2d

Mathematics teaching tool

Home schoolers, high school tutors, and students needing additional mathematics study will find this many-featured app a handy addition to their toolbox. It provides assistance for grasping two-dimensional function graphs with animation, analyzing functions, understanding analytic geometry, solid geometry, and more.

Math Studio launches a three-paned interface similar to the familiar e-mail client design: the upper-left vertical pane is a graph manager, the lower-left pane is a result editor, and the large pane on the right is a plotting area for displaying graphs. However, the cluster of icons in the three toolbars aligned along the interface's top may intimidate … Read more

Get your graph on

Analysts and scientists dealing with a broad range of data sources might be tempted by this data-modeling application. FindGraph lets you capture and plot data and fit the result to one of hundreds of included functions. The application comes with a comprehensive Help file and 35 tutorials and sample charts.

One of FindGraph's most appealing features are the many options for entering data. You can type it in, upload a text file, or draw it by hand. Another impressive option is to "capture" an image and use a Wizard of Digitization to convert it to data. When … Read more

Sprint preloads ScanLife on Samsung Exclaim

If you're thinking of getting Sprint's Samsung Exclaim, the phone now comes with another cool function.

Scanbuy, the company that's been at work putting its ScanLife application on camera cell phones, announced Tuesday that its ScanLife 2D bar code reader application will now be preloaded on the Samsung Exclaim from Sprint.

This is the first wireless phone to be shipped in the U.S. with the ScanLife technology. The company expects additional models will ship with the application in the future.

ScanLife is an application that allows you to scan a 2D bar code with a standard … Read more

Old-school shooter mayhem

PewPew is a free 2D shooter game with classic vector graphics, a bouncy trance soundtrack, zero back story, and the kind of spare, single-minded gameplay that serious shooter fans will love. The controls are gratifyingly simple: a virtual, 360-degree thumb joystick on each side of the screen, one for moving, one for shooting. PewPew currently only has two levels/modes, both played in a tight arena: "Dodge This," which only uses the movement joystick, as you zoom around picking up spinning boxes and avoiding enemies; and "Assault," which uses both joysticks, as you weave through and … Read more

Somewhat-familiar drawing tool

Real-Draw Pro will look familiar to people who have used similar programs in the past. With suitable tools for creating digital drawings, Real-Draw Pro attempts to set itself apart from the pack with a few added options, but may be over the heads of novices.

This download looks more complex than Paintbrush, but less confusing than more professional programs like CorelDRAW. People familiar with either of those programs will instantly feel at home with Real-Draw, thanks to its traditional interface. The center of the screen is dominated by the drawing space, while the left side holds all the drawing tools, … Read more

Don't get burned out

Ignite Lite is a free, seven-level preview of the innovative platformer game Ignite, in which you control a flaming, jumping ember by the name of "Iggy the Flameboy," using your fiery nature to thwart the plans of the Water Warlords. In this unusual take on the platformer genre, some of the platforms that you jump onto will actually burn beneath your feet--which can be a good thing, like when you're trying to incinerate one of the Water Warlords' minions. The game's simple, touch-and-drag interface lets you jump either left or right, adjusting the trajectory (indicated by … Read more

Take to the skies in WWII

iFighter Lite is a fun, free, one-level preview of the upcoming game iFighter, a vertical-scrolling arcade shooter in which you pilot a WWII fighter plane against wave after wave of Nazi tanks, planes, bosses, and other ground and air targets. iFighter's interface lets you control your plane in one of three ways: with a touch directional pad, swiping touch controls, or simply by tilting your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The accelerometer-based controls are by far the best--and they're arguably an improvement over even the controls of iFighter's stand-up arcade predecessors, allowing for quick and precise movements as … Read more

Turn the world upside down

And Yet It Moves is a cleverly designed, rule-breaking 2D platformer game in which you rotate the entire game world (basically, changing the orientation of gravity) while moving through increasingly complex levels and solving environmental puzzles. The game's interface is very simple: key commands let you move left, right, and jump, as well as rotate the game world 180 or 90 degrees, clockwise or counterclockwise--and you often have to time your avatar's movement precisely with the world's movement, as you navigate through tight passageways, walk off (and then onto and under) precipices, and avoid falling objects. In … Read more

2D zombies are still scary

Zombieville USA is a 2D, side-scrolling arcade game in which you use a variety of firearms to kill an endless supply of zombies across a series of increasingly treacherous levels. The running, zombie-killing part of gameplay is very straightforward: you tap on arrows on the right and left side of the screen to move, and you tap the bottom of the screen to shoot, occasionally ducking into houses to avoid zombies and collect money and ammo. Even with its cool, cartoony graphics (including some whimsical gore, of the flying-eyeball and bits-of-brain variety), Zombieville USA can get a little repetitive--especially playing … Read more