured, if she's the niece of a famous software superhero, it should show--perhaps even if it's just in her computer's interface.... Read more

Compare the various office software solutions with this helpful CNET chart.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

For most everyone working in the U.S. corporate world, Microsoft Office is a must: Outlook for e-mail/calendar; Word for word processing; Excel for spreadsheets; and PowerPoint for presentations. The 2007 release has been covered extensively on CNET Reviews.

However, a recent rise in free office suites has given end users much more choice in productivity software than they've had in many years. Just two weeks ago, IBM announced a free version of Lotus Symphony. Though it's still in beta release, the freeware includes serviceable word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software, all of which support Microsoft Office file formats.

The best known Office alternative is still OpenOffice.org, which also includes word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations, but it also throws a database application (Base), a vector-graphics program (Draw), and a mathematical formula tool (Math) into the mix. The open-source productivity suite is based on StarOffice, now owned by Sun Microsystems.

Curiously, Sun recently made StarOffice (listed for $69.95 on its Web site) available for free via a partnership with Google Pack.

Speaking of Google, the online giant hopes to give Microsoft a run for its office money by providing free Web-based tools that anyone with a browser can access. Google Docs & Spreadsheets is much more limited than Word and Excel, but the collaboration features are mighty attractive. Also, online software such as Zoho Virtual Office is even more advanced than Google's offering.

For a comparison of alternative office software, be sure to check out Elsa Wenzel's recent roundup of competitors to Microsoft Office.

What do you think? Do you still rely on your trusty Word, Excel, and PowerPoint applications, or have you moved on to an alternative. How many of you have tried online word processors or spreadsheets? Tell me about it in the comments.