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If you're an adult and don't have any kids or even access to kids, you've probably never heard of Phineas and Ferb.  In short, it's a very imaginative show on the Disney Channel that has humor for children of all ages, a bit like the old Looney Tunes cartoons.

However, this isn't about the show itself.  This is about the Phineas and Ferb Arcade game for the iPhone and iPod touch that is based on the television show.  Adults would likely find this game somewhat boring and annoying but kids, particularly those between the ages of 7 and 12, would likely love it.

The arcade actually comes with four built-in games, each of which is pretty simplistic both in presentation and control.  The menu system blares out of the catchy Phineas and Ferb theme song, so you may want to silence that if you find it annoying.

The four games are Escape From Mole-Tropolis in which the boys have to escape from an underground lair populated by mole-men, Agent P's Hideout Spy Simulation in which Perry the Platypus (don't ask.  You have to watch the program to understand) has to perform target practice against some holograms of Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Sno Problem in which the boys have to use one of Dr. Doofenshmirtz's creations to build a mountain of snow, and Cowabunga Candace in which the boys' sister Candace has to perform surfboarding tricks.

Each game is cute if not complex and the help section of the app pretty clearly describes the methods and goals for each game.  The program even comes with a social networking platform to communicate your scores with other Phineas and Ferb fans.  Other than that, the game has no real settings (you can't even shut off the music without silencing your device).

I like the game, but then I also like the show.  It's not for everybody but if you have kids that like the show, then this game could occupy them for a long time.  Like, an hour perhaps.

With the success of Angry Birds, lots of developers are trying to put their spin on the "launch and destroy" genre of games. Miniclip has recently released their take with the bomb throwing antics of Fragger. Does Fragger offer that guttural satisfaction that the leaders of this genre have mastered?

Fragger has you lobbing grenades at targets in order to destroy them before running out of grenades. Medals are awarded for using fewer grenades and maximizing your score. One way this can be accomplished is to hit targets on the head with the grenade before blowing them to smithereens.

The early levels are almost dead simple, and offer little more than practice to get use to the physics and controls. As the levels progress the difficulty does improve to an acceptable level. Targets are hidden in buildings or caves and obstacles must be blow away or grenades must be banks off of wall in order to reach them. Bonus points are also awarded for blowing up multiple targets with a single grenade.

Overall Fragger is a nice game that is fun to play casually from time to time. There isn't too much brought to the table that is unique, but the game is well made and definitely something you should check out.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but most pictures are limited by the scroll of your lens. This is especially true with the iPhone camera, which is quite good for being a phone camera but simply doesn't cut it compared to more dedicated hardware. One way people have tried to bring the viewer to the location is with the use of panoramic shots. These have traditionally be pieced together on the computer after the fact, but with smart phone we have the opportunity to do the post-processing right there when the photo is taken. There are many panoramic photo apps on the iTunes app store, most of which do a decent job of stitching together multiple shots into a cohesive picture.

You Gotta See This, by Boinx Software appears at first glance like a child begging for attention. At a second glance though, you see that YGST brings an interesting twist to panoramic photography. At the heart of this app is the way it captures the images. YGST utilizes the new gyroscope and accelerometer APIs in the iPhone 4 to determine the orientation of the camera when the shots are taken. When you press the red button the app begins taking photos as fast as the iphone will take them. You then move your arm in an arc around the area to capture the scene. The border around the preview window will turn pink and then red if you move too quickly. This indicator is very helpful for keeping your speed down so the app can capture an adequate number of photos. When you are finished you press the capture button again and then the app begins to build your panorama.

This is where YGST departs from traditional panoramic apps. YGST doesn't aim for seamless integration of the photos, but instead generates an artistic collage of photos that are translucent and aligned together to create a full picture. You might be tempted to say that this app isn't a panoramic app at all, but is an art app the likes of Addlib. This white board style is one of five different themes that YGST can create. The app also has several styles that tile the photos much like looking at a scene through a window. These photos can be saved to your iphone photos, email, or share via Twitter and Facebook.

The simplicity and beauty of this app goes a long way and while at first many find it frustrating to not be able to create seamless panoramic photos, I think this app invites the user to expand their creativity with this type of photography. I do think that the addition of a traditional panoramic theme that used the gyroscope to seamlessly piece the photos together would be a welcome upgrade, and would do a lot to bring this app closer to a must have application. I can't say this is a must try, but if you are a fan of art apps that take advantage of the iPhones technology, or you are a photographer that is looking for some new shooting styles, then give this app a try and I don't think you will be disappointed.

As a voracious reader, I find the reading log application called ReadMore very useful. Being a reading log of sorts, ReadMore maintains a record of your reading habits, a list of your currently-reading, read and to-be-read books, and other pieces of information that are relevant to the wonderful hobby of reading.

ReadMore has three main section, namely Reading Stack, Reading Log, and Help. The third section, Help, is fairly self-explanatory: it provides the user with a text and image-enhanced tutorial on how to properly use the app. It is essentially where the user can learn how to go about using the first and second main sections.

The Reading Stack shows a stack of books that you are currently reading or books that you plan to read. Adding a book to the stack is quite easy: simply tap the + button on top of the stack, enter the title and author of the book, and then the last page to read in the book, which will be used by the app to assess you reading progress later on. You can also type in a summary or other details about the book as well as choose a color and texture to distinguish a book from the other items in your stack.

Tapping on a book in your stack will bring you to the Book view, where data related to your reading of the book are shown, including the number of pages read on the current day, the number of pages left to read, and the number of pages read since you started reading the book. Information regarding your reading sessions are also shown.

Within the Book view, you can see a big green button labeled, “Begin Reading.” Pressing this button marks the start of a reading session, whereupon a new view is called up on the screen, that of a timer that will record your time as you read. A new reading session will automatically start at the page you left off, effectively serving as a bookmark, but you can change the page number if you happen to want to read a different place in the book by simply tapping on the “Start on Page” field above the timer. Below the timer are three buttons: one for Pause, one for Stop, and another for Notes. The Pause button of course pauses the reading session, so the timer is temporarily stopped while you attend to an interruption. Tapping the Stop button will end the current reading session, and you will be prompted to enter the last you read during the session. The Notes button enables you to write notes, a sort of electronic marginalia, as you read. This feature is particularly useful for users who write book reviews regularly.

Lastly, the Reading Log shows a sorted-by-month list of books you have archived upon finishing them. You can export this list, as well as the data contained within reading sessions, as a .csv file for reference.

Like a great many users, my feed reader Web application of choice has always been Google Reader. I was one of the first ones to jump into the bandwagon of having only one place to see and read the latest posts of the blogs and Web sites that one is inclined to check out often. When I got my beloved iPhone, one of the first things I did was to scour the App Store for the Google Reader-compatible native feed reader application that suits my needs. For a while I thought I had found it in one of the top applications in the category. That feed reader had the ability to manage subscriptions in addition to having my unread as well as read items bidirectionally synced with my Google Reader account. I had one teeny tiny problem with it, though. Wait, make it big problem. Speed. That erstwhile feed reader tended to experience a lot of lags, something I have low tolerance for. So I dumped it and decided to look for alternatives for my feed reading needs. Then I stumbled upon an application called Reeder.

Reeder is easily the most smoothly running feed reader for the iPhone I have ever used. It is also the most pleasantly looking. While it notably lacks the ability to manage subscriptions, that is, the options to add or delete feeds and assign feeds to folders within the app, it more than makes up for this apparent deficiency with its sheer speed, accuracy and beautiful design.

With reader, you can view the feeds which you have subscribed to using your Google Reader account. Your folders, if any, are also synced to the app. As mentioned, syncing of read/unread/starred/un-starred items works both ways. Any item you mark as read/unread/starred/un-starred within Reeder will automatically be reflected within the Google Reader Web application upon launch and sync, and vice versa.

One special feature of Reeder that I like and use often is its swipe gestures for marking items as read/unread and adding/removing stars from them. While viewing a list of items under a particular feed, you can swipe across an item to the right to mark it as read/unread or to the left to star/un-star it. Very intuitive and quite enjoyable, if you ask me.

The view in Reeder can be set by tapping any of the three icons in the bottom portion of the app. The star icon conjures a view of your starred items, the round icon shows your unread items, and the list icon (composed of three little horizontal lines) presents all your folders and, subsequently, all your feed subscriptions and all items, regardless of their read/starred status, under each subscription.

From the makers of Reel Director comes the app that could be called the Hipstamatic of video photography.  While it doesn't work as smoothly as I would prefer, it is a handy app for creating a variety of different styles of video.

Basically, the app allows you to take video either from the camera or the library and alter it to different styles and colors.  It's a bit like changing the camera type and lens after you have already filmed.  You can apply multiple lenses and effects simultaneously to the same video.

The app is intended as a supplement to Reel Director and doesn't do any of the functionality of that app such as video or sound editing.  Oddly, it's possible to launch Reel Director from the information screen in CinemaFX, but not vice-versa.  I would wonder why the two apps are not combined into one, then I realized that the creators could use the income.

Like Hipstamatic, you can purchase additional video effects and lenses for an additional fee.

Once the video effects are done, you can render it locally to the device or upload it to YouTube.

I do have one complaint that is fairly major.  In order for the app to work, the video has to already be created (whether by the camera or already in the library).  It would be nice if you could use the video camera to record directly from the app like with Hipstamatic.

However, the app is fun and worth the buck, maybe even the two additional bucks for more effects.

Maintaining a car can be a costly and frustrating experience. For those of us that must make use of a motor vehicle, and are not blessed with the mystical ability to maintain and repair our own vehicles, we must struggle with finding a reputable dealer. This requires a good deal of research to make sure we are not being over charged. Repairpal aims to help with this research by giving you "ballpark" figures for the cost of repairs and maintenance for your specific vehicle.

The first step is to select your vehicle from a list of makes and models. Once that is completed, you are given a long list of maintenance schedules and repairs that can be completed for your vehicle. You can then enter a location, (or let the iPhone find your location) and Repairpal will give you a rough estimate for the cost of the repair. Scrolling down with give you a break down of parts and labor costs as well as some advice about the particular repair you are looking up.

Repairpal also has a tab for finding shops in your area. The shops have user ratings and reviews from Repairpal's site. You can call shops right from the app and use the price estimate to determine if the price they quote is reasonable. While there are many other factors when it comes to selecting a shop for service, this tool gives you a good base line for the costs you should expect.

Repairpal could have stopped right there, and they would have had a decent app to interface with their website, but they must have looked at those lonely tabs at the bottom and felt they could take it one step beyond. Repairpal also features a roadside assistance button that puts you in touch with a roadside assistance rep that will dispatch a tow truck or other service for lockouts or when you run out of fuel. Repairpal utilizes a third party company called Cross Country Roadside Assistance that finds and contacts the closest service to pick you up, or get you back on the road. Repairpal's app also has a list of dealer warranty numbers that makes calling for service easier.

Repairpal has a nice feature set that gives you valuable information when shopping for repair service. This addition of a roadside assistance button could be a great feature for those that don't already have a roadside service company. If you have a car, truck, or SUV, this app is definitely worth a look.

It's still "Geek Week" here at WOiP in celebration of the San Diego Comic Con.  Have you ever been torn between owning an iPhone or a Star Trek Communicator from the original series?  Well now with a single app you can have both.

This app is actually officially licensed, so it includes sounds from the original series.  It also has a legitimate phone function, but if you only have an iPod touch, then the Communicator simply makes more sounds and is more a novelty than anything.  Truthfully, all the phone function does is launch the phone app in the iPhone, so you're not missing much.

It's a pretty decent replica in terms of look.  It even makes that clicky sound when you "flip" open the cover (it also flips open with a swipe of your finger).  Once open, it makes sounds from the series including a few quotes from everyone's favorite starship captain (the original William Shatner, not Chris Pine) as well as Spock and McCoy.  There are two buttons along the bottom to make the app generate random Star Trek sounds.

The center speaker is even this neat swirly effect that could possibly hurt your eyes if you look at it for too long.  My only real complaint about the app is a fairly significant one.  Why can't the phone function simply automatically operate the speaker rather than launch the phone app?  You lose the fantasy when the Communicator has to close.

This app is really for the rabid Star Trek fan.  It was even discounted to $2 (from $3) recently to try to reel in some casual Star Trek fans.  Most Trekkies are also techies.

In short, this app boldly goes where no app has gone before.  Pick it up.

If you know anything about me, you know I love me my gaming. Most of all, I love traditional tabletop roleplaying, including the genre's juggernaut representative, Dungeons and Dragons from Wizards of the Coast. When I'm not dropping rocks on player characters for every insubordination in my own game, I moonlight as the wizard Archael Anaiis, a mage so powerful, his name is intentionally difficult to pronounce. Well, Archael is a first among my D&D characters, in that he's never been on a character sheet; not a paper one, anyways. He was born and raised in a character sheet replacement app called i4e, and he's only the first of many.

The fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons introduced us to characters with mounds upon mounds of information. A basic first-level fighter could expect to have four or five different exploits, all with different damage values, keywords, attack bonuses, and other special effects. Keeping track of all this information would require a lot of writing, or continually referring to the book. All of this besides your character's other stats, such as class features, ability scores, feats, defenses, resistances, saving throw bonuses, trained skills and associated bonuses, and so on.

Well, i4e handles ALL of that. It's a comprehensive character sheet replacement tool that not only records all of your character's vital stats, but also allows you to update those stats easily, and to track resources used over the course of an encounter or the adventuring day. Using up an encounter or daily power grays it out, so you know you can't use it again until it recharges. When you hit a milestone, i4e gives you an Action Point and increases your item daily power allotment by 1. When you take a short rest, i4e recharges all your encounter powers for you, and of course, when you take an extended rest, it resets everything.

But it doesn't just track stats, it also helps you calculate your bonuses to hit and damage based on keywords and ability scores. It automatically incorporates the half-level bonus to your attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks, and it has a myriad of fields in which to enter all your miscellaneous bonuses for any given value. The level of automation is impressive, but it doesn't override manual input. Almost everything in the app can be manually set to any given value, to account for feats, class features, or house rules.

i4e can also import or export characters in .dnd4e format, allow you to build a character on WotC's Character Builder, and then track the character's condition, abilities and resources dynamically on your iPhone. I have yet to find any reason to go back to using paper character sheets, and my printer is thanking me for it.

In honor of the upcoming San Diego Comic Con, I have declared this week to be "Geek Week" here on What's On iPhone.  As a result, I will be reviewing particularly nerdy apps that most normal people wouldn't be caught dead with on their phone.

I begin with a very impressive simulator of the Tricorder device from the "Star Trek" franchise.  This particular version seems more like the sort found on "Star Trek: the Next Generation" but overall it's a pretty darn good simulation.  It makes a lot of the beeping and chirping noises familiar to a Tricorder and has all ther prequisite moving, flashing lights.

Obviously, it's a gag app.  If the iPhone could actually detect energy signatures, it would be a Tricorder and not an iPhone.  However this app can amaze and seriously annoy your friends, particularly if the volume is up really loud.

The app supposedly has the ability to keep the iPhones location in a remote database and allow other folks using this app to detect your location.

The app does have a good help screen that describes the fictional function of each section pretty well.  The creators were geeky enough to think of a lot of details.  The app can be a little confusing otherwise, despite the pretty pictures and sounds.

If you need an app to scan a friend and determine if that person is, in fact, a human life-form, then look no further.  If this app amuses for even a minute, it's worth the buck.