Heading into 2010, the entire staff of iLounge would like to thank our readers and community members for a great 2009. The year that’s passed saw many exciting developments and changes, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store in the year to come.

Thank you all for another great year—we hope you and yours have a terrific 2010!
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Synthetic Corp has released Hipstamatic, its first application for the iPhone. Hipstamatic is a new camera application that mimics the functionality of an interchangeable lens analog camera, with multiple lenses and “films” provided with the initial purchase; more lenses, films, flashes, and gels are available as $1 packs from within the application. Hipstamatic is available now and sells for $2. D3i has introduced Momento, a new writing…

Apple has won a judgement in a class-action lawsuit that sought to hold the company responsible for hearing loss caused by iPods. Reuters reports that Senior Judge David Thompson of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected the suit, upholding a prior district court ruling that the plaintiffs in the case failed to show that use of the iPod poses an unreasonable risk of noise-induced hearing loss. “The plaintiffs do not allege…

Welcome to the final iPhone Gems gaming column of 2009! In this edition, we’re looking at three titles that we wanted to squeeze into our coverage before the year ended: one is an action-platform game, another is a licensed beat-em-up, and the third is a licensed wrestling game. Interestingly, the best title of the bunch isn’t the one with the flashiest graphics or a well-known television show to draw in fans, but rather, it’s a…

Tapulous has revealed that its popular Tap Tap Revenge 3 rhythm game has seen 2 million downloads since its price was dropped from $1 to free on December 23. Silicon Valley Insider reports that the game, which employs both in-app advertising and in-app purchases to generate revenue, did more than 700,000 downloads on Christmas alone, far more than the most current Tap Tap release did last year. Tap Tap Revenge is currently the most popular free application…

The iPhone has seen continued strong sales in France since the device spread from Orange to competing carriers Bouygues Telecom and SFR in April. According to a Le Figaro report (Translated Link), Apple is expected to see 2009 sales between 1.8 and 2 million iPhones in France, representing around 8.5% of the 23.5 million phones sold in the country this year, and 20% in terms of market value. “Sales are significantly higher than that of Christmas…

That brings us to an expensive new set of add-on lenses from Digital King and Japanese developer Toda Seiko, called “Wide & Macro” ($45) and “180 Degree Fish-Eye” ($89), which use a different mounting technique from their predecessors. Toda Seiko developed an adhesive and magnetic attachment system that sticks a magnetic ring to the back of your iPhone 3G or 3GS, enabling you to attach and detach each lens with only the…

Both SmarTone/Vodafone and 3 are preparing to launch the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in Hong Kong. The carriers will be the first in Hong Kong to offer the iPhone directly, and while SmarTone has little information about its plans and pricing online, offering only a simple form to sign up for future updates, 3 has full plans and pricing available, but no firm release date listed. Pricing on 3 will run from HK $4,880 (roughly $630) for a 32GB iPhone…

Nokia has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission alleging that Apple infringes on the Finnish company’s patents “in virtually all of its mobile phones, portable music players, and computers.” According to the company’s announcement, the complaint centers on seven Nokia patents related to user interfaces, as well as camera, antenna, and power management technologies, all of which allow for a “better…

Welcome to the final 2009 edition of Weird and Small Apps, which we’ll be evolving in 2010 into a new column—one that accommodates everything from the truly weird and miniature applications we’ve previously reviewed, to larger applications that we’d prefer to cover only briefly. To that end, this edition includes a mix of big and small applications that we’ve been playing with in recent weeks, each worthy of attention…