SlingShot

Kickstarter project promises dirt-cheap smartphone video stabilization

Earlier this year I wrote about the Kungl, a nifty plastic iPhone case with an embedded 1/4-inch tripod mount.

At $19.99, it's one of the more affordable tripod accessory options out there. But what if you want to shoot video with, say, an iPod Touch? Or an Android phone? And what if you don't happen to have a tripod handy?

This Kickstarter project might be just the answer: the SlingShot is a universal smartphone video-stabilization system that has a few nifty tricks up its sleeve. And you can get in on the action for just $14.… Read more

Touch puzzler inspired by top apps

Contre Jour is an arcade puzzler that veteran gamers will see as a mashup of game mechanics and inspiration from several other popular titles. That said, Contre Jour is a well-executed melange, a fun and often challenging puzzle game with polished art and sound.

On each short level of Contre Jour, you're trying to get a charming little alien (essentially, a rolling eyeball) to the level's exit. The alien doesn't move on its own, so you need to use attached ropes (some elastic, some not, some with movable anchors), slingshots, malleable ground (which you can shape with … Read more

Angry Birds through the seasons

Angry Birds Seasons lets you play the popular birds vs. pigs game, but with themes that match every season. You can play among jack-o'-lanterns and white-sheet ghosts in the fall; snowmen and Santa-capped pigs during the winter; or brightly colored eggs and bunny hats when it gets close to Easter. You can play whichever season you want right away--you won't need to unlock every level in order to unlock new themed worlds. With that said, the gameplay is no different than you've come to expect with Angry Birds, but maybe that's a good thing--most people love … Read more

Angry Birds with a Rio theme

Angry Birds Rio is the surprisingly good game tie-in to the animated movie "Rio." While many co-branded marketing vehicles show signs of slipshod shoehorning, Angry Birds Rio expands on the core Angry Birds mechanic while adding some twists and improvements we hope will, ahem, migrate their way into the main game.

Fans of the titanically popular Angry Birds series will find the same basic interface and gameplay--but instead of crushing pigs, your avian assault team is freeing other birds imprisoned by smugglers, taking out menacing monkeys, and presumably doing other things as more chapters are added. (The game … Read more