iPhone Weekly Digest: Robot Meets Synth, Online Shopping, Games and More

Left: Amazon Mobile. Right: Bebot.

It’s time for our weekly digest of tiny iPhone reviews, courtesy of iPhoneTiny.com, with some extra commentary exclusive to Cult of Mac.

This time, we review Bebot, Buster Red, What’s On Reading, Amazon Mobile and Numeric Paranoia.

APP OF THE WEEK
Bebot: Part robot, part synth. Cute noise-maker for kids, with a robust, exciting synth for musicians beneath. 5/5 $1.99 http://is.gd/7i8fs

Buster Red: Bullet-hell shooter. Great comic-like graphics. Not great slowdown, brevity & control. 2/5 $0.99 http://is.gd/6Snvs

What’s On Reading: Well made events listings app for Berkshire town. Lacks search, but usable and responsive. 3/5 Free http://is.gd/6So0r

Amazon Mobile: Workmanlike Amazon client. Good for search/purchases. No browsing. 3/5 Free US: http://is.gd/7ezpR UK: http://is.gd/7eztk

Numeric Paranoia: Path-finding puzzle game with puzzle and arcade modes. Fairly engaging, but a tad repetitive. 3/5 $0.99 http://is.gd/7eHkr

Aside, perhaps, from Amazon’s workmanlike but limited client, Bebot didn’t have a great deal of competition for ‘app of the week’, but it would have won even in a stronger line-up. The musical toy/instrument rivals TonePad Pro for addictive qualities and fun, and it’s also surprisingly Apple-like in many ways.

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Ignoring the rough (and not very Apple) interface, Bebot is built in ‘layers’. On the surface, you have a robot that makes electronic farting noises, which should please the kids. However, double-prod the icon at the screen’s bottom-right and you gain access to synth presets, controls and effects. With practice, the app moves from being a quirky little novelty to a surprisingly robust and exciting four-note polyphonic synth. Presets can be loaded and saved, and, as the following video by Jordan Rudess shows, the app is very versatile in the hands of a skilled musician.

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About the author

Craig Grannell is Cult of Mac's designer and an occasional contributor. He also runs iPhoneTiny.com, a Twitter-driven reviews site for iPhone apps and games. Follow Craig on Twitter @CraigGrannell and visit his website, Snub Communications.

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Posted in iPhone Apps, Reviews |

Batguano
Bebot came out months ago, although more people should know about it–it’s an amazing app. I bugged people for weeks to download it because it’s so awesome–all you have to do is demonstrate it, then they must have it! Now!
http://www.snubcommunications.com Craig Grannell
I know the original Bebot was released a while back, but my round-ups are just whatever I’ve checked out during the past week, rather than the latest stuff. This enables me to fully test apps, rather than flinging a review online after about six seconds. Also, I guess with Bebot, it might bring attention to the app that it otherwise wouldn’t get after this much time since release. (I hope that doesn’t sound arrogant, but this has been the case with some apps in the past, and Bebot certainly deserves lots of sales, because it’s a wonderful app.)