Another year of iPhone/iPad development but there haven’t been many apps that have caught our eye as there have been in the past. Nevertheless few that stood above the rest, both in their conception and how they make us think about technology. As an increasing number of apps saturate the AppStore, now in their 100s of thousands, we’d like to remain optimistic that this platform will continue to grow and not just by large development studios and those that reiterate but rather as an exciting, creative and above all – “innovative” place to push ideas to.

10. Composite [iPad, openFrameworks]

Inspired by the neo-dadaist collages of Robert Rauschenberg, James Alliban’s Composite allows you to remix your surroundings to create graphic compositions. Users can paint pictures using live video stream by simply pointing their iPad towards your subject drawing over it. Pixels are captured and transfered onto canvas. A different way of looking at painting.

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9. Photo/Nykto [iPad, openFrameworks, Games]

Photo/Nykto is an experimental game conceived by Annelore Schneider and Douglas Edric Stanley as part of the “Unterplay” project at the Master Media Design —HEAD, Genève. Edric describes at as a game for nyktophobes and photophobes. It is played by switching on and off the lights in order to avoid reaching the edge of the screen. Photo/Nykto is one of the few apps that explores interaction with the device beyond the device itself. We like to think of it as “spatial interface” one that allows iPad to become an aggregator of physical activity.

Soon in the AppStore

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8. Planetary [Cinder, iPad]

Created by the collective consisting of Ben Cerveny, Tom Carden, Jesper Sparre Andersen and Robert Hodgin, Planetary by Bloom is a way to explore your music collection using planetary system. Application, created using Cinder framework allows you to navigate dynamically created by information about the music on your iPad. Fly thorough the stars that represent your favourite artists, visit planets (albums) or listen to the moons (tracks).

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7. Windosill [iPad, Games]

Previously available for Mac and Windows, we are glad to see Windosill by Patrick Smith (Vectorpark.com) finally make it’s way to the iOS.  An adventure puzzle game filled with peculiar objects, your task is to resolve abstract but yet logical puzzles to progress from room to room. For fans of the original, this is not just a simple port. The Windosill for the iPad was built as a native iOS app and customized the behavior of every element to the iPad’s touch interface. Bonus features include a sketchbook gallery of concept and development artwork, the option to instantly skip to any room you’ve already completed and two special settings, unlocked when you complete Windosill: Complex Gravity, which allows you to manipulate objects by tipping your iPad, and See-Thru Mode, which makes everything translucent (giving you a sneak-peek into how Windosill is put together). Fantastic addition to the AppStore.

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6. OscilloScoop [iPhone, iPad, Sound]

Created by Scott Snibbe and Graham McDermott and originally designed by Lukas Girling, “OscilloScoop” is a culmination of about 15 years’ effort trying to create musical creation tools that is more like a video game. The process began back in the 90′s at a research lab when Scott Snibbe and Lukas Girling worked briefly with Brian Eno and Laurie Anderson on some of the concepts. The app, playfully called OscilloScoop, presents a trio of brightly colored stacked spinning crowns. Touching a crown trims or builds up its edge, like a spinning disk of clay. As you carve into this disc, the music changes, and you effortlessly produce hip hop, techno, electro, and other recognisable forms of music. Scott Snibble describes the process much like a DJ spinning records, but you create original music of your own, rather than merely cutting between tracks.

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5. The Infinite Adventure Machine [MaxMSP, iPad]

The Infinite Adventure Machine by David Benqué is a computer program which generates fairy-tale plots. Based on the work of Vladimir Propp, who reduced the structure of russian folk-tales to 31 basic functions, the project addresses the difficulties of automatic story generation which David explains remain an unsolved problem for computer science.

Not available – Prototype

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4. field [iPhone, iPad, openFrameworks, Sound]

Created by Rainer Kohlberger with sound by Wilm Thoben, field is an abstract audiovisual app that uses realtime camera feed as input. Brightness, saturation and color are interpreted, and translated into a constructed grid. The realtime image triggers different sounds as you pan around. Included are five different modes which you can switch through by double tapping the screen. Very addictive and playful take on  live video as medium to generate both visual and sound patterns.

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3. Last Clock [iPad]

Originally created in 2002 by Jussi Ängeslevä and Ross Cooper when at the Royal College of Arts in London and developed for the iOS by NewMediology (Danqing Shi), Last clock is a clock app that uses popular slit scan technique to keep you in factual time, human time and remote time. Just like any other analog clock, the app has three hands: one for seconds, minutes and hours. The hands, however, are made of a slice of live video that gets scanned to the clockface. With different refresh rate for the three hands, the three time circles reflect the rhythms of the space at different temporal resolutions. The app also allows you to stream the last clock camera feed over the internet.

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2. Sword & Sworcery EP [Games, iPhone, iPad]

The long awaited “21st century interpretation of the archetypical old school videogame adventure” by Superbrothers finally hit the AppStore this year. The response was amazing quickly became one of the most popular games of the year. If you haven’t had a chance to play with it, xmas break seems like a perfect opportunity. Easily the best iOS game this year.

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1. Björk – Biophilia [iPhone, iPad, Sound]

Having seen many apps over the last few years, I don’t think anyone expected Biophilia. If you don’t know about it, is an iPhone/iPad release of Björk’s latest album created in collaboration with Scott Snibbe and her longtime design collaborators M/M (Paris). Comprising a suite of musical pieces and interactive artworks, Biophilia is a unique experience where different elements are weaved together with both sensitivity and precision. The experience is unified, building on different layers of visuals and sound. It’s a simple must! (Read also our special Making-of Virus)

CAN is two years old tomorrow and we have a “few” promocodes to share with you, in fact the 157 of them. Many thanks to all the developers and artists who have submitted their app codes for this giveaway. Please note that they are single use only and currently work in the US only (Apple decision). If you enter the code and it doesn’t work, someone else was faster than you.

How to use the codes (US Only / if not see here):

iTunes on the Desktop:
To use the codes, open iTunes, log-in, click on the arrow in the top right corner and go to “Redeem”. Paste them into the redeem box and you are good to go. Itunes will start downloading the app. Here’s a direct link that will work for most people to the Redeem Code page.

On your iPhone/iPad:
Open AppStore app, go to “New” section, scroll to the bottom and click “REDEEM”. Enter the code here and the app will be downloaded.

These won’t last long so make your pick quick, copy the code and redeem.

If you have managed to download it, please let us know what you got. We have no way of knowing which codes have already been downloaded so If you have tried them all for an app and none of them work, please leave a comment below to save time for other people.

Once again, thank you all!

Kern

Winner of 2nd place in the 2009 International Design Awards / Interactive Media – KERN is a minimalist typography experience challenging you to precisely place a missing letter into a falling word while avoiding any unnecessary ligatures!  Practice and prove your typographical acumen with a score that gives new meaning to point-size!

iPhone Promocodes:

FWFKXFXTKH6W
4FKAL4MH9MLT
RFFY7JJ6TA73
WTWP967PEXWY
YTKJ6EH3LWRK

Horizons

An interactive sound toy for the iPhone + iPad which brings together the atmospheric sounds of Eli Murray (Gentleforce) and generative visuals of Lukasz Karluk (@julapy). It is an exploration of colour, sound and form. The design of the piece focuses on creating subtle colour refractions in a rich colour scape using an algorithmic process known as triangulation. Fluidity of interaction is achieved using real-time physics made using the Box2d library.

iPhone Promocodes:

EXJ633TJKEEX
X73YMFN7R69F
PYFMA4H3MWX7
PF3MXLKXLWA4
Y36MRHLHAHEJ

Mujik

Explore sounds in a new and fun way with Mujik! Pick the books off the shelf, flip them open, and chase the dust mites across the page to make the music your own…or just float away on a sonic balloon…

iPhone Promocodes:

3364TPAKAA6E
P7NXF6MY97LP
KXAM7RL4NPNL
W36YY4XYP77Y
XAYPJNP69T9H

BDD • Büro Destruct Designer

Shake your iPhone to create a virtually infinite number of beautiful generative designs. Using only circles, squares and a set of rules, Büro Destruct Designer lets you find inspiration for color combinations and graphic shapes. Choose either full random colors or apply harmony rules to your color palettes. Modify your compositions with gestures and the various tools from the menu. The results can be saved and shared by e-mail including the color palette.

iPhone Promocodes:

7JJYFHFKN67T
7RHK6R7KHPNA
N3JN3A39XAX7
FF67PJ3K3XXE

Calcopac

Created by Büro Destruct, Calcopac is a tribute to the legendary 8-Bit Videopac Game Computers released between 1978 and 1983. A «BEEP» more than a simple calculator for your iPhone & iPod Touch, Calcopac provides a stylish retro calculator with 2 skins and 24 8-Bit sound effects. Play your results as a little melody.

iPhone Promocodes:

6EHEXML9JL66
4X7MWKEWHPWN
H33MPJJTTKWR
YENKK6AKRJE4

Kinetic

Created by Mothership, Kinetic is a GPS-based tracking and training app for running, cycling, hiking, walking… designed specifically to help you measure, record, store, review and analyse your location-based data. Packaged in a beautiful interface, with features to amaze and only grow with time, Kinetic will be a must for every iPhone.

iPhone Promocodes:

WETFYTKNRMX3
NA3PNT6P3TNL
MLAJAER6X6ML
3637ANMK39LY
3JTJ37A7LKHX

Fat Tag Deluxe

Fat Tag Deluxe Edition – Katsu Edition is a deluxe version of the popular Fat Tag graffiti tagging app. The Deluxe Edition co-created with NYC graffiti artist Katsu includes the following features: * Multiple default backgrounds * Additional background selection from camera, photo library * Scale, rotate, angle, opacity options for realistically overlaying tag onto camera image. * Multiple pen/brush tips and colors * Full accelerometer based drips * Speed based thickness * Upload gml and screenshot to FAT Lab’s graffiti database - http://000000book.com * Save tags to photo library. Made with openFrameworks.

iPhone Promocodes:

HM7PRYMK7WRY
3AMRRFJRRY94
4Y7RW7WYAJP9
4FXMHK69PMTW
FPRR43976ATR

Popclock

Turn your iPad or iPhone into an hourglass. Beginning at midnight with an empty screen, the screen gradually fills up over the course of the day. Touch or tilt to manipulate, and double-tap for new colors.

iPhone Promocodes:

6PYJPNEWPWWH
Y9YKFARLA9MN
JXF49KFFTFMK
9XAA99FWHPRN
F4RLFJFYTNFW

rain.

rain is a minimalistic audio visual composition you can play yourself. the longer a stripe the lower its pitch. tap, double tap, shake or double swipe to create different kind of stripes.

iPhone Promocodes:

YEWLT3YFWT77
3KJR6W67L446
9AKKKAK66WHA
WXJTJKY7JKYP

Dust Tag

DustTag is an iPhone application designed for graffiti writers that visualizes the motion involved in the creation of a tag. Motion data is recorded, analyzed and archived in a free and open database,000000book.com, where writers can share 3-D animated representations of their hand styles. All tags created in DustTag are saved as Graffiti Markup Language (GML) files, a new digital standard used by other popular graffiti applications such as Laser Tag and EyeWriter. DustTag is fully compatible with the Graffiti Analysis 2.0 software suite, which is available online for free on the DOWNLOADS page and can be used to playback DustTag creations from the iPhone on OSX, Windows or Linux desktop systems.

iPhone Promocodes:

F44MEHPYR3XN
N4PYMR64ARJE
M34TXJ3YWRYP

Eliss

Eliss is a groundbreaking game that uses multi-touch in a way never before seen. Your job is to keep up harmony in an odd universe made of blendable planets. Touch-control multiple planets at once, join them together into giant orbs or split them up into countless dwarf planets, and match their size with the squeesars. Wipe off the stardust, resist to the attraction of the vortex and other space phenomena, and slow down the passage of time. Each of the 25 levels will require creative ways and strategies in using your fingers. Warm up your hands, you’re up for some serious finger gymnastics in the bizarro galaxy.

iPhone Promocodes:

RHXKR64KFNTP
KRLT36A3KXFE
MHKTWKHHXPF4
WFR7HYYP7FM6
LJXNPHHPTFLF

Osmos

Chosen as the #1 overall iPhone game by IGN, Osmos is part physics-based eat ‘em up, part ambient cosmic simulator, and part Darwinistic petri-dish battle. Featuring full Retina Display support, fluid multitouch controls, lush, flowing visuals, and a chill, ambient electronic sountrack, Osmos is a must-have for the iPhone.

iPhone Promocodes:

H9A9YTWT39ME
WXTWR97EF9XP
HJHE3TKT69YN

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Create and control tiny sound-creatures in the shape of letters that react to gravity or each other and generate rhythms and soundscapes. Dive into a micro world of sounds, movement and touch. But beware! Using this app might change your daily reading and talking experience. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz is a sound toy, a performance tool and an art work in its own right. You can play with the letter-creatures and watch and listen how they interact with each other or use them to produce soundscapes like you would with an electronic musical instrument. abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz blends art, biology, fun and physics to create a unique, dynamic and interactive sound ecology.

iPhone Promocodes:

9RHLPT9MK6YK
FRH6TPX9TLL7
MTR39TPX6YXH
LNXNK3AEM3LW
NPFANAA7FAFH

SoundYeah

SoundYeah is an iPad app to record sounds in a 4×4 slot matrix and play them back with various effects, including scratching, changing playback speed etc…..

iPad Promocodes:

ENATJR7JPLKM
YYYN636YXJJF
MJAHAEFARRY4
JRHJWNWFXM64
LWHTX9RTA7P9

SoundGyro

Transform your iPhone into a music instrument. Thanks to the gyroscope, it is now possible to play music using body gesture.

iPhone Promocodes:

99WEJNWPREJL
KMFWKKY6PLWH
KLNAWK79MMNM
HJLWLJKYE3NR
PHM4NRXMHAK6

Mr. Bounce

Filled with neon colors, ball physics and wonderful electro music, Mr. Bounce adds new ingredients to a classic formula. Trajectory projection and slow motion for additional sense of control plus blockers, pipes and wind makes the classic Arkanoid experience come back to life.

iPhone Promocodes:

RFMP6H4FYHTR
4JYLPA6WLH3T
AYFX7YJHRRA6
NTNWE4YE6YKJ
X69TEMR4RWMK

Little Bugger

Little Bugger is a fast paced, creepy, reflex testing bug squashing game for the iPhone & iPod Touch.

iPhone Promocodes:

JPXMJK4ALEKH
J6XFEM69XXKN
HFRNTAEFNA7J
E6YPWNK937M9
KJR9LHXLTJJN

Colorendar

Color-code everyday. To know yourself a little more. Even if it is a similar day, the body, mind and environment will continue to change daily. As you record your daily these conditions, you may see that periodicity and regularity. Colorendar is simple calendar to express your change in color and graph.

iPhone Promocodes:

L4AFRT9LE96A
6RXW9TWHY6Y7
JPATYF9WXWXF
9A3PEAMELAHK
FX4PWME4FNWA

Fracture

Fracture allows you to paint cubist style portraits using your own photos. Aesthetics employed by abstract masters such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque have been studied and recreated in this fun creative app.

iPhone Promocodes:

LF7HWR39PTTY
T4YLN7HLJYMP
ATRA46PYRL6R
HNJ4JJL6Y6EE
LYR3KRAAHR3L

Gravilux

With each touch in Gravilux, you exert a gravitational pull on a world of simulated stars. Though inspired by Newton’s equations for gravity, Gravilux doesn’t follow our universe’s laws.

iPhone/iPad Promocodes:

9AJAM9JYLHH3
XAY9YWNW4XLX
HFYA3WHKKEAW
FKYLKPAENT76
9T7769MT9ETY
MHX7LF4MLEWN
4WTLLTH7XA96
66T7XPPNHTLP
YJL3N6YJ3X4H
LYE3H9TJ6RWX

Bubble Harp

Bubble Harp draws bubbles around your fingertips, recording and replaying your movements while creating infinitely varying music based on the animated forms. Itʼs a combination of drawing, animation, music, art, geometry, and games.

iPhone/iPad Promocodes:

M6L4P7J7TKNY
HHLJ4YLHPM7F
436KJ7AFNXNA
MHTAARNHRWJJ
YPYNRJTWL747
LMF6RWWTMXNA
H6HPJJT3RRRT
FXXMJXEYXJRA
LTFFWFJFKAYJ
EA7KL4HHLTE7

Antograph

Touch the screen of Antograph and you release a stream of ants from your fingertips. They follow your movements because youʼve also release invisible chemical trails that tell them where to go. Antograph is a combination of drawing, animation, art, science, and gaming.

iPhone/iPad Promocodes:

XJXP77N6AE7N
6KMNNLXP4E47
TTFY6RAJKHMM
R9YHWFAE7PN6
K4FY9P79NA9Y
YJELMTJYKF6W
4N3WJXMY6M4M
LPYKMKWE4469
4HJXH63XFNLJ
PRF4MR4Y9HAX

Kunst Bauen

Kunst Bauen is an interactive artwork inspired by 80s video games and the Bauhaus. It lets you conjure pulsating, futuristic patterns with just your fingertips. You can stroke the screen to create smooth, swirling shapes, or tap it to make geometric patterns. Kunst Bauen was originally part of a 2008 art installation in Hamburg, Germany. Now it’s available for the iPad and iPhone. The iPad edition features a higher resolution and increased framerate. Kunst Bauen is open source and made with openFrameworks. Get the code here.

iPhone Promocodes:

44TH7737YMP3
LTWJNP3MM6J6
TF7EF36EEFM7
RTXTWMA9PKH4
W4L4HHP93H94

iPad Promocodes:

PM697LHM6LXP
NEA7L76HAM3E
EW3MH39TLYEN
LP79AJT9M7J3
MHNW3X7XA7XH

Vanitas

Momento mori still life paintings from the 16th and 17th century were the inspiration for this handheld vanity game. A small box filled with meditative objects. Open the box, close the box. Get three objects alike and gain a gold star. Consider how lucky you are.
Sometimes, when you’re depressed, it’s good to see something depressing. A contemplation on the fleetingness of life. To help appreciate what you have. A spiritual toy.

iPhone Promocodes:

9RAAJLXT3HY7
NRLRKKF7RHHT
XMT4TMWWLJPF
TLTAXTMK3PT6
FTYA6XYLJJXF

Glory Math

Glory Math 1 is an interactive, generative art application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Starting with a blank slate, touch and shake to create constantly evolving shapes and fields of color. Explore color noise, merging liquids, and spastic color bars, each only briefly maintaining existence. In the end, all devolves into a single color state… Until you begin your exploration again.

iPhone Promocodes:

9RPP66TYMK49
YAPRLTYEMFWW
JYNYJPPMJ733
NAK6YXFM6M4X
93Y63MEXTXLJ

Arcs 21

Arcs 21 originates from an online Software Art project by Austrian artist Lia – one of the early pioneers of Software and Net Art. The original work deals with mappings between color space and architectural space. The viewer is drawn into a world that is constructed around them, with which they can interact in a playful way. Interaction alters the behavior of the elements which construct the image, allowing for an infinite range of possible results. Now with the iPhone version of Arcs 21, you can carry around this art creation tool in your pocket and use it wherever art is needed.

iPhone Promocodes:

HPMNEA4JXYT9
73H6J3JLFXKT
33W7KE9PME7X

PhiLia 01

PhiLia 01 is about artistic harmony, expressed through interactive generative movement, sound, form and color.
Balance order and chaos, as well as logic and intuition, to unlock sequences of momentary ornamental patterns, which quickly break up and become overlaid with new structures. Through your interaction, the image is in a state of constant flux, forming and re-forming itself as time passes. Create your own personal art by using your fingers (multitouch) to interact with the elements on the screen. Tilt the device to change the direction of movement. Change various parameters that influence the behaviour of the …

iPhone Promocodes:

66KKL46THRMF
HXL3EAAH39FF
HJP3MPRXNW7M

Philia 02

PhiLia 02 is about collaboration between the human and the machine, expressed through generative movement, form and color.
The human and the machine are collaborators in the creation of a unique art experience.
You can interact with the elements on screen, but the machine always suggests its own ideas to which you can respond using your intuition. You can either set certain parameters yourself by accessing the Menu, or you can hand this responsibility over to the machine, which will randomly select parameters for you when you shake your device.

iPhone Promocodes:

FLMYKYHRE7AT
6H3J4Y3JMAF7
M49MYMYT4M6H

Sampletoy

Sampletoy is a radical new musical instrument/plaything; part sampler, part granular synthesiser. Use it to capture sounds through the microphone, then play, loop, pitch and distort them live on the screen. There are plenty of features under the hood, such as resonant filters, delays and envelope. You can enable “stepped” mode to play your sounds like a traditional keyboard, or keep it in “free” mode for some microtonal madness. Sampletoy is also available on mac for free at http://www.mrkbrz.com/sampletoy/

iPhone Promocodes:

EWXFK63PTPA7
4W934NXNYFET
LJE3TK9WFA9X
9HRKT99W9WLH
WLMHWYN76E9N

Thump

Thump is a pocket groove box for iPhone and iPod Touch. The intuitive interface allows you to dive in straight away to make music in seconds, then explore the wide array of options and settings to tweak your sound to perfection. Ideal as a musical sketch pad or a live performance tool. Features a drum machine and 2 synths. 3 voices X 2 oscillators per synth, load in your own drum samples to the drum machine Download mac/windows here: http://www.mrkbrz.com/thump/

iPhone Promocodes:

N7AMNEHJETNT
3HRK4RJLTKL7
KK6YNT7MTAPW
AAEKHAWW47WM
RWJJA4RK6Y9K

End

Continue reading.... Blogs We Read + Love [News]

Continue reading.... openFrameworks 006 [News]

Continue reading.... pigru [iPhone, Games]

Continue reading.... Chrome Experiments [News]

Continue reading.... Lego Font and Rubik Creator [Mac, Windows]

Continue reading.... Call for Guest Writers on CAN [News]

This brings us to the point of what makes a good iPhone clock app. Taking into account what I mentioned above, none of these apps fulfil the purpose we expect from them so the way we should look at this is by analysing which app gives us most aesthetic pleasure, ie which one looks best regardless of whether it’s actually useful. Think of it as a companion, something that gives purpose to visualising time on the iPhone.

1PX CLOCK is one of those clock apps. Simple, minimal, gorgeous and graphical. It is more about representation of time rather than functionality. It’s an absolute pleasure watching your screen fill with minutes in a black and white pixel like containers. Think about the time as a day, one full container that slowly gets filled showing you how much empty space is left. A contemporary sand clock?

Here is a description of the app:
1PX CLOCK is “1pixcel = 1 second” clock tick.

24 each square represents one hour.
And 360 one pixel is painted black and every second.

1px movement is small enough not to see that move as hard as one.
However, a second a lap seconds, 1 minute to create a column, you can clearly see a little bit over time.

1px clock in a black and white can be visualized.
Between work and a small, 1PX CLOCK try to feel the flow of time goes by?

Did I mention it was also FREE?

Platform: iPhone
Version: 1.1
Cost: Free
Developer: e-bird Inc.

[xrr rating=5/5]

Have a great year all!