I was poking around the iTunes AppStore this week and took a $.99 chance on a recently launched game from FDG Entertainment called Parachute Panic.

This fun casual game requires you to successfully land a host of parachutists into passing boats while trying to avoid obstacles such as helicopters, U.F.O´s, sharks and thunder clouds.

The game play is reminiscent of the vintage Nintendo Game & Watch handheld parachute game that I used to love to play back in the early 80's.

The game has very cool hand drawn graphics, smooth animations, catchy music and awesome sound effects. The game has been getting good reviews in the App Store and I have to agree - it is very well done and lots of fun.

Check out a video of the game here.

The only slightly negative comment I will make is that this game is not easy. It takes a little while to get used to the controls and even after mastering the techniques, the action picks up fast and furious. My 7 year old lost interest pretty quickly as it was too hard, but personally, I love the game, and for a buck it's well worth it. Click here to get it now.

Cheaper iPhone Coming Soon?

Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference kicks off Monday and according to Financial Times, Apple plans to introduce a cheaper version of its popular iPhone as soon as Monday, in a move that could dramatically increase the company’s share of the smart phone market.

Analysts said that the company is likely to introduce either a $149 phone or a $99 phone, down from the current low end of $199.

Citing a firm survey of consumers, Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty said that a $50 price cut could increase demand for the phone by 50% and a $100 cut by 100%.

Apple sells about 11% of the world’s smart phones, trailing Nokia at 41% and Research in Motion (Blackberry) at 20%, according to Gartner figures from the first quarter.

Walt Mossberg does a great review of the Palm Pre today. If you're considering the device or just curious, you should read it here.

Couple highlights:

"But on June 6, Apple will get a powerful competitor in this category. It's a beautiful, innovative and versatile hand-held computer that's fully in the iPhone's class. It's called the Pre, and it comes from Palm, the company that pioneered the hand-held computer in the 1990s. I've been testing the Pre for a couple of weeks, and I like it a lot, despite some important drawbacks that will have to be remedied."

"All in all, I believe the Pre is a smart, sophisticated product that will have particular appeal for those who want a physical keyboard. It is thoughtfully designed, works well and could give the iPhone and BlackBerry strong competition -- but only if it fixes its app store and can attract third-party developers."

Billing Revolution Says Mobile Shopping About to Explode

Americans are gradually warming up to the idea of buying things via their mobile phones, particularly young adults and men, found a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for the mobile credit card security firm Billing Revolution.

Harris surveyed 2,029 adults from April 29 to May 1; 1,883 of those surveyed were cell phone owners (93%). Close to half (45%) said they think that shopping via cell phones is “somewhat safe,” though just over a quarter (26%) feel that mobile shopping is completely safe.

Regardless, fewer than half of those surveyed (46%) said they would be willing to shop using their cell phones even if safety was not an issue. But attitudes vary based on age and sex, according to Harris. As with many emerging technology-driven habits, younger adults appear more willing to embrace change; 59% of the 18-34 crowd feels that mobile shopping is somewhat safe, versus just 34% of adults over 55. Also, half of men find the concept of cell phone shopping somewhat safe versus 39% of women.

The relative youth, as well as the male-skewing nature of the potential mobile shopping audience seems to influence the sort of purchases respondents indicated they would be willing to make. Harris found that entertainment is likely to emerge as a key mobile commerce category, as willing mobile shoppers said they would be most interested in purchases such as movie tickets, music, mobile video and games.

Officials at Billing Revolution said the survey results ndicated that mobile shopping is poised for growth in the near term, as more and more Americans purchase sophisticated smart phones like Apple’s iPhone and spend more time accessing the Internet via these devices. “There’s clearly a large U.S. population of consumers open to the idea of making purchases via their cell phones,” said Andy Kleitsch, CEO Billing Revolution. “With consumers getting more comfortable navigating the Web from mobile phones, mobile commerce is poised for explosive growth, and consumers are very much leading the charge in this direction.”

5000 Android Apps

Google's Android Market now offers more than 4,900 applications for smartphones powered by the Android mobile operating system, according to the web services giant's vice president of engineering Vic Gundotra.

Speaking Wednesday at Google's annual I/O developer event in San Francisco, Gundotra said Android users have downloaded an average of more than 40 applications per user, adding that Android smartphones are now second in the U.S. in mobile web browsing, behind Apple's iPhone.

5000 apps is a pretty good number. We (Movaya) are about to launch our first premium app in the Android Market next week so we'll see how that goes.