A quick note to developers-

Thanks to the firmware 2.2 upgrade the  second geneeation iPod Touch has audio-in so long as a microphone is plugged in. That means a few things.
It means that WebIS’s excellent Note2Self voice note recorder now works fully on the Touch.

It means that if I can ever get Fring and  Nimbuzz working properly with SkypeOut the Touch will become a nifty little VOIP handset.

It means that apps that can’t even be loaded onto the Touch due to it’s lack of a mic (yes Jott I’m talking to you) and apps that load but in a limited format that excludes voice note (hello ReQall) need to rework their apps and issue updates.

Firmware 2.2 and it’s mic line-in is a potentially huge going for users of the iPod Touch and I hope developers recognize the fact sooner rather than later. 

It’s Black Friday and the deals aren’t just on tangible items. That’s right, many iPhone apps are currently free or deeply discounted. So as a public service, we thought we would offer a list of just a few you might want to grab today. Even if you don’t want them right this instant, some of them might be worth getting now before prices change. And if you happen to have others worth noting please help out your fellow WOiP readers by sharing in the comments section.

2079- this space shootem up game is only $.99 normally but today it’s free. That makes grabbing it even more worthwhile.

BeejiveIM- our favorite im client goes for a wopping $15.99. That’s a lot of money in iPhone app terms. Yet it is so good that it is actually worth it. Add to that the fact that it is just $9.99 today and this is one app worth grabbing today.

ACTPrintet let’s mac users "print" documents directly to their iPhone and iPod Touch. Normally $.99 the app is free today. Grab it.

CastCatcher Radio- like the RadioBox app we reviewed, CastCatcher radio let’s you grab a variety of Internet radio stations via a nice, easy to use interface. Normally $3.99 it is just $.99 today. Since you never know when you’ll wipe put all your music on the first day of vacation (trust me, I know) it can’t hurt to have it available.

Have other suggestions? Let us know. 

Well, its that time of year again.  So we just wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving holiday.  And to those readers of Whats On iPhone who aren’t celebrating Thanksgiving, we just want to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued readership and support!

Look for great things coming in the next few months for you here at Whats On iPhone… I’m not giving anything away, but we know you’ll love it! 

Good luck with those Black Friday Sales Too, I just saw some really nice deals on MacBook Pros at macmall.com!

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

Just a quick update…

Pangea makes some of the best iPhone games available. Nanosaur 2 has remarkable graphics. Bill Fronteir is just fun. And Enigmo is one of the most creative, and graphically interesting, puzzle games out there.

Until December 2 these games and more are on sale for $.99. That is an amazing price for games of this caliber. Even if you don’t want to play right now this price is worth grabbing them just to have for when you do…

Everything is just 99 cents:

Bugdom 2: $0.99 normally $7.99
Nanosaur 2: $0.99 normally $7.99
Enigmo: $0.99 normally $1.99
Cro-Mag Rally: $0.99 normally $1.99
Billy Frontier: $0.99 normally $7.99

The sale ends December 2nd, so get these awesome games while they’re still discounted!
 

Among the many complaints with regard to the iPhone’s lackings thusfar (and there have been many), was the device’s continued reliance on a physical sync with iTunes on order to download podcasts.  This was exacerbated by Apples rejection of the app Podcaster.

As I have previously noted, the app (which I purchased an ad hoc copy of) worked beautifully.  It became obvious a few weeks back, however, that the rejection by Apple was the result of Apple already prepping their own OTA access to podcasts.

Well, it arrived with 2.2 and works quite well.  Even so, I have mixed feelings about it, as I feel badly for Podcaster’s developer who put in a good deal of time and effort on something that is now entirely unecessary.  While I know it will never happen, I wish Apple would make public a list of future goals and objectives so others don’t have to waste their time in such a way.  At the same time, I am thrilled to see the podcast feature added.  While I had a copy of Podcasters for my iPhone, I didn’t have it on my Touch. Now, with the 2.2 update, I do, and I love it.

So here’s my question for you…

Now that podcasting is here, are you actually using it?  If so, what are your favorite podcasts?

Evernote now has over half a million registered users.

That is a pretty big number, but as someone who uses Evernote constantly, and finds it incredibly useful for my work, web and personal life, I’m actually a bit surprised it isn’t higher.

The number that is really something is this…

The folks at Freeverse are nuts! Seriously nuts. (And that ‘s a good thing!)

After spending the summer playing their WingNuts 2 game for Mac I have come to appreciate their quirky style, their sense of humor and their  off-beat sense of what makes a great game.

Burning Monkey Casino is no exception.

The app costs a mere $.99 and for that you get… more fun that a barrel of monkeys. Want to play some slots? They have you covered. Blackjack? Yup. Video Poker? You bet! And the list goes on to include Money Wheel, Pachinko, Scratch-n-Win Lotto, 3 Card Monty and even a lounge act.

With so many apps on my iPhone and iPod Touch I get a couple of app updates almost every day.

I love it.

Sometimes the update speeds up an app. Sometimes it improves the stability of the app. But more often than not, the update add some feature to an app that makes it a little bit (or sometimes a whole lot) better.

Updating them one at a time can, however, be more than a bit of a pain, though.

A number of weeks back I wrote about those apps currently occupying my first home page.

Since this is the first screen to display when the iPhone is unlocked it only makes sense to have the most important/frequently used apps right there. The problem is… when you grab an app on page six it is a long way back to page one.

More accurately, it used to be.

Thanks to Firmware Update 2.2, no matter which screen you are on it is now as easy as hitting the iPhone’s main button to jump to the first page.

Apple, my aching thumbs thank you!

That makes selecting your first page apps even more important now!

Thanks to TUAW for the tip.