If you’ve ever been out and about with your iPhone and laptop and wanted to get online, your only choice was to use the (albeit very capable) mobile browser on the iOS device to get to your favourite sites. Other smartphones could use their 3G connections to create a small Wi-Fi hotspot which would let them browse the web in full size through their laptop, and now (well, since the introduction of iOS 4.3) the iPhone can do it too.

One of the most exciting things about this update is that it almost entirely removes the need to buy an iPad with both Wi-Fi and 3G data if you have an iPhone. You can create a Personal Hotspot with a password of your choice and use the data from your iPhone to browse the internet using your iPad.

Step 1: Setting up
Fire up your iPhone’s settings app, you’ll see the Personal Hotspot tab right near the top of all of the different available options.

Step 2: Keep it secret
By default, the Personal Hotspot is turned off, and you will have been given a randomly generated password other devices need in order to connect.

Step 3: Choices, choices
If Wi-Fi is turned off you can still use Bluetooth or a USB connection to share data. You will be asked which to use when you turn the hotspot on.

Step 4: Randomised?
You can leave your password if you wish, as there will be a mix of numbers and letters to make the connection as secure as possible.

Step 5: Keep it safe
Changing your password will help you to keep things a little more private, and remember to make it something memorable to save time later.

Step 6: The thin blue line
Once you’re set up and another device has connected to your Personal Hotspot, a bar at the top of the screen will show the data being used.

Click on the image below to zoom in on the annotations.

If we’re going to run with the original story and not suggest more covert market research from Apple (more below), the next generation of iPhone has been found in a US bar.

As with any such leak these days the phone has found its way to the web via the team at Gizmodo who have pulled it apart and are confirming it as genuine. The device itself has quite a few differences in terms of design, however the phone was apparently remotely wiped before any of the software could be used.
Image courtesy of Gizmodo

Physical changes include the following:

- Front facing camera

- Larger rear camera lens and flash

- Micro-SIM

- Higher resolution display

- New buttons

- New flat design with glass/ceramic back

- Aluminium border akin to iMac design

So is this the new iPhone as it will ship or a pre-production prototype? Gizmodo seems to think this looks like the finished product in its full report.

While we’re convinced that this is a genuine Apple product, it seems incredible that a security slip up of this magnitude could have been allowed to happen, especially from a company as secretive as Apple.

Apple has been known to “leak” information to the press in order to gauge public opinion on forthcoming products and even to create a smoke screen to confuse rivals, but the company has never allowed a product into the wild like this. That said, the hype surrounding HTC’s upcoming smartphone, the “HTC Incredible”, has been building of late with positive reviews and pre-orders announced.

With the huge press generated by this “find”, it’s safe to say most conversations regarding smartphones are now firmly focussed on the iPhone again…

What do you think? Is this the real iPhone 4G? Could Apple have leaked the device on purpose? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @icreatemagazine

Devloper: Spotify Ltd.
Category: Music
Price: Free (with monthly subscription)

It may be a small sum, but splashing out 79p for every track you buy on iTunes soon adds up. That’s why Spotify became such a smash hit when it arrived on the Mac and PC, allowing music lovers to listen to tunes for free as long as they could put up with adverts every 30 minutes. Now Spotify is available on the iPhone but you have to be a premium subscriber to use it. So is this an iTunes killer – and is it worth the monthly cost? David Crookes checked it out.

The first thing which sprung to our minds when we used Spotify on our computers earlier this year was the question of when it was going to make it to mobile devices. Being able to stream music on your Mac or PC is all well and good but the wonder of Apple’s iPod means we’re now used to taking our growing music collection around with us – so it just had to be Spotify’s next step.
And so it has finally come to the iPhone. We’ve had a chance to play around with this much-awaited app for a short while now, allowing ourselves to become au fait with its inner workings, foibles and all. It hasn’t been an easy ride for Spotify to get to this point – there was talk that the application was set to be rejected by Apple – but the good news is that it works well. And the bad news? You have to be a premium subscriber to Spotify and it costs £9.99 a month.
But then a service like this was never going to be free. To do so would have put it directly at odds with Apple’s own iTunes and, given the quality of Spotify’s service, it would have most likely caused some major damage. It may well be that Apple and Spotify work more closely together in the months and years to come (maybe Apple will even buy Spotify?) but until then, you can add the £9.99 to the many other monthly payments you undoubtedly shell out for entertainment.

Playback

So is it worth it? The most important aspect of a streaming music service such as this is obviously the quality of the playback. Using Wi-Fi, Spotify streams music within a second or two and there is no lag. There really is no difference between Spotify’s sound and that which results from iTunes either. Songs play at a bitrate of around 160kps and best of all, it’s so impressive that using the app in view of non-iPhone users gives you a rather smug feeling.
Streaming audio over 3G is also faultless. The delay in playing a song is ever so slightly longer than with Wi-Fi but we’re still only talking mere seconds. When the song is underway, there is absolutely no stop-start frustration and it’s a seamless experience that will have you dancing with joy (even if, like some of us, your choice of music is decidedly ropey).
Spotify is let down when using an Edge connection, however. It was always inevitable but it makes the app almost unusable whenever there is a lack of 3G or Wi-Fi to tap into. Improved Edge buffering would most likely make this an iTunes killer. As it is, the hesitant nature of the streaming jars and damages the Spotify experience in some respects.

Offline

The saving grace is that you needn’t suffer if you are in an area with poor – or indeed no – reception. The app has the ability to save music to your iPhone, allowing you to listen to songs offline, perfect for when you’re travelling by air or Tube or, perhaps more rarely, sitting atop a mountain and in need of some stirring music to accompany the views.
The offline playlists are accessed via the chunky grey “Offline playlists” link at the top of the Playlist screen. Tap it and you can select the playlists you want to make available offline. You simply tap the required playlist and it immediately starts to download. It can take a little while, though – seven Michael Jackson songs took us five minutes so if you’re intending to have a couple of thousand tracks available offline, be prepared to wait.
Downloading is only available via Wi-Fi and you are “limited” to 3,333 tracks for offline playback although that’s more than enough for even the heaviest of users. Syncing between the iPhone and the Mac or PC application is dynamic too. When you add a playlist on your computer, it immediately appears on the iPhone.

Interface

Another plus point in Spotify’s favour is the interface. Apple-esque in nature, it’s a breeze to navigate and you’ll be familiar with it in minutes. It’s not without its faults, though. Everything within Spotify is displayed as a list and this could prove a problem when scrolling through them – maybe a future version could make organisation a little better. It’s okay when you have a few songs on the phone but get thousands on there and you are likely to run into problems. When offline, there’s no way to search your tracks, for instance.
Searching online, however, is fast and simple. One tap of the Search icon on the bottom of the screen and you can use the prominent search box at the top. Results are listed under tabs for Tracks, Albums and Artists. With Wi-Fi, we did a search for the Pulp B-side Mile End and it came up instantly, top of 12 results, which shows some depth to the Spotify catalogue. It was just as quick with 3G but Edge took slightly longer and yet in all cases, we just hit the title and the album cover immediately showed. The song began to play, either straight away or after a hardly noticeable delay depending on the connection.

Worth buying?

This is only the first version of the Spotify app and it’s fair to say that it’s extremely promising. Overall, there’s a mix of excitement and disappointment. It’s good to see that songs still play when the iPhone is locked but annoying that you can’t control the settings without unlocking the phone first (although you can adjust the volume using the iPhone’s controls). We wish the radio function was available and bemoan the lack of Play Queue and a simple way of setting up Playlists but we adore that offline mode, like the fact we have millions of songs at our fingertips and that songs pick up where you left off if you quit the app and then resume it.
Spotify has promised to continuing improving the iPhone app so we may well see the app saving searches and a spelling correction facility when tapping in track, artist or album names. We’d also like to be able to use the headphones to play or stop songs and some way of ensuring that battery doesn’t drain half as much as it should. And are our moans justified? They are, given that you’re shelling out close to £120 a year for the service. If it was cheaper, we’d brush much of them aside as mere annoyances.

Verdict

So is it worth the cost? It really depends on how heavy a music lover you are and we guess that by reading this far, you most probably are. In many respects, it’s like having a subscription to an online DVD rental service – you are, in a sense, renting these songs for use on your iPhone and, as soon as you stop paying, you don’t get to listen. The bonus is, you don’t lose all the hard work you’ve put into building up your playlists because you still get to listen to them for free on your computer should you quit the Premium service, albeit it with ads.
On the iPhone, though, It’s not quite a substitute for iTunes just yet but it’s certainly on its way. When you think about it, £10 is the price of three pints nowadays and for that you’re going to get drunk on quite a lot of music. If it was a little cheaper, particularly to compensate for some of the failings, we’d obviously award it a higher mark. As it is, it’s still a worthwhile purchase, the future of music in many ways, and we reckon Apple will tweak iTunes sometime soon in order to match it.
David Crookes

Pros
Fast streaming via Wi-Fi and 3G
The offline mode is a killer feature
You can take your music with you

Cons
Spotify can’t run in the background
Edge connection is poor
Some will find £10-a-month just a tad too much

Longevity: 9.0
Fun Factor: 9.0

Practicality: 8.0
Value For Money: 7.0

Kung Fu Verdict: 8.25

Our suggestions for Spotify 2.0
Although we are loathe to over-complicate our apps, some greater depth is called for with Spotify.
-Artist biographies
-Suggestions of similar artists we may like
-A list of recently played thus avoiding the need to add all of our music to playlists

Developer: Chillingo/Mountain Sheep
Category: Games
Price: £0.59/$0.99

Pick up and play gaming has returned to the iPhone at last. While we’re always excited to see apps that push the boundaries of portable gaming, there’s still a lot to be said for games you can instantly get involved in when you have a spare five minutes. Minigore is one such game; simple, effective and great looking. After a load time of a few seconds, by comparison to the tea break-length startups we’re begrudgingly getting used to, one tap of the screen drops you straight into the action.

You take on the role of John Gore, a kind of square-headed Chuck Norris, whose sole purpose is to defend himself from onrushing creatures named “furries” of which there are several different types. One bite from a Furry sees damage done to your character, allow a second and you’re Furry food.

Control-wise, Minigore provides two pads at the lower left and right of the screen when held horizontally. The left controls the character’s movement while the right fires and aims your gun. As game controls go, this is the perfect method for the type of frantic survival tactics you’ll need when playing Minigore and the game reacts well and plays fluidly. While you have the option to turn the pad displays off to avoid distraction, it’s all too easy to miss an on-rushing Furry hidden by your thumb which can, especially in the latter stages of the game, become very frustrating. 

Concentration, Red Bull-fuelled reactions and a cool head are what you’ll need to score highly in Minigore as the Furries get bigger and more numerous. Four different enemies are ready to take a bite out John Gore: the Minifurry, Furry, Giant Furry and the Firefurry. While the Giant Furry is a worry due to the way it spits out more Furries when shot, the Firefurry is the one you need to look out for and use all of your available powerups before you become surrounded. As you progress through the game you’ll discover four-leaf clovers which, when you collect three, offer you a burst of invincibility for a few seconds of sheer carnage. Aside from your machine gun which, thankfully, never runs out of ammunition, you can also collect a shotgun which does a decent amount of damage. Weapons appear as crates which you’ll find scattered around the landscape periodically and they can also be used as a handy explosive device when repeatedly shot which can reduce the pressure as things get more hectic.

Online highscores, provided by the excellent OpenFeint, show the top Minigore players hitting above the 20,000 point mark while we struggled to break two thousand in the first few hours of play. An Expert mode is available on the Settings screen to crank things up from the start once you get good.

The music in Minigore is great (although somewhat repetitive) but, now we’re all OS 3.0 crazy, the option to pick tracks from your own iPod library is also available. We did find it occasionally sluggish when browsing tracks, but it’s nice to be able to handpick individual playlists of tracks rather than simply play a whole album through.

As we said, this is a true pick up and play game. Easy to get into, difficult to put down. When you start playing, you may think you’ll tire of the same map, weapons and features but, just wait until you realise Minigore has taken so much of your time you haven’t eaten, shaved or showered in three days. Regardless, the game is due for an update anyway, with episode two already submitted to the App Store boasting new abilities and save/restore features and Episodes 3 and 4 are on their way with multiplayer among other updates.

All this and the application is still only 59p ($0.99), which makes Minigore even easier to get hooked on.

Longevity: 8.9

Fun Factor: 9.0

Practicality: 6.0

Value For Money: 8.8

Kung Fu Verdict: 8.8

The second installment in our iPhone App Directory bookazine series has hit the shelves.

With over 270 reviews of the latest apps for iPhone and iPod touch, the book also covers new iPhone 3GS and OS 3.0 apps with many great new features. Reviews in the App Directory are divided by App Store categories so you can quickly find just the app you’re looking for and the prices are listed in Dollars and Pounds.

Volume one of the App Directory sold like hotcakes so if you’re looking for the best advice on your next App Store download, make sure you bag a copy quickly.

You can find out more and buy the book at the Imagine eShop

Developer: Gameloft
Category: Games
Price: $0.99/£0-59

In this sumptuously designed platform game you are a warrior. A warrior who must defeat all in his path. This game oozes class and the animations are astounding for a mobile phone. Controls are simple with a directional controller for your left hand to use and your right hand controls the attack and defend button. You’re guided through levels by a handy arrow and enemies can appear out of thin air at any time and you must then defeat them with ruthless efficiency. What’s great about this game is that it starts off nice and easy so you can really grasp the way it works before the serious slaying begins. A lot of games on the iPhone present too may problems too soon which can make them too hard for you to invest any time in. Hero of Sparta is well balanced and well worth its asking price. It looks great, plays well and is easy to dip in and out of.

Longevity: 8.8
Fun Factor: 8.5
Practicality: 5.0
Value for money: 9.0

Kung Fu Verdict: 8.6

Developer: Firemint
Category: Games
Price: – £0.59

You can tell when an app has got the world’s attention because all of a sudden a ton of very similar apps appear to try to take a cut of its profits. That’s exactly what happened with Flight Control and though the developers were probably a little annoyed at the copycats they should just be flattered. In Flight Control you take charge of an airstrip and have to land the planes that come your way by dragging a line from them onto the runway. By default there are four aircraft types; small jets, fast jets, light aircraft and helicopters. Each type of flying machine has its own runway designated by colour and each moves at a different speed.

As more and more planes arrive on the screen you have to  make more elaborate flight paths for aircraft to fly in order to avoid crashes and ensure that the slow movers make way for the speedier jets. The more planes you land the better.

A recent update has seen new airstrips and craft and even an aircraft carrier level for you to test your air traffic control skills on.

This game is brilliantly simple, addictive, frustrating and rewarding. There is a multiplayer option but it doesn’t quite match the frantic excitement of beating your high score in the single player game which can be uploaded to share with others. Scores are shown for your local area which serves to let you know how well you’re doing by comparison to your neighbourhood and also let them know how much time you’re wasting landing virtual airliners.

The attractive design and simplicity of Flight Control is worth more than the meagre 59p asking price and makes it easy to understand why this app has dominated the App Store charts.

No iPhone should be without this superb bundle of portable fun.

Longevity: 9.0
Fun Factor:  9.0
Practicality:  5.0
Value: 9.0

Kung Fu Verdict: 9.0

Developer: Backflip Studios
Category: Games
Price: Free

The best games aren’t the ones with the most advanced 3D graphics or the ones that have the best frame rates. They are the ones that make you scream with frustration and force you to play them over and over again in order to beat your last score. Paper Toss is one of those games. The idea is simple; use a flick of your finger to send a balled up bit of paper flying towards a bin. The idea is to land the ball of paper in the bin, a pretty simple goal, apart from the fan that is blowing across your flight-path. So, you have to judge the wind-speed and your aim accordingly. Then just get as many balls in the bin as possible. It’s great fun, very addictive and very frustrating. You can’t really fault Paper Toss but it would be nice to have some other obstacles and some different levels of difficulty. That said this is a free app so we can’t expect too much. Great fun all round.

Longevity: 5.5

Fun factor: 9.0

Practicality: 4.5

Value: 8.8

Kung Fu Verdict: 7.8

Developer: Rodrigo Neri
Category: Education
Price: Free

Kids these days don’t know they’re born. Not only do they get to live in the age of the iPhone and iPod touch but some of they’ll even be able to use one of these great products to record their homework on. This app is a great little free option for said students. It lets them add assignment titles, the class that the assignment is for and they can then add the date its due and add notes. There is a colour scheme for due items. Those in orange are due in the next day, those that are red are late and those in blue are still pending. Other cool features include different calendar views and the ability to swap assignment details with others. This is another great example of a sole developer making a cool, functional application that they could be charging for but are happy to let go for free.

Longevity: 8.8

Fun factor: 4.6

Practicality: 7.8

Value: 8.9

Kung Fu Verdict: 8.5

Let me start by saying: I don’t normally do this.

I rarely follow a wave of opinion, especially when the opinions are voiced via reviews on the App Store.

Today, however, I agree with a whole bunch of people slamming EA’s The Sims 3 for iPhone.

All I want to do is get my Sim to “Woohoo” with another Sim (are there many more reasons to play?) but I can’t because the insufferable app crashes every 5-10 minutes.

If it were any other game or a lesser developer I’d probably have discarded the app and felt a little peeved that I forked out almost six pounds for it. But, you can tell that The Sims 3 is a really good game between the crashes.

I’ve done everything recommended to avoid the game dropping out to the iPhone home screen at random intervals but nothing has remedied the glitch. Everyday since buying the app I’ve checked for an update with the magic words “bug” and “fix” included and have so far been disappointed. EA, what’s going on?