Microsoft plays nice with Apple by releasing a Bing app for the iPhone. Other new and notable iPhone apps from this week include James Cameron’s Avatar, a new musical number by the Muppets, and an app to find spaces next to broken parking meters in New York City.
1) Bing
With this free and useful search app, it appears that Apple is embracing an old enemy (Microsoft) to drive its new enemy Google off the iPhone. Fans of the Bing website will enjoy this app, which is heavy on local information including movie times, turn-by-turn directions, and area business listings. While not as robust as Google applications, the Bing app may condition iPhone owners to live without the search behemoth on their mobile device.
2) James Cameron’s Avatar
The king of the world now has a castle on the iPhone with this new game, which coincides with the release of the feature film. This graphically intense app is more than a commercial for Avatar, which is a good thing because its $9.99 price tag is about the cost of admission in the theater. In fact, the storyline for James Cameron’s Avatar may be superior to its big screen counterpart.
3) Johnny Cash: I See a Darkness (Soundtrack Edition)
On its way to becoming the most popular app in Folsom Prison, this graphic novel of the American music icon reads well on the iPhone. While the $4.99 app does not come with any Johnny Cash song downloads, you can easily integrate it with songs from your iTunes library. Warning! This app is not for kiddies and showcases a lot of outlaw behavior.
4) Park’n Find
There is now absolutely no excuse for not being able to find your car after a trip to the shopping mall! Major upgrades to this 99-cent app literally map the last place you left your automobile. Extra features include photo attachments, adding voice notes, and reminder settings to pay the parking meter. Park’n Find is a better value than most of the other more expensive car-finder apps available.
5) The Muppets Animal Drummer
Sing along everybody: It’s time to tap the iPhone, it’s time to play it right. It’s time to take two dollars, and download this app tonight! Brought you to by Disney, The Muppets Animal Drummer is a kid-friendly tap tap game that lets you play along with original music of imported songs from iTunes. Even Statler and Waldorf will smile with this app.
6) Battleship
This classic board game is now available as an iPhone app. The latest title from Electronic Arts, Battleship, nicely priced at $2.99, includes several additional game modes beyond the original board version. While it has some connectivity issues with multiplayer mode, what’s a crash or two among battleships?
7) Christmas Lifecards
Take care of your holiday greeting cards on the go with this 99-cent iPhone app. With new updates just in time for the season, Christmas Lifecards allows you to choose from more than 50 greeting card templates. Save on stamps by emailing to friends and using automatic Facebook, Twitter and Flickr integration features.
8) NYC Broken Meters
It can be a Christmas miracle to find a parking space with a broken meter in New York City or any urban setting this time of year. Increase your changes with this free iPhone app. NYC Broken Meter culls data directly from the city to locate which of the Big Apple’s 57,000 single-space meters are out of order at any given time. When will they expand?
