Top 10 iPhone Racing Games: Real Racing, Ground Effect, Jet Car Stunts

One of the most hotly contested proving grounds for any console is the racing genre and the iPhone is no different. There's a huge variety of different types of racing game to choose from on the App Store, and we have decided to compile ten of the absolute best. So when it comes to having something to show off how fantastic your shiny new iPhone 3GS is to your friends, you'll be in pole position. And so, in no particular order...

 

2XL Supercross - $7.99
This is still, not just one of the finest looking racers on the iPhone, but one of the finest looking games. It’s been updated several times since its release and now comes with a total of 15 tracks and 8 different control layouts, meaning there should be no complaints on those fronts. There’s also a dedicated 2XL server where you can compare your race times with other dirt rippers. If this game gets your engine revving, then you should also check out the similarly great 2XL ATV Offroad from the same developer.

 

Real Racing - $9.99
This one has grabbed more column inches than most racing games, thanks in part to the profile raising Flight Control which elevated people’s expectations of Firemint’s abilities, but also due to the fact that it features some of the finest track racing to appear on the iPhone. The collision physics are top notch and visually, it’s capable of silencing even the most hardened of iPhone gaming cynics. Now if only Firemint would hurry up and release that turbo charged 3GS edition it showed off earlier in the year.

 

Boost 3D - $1.99 (currently $0.99)
This is an odd one. There are no other racers and the tracks are entirely dynamic. That said, to call it anything other than a racer would seem wrong, so let’s agree that this is just a very original one. The aim is to steer past the coloured blocks while you hurtle forward automatically. The sense of speed is nigh on unparalleled and the stark visuals are an absolute triumph. It might not hold your attention for long, but in terms of games that push the genre forward, Boost is more exciting than many of its peers.

 

Need for Speed Undercover - $4.99
EA now lavishes the same attention on its iPhone releases as it does on other handheld consoles and Need for Speed Undercover is a bold statement of EA’s ambitions for the platform. Its vital statistics blow most of the competition away. Besides featuring 20 of the world’s most desirable real cars, there are 8 modes, three huge environments and 24 missions. And that’s all before you’ve got to grips with the customization options and upgrades. A genuine console-quality title on your iPhone and not to be missed.

 

Aqua Moto Racing - $3.99 (sale $0.99)
Charting territory that’s largely unchallenged in the iPhone space, sea-faring Aqua Moto Racing is as refreshing as it is technically accomplished. The bobbing waves and water effects are impressive, while the racing action itself is intense, addictive and challenging. It may be a bit short on extra modes, but the inclusion of stunts for gaining additional boost as well as a cool Ghost mode where you can go head to head with the best racers in the world, keep this title head and shoulders above water.

 

Asphalt 5 - $4.99
Gameloft has been pushing the Asphalt series since the days of Java on mobile phones and with the fifth official sequel developed as an iPhone exclusive, the series has quite possibly reached its zenith point. Featuring a whopping 30 real life cars (including the mythical Bugatti Veyron 16.4) this one is all about unashamed car porn. It’s fast too though and speed freaks can enjoy boasting rights on the included online leaderboard. Vroom Vroom indeed.  You may want to try FREE version.

 

Ground Effect - $3.99( sale $0.99)
Opting out of the battle for tyre screeching supremacy, Ground Effect features futuristic hover cars speeding through enormous, verdant open-world environments with show stopping falls, jumps and unapologetic spectacle. It’s also one of the only games on the App Store to feature full stereoscopic 3D visuals, so if you have some 3D glasses you can add an extra dimension to the already impressive visuals.

 

Slotz Racer - $4.99
Slotz Racer is not a game for speed freaks, but it’s a great off-kilter alternative to the standard racing set-up. Playing out as a table top effort, it’s all about controlling acceleration to stay on the track. But that’s only half the fun, Slotz Racer’s real draw is that you can create and share your own tracks with a very easy to use track editor. Not one to show off how great your iPhone is at pushing polygons, but it definitely shows off just how varied and creative a place the App Store is.

 

Jet Car Stunts - $1.99
Again, Jet Car Stunts is not your typical racer. The tracks feature some of the most stomach churningly vertiginous designs you could possibly imagine and playing it feels akin to steering a derailed roller-coaster. It’s much more fun than it sounds and though there is a certain amount of trial and error involved, the precision and inventiveness with which this classic has been crafted will keep you coming back time and time again.

 

Rally Master Pro 3D - $4.99
Back on familiar, dirty ground, Rally Master Pro 3D is about skidding about in the mud in overpowered, lightweight vehicles with a footloose and fancy free abandon for safety. Sporting a damage model, an as yet rare feature in iPhone racers, as well as a weather system and a staggering 27 tracks, Race Master Pro 3D carries the sort of features that must make its peers gurn with envy. It’s a looker too and makes for a superbly executed dirt kicking alternative to the garage of tarmac chewers on the App Store.

Conclusion

And so there you have it, ten speedy roadsters to clock up some serious mileage with over the holidays. We think we’ve covered a broad spectrum of different types of racing games, all of an exceptionally high quality. But maybe there are some games that are missing that you feel should have been included. Don’t be shy, we love to know what our readers think so if you have any other recommendations for top notch racing action on the iPhone, do please comment and let us know. We’re off for a pit stop now - enjoy!

This post is sponsored by:
Dr Mobiles Limited
1 Huron Street, Takapuna, North Shore 0622Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000Web - Map - Email - Posterous - Twitter - Blogger - Flickr
**** BUYER BEWARE ****
Please note that Dr Mobiles Limited is the only professional mobile phone repair centre that DOES NOT CHARGE inspection to look at your faulty phones.  Besides that, other charge up to $85 to produce a damage report for insurance claims; Dr Mobiles Limited will NOT charge your even a single dime to produce such report!  Terms and conditions apply, see www.drmobiles.co.nz
    

2011 Tech News Update: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 Review

Samsung are really taking tablets seriously these days. They already have three offerings this year. The other two are more compact, but it's the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that will lead the team ahead in enemy territory. The trio surely has one hard task ahead of them, but let's see how the eldest brother fares now.

    
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 official photos

The largest of the company's tablets offers more screen estate and larger battery, while at the same time maintaining the impressively slim waistline. There’s a Tegra 2 chipset ticking under the hood so you get the latest and greatest in mobile chipset technology.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 3G at a glance:

• General: GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz , UMTS 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, HSDPA 21 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
• Form factor: Tablet
• Dimensions: 256.6 x 172.9 x 8.6 mm, 565 g
• Display: 10.1" 16M-color WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) PLS TFT capacitive touchscreen
• CPU: Dual-core 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processor, ULP GeForce GPU, Tegra 2 chipset
• RAM: 1GB
• OS: Android 3.1 Honeycomb
• Memory: 16/32/64 GB storage
• Camera: 3.15 megapixel auto-focus camera with 720p video recording; LED flash, 2 megapixel front facing camera, video-calls
• Battery: 7000 mAh
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0+HS, standard microUSB port, GPS receiver with A-GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, FM radio, HDMI TV-out (through an adapter), USB host (adapter required)
• Misc: TouchWiz customization, DivX/XviD codec support, built-in accelerometer, multi-touch input, proximity sensor, gyroscope sensor

As you can see, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is nothing else, but a slightly larger 8.9 so the only question remaining is which one would suit your style better. And while we find the 8.9" size more versatile, it was the the 9.7-inch iPad that made the tablet class mainstream so it’s a good guess the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will probably have a wider reach.

Plus Samsung introduced some last minute touches to its largest slate, which should help it fare even better. At the eleventh hour the company announced that it will come with an even larger battery (7000mAh) and 30 grams lower weight than initially announced and that it will be getting DivX and XviD support. It seems like a good way to give an already competitive device an even bigger edge over its competitors (though in the case of the Tab 10.1 the edge is slimmer).

    
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 as seen by our camera

But those are all mostly guesses based on what the specs sheet of the device tells us. It's about time that we checked out its real-life performance and see if it will swing our opinion in another direction.

Design and construction

Designwise, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is nothing but an enlarged copy of its smaller brother, the Galaxy Tab 8.9. Which is mostly good as it shares its marvelously slim waistline and high-tech vibe, but also has a shortcoming or two like the plastic battery cover.

  
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 next to its smaller brother and the Galaxy S II

Yet we’ll repeat our point about having a plastic construction being preferable over a possible increase in the weight. In fact it is even more valid here given that the larger 10.1 Galaxy Tab is good 35 grams below the 600 mark. Its nearest competitor, the Apple iPad 2, is 47 grams heavier, which is a good 10% difference.

   
Sized up against the Apple iPad 2

And mentioning the iPad 2, we have to say that the Apple slate does have a slight edge in terms of design and overall feel. The Galaxy Tab strikes back with its easier handling due to its narrower body and slightly slimmer waistline.

    
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is even slimmer than the Apple latest slate

Just have in mind that even at 565 the Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn’t too portable – you will still need a place to rest your hands against or they will get tired pretty quickly.

A gorgeous display

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is built around a 10.1” PLS LCD screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The image quality and viewing angles of that display lives up to the high expectations for the PLS technology and ranks up with the best slates.

We still like the smaller Galaxy Tab 8.9 screen better, but that is to be expected given the higher pixel density. Plus we were pleasantly surprised to find that both slates are easily usable outside on a bright sunny day, even if colors do get a bit washed out.

 
The image quality and sunlight legibility came as nice surprises to us

Still, at this point, being able to see anything on a tablet screen when outside is considered a great achievement and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is almost as good as it gets.

Controls

The front of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 has no hardware controls whatsoever – with the Honeycomb OS based solely on touch controls, the slate just doesn’t need them. All you get is the front-facing camera, embedded in the bezel around the screen.

The two short sides of the slates (left and right) when you hold it in its default landscape orientationare pretty boring too, having nothing but a speaker each. The placement of the stereo speakers on the opposing sides seems like a better solution than what we saw on the Galaxy Tab 8.9, where they were right next to each other.

   
The stereo speakers are on the two sides of the slate

The reason for this is most probably that with the larger body, the Samsung engineers had more room for maneuvers and the freedom to place components optimally.

Moving on to the bottom of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 we find the proprietary 30-pin connector and the microphone pinhole. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t have telephony support, but the microphone is still needed for voice and video-chatting. There are a bunch of Android apps that offer that kind of functionality.

  
The 30-pin connector and the microphone pinhole are at the bottom

We feel compelled to reiterate our usual gripes about proprietary ports – if the Galaxy S II can do charging, HD TV-out and computer connectivity all through a single standard microUSB port, then why would Samsung need another type of port for these tablets. It might be a nice way for manufacturers to earn some money by selling accessories, but it’s not the most user-friendly solution.

And mentioning the accessories we got to spend some time with them too. The keyboard dock is pretty convenient packing lost of hardware shortcuts and allowing for comfortable two hand typing.

   
The keyboard dock is a really cool accessory, but was the proprietary port really necessary

We also got to try the USB host adapter, the SD card reader and the HDMI adapter. Have in mind that you will need a power cable to use the HDMI TV-out. Also a microSD card slot would have been much more appreciated than a card reader you need to purchase separately, but alas, we are in no luck.

   
Some of the other Galaxy Tab 10.1 accessories: USB-host and HDMI adapters and SD card reader

We now switch to the top where the 3.5mm audio jack and the SIM card slot are located. The SIM card slot was a bit hard to use on our pre-release unit but we expect this to be fixed in the final version of the device. This is also the only part of the device to feature any kind of hardware controls with the volume rocker and the power key near the left edge.

   
It’s much busier at the top

The journey ends at the back of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, which features the 3.15 megapixel camera lens and its low-light friend, the LED flash. Hardly a miracle-maker, the flash unit will probably make better use as a torch than provide serious shooting assistance. Then again serious shooting is not what springs to mind when you see a slate with a camera spec’d circa 2006.

 
There’s nothing but the camera lens and the LED flash at the back

This post is sponsored by:
Dr Mobiles Limited
1 Huron Street, Takapuna, North Shore 0622Tel: (09) 551-5344 and Mob: (021) 264-0000Web - Map - Email - Posterous - Twitter - Blogger - Flickr
**** BUYER BEWARE ****
Please note that Dr Mobiles Limited is the only professional mobile phone repair centre that DOES NOT CHARGE inspection to look at your faulty phones.  Besides that, other charge up to $85 to produce a damage report for insurance claims; Dr Mobiles Limited will NOT charge your even a single dime to produce such report!  Terms and conditions apply, see www.drmobiles.co.nz