The Download Blog

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The evolution of the app store witnessed another milestone recently, with the release of a game that doubles as a very effective advertisement. One of my favorite iPhone games of the year, Firemint's Real Racing, just got a Lite version that doubles as a promotional tool for both the app and an outside company. Real Racing GTI (Free), sponsored by Volkswagen, lets you race on a few of the tracks of the full game using the 2010 Volkswagen GTI. You only get a small taste of the action in the full game, but it should be enough to help you decide if you want to spend the money. You also can choose between several different paint jobs on your GTI.

Though there are plenty of movie-based game apps, and other promotional offerings at the iTunes Store, this particular marriage of a popular racing game with a large car company really strikes me as a great idea. It will be interesting to see if more companies start using the iPhone app store as a way to effectively promote their products through context-appropriate game titles (not just simple ads). I could even see other car companies promoting a new line of cars using the same or similar titles. In any case, if you haven't tried Real Racing, check out Real Racing GTI to get a taste of the game and to get a look at the 2010 Volkswagen GTI inside and out.

This week's apps include a comprehensive and customizable to-do list program and a simple, but challenging game where you use a grappling hook to escape treasure filled caverns.

Notes can be displayed using thumbnails so it's easy to find specific notes

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Awesome Note ($3.99) lets you manage messages, memos, and ideas in several unique ways. An intuitive interface lets you use themes to help categorize information the way you want and get to the information you need quickly. Awesome Note includes a few demo categories (shown as folders) that you can use to see how your notes and info will be laid out. You can create new folders by hitting the add folder button in the lower right, selecting your preferred color, and adding a title. Opening a folder displays your notes for that category laid out as thumbnails so you can quickly find the specific note you want. You can also configure the program to display to-dos as a running list or as a separated list with completed items on top.

Once you have your category folders set up, simply open a folder, add a note, and start typing using the regular portrait view or in landscape mode by turning your iPhone sideways. You can also customize your notes by choosing from a wide variety of themes and fonts. When your finished, you can easily drop your note into other category folders or e-mail the information to whoever you want. Overall, if you are looking for an easy-to-use to-do list manager and note taking app, the folder-based note management and customizable themes of Awesome Note make it a worthwhile option.

The first level acts as a tutorial so you can learn the controls

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

HookChamp ($2.99) is a fun (and funny) platform type of game where you swing through caves carrying stolen treasure using your trusty grappling hook to get to the exit. The game offers fairly simple graphics and reminds me of older console platform games. The control system is extremely easy to pick up and understand, but takes some practice before you'll be able to swing smoothly through the caverns. Along the way, you'll need to pick up gold coins, some of which require you to be creative with your high-flying grappling techniques. As you progress in levels, the action gets more difficult, as you'll be chased by a giant unnamed ghost-like creature with large teeth. Some of the most exciting parts of the game are when you're on the run, trying to swing your way to safety.

Once you've managed to escape a level with your treasure, you'll be able to enter a shop to buy equipment that will make your escapes easier and maps of new locations to plunder. You can buy items like the shotgun, for example, that you can use to slow down the chasing ghost. You also can buy better shoes that help you run faster, or even rocket shoes to make you fly higher. If you like the swinging action of classic arcade games like Bionic Commando, or if you're looking for a platformer that doesn't require you to remember too many buttons, HookChamp has just the right mix of challenging gameplay, item collecting, and fun character dialog to keep you entertained game after game.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Do you think we're going to see more sponsored versions of popular games like Real Racing GTI? What's your favorite note-taking app? Do you have harrowing stories of escape in HookChamp? Let me know in the comments!

(Credit: CNET)

The Microsoft Office 2010 technical preview is available today through invite only and--though it's not in its final form--there are plenty of feature enhancements to be excited about, if Microsoft can pull it off. According to Microsoft, the focus of this update was on three things: to make work flows more efficient; to effectively use Web applications to make your work available anywhere; and to make collaboration with others much easier. In this CNET First Take, we'll take a look at some of the notable feature changes across many of the applications. Microsoft says Office 2010 will let you use your PC, phone, and the Web to make your projects come together more efficiently. From what we've seen, they might be right and the Web applications might also give Google Docs a run for their money.

The Ribbon (introduced in Office 2007) continues to keep frequently used features handy at the top of your work space. But in Office 2010, you'll have access to the Ribbon across all of the applications in the suite, with contextual tabs and features to help you get the most out of each program. In Outlook 2010, for example, a Quick Steps section of the Ribbon has options to let you quickly create team meetings, move threads to specific folders, or custom forward messages (with premade subjects) to specific recipients. In Excel, you can flip through the tabs to access formulas, insert diagrams and charts, and quickly import data from connected sources. Having an easy way to access the most-used functions of each of the Office applications is very handy, and it's clear Microsoft did its research to make the most of each application's Ribbon.

Microsoft Office 2010 technical preview (screenshots)

It's also clear that Microsoft has paid attention to patterns across all of the applications to come up with easier ways to get things done. The new Paste Preview lets you easily switch between paste options so you know your work will be formatted correctly in your document before you commit. In Outlook, it's now possible to turn long e-mail threads into conversations, so you can quickly find information from specific participants without having to scroll through long, confusing threads. Another new feature lets you ignore entire threads including future e-mails on a subject so you can eliminate noise and distractions in your workday. Office 2010 includes many new time-saving features like these across the entire suite, but there's more than just tweaks to existing work flow.

Some of the flashier feature additions will be good news to those who work with media in their documents and presentations. PowerPoint now has options for editing video right within the program. You'll be able to trim video so your audience sees only the video content you want them to see. You also can add video effects, fades, and even create video triggers to launch animations during your presentation. When it's a static presentation you're working on--such as a publication, newsletter, or pamphlet--Office 2010 will let you edit and add effects to images so you won't need a third-party image editor. Microsoft has also added easy access to Ligatures and Stylistic Alternates to fonts in Publisher so you can add your own personal touches to your publications. Like most of the new features in Office 2010, you can find most of these added options in the Ribbon for that particular application.

As more of our data moves into the cloud, sharing and collaboration have become a major part of project execution, and Office 2010 will offer several options to help people work together. Though the Web-based components of the Office suite are not available in the technical preview, adding these options will make sharing information easier--whether it's from your home computer, your phone, or when you're traveling for business. Lightweight Web browser versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote have been announced, and, according to Microsoft, they will preserve the look and feel of a document regardless of the device you're working on--even if it's your smartphone.

New coauthoring in Word, PowerPoint, and OneNote and advanced e-mail management and calendaring capabilities in Outlook will make collaboration much easier, reducing the time it takes to finish large projects with several contributors. Businesses will be required to use Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 or Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services to gain access, but private users will be able to access their work using Windows Live. Obviously, we can't predict how well the Web components of each program will be implemented or how they will translate to different hardware, but offering access to shared documents in key business applications from anywhere is something any international business or business traveler can appreciate.

One of our favorite improvements to Office 2010 is what Microsoft calls the Backstage view. Offered as a replacement for the File menu, Backstage gives you a launching point to share documents, print out your work, set permissions, and other program specific options to get your project ready for distribution. You'll find all of the usual document management features, like open and save, here as well, but you'll also get a nice layout of templates for new documents, several different ways to share your work, and print settings and page layouts all in one place. We think people might initially be resistant to a new way of doing things (as is often the case), but once you get used to using the Backstage view for all of your file management, we think you'll find it useful and efficient to have access to everything in one place.

Microsoft Office 2010 will be released early next year and it appears Microsoft has made extensive usability improvements across the entire Office suite. We're told the Web components of Office applications will become available for testing later this year, so check back as more information becomes available.

(Credit: Evernote)

A brand-new BlackBerry app joined the Evernote family on Monday. The multiplatform, multimedia note-taking service has already been uploading voice, text, images, and files from the desktop (Mac|Windows), Web, Windows Mobile phones, and the iPhone. The addition of BlackBerry rounds out Evernote's presence on major smartphone operating systems, though it's likely that if the Palm Pre takes off, the company will continue development for Palm's WebOS.

Like Evernote on other mobile platforms, Evernote for BlackBerry (download) lets you upload a text note, voice clip, picture, or file to your cloud-based Evernote account. The signature green interface is clean, and quick and easy to navigate on the BlackBerry Bold, my test device. Simply scroll with the track ball to move through the four notetaking icons on the start screen, or pop down to the bottom to search a note by its tag. Pressing the Menu key reveals options to view recently-created notes, notes pending uploading, and an option to activate GPS.

The application's performance depends heavily on how strong your data connection is. On a weak data or Wi-Fi network, loading your history of notes could test your patience, but on a fast connection, the notes you took on the desktop or Web are easy enough to browse or search by tag. We should note that the method for playing back voice notes requires you to download or open the captured voice file on the BlackBerry's media player--too bad there's no direct method to bring the player's functionality into Evernote itself. However, the app also includes some keyboard-skirting shortcuts that let you populate the descriptions area of an upload with previously-used tags.

Evernote for BlackBerry is a "freemium" product; the core capturing and search features are free, but subscriptions for storing multimedia notes online beyond the first 40MB per month sell for $5 per month (or $45 per year.) The application is compatible with the Bold, Storm, and Curve 8900 series phones, and should also work on future phones running operating systems 4.6 and higher. As of today, Evernote for BlackBerry is exclusively available through the BlackBerry App World application.

(Credit: CNET)

Every computer user needs a basic text editor for Readme files and simple note taking capabilities--that's why Windows comes with Notepad. But if you want added features like a tabbed interface, search and replace functionality, or extras that help you with coding projects, you need to look for the more full-featured alternatives. The best editors come with numerous features and work great for editing code for Web sites, but also for simply writing quick notes, and pasting excerpts from the Web when aggregating research for a project.

Fortunately, some of the best software in this category is free, but you can also use "Light" versions of paid software and still get most of the useful features.

(Credit: CNET)

NoteTab Light offers a tabbed interface and adds several libraries of premade code bits called "clips" you can access through a pull-down menu on the left side of the interface. These clips can be anything from commonly used code to quick formatting tools available at a click of your mouse. You can also quickly preview your work in your default Web browser from within the interface. NoteTab Light offers a lightweight footprint and is a huge upgrade from the Notepad included with Windows.

(Credit: CNET)

TextPad is another excellent text editor with a "light" version that most users will find offers plenty of features. Like NoteTab, TextPad offers a host of features like a tabbed-interface, and helpful formatting tools for indenting, line numbering, character transposing, and condition-based word wrapping. TextPad will bug you with a nag screen periodically, but most features are available even in this time-unlimited "light" version.

(Credit: CNET)

EditPlus is a text editing tool that's popular with a lot of people because of its ability to use simple FTP commands to get your files online from within the program. Powerful features for Web authors like a built-in Web browser for previews and syntax highlighting for HTML, CSS, PHP, ASP, Perl, C/C++, and many more make this program an excellent alternative. Added handy features like a Windows Explorer-like file directory built-in to the interface and a wealth of commonly used code clips (like NoteTab Light) make this software particularly appealing. EditPlus is a 30-day trial, but with all of its useful features, the $35 price tag is more than worth it.

(Credit: CNET)

Notepad++ is a popular choice among serious code crunchers because it's loaded with useful features and it's completely free. It supports several programming languages, offers syntax highlighting, drag-and-drop functionality, and you can easily launch a preview in IE or Firefox from within the software. As a free option, anybody wanting to see what it's like using a text editor even if it is for making lists or doing Web research has nothing to lose with this excellent text editor. But the popularity of this software among serious coders is definitely warranted, with more than enough features for most projects.

This alternative browser looks to be built on Internet Explorer, combining a robust notepad with diminished Web browsing. Freeware Student Pad splits the browser and notepad horizontally, so that the top half of window is for taking notes and the bottom half is for surfing the web. It sounds like an interesting project, but the execution of it as it is now shows that there's room for improvement. There's also no documentation on the browser's source, although it uses Favorites so I'm assuming it's based on IE.

It's a good idea, with an execution that is clearly still in development and more novelty than anything else. There are some nifty student-based needs addressed here. There's a built-in calculator with square-root functionality, calendar, bibliography template, e-mail client with Gmail and Hotmail hooks, MDI editor, and a basic spate of browsing features. The notepad lives on top of the browser, emphasizing both workflow and feature set.

The browser is really what stops Student Pad from joining the workforce as a tolerable alternative browser. You can change your font, adjust the text and background colors, mark favorites, and view the source code. A helpful icon--the sheets of paper--copies and pastes the URL you're looking at directly into the notepad.

However, the browser itself doesn't work as smoothly as it should. It's slow to load pages, sluggish when scrolling, and reluctantly lets you jump into other programs. A lack of tooltips makes getting acclimated a struggle. Modern browsing features such as tabs and a download manager are not supported, and advanced security enhancements are present only in a "web security indicator" that doesn't seem to work.

There are some interesting tweaks here, including rolling most features under the Tools menu. Perhaps the program will become significantly better in the next major update, planned for April 10. For right now, Student Pad remains an interesting curiosity--but nothing more.

How do you take and keep notes to yourself? With a desktop calendar, or even with Post-Its?

The freemium note-taking service Evernote not only takes multimedia notes--audio, photo, and text--but also syncs them to your Mac, PC, iPhone, Windows Mobile phone, and to the Web. That puts your videos, photos, scribbles, dictations, and other notes to yourself within reach wherever you have Internet or one of free Evernote's apps.

Watch this Fist Look video to see how Evernote works on them all.

On Monday, Evernote, a good triple-platform note-taking service for Windows, Mac, the Web, and (multiple) mobile platforms (see all), updated its application for Windows Mobile phones (download).

Speed is the main story here, with text, photos, and audio notes uploading faster than before. Of course, depending on your carrier and the phone's capabilities, this still may not be as rapid as it is on the highest-end Windows phones.

The Evernote for Windows Mobile 3.0.0.172 also improves the interface, a spare but attractive app consisting of four actions to take various notes or upload a file from the phone's folder, in addition to two soft-key buttons.

One key lets you view and search notes created on the desktop, Web site, or your phone. Thumbnail images and the ability to search notes directly from Evernote are two additions--previous versions rebounded you to the Web to view search results. From Evernote's menu, you can click to view recent notes, settings, and, now, your saved search results.

(Credit: CNET)

Evernote never worked as well on Windows Mobile phones as it did on the desktop, Web, and iPhone, but this effort is the publisher's new personal best for the platform. Much more can be accomplished without leaving the application, but there's still room for growth.

For example, playing back a voice note requires you to download the audio first. That's a more time-consuming and space-sapping event than viewing an image or text note, especially if you created the recording from your phone in the first place and have simply used Evernote as a holding pen. I'd love to see Evernote host an instant-playback feature that can optionally just play the file without saving it.

Evernote's applications and basic 40MB bandwidth-per-month membership are free. A premium membership offering 500MB per month rings in at $5 per month or $45 for the year.

Taking a cue from real-world Post-It notes, Stick provides an equivalent product for your computer desktop. A few differences from other sticky note programs make this a valuable asset for any PC.

The most noticeable is that notes, when closed, turn into tabs you can then append to the sides of your screen. This makes keeping your desktop tidy a snap. In addition to basic text notes, you also can create Explorer notes, which are actual Windows Explorer windows. You can navigate the file system from within these or even use them for Web browsing.

Each note features a variety of customization options such as window color, transparency, autohiding, and font choices. Though it does lack a few features of the more advanced sticky note apps, you should give Stick a try for its ease of use and excellent implementation of tabs.

When you're wedged next to someone at a conference, you can't help noticing their business from the corner of your eye. That's how I saw that my seat mate at last week's BlackBerry Developer Conference was using FreeMind (for Windows and Mac) to take notes on the talk.

Is this how you really think?

(Credit: FreeMind)

I've looked at the freeware application FreeMind before, but had never seen it in the wild. I have to admit, compared with my two pages of linear notes organized primarily by bold text and a lot of paragraph spaces, my neighbor's mind map looked elegant and compact. I could understand his story at a glance, while a quick look at my document felt like watching The Matrix. It was time to give FreeMind another look.

Like all mind maps, FreeMind gives you the flexibility to organize thoughts on a page as they connect to each other and to the larger picture. After all, not all minds reason in subheadings and bullet points. In contrast, mind maps let you connect thoughts that shoot out from a central concept. You shape, place, and name that master idea (the root node), then create child or sibling spokes that relate to it.

FreeMind encompasses a fine range of features, including scads of icons and color-formatting options to help you visually organize concepts. It also supports hyperlinks, which allows you to link Web sites and even documents to a map. In addition, you'll be able to export your landscape of thoughts in a variety of formats, including HTML, PDF, and JPEG. As flexible as it lets your mind be, FreeMind works within an older-style logical structure that could get frustrating for some. For instance, you must insert nodes by hand or using a hot key; you can't click and drag to create them (a shame).

I can see how mind maps like FreeMind can hasten note-taking, or help you visualize a project, paper, or process. However, a revamped interface with more intuitive drag-and-drop functionality wouldn't hurt, along the lines of MindMeister and Bubbl.us, two free webware applications.