It’s cold in NYC. Like, really cold. This Hand Radiator iPhone App turns your iPhone into a hand warmer. This might be the smartest dumb thing I’ve ever seen. Or is it genius. I can’t decide.

The app puts your iPhone on overdrive, using 100% of its processing power. That, as you probably have noticed with some applications, makes the components to overheat, which in turn can warm up your hands

How bad is that for the battery life? Via Gizmodo

Last month, the iPhone Brushes app made headlines with The New Yorker cover, which Jorge Colombo finger-painted in less than an hour. New Brushes paintings are added to the Brushes Flickr group daily. So far, one of my top finds has been the work of Jhonen Vasquez whose 90s-era Johnny The Homicidal Maniac comic is a personal favorite. Writes the artist about his latest painting: “As is usually the case, this wee thing was started while waiting to feed on something or other, the way lions draw intricate images while waiting for a gazelle to run by.” The app even has a time-lapse video feature, so you can see the artists in action. Check out Vasquez’ brushwork here. Awesome.

Most people with any sort of artistic impulse don’t reserve their urge to create for when they’re seated in front of a canvas or holding their pen and sketchbook. The drive to innovate can strike at any moment and can be realized by the use of any number of resources. Last but certainly not least on that list of instruments susceptible for giving birth to the mother of invention is the iPhone. Reflect, A new app from our good friend/web design guru Joshua Davis and Sideways Mobile, encourages users to explore their spontaneous leanings by entering the universe of algorithmic art from the safety of their own cellular device. By giving users the power to “produce random, generative pieces, and then view them in a Kaleidoscopic filter” the iPhone turns into it’s own portable art gallery where the walls are covered with the whimsical wonders of your warped imagination…which is sort of a change from your usual, more practical iphone apps; though a whole lot more fun.

FingerBeat is a virtual instrument inspired by retro synthesizers & samplers, designed for creativity & self-expression. A homage to dance music and pop culture, FingerBeat is a classic for absolutely everyone. Only on iPhone & second generation iPod touch. You can check out a video of it here.

Going gaga over the new iPhone? Want to build iPhone applications? Thoughts so. Design Commission just introduced this handy stencil to brainstorm your application ideas using a precision cut stainless steel stencil and mechanical pencil. What’s better? You can download a PDF of iPhone screens as a template to doodle your most-awesome ideas. $16.95, available now.

Wonder what color the desert of Petra is, or that delicious Uni sushi you just had for lunch? Sherwin-Williams just launched ColorSnap, an iPhone application that allows you to snap a photo and get the matching Sherwin-Williams paint color from more than 1,500 in their database. Nice for the designers tool kit. Click here to download from iTunes.   

Update: Speaking of color, check out XOLOR for a color seizure.

For the past year, the urban vinyl community has relied on Face Your Manga for all our avatar needs. But now one of our own has stepped up with an app that renders our likenesses in Kidrobocolor. That would be the awesome Tristan Eaton, whose Thunderdog Studios just released the B-BOT app for iPhone. B-BOT is the closest you will ever get your mug to a Munny. You can create your own B-BOT and also customize your contacts. When you receive a call from them, their B-BOTs will show up on the caller ID (and vice versa).

B-BOT was conceived by Tristan Eaton and Peter Cortez while working together on the 2008 Barack Obama Campaign. It was developed by Greg Elliott, the creator of SynchStep.

It is almost a euphoric moment, a private instance when you let a faint smile appear on your face that nobody else notices. I had one of these moments when I played Last Cannon for the iPhone. It’s rare that a game, especially for the Apple mobile platform, has all the key elements that make up a perfect experience – gameplay, artwork/graphics, music, controls. This hits on all points flawlessly. The story, told through journal entries, is of an post-apocalyptic world. You are the last of your kind after the knurlings rained down and destroyed your world. 

The developer counts Geometry Wars, Dr. Mario and Ikaruga among his inspirations and I can definitely see elements of each in the game. Last Cannon is available now in the iTunes store for just $0.99. Version 1.1 promises to bring online leaderboards which will definitely add another layer to the gameplay.  

As a bonus for the readers of joshspear.com, the creator has given us four download codes to give away. Just leave a comment below on what elements you look for in a good game and we’ll choose four of you at random.

Owning an iPhone isn’t exactly a sign that you march to the beat of a different drummer, but the apps you choose certainly can go a long way towards showing that you slide through life at your own tempo. The new Drum Meister app by Seung yi Lee can help illustrate that tempo, as a realistic drum kit application that allows you to recreate whatever rhythmic pace you feel suits you. Users are provided with an impressive interface where they can arrange their own set and bang the skins to their hearts content and even record and playback their fine percussive work. So whether you’re slamming the cymbals on a solo or slapping around some snare action you’ll never be at a loss to prove that you indeed have got the beat. Drum circles just got a drastic makeover.

With the immense popularity of photo sharing sites such as Flickr and Shutterfly, some might be inclined to say that they need another image sharing URL like they need a hole in their head. Well, once they’re introduced to the new iPhone-centric picture sharing application from Okimok.com, they might want to rethink that stance. This fresh spot for photo exchange allows users to instantly display their current state of being as captured on their pet electronic device and stream it to their friends via a superdeluxe slideshow. So whether you’re across the street or across the sea, you can remain visually apprised of the stunning picturesque whereabouts of your many significant others.

If a vintage suitcase featuring city stickers, a scavenger hunt, and an iPhone 3G were combined, the result would be location-based travel game Gowalla. The recently launched game from Texas-based “digital collectibles” company AlamoFire invites users to collect virtual stamps at the places they visit, hide icons for friends to find, and earn pins of glory, the granddaddy of Gowalla achievements awarded for completed trips. Austintonians and San Franciscans are currently the only app purchasers who can participate in the full experience, but other cities nationwide are being added and partially guided by the recommendations of user-added hot spots. Who doesn’t want to be rewarded for visiting extraordinary and everyday places with phone in hand?

Google’s “unsend” setting has already saved thousands of savvy net-izens from mistaken late night e-mails. The new iPhone Bad Decision Blocker application goes one step further, by blocking specific contacts at preset times. So the next time you want to declare you love for your boss with a liquored up 4 a.m. ring, the iPhone will stop you. Now you can focus on other important things — like sending that person a Facebook message.

Via Swissmiss

Unlike — the top notch city guide website — has just released a killer iPhone app full of food, art, fashion, events and urban culture, as well as some other very useful features. Using the iPhone’s GPS, Unlike can pull up a map of attractions, making you an instant expert. Plan a tour, save all your info, and then go walk the city. Most of the locations are international, which usually means roaming charges or finding a wifi spot. But the Unlike app downloads all the necessary info, so no need for an Internet connection. Individual city guides include: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen and London (more cities coming soon). They’re $4.99 each, or you can the buy the whole enchilada in one app for $19.99. [iTunes Link]

We’ve blogged about Parra almost as many times as he’s created products for Apple. Now that he’s released his own iPhone app, we can declare our love official. It comes as the latest piece for Incase products curated by Arkitip. The application includes some very basic games like memory, follow the leader and Simon, all sprinkled with Parra’s lightning and clouds design. It seems like great fun for kids, but really attractive for adults. And Parra’s app is free (no ads or pop ups), so no complaining. Here’s a link to the iTunes store. Now go and teach your children about good design.

Unless you’re out there chasing tornados, braving hurricanes, or watching your garage get pelted with golfball sized pieces of hail, weather is pretty boring. Pin Up Weather is trying to change that for iPhone users. They’ve got the concept down — the $2 application teases users with videos of an attractive woman and then delivers the forecast. But if they want to us to consider their photos pinup, they have to work harder. We recommend checking out Olivia and Vargas for direction.