Category: Apps

Kuwait Labor Law is a new app available on Android and iOS devices. The app provides you with a quick reference to the Kuwait labor law, Kuwait traffic violations with all the penalties listed as well as all the requirements and the latest changes to the driving license requirements.

Although the information is readily available for free online the app creators believe that their $3.99 asking price is still worth it. I had a conversation with the creators by email and they managed to convince me that ponying up around KD1 for the app could be worth it. Their app allows you to add certain articles to your favorites tab, the ability to type in a word or phrase and search the entire listing and most importantly, if there is a change in any of the laws you will be notified by the app immediately.

If you’re interested in purchasing the app here are the links:
Android Version
iOS Version

The popular Kuwait guide iPhone app Urban Moon just got a major update yesterday. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is the speed of the app. My biggest complaint with their previous version is that once you launched the app you had to wait a few seconds for it to download the latest phone numbers. Now the downloads take place in the background so you can start using the app as soon as you launch it.

Another new feature is that the app will now contain reviews. Currently restaurants in the app have a generic description but they’ve already started writing reviews and soon they’ll be swapping out the generic descriptions with honest reviews of the restaurants. That I think could be interesting and maybe even more so if they allow people to submit their own reviews similar to the Yelp app.

You can check out the full list of improvements and features in the Apple Store [Here]

iBadala is a local phone directory app on the iPhone and one that I use frequently. I’ve posted about them before [Here] and my biggest complaint back then was regarding the app’s design which looked prehistoric.

Turns out they read my post since I got an email from iBadala yesterday telling me that based on my feedback they’ve released a new revamped app with a completely new look. I downloaded the app awhile ago and the app does look better but more importantly the ease of use and speed is still there so they haven’t broken anything. In fact, they’ve made two minor changes to speed things up even more:

Search as you type
According to iBadala this feature was supposed to be in the original release but it never worked properly. What this feature does is it starts searching for results as you type so if you’re searching for “Open Flame Kitchen” by the time you’ve typed “Open” you already have two results displayed with the second one being Open Flame Kitchen.

Search results ranking
Another new feature to speed things up is how the results order changes the more people use the app. For example as I mentioned above a search for “open” will result in two results with Open Flame Kitchen being the second. If a lot of people are searching for open and then clicking on Open Flame Kitchen more than the first result which is Arab Open University, then the app will start displaying Open Flame Kitchen as the first result instead.

I was also told they’re releasing an Android version of the app in the next few days so that should please some people as well. If you want to download the iPhone version it’s available right now in the [App Store]

Q8Car, my favorite car site now have an iPhone app. I tried it out and although I found the graphics a bit clunky I found the app fast and practical.

On a basic level you could use the app to simply browse for cars. They have a good car search feature similar to their website where you can browse for cars based on specific options like brand or color for example. Once you submit your criteria get a list of all the cars available in their database.

Now if you are a registered member on Q8Car you get additional features you can take advantage of. Using the app you access your inbox messages for one thing but more importantly, you can also upload a car you’re planning on selling as well as check up on your current listings.

The Q8Car iPhone app is available right now in the Apple store as a free download and you can get it from [Here]

I found out about this app from His&Hers and I think it’s pretty practical. We don’t have a lot of gas stations in Kuwait so they’re a lot harder to find when you really need one. Now the next time you’re hitting empty you just launch the app and look for the closest station to you. The app is called KNPC and it’s available in the App Store for free. [Link]

Thanks His&Hers

I’ve been meaning to update the Kuwait Blogs app for awhile now but due to the fact I do all the work on my iMac I haven’t been able to do so. My iMac had a problem with the screen and I sent it in to get repaired under warranty which took around a month to get done. I just finally picked up my iMac today so will most probably be working on an update for the app this weekend.

I’m aware that the current build of the app is unstable with iOS4.3 and it’s my priority fix. I already know whats wrong I just need to work on it. What I also want to do if I have time is update the blogs in the app. I can’t add any more apps since I’ve hit the limit, but I can swap out blogs that aren’t active anymore or aren’t as active as they used to be. So if you have any recommendation on what blog I should add to the app leave it as a comment below.

If you want to download the current app here is the [Link]

EA is selling a large chunk of its games for a dollar a piece for a limited time. I play a ton of games on my iPhone and iPad so I think this is a pretty good deal if it wasn’t for the fact I already own most of them. Here are the games on sale:

iPhone/iPod touch games
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Mirror’s Edge
Tetris
SimCity Deluxe
Pictureka!
The Simpsons Arcade
Need For Speed Hot Pursuit
Need For Speed Undercover
Need For Speed Shift
The Sims 3
The Sims 3 World Adventures
The Sims 3 Ambitions
Monopoly
Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition
Scrabble
Risk: The Official Game
The Game of Life Classic Edition
FIFA 11
FIFA 10
NBA Elite 11
NCAA Football
Madden NFL 11

iPad games:
Reckless Racing HD
Pictureka! for iPad
Snood for iPad
Yahtzee HD
Clue: Secrets & Spies

Note: Make sure you’re logged in to the US store
Note2: If you don’t have a US account and want to create one click [Here]

This has to be the strangest local app so far and I doubt the creator got permission from Funoon. For those of you don’t know what “درب الزلق” is, here is a [Video]. On the other hand if you want the app click [Here]

Not sure how many people know this but you can customize the main icons on the bottom of the Kuwait Blogs app. In the latest version I have my blog, Fahad’s blog, Buz Fairy and Me Blogging but you can set up any of your favorite blogs instead. All you need to do is click on “More” and then click on “Edit” on the top right. Now you can just drag and drop your favorite blogs down to the bottom bar.

There is a minor bug currently where you can’t read the names of the 4 most bottom blogs in the edit page. I couldn’t figure out how to fix that honestly. From now on for every update I will have 3 random blogs other than mine set up by default at the bottom. They will most probably be blogs which I think are good but aren’t getting the attention they should be getting.

If you haven’t downloaded the Kuwait Blogs app already click [Here]

After releasing the iPhone and iPad application the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have launched the BlackBerry version. You can download it for free by visiting their website [Here]

According to KUNA an Android version is in the works. [Link]

For those of you who’ve updated to iOS4 and noticed problems with the Kuwait Blogs App like the back button missing I am working on the fix right now. I should have checked and seen if there were any issues with the app and iOS4 earlier but I’ve been really busy. The update should be available in the app store in the next few days.

Update: Here is a quick temporary fix until the update is available in the App store. To see the back button again just click on Leave a comment at the end of the posts. Thanks Aziz for the tip.

For those of you stuck at work during the games here are two links to websites that streams the games live online. [Link] and [Link]

Personally I am watching the games live on my iPhone via MobiTV. Here are all the channels available to watch with MobiTV and its only for $9.99 a month. [Channels List]

The Kuwait Blogs iPhone app update is now available in the app store. I’ve added three new blogs, Kuwait Exposed, Q8 Black Market and Up Till One. On the other hand I had to remove the Some Contrast blog. Their feed was crashing the app randomly and although I didn’t mind that I was getting a lot of complaints by email and I was forced to remove it. They should be back in the next update once I figure out how to fix their feed. [App Store]

Due to many travelers being stuck all over the world due to the ash clouds from the recent volcano eruption, Lonely Planet is offering their iPhone apps for free. Their regular prices are usually $9.99 to $15.99 for each country app but from now till Thursday the European ones are going to be free. I just got a ton of countries as you can see above. [Link]

The creator of the SumSushi iPhone app emailed me telling me he’s now included Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE Yo! Sushi prices in the application. So the next time you pass by Yo! Sushi it’s a lot easier to keep track of your bill. Once you download the app just go to the iPhone’s settings and then click on SumSushi and choose your country. The app is free. [Link]