On Friday (might have been early Saturday morning), as we predicted, Apple’s App store had its 10th billion, not million, app downloaded.  To promote this momentous occasion Apple offered a $10,000 iTunes gift card to the lucky shopper as a way of promoting their overwhelming and sometimes ridiculous amount of success.

This is the woman, Gail Davis of Orpington Kent, who won it, then almost squandered it and then some how, with a bit of luck, which she clearly has, managed to finagle the winnings back.

The story goes something like this: the phone rang and her first reaction was to hang up assuming it was a prank call, which she did.  Unbeknownst to her, her 14 and 17 year old daughters had been downloading apps that morning.  When they realized the atrocity their mother had committed they prompted (whined and yelled) her to call Apple back.  Unfortunately, Davis’ attempts were to no avail, that is until iTunes’ VP, Eddy Cue, got wind of the debacle and rectified the situation.

It’s probably safe to say Gail Davis is one lucky person and her daughters will be downloading apps for years to come, all on Apple’s tab.

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Today is the day you can win enough money on iTunes to last the rest of your life. Or, if you’re one of those people, a few weeks. But then you won’t feel guilty about spending so much, because Apple is giving away $10,000 for spending on iTunes to the person who downloads the 10 billionth app. The company announced the prize last week, but today is the fateful day.

By my calculations (at about 5,000 downloads per 10 seconds), someone will win between 9-10 hours from now, around 7pm pacific time. Of course, it’s still early and I haven’t factored in higher or lower download rates based on times of the day, and added weekend downloads since many around the world are already getting off of work and checking out their phones for new apps. I’d fathom Apple hits their mark closer to 4 or 5pm, and we’ll be watching to see just when it happens.

So get your iPhones, iPod Touchs, iPads and iTunes accounts ready. Just remember that there are only 25 entries per day, so even if you download the 10,000,000,000th app, it has to be one of those first 25 or you won’t win. Or, if you’re not interested in downloading apps, you can register via entry form, but good luck winning that way.

I have my strategy to win. Do you? Watch the countdown clock go on Apple’s website.

Update: The countdown clock may be skewed…the screenshot above was taken at 9:37am PST, and the screenshot below was taken at 9:45am. We’ve reached out to Apple to see why this has happened, but likely won’t hear back before the contest ends.

Update 2: Now it’s at 9,979,000,000. We’re apparently losing downloads…if this keeps up, today will not be the day, though the number does have to stay above 9,975,000,000 this hour to reach 10 billion today. By my calculations, it’s earning around 1,800,000 app downloads hourly, though additional deductions are making it impossible to be sure anymore.

Oh, Apple. You just don’t like people doing things with your products that you don’t approve of. The latest culprit is TapTapTap’s Camera+ app, which had been doing just fine in the App Store until the developers tweeted about a hidden feature. By going to a specific URL in Safari, users could enable the use of the iPhone’s volume buttons as the camera flash. Apple caught wind of it, and now the app is no longer available. Other developers have been banned for awhile for such unauthorized features, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens to TapTapTap.

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You can make a lot of money in Apple’s App Store, but that’s highly dependent on just how much visibility your super funny fart app gets. Apple has done their Staff Favorites, but they’ve got a new approach with the Special App highlighting 36 of the best iOS 4 apps out right now. Of course, a bunch of these utilize new iOS 4 features, and make great use of multitasking. If you’re a proud new iPhone 4 member, it would be worth it to check them out.

Amplitube has alway been widely recognized as a premier tone shaping plug-in and stand alone application that has pretty much become synonymous with all things associated with digital recording.  IK Multimedia has now taken their tried and true GrooveMaker formula and applied it to Amplitube.  Aimed at guitarists and bass players, Amplitube and the iRig connector effectively transform your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad into a very portable and convenient practice studio. Before I get to into the review, let me first say that this application doesn’t have any multi-tracking.  As much as I wanted it to, it is purely for practicing and jamming along with your favorite MP3′s.

Anybody that’s familiar with the several Groovemaker applications available will feel right at home with Amplitube.  The design is near flawless with it’s ease of use and friendly interface directives.  The sliders feel smooth and navigating the application really couldn’t be easier.  The graphics are representative and clear, never allowing you to feel like you’ve led yourself astray through navigational choices.  For those that may be new to this sort of thing, there is a fair amount of help and a whole demo embedded within the App to get you where you need to be. The iRig 1/4 Inch to 1/8th Inch adapter (purchased separately) is the liaison between your guitar and the iPhone.  Super simple, it plugs right in and works as soon as the App is booted up.  The whole piece has a nice matte finish to the plastic and it is almost weightless.

As far as performance goes, Amplitube is a sure fire winner.  I didn’t notice any such latency and everything about the App responded in a moments notice.  There was some slow down here and there when loading stomp boxes and amps but it it wasn’t too bothersome all things considered.  One thing I did run into was that you need to extend the auto-shutdown time of your phone as I ran into some issues with Amplitube not knowing what was going on.  It does in fact work with the screen shut down (see pic below) but there were times when weird and pervasive digital noise invaded the headphones upon screen shut down.  It was very unsettling, so watch out.  Other than that, I was impressed with how Amplitube dealt with the live conversion from analog to digital and most guitar players will agree that they’d never imagined playing guitar so smoothly on their IPhones.

The biggest disappoint for me was the quality of the sound reproduction.  Way too digital.  For the sake of reference, I was using an ESP LTD Viper 400 with Active EMG 81 Pick-Ups.  A decently “hot” guitar, I was also using a pair of Sony MDR-7504 Headphones as monitors.  At no point was I blown away by the tones produced through Amplitube.  However, knowing what you’re doing will definitely help you get the most out of Amplitube and the iRig.  Trying to get a suitable clean tone while using the Metal Amp isn’t going to work and vice-versa.  You can chain three effects simultaneously in conjunction with an Amp set-up, your cabinet of choice, and either a dynamic or condenser microphone.  I liked the Clean and Metal Amp set-ups the best.  Crunch and Lead Amps were filed in the “whatever” category but it will largely depend on what type of guitarist your are.  I got some real heavy Stoner Metal style tones out of the Crunch Amp but it was rather muddy and useless for more precise and technical playing.  Most all clean tones sounded OK with occasional distortion appearing when the strings were hit harder.

If you want to jam along with some of your favorite songs, you can import up to 20 tunes wirelessley provided that your phone and computer share the same wireless network.  The app gives you and IP address for you to input into your URL, and then you upload the tracks from there.  Overall the process was easy and painless.  The preferred format is MP3 but I had no trouble booting up an Mpeg-4.  Once the track is in the App it just takes a moment to expand and then it’s forever yours.

All the effects sounded as they should with some being better than others.  The wah pedal effect was a bit weak but the envelope filter and octave pedals were killer.  The noise suppressor is totally essential and without it your are going to be hearing your fair share of digital hiss, so you need to incorporate it with all of your set ups.  When it came to distorted tones, the low gain ones were pretty unbalanced even when set at high gain.  During other set up experiments I couldn’t dial in enough treble and everything sounded like it was coming from the neck pick up.  They were all pretty harsh, but I honestly wasn’t expecting all that much given the fact that even my MacBook Pro can’t render live tones all that well (Amplitube Metal w/ Pro Tools LE).  Changing around the cabinets and microphones will definitely provide some much needed “scooping”, but by and large you are going to find a couple key tones and make them presets and stick with them, in which the App can hold up to 36.  It’s quite the astonishing feat that IK Multimedia has succeeded where it has with bringing live guitar to such a small device, and I’m interested in seeing if it will sound any better on the iPhone 4, as I did all my testing on an iPhone 3G and an iPad.  I didn’t notice any differences between the two minus the fact that Amplitube has yet to be optimized for the iPad’s larger screen.

There are several choices one can make when buying Amplitube and the iRig.  The iRig itself will cost $39.99 when it is released in the first week of July, and there will be 3 different versions of Amplitube for you to consider.  The full version with all 11 stompboxes, 5 amps/cabinets, and 2 microphones will run you $19.99, whereas the LE version with 5 stompboxes, 1 amplifier/cabinet, and 2 microphones will cost $2.99.  Lastly, the Free version will contain 3 stompboxes, 1 amp/cabinet, and 2 microphones.  With either the LE or the Free versions, you are welcome to buy stomp boxes at an A La Carte price of $2.99 each.  None of the versions will work without the proprietary conversion of the iRig so you know.  You can also use the headphone input as an out to an amp but that sort of defeats the purpose of the App.  If I were me, I would buy the iRig and start with the Free version, as if I’m just jamming and not recording all I need is a clean and distorted channel without craving such effects as flange, phase, and delay.

My overall impression of IK Multimedia’s Amplitube and iRig for the iPhone is one of vast applause.  Never has digital instrumentation been this accessible and innovative.  Even if the sound reproduction isn’t stellar, the impact of convenience and low to zero latency will surely standout.  I know that Line 6 has a similar product, but I’ve yet to test that one out.  While I would have greatly appreciated the inclusion of multi-tracking or tone sharing, I still think that Amplitube and iRig is a huge step forward for guitarists looking to keep their chops tight no matter where they are.  I can see this as being a great alternative for when you’re home for the holidays, away from your other rig, or practically anywhere you need to get your jam on.

Pros:

• Zero to low latency
• Quality user interface
• Multiple options for the budget conscious

Cons:

• Tone shaping
• No multi-tracking

Slow news day — we’re hocking deals on the main page now. Oh well, we know you like them. EA is running a huge promotion on their App Store games, all for $0.99 for 48 hours only. These, if you’re unaware, are compatible with the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. I wish I had an iPhone 4G — I’d try out SimCity on that, pronto. Madden looks cool too. Here’s the full list of titles on sale:

• COMMAND & CONQUER™ RED ALERT (was $6.99)
• FIFA 10 (was $4.99)
• MADDEN NFL 10 (was $6.99)
• Need for Speed Shift (was $6.99)
• Need For Speed Undercover (was $4.99)
• SimCity (was $2.99)
• Dragon’s Lair (was $4.99)
• JEWEL QUEST MYSTERIES: CURSE OF THE EMERALD TEAR (was $2.99)
• Trivial Pursuit (was $4.99)
• NBA Live (was $2.99)
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (was $2.99)
• BATTLESHIP (was $1.99)
• CONNECT 4 (was $2.99)
• Surviving High School (was $2.99)
• THE GAME OF LIFE Classic Edition (was $1.99)
• CLUE (was $1.99)
• YAHTZEE Adventures (was $2.99)

Man is IK Multimedia bringing the music apps to the iPhone.  Line 6 beat them to the guitar-iPhone interface module but the Amplitude iRig looks to be a bit cooler and effectively it turns your iPhone into a guitar effects processor.  I’m anxious to test one out and see what the latency is like.  Three versions will be available when the app launches and the interface itself will cost $40.  At this point I’m not quite sure if there will be any multitrack functions but I hope so.

AmpliTube iRig — $39.99/€29.99** MSRP and is already available for pre-orders  from the IK online store as well as from IK selected dealers and distributors worldwide.

AmpliTube for iPhone will be available in 3 versions from the iTunes App Store: FREE, LE and FULL.

AmpliTube FREE: Includes 2 stompboxes, 1 amp+cabinet, and 2 microphones.

AmpliTube LE: Includes 4 stompboxes, 1 amplifier + cabinet, 2 microphones for $2.99/€2.39.

More gear can be added to FREE and LE through in-app purchase of a-la-carte models with stompboxes costing $2.99/€2.39 each and amplifiers + cabinets for $4.99/€3.99 each.

AmpliTube FULL: Includes the entire collection of available gear with 10 stompboxes, 5 amps + cabinets and 2 microphones for $19.99/€15.99.

Coming soon, AmpliTube iRig and AmpliTube for iPhone will be available in stores and on the iTunes App Store.

As with most social applications, it takes people to make them work effectively.  The same goes for the new parking spot finder for your iPhone called iSpotSwap.  The free app lets you create and interact with a database of parking spots that you deem most valuable.

The basic jist is that you mark spots that your parked in, and when they will become available in hopes that others do the same for you.  You can also mark where you’ve parked your car so you don’t lose track of it.  The app assumes that everyone has iPhones (soon to be on BlackBerry and Android as well) so I’m not sure if this type of activity will be worth the hassle.

A great idea for sure, but it would be much better as an automated app that didn’t require the user to do all the legwork.  Available now in the App Store.

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What is kind of becoming a cool trend and is an awesome idea, Video Game Companion Apps are a great way for hard core gamers to get their fix when they’re away from the console.  ForzaTune Premier is a companion app that effectively gives you all the information to tune any of your cars the easy way.

At $2, all of the reviews so far have been pretty glowing.  Novices and amateurs alike will find the app easy to use and greatly beneficial to shaving off precious seconds to their lap times.  So now we’ve seen the Madden companion app (which took forever to come out) and now we have a Forza App.  Any other ideas on what games could use companion apps?

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I really didn’t expect to see something this cool today.  The PRS Guitar Bud is an absolutely innovative product that is a must “check out” for any musician that owns an iPhone or 2nd Gen iPod Touch.  The PRS Guitar Bud is a 6 foot long cable that has a microphone attachment cord via 3.5mm jack as well as a 1/4″ jack and a headphone input.

Capable of transmitting a signal from guitars, keyboards, and samplers to just about any app that accepts a microphone input, the PRS Guitar Bud is a great way to share riffs, practice scales, and much more.  PRS also has a compatible app associated with the PRS Guitar Bud called the PRS JamAmp which serves as an amp simulator and practice aide.

The Guitar Bud sells for $30 and the PRS App is at $10 and is available now.  Other compatible apps are:  Voice Memos™, StompVox™, Riff Raters™, GigDaddy™, iStrobosoft™, Rectools Pr™o, Guitar FX Deluxe.  From reading the reviews in the App Store, it seems people aren’t too happy with the way this product and App doesn’t work.  This might be asking too much of an iPhone.  I’m gonna see if I can snag one for review.

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Offering an alternative from their other RedEye product, ThinkFlood has unveiled the RedEye Mini as an easier and cheaper universal remote solution.  Looking pretty cool attached to your iPhone’s 3.5mm jack the RedEye Mini works just like its big brother by means of the free downloadable app the effectively transforms your iPhone into an Infrared controlling tyrant.

Featuring full multi-touch and accelerometer support as well, you have to make sure your iPhone is running the current OS.  No word on an exact release date but the price is set at $50.  Interesting that ThinkFlood would make their own product so obsolete so quickly.  Either way, I think the Mini will be much more appealing to the masses.

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For the next 48 hours (probably less now), Assassin’s Creed 2 Multiplayer is available as a free introductory download.  After that it will be $3 so you’d better get over to the App Store and get it while you can.  The game is a simplistic top down perspective multiplayer game where 4 assassin’s kill each other over Wi-Fi in 3 different AC2 environments.

The game has 6 power-ups to use as well as integrated leader boards and a friends system for matchmaking.  Definitely cool for free.  Let us know what you think!

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Home Theater calibration can be a tricky situation for the everyday Gary, so if you have a nice projector, an iPhone and an extra $30 lying around, then the SIM2Calc app may be worth checking out.

Designed only for projector set-ups, especially if you have one made by SIM2, the app will effectively help you get the best out of your Home Theater tech.  The app will help you calculate your:

• Screen and room size
• Projector model
• Aspect ratio
• Throw ratio
• Geometry settings
• Viewing angle map
• Luminance levels

I can’t see this app being worth the asking price, but hopefully we’ll to see other, more cheaper apps like this in the future.

[via ElectronicHouse]

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IK Multimedia has long been known for their music software.  I have used their Amplitube plug-in for countless recordings and I even have their new Amplitube Metal plug-in for Pro Tools.

The GrooveMaker from IK Multimedia is a simple yet intuitive groove based music arrangement application for your iPhone or iPod Touch.  There’s actually whole series of these music applications, each based off of a corresponding genre or sub-genre of music.  From trance, to drum and bass and hip-hop, each app is set up the same way with different samples thrown in to match the genre.

The GrooveMaker will be very familiar to anyone who has worked in music production but is also easy enough to learn on the fly that even a novice can enjoy this app.  I got to review the Hip-Hop version and I was really impressed with the  layout of the app and how flowing the touch controls reacted.

The app is used horizontally and has several screens to navigate through.  The main screen is the arrangement screen and is where most of the action happens.  From there other sub-screens include various settings options, a help screen, and more.

It sounds the best through headphones or powered speakers, but never sounded all that bad when used without.  All the samples and loops were of high quality and loaded quickly once the song was on board.

While not as in depth as BeatMaker, it is only half the price ($10) and only takes up 20Mb’s of space.  I would have like to see some more precise editing functions but the simple design and intuitive effectiveness really shines through in this app.  There’s even an included tutorial to show you the ropes and how to send your mixes as WAV files to your computer.

This app will really appeal to those who love all things hip-hop and want an arrangement program that’s simple and easy to pick up.  It will be great for impromptu freestyle sessions as well as for some demo type recording scenarios.  Even those not sure about audio production and arrangement don’t have to break the bank to test the waters.

Pros:

• Intuitive layout
• Quality samples and loops
• Great for beginners

Cons:

• Could have more editing functions
• No “actual” beat making

Control is power and vice-versa.  Scarface would agree.  Those who have a Direct TV DVR and an iPhone will be happy to know that there is a new app out there that gives you full access to your account.

The app is FREE and will let you browse programs, stations and set new recordings from anywhere you have Internet access.  Does Tivo have this yet?

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Just in time for holiday shopping madness, Yowza!! brings some unexpected App cheer for those of us coupon users.  When out and about, Yowza!! shows you store coupons for up to 15 miles around from where you are shopping at.  Even the Bar Code is displayed for the cashier to scan, right off your phone!  How cool will you be?

Having been out since late August, the app has received about 3k reviews with an average of 2/5 stars.  Now is the time when this app will truly flex its muscles so give it a try and see if it works for you.  Free now in the App Store.

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Ahhh….Techie new parents are going to love this one.  A new iPhone application entitled The Cry Translator is on its way that will effectively tell you what your gurgling baby is crying about.

The app will listen to a whining child and determine through pitch, volume, tone, and inflection, what the deal is.  Ten seconds later that app will tell you whether the child is hungry, sleepy, stressed, annoyed, bored, or has to let go of a mean steamy (omit that).  From there the app offers advice as to what to do with the translation in order to appease your baby.

Developed by Biloop Technologic, they claim that through clinical testing these translations  are 96% accurate, and the age of the child does not waver the results.  On sale for $10 on November 11th.

But will it work with sputtering brain dead alcoholics?

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For those of you that subscribe to the NetFlix-esque video game rental service, the GameFly GameCenter app is now available for free in the App Store.  More than just access to your queue, the GameFly GameCenter has a news feed, tons of user reviews, and instantly accessible “most popular” games list.

I’d go as far as to say that that even if you don’t belong to GameFly (it’s hard to get new releases but buying used games is the cheapest around), the app is still a cool alternative to the IGN app in terms of user reviews and news.

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For those of you who live and die with your iPhone, now there’s a way for you to actually start your car with your smart phone of choice.  Viper has just announced their new iPhone app and vehicle module appropriately titled the Viper Smart Start.  From your iPhone you can start your car, turn on the heat, unlock doors and the trunk, and manage the alarm.  The app itself is not limited by any certain distance parameters as long as it receives a signal.  Sounds crazy right?

So while the App itself is free, the device that needs to be installed into your car is not.  Costing somewhere between $300-$500 depending on the make and model of your car, there’s also a annual fee of $30.  Available now at BestBuy.

Watch the fun informational video.

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Once again Apple has passed a significant landmark for their app store.  Today the company announced that over 2 billion apps have been downloaded from the 2 year old service.  According to Apple there are more than “85,000 apps available to the more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide and over 125,000 developers in Apple’s iPhone Developer Program.”

Apparently a half a billion apps were downloaded this past quarter alone, which means Apple should hit the 3 billion mark sometime early next year.  Now I’d like to see some app developer earnings info.

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