Entertainment

Admittedly, I'm not a regular watcher of the AMC show 'Mad Men,' although I've caught an episode or two.  However, I do like the Cocktail Culture app for the iPhone that is affiliated with the program for several reasons.

First, the price. It's tough to argue with free. The most it will cost you is time and iPhone space. Unless, of course, you download the additional drink mixtures for $1.99.

Second, the concept. The idea behind the game is to select the correct glass and contents to mix each drink. You also have to perform certain tasks via your iPhone to make sure the cocktail comes out correct (such as shaking your device for mixing or squeezing the lime slice for a Vodka Gimlet).  The app also lets you know which characters prefer which drinks and a history of the drink on the show.

This app could double as an interactive bartender's guide. If you can't actually attend bartending school, imagine the ability to create drinks without actually holding a drink. It's a very clever idea.

Finally, the ability to "drink" your creations. In the Cocktail Guide, the user can see a finished version of each alcoholic beverage. If you tip the device to the side, the app simulates the glass being emptied. For those alcoholics that can't afford alcohol, this is a great substitute.

My only (admittedly minor) issue with the app is the need to pay to get additional drinks.  However, it's still overall cheaper than any bartender's guide.  You can even compete to see how your bartending skills match up with other players.  Recommended!

Battlestar Galactica has come and gone. Currently, television viewers can enjoy the story's prequel with the series Caprica on SyFy.  However, if you want to relive the glorious days of the Cylons hunting humanity to extinction, look no further than the Cylon bobblehead application put out free by NBC Universal.

Okay, it doesn't really do much.  It's a bobblehead.  You can choose between the old and new designs of the Cylons by tapping the first screen, but that's it.  Really.  You swipe across the screen and the head bobbles.  You can keep it on the dashboard of your car rather than one of those Hawaiian girls with the grass skirts.

I'm all for the nerdy apps, particularly when they're free, but in this case I may have to recommend giving it a pass due to the lack of utility of this app.  It doesn't transform like the cool virtual Transformer app.  It doesn't fire weapons.  It just bobbles.

I'm sure there are many virtual bobblehead apps out there (why hasn't NBC made one of Dwight Schrute for The Office?), but this one is kind of lame.  I'm not into bobbleheads in the first place.  NBC also put out the lame Cylon Detector app, but in this case they at least had the decency to not charge a buck for it.

Overall, unless you're the biggest possible diehard fan of the 21st century reimagining of the franchise, I'm going to have to recommend that you give this one a pass.  Wait for the Dwight Schrute app instead.

It's typical that I don't discover this application until long after "Geek Week" is over.  That being said, if the iPhone existing back when I was in high school and this app was on it, it would have led to a guaranteed beating by the neighborhood bullies.

However, for 'Star Trek' fans, the app is kind of fun.  It's best described as a personal journal where one can record audio, images or text and share them with friends on services such as Facebook and Twitter   If you tap the left multicolored button on the main screen, you can change the type of communicator you have to Captain, Engineering, Science/Medical, Enterprise, Romulan or Klingon.  All that means is that the base color of the communicator will change.  The layout remains the same.

One feature that Paramount could have included with this app is a default setting for the title of each log.  I would have used today's date.  For now, it's required to type something in.  Even more annoying, you can't record your own voice and use 'Star Trek' sound effects in the background at the same time.  You can only choose one or the other.

The app does this annoying habit of playing 'Star Trek' sounds in the background, but that can be turned off by tapping the right multicolored button.  If you tap the Enterprise image on top, you get to see a 3D model of the Enterprise flying through space.  Cute, but unnecesary.

The app is supposed to be a social networking tool for 'Star Trek' fans, but it feels as if it hasn't quite been refined enough to be popular.  It is a cute app, but only the Trekkies will get it.  If you're a 'Star Trek' completist and can spare the buck, then this app is for you.  Otherwise, the creators will need to make it easier to use for others to get utility from it.

I now turn my attention to honorariums of the Star Wars franchise.  And by that I mean apps that try to rip off the iconic images and themes that George Lucas used in his original trilogy.  Even the name logo of the app shamelessly steals from Lucas' movies.

Star Words is a marvellous way of simulating the "scrolling text" beginnings of all the Star Wars movies without actually paying George Lucas any money.  Naturally, since no license fees are paid, the text and background feel like a cheap knockoff, but it can be fun if used correctly.

The app is pretty simple.  First off, it doesn't come with any Star Wars music, but it does play any music in your music library.  So, if you can get your hands on an mp3 copy of the Star Wars theme and transfer it to your device, you're good to go.

The app actually begins with some pre-defined scrolling text, but you can alter it with a tap fo the screen.  Once there, you can enter your scrolling text in a textbox.  You can also choose your background music and choose between two types of fonts.

My big complaint about the app is that "Star Words" is automatically the first words that appear on the screen.  If you're trying to swede your own Star Wars movie, that would be a serious hindrance.

Fortunately, the creator figured out a perfect way to prevent Lucas from bringing around a lawsuit: the app is free.  For the price, it's worth the download for any Star Wars fan.

UPDATE: My bad.  The app is, in fact, $.99 and not free.  Watch out for Lucas' lawyers, folks.

iKitt used to be offered for free, but no longer.  Glen Larson or someone must have gotten wind of it and now for the honor of having William Daniels as the voice of your car, it will cost you a buck.

If you're a Knight Rider fan, the app is very cute and definitely worth the buck.  If you've never heard of Knight Rider or couldn't care less, there are probably other purchases you could make. 

For those who are fans, you can even mess with people's heads and put it on your dashboard acting like it's the voice of the car.  However, it only says a set of about a dozen pre-recorded messages from the show (unlike the Knight Rider GPS with Daniels' voice, which is more interactive).

The app is very simple to use.  Tap one fo the buttons around the voicebox or the voicebox itself in the center to hear Daniels say a phrase as KITT.  Double-tap the voicebox to zoom in on it and have it occupy the entire screen (double-tap again to zoom out).  If you turn the device to landscape, it becomes the famous KITT speedometer and keeps track of your car's speed via the GPS.  Obviously, if you are on an iPod touch, you don't get all this functionality.

It's a fun and nerdy app to own, but to truly make this app go to 11 on the cool scale, make it a full-blown auto GPS application for the iPhone using Daniels' voice (like the Mio version).  That would be worth the inevitable $50 price.  In the meantime, just for some fun and games with friends in the car, it's worth the buck.

Just one last "Geek Week" review for the celebration of the San Diego Comic Con.  We will now turn our attention on an app based on the British science fiction program "Doctor Who".  This app doesn't appear to be officially licensed, so if you're a fan you may want to download this one as soon as possible.

The app emulates the Sonic Screwdriver device handled by the main character of that program.  He is called the Doctor and he is an alien time traveler.  Anytime the Doctor dies, he can regenerate into a completely different person, which is why the show has lasted close to fifty years.  The app gives a choice of screwdriver's from the past (David Tennant as the 10th Doctor), present (Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor) or future (from an episode in which someone from the Doctor's future was given a Sonic Screwdriver).

Each Sonic Screwdriver slides out from a swipe on the screen.  If you tap and hold it down, the app makes the pre-requisite sound and glowing color (blue for past, green for present, blue for future).  It's possible to switch between them from the icon on the upper right.  Each Sonic Screwdriver is an artist rendition so the creators probably think they can avoid the lawsuit by having something similar but not exactly the same.  There is an information icon on the upper left, but it doesn't really tell you much.

And that's it!  Is it worth the dollar?  If you're a "Doctor Who" fan, then it's probably the cheapest replica on the market.  If you're not, then it's simply a silly app for a buck that makes a light and sound.  I leave it to you.

POW is one of those apps that you download on a whim on those days when you're perusing the App Store for weird, free stuff.  Taking a page from the Batman TV show from the 60's, the app makes a punching noise when you hold it in your hand and move your arm forwards and back, pretending to hit someone or something.  It can be adjusted between right-handed and left-handed people.

The app is somewhat tricky to use and the sounds don't always occur when you make the motion (perhaps the app is trying to adjust when you move rapidly).  The app is free and has to be supported somehow, thus there are ads running along the bottom.

It is possible to customize the sounds the app makes and there are even duck quacks.

It's not a great app.  The graphics aren't really impressive and the sound quality is only fair.  It'll keep you occupied for maybe a minute as you kid around with a four-year-old boy and pretend to hit him.  Then he'll want to take it and pretend to hit his friends.  And so on.  And so on.  But it's not a great app.

Despite it's price, I can only recommend this one if you have the free space on your iPhone or iPod touch and like to pretend hitting people.  The app would be more cool if it had more of a Batman 60's TV show theme, but you can't have everything.

This will be the final "Geek Week" review in honor of the San Diego Comic Con, although there may be reviews of other geeky and useless apps in the future.  What Star Wars geek worthy of his underoos doesn't like doing an impression of the Sith of all Siths, Darth Vader?  The Dark Lord Voice Modulator allows you to do just that.  Sadly, it does it in a disappointing way.

The app is so simple that even Jar Jar Binks can use it.  You tap one section of the Darth Vader faceplate screen to record whatever you want your Darth to say.  Then you tap another to play it back in an annoying slow motion sound with heavy breathing sound effects that is only vaguely reminiscent of James Earl Jones' iconic style.

In short, this app is a major disappointment, I hereby authorize George Lucas to prepare his attack lawyers and go after its creators.  Or perhaps send Vader himself for a piece of the profits.  Not even people who use satire as a defense can escape Vader's Force chokehold.

How would I improve this app?  I suppose I would have it actually sound like Darth Vader instead of some drunk guy slurring his speech.  Also, I might improve the graphical interface and make it slightly more interesting.

Overall, this is a disappointing app.  Anybody who purchases it shall soon learn a new meaning to the term "dark side".

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.

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.