Have you ever been on iTunes looking for new apps and just been left with an emptiness feeling? Wishing that there was something more out there? Some kind of program or site that could help you find new iPhone Apps and fresh apps that a community gives approval for? Well… it is sure that iTunes does NOT provide that. And after searching the web, I was convinced that there is nothing out there that could compel me to believe that there is a site that could provide everything that iTunes was missing. Until one day…

I came across a site called FreshApps. They claimed to be the different one… The site that could help you find cool new iPhone Apps. Well… at first I was a little bit skeptical. The site’s first impression was good, with clean design and the content was so easy to find. But the site seemed to be nothing more than a good looking iPhone ranking site. That is, until I noticed that they have taken it much farther than that.

You see, the idea behind FreshApps is that users, like you and I make apps fresh! That means if you like an app, or if you have downloaded that app, you make it fresh! And the more people make it fresh, the better the chances of it showing on the homepage, where Apps are ranked by their freshness. But, according to the site, they do not rank just by most freshness. Because if they did,  then all the classic apps would always be on the homepage, like Wikipanion, Google Earth, Remote, etc. But, FreshApps instead takes into account the activity that surrounds the App. For example, if an app has been recently made fresh a whole bunch of times, and there is some conversation about the app on the site, then that app is made more fresh overall! Which means that new, unpopular apps that are good, will be able to compete with the app giants! That is why I think FreshApps is so different, and so much more applicable than iTunes when trying to find some good apps.

They also have a lot more to add then just that… You can also rank apps by the most discussed, or the highest freshness, or the newest. Not only that, they also have a powerful RSS feed, the best I have found. Finally I can have a comprehensive Apple iPhone Feed.

Criticisms:
Fresh Apps is by far the best thing I have seen yet, but, there still is room for improvement.

• I would like to see a more robust search. Not just tag’s or keywords.
• A more powerful commenting system, maybe similar to that of Digg.
• An iPhone web friendly version of the site.
• A more powerful user area.
• The ability to suggest Apps based on current apps that other users have that you also have.
• Faster loading times… I know the site is in beta, but I would like to see faster load times for the images.

Overall, I am a FreshApps fan. I have found better iPhone Apps on Fresh Apps then I ever have on iTunes. I can already think of 4 or 5  good apps that I found, just through Fresh Apps, that I would have never found through iTunes.

Microsoft has just debunked new rumors that it will integrate Blue Ray players into its consoles. The rumor came from within the storage industry that a company called Lite-On will be manufacturing a Blue Ray add on for the 360.

Microsoft claims that consumers can still enjoy their HD content from the download store. A quote from Microsoft states

“For our customers who want a premium movie experience we offer the largest library of on-demand HD content available, and the ability to play back DVDs in high definition.”

This isn’t surprising that Microsoft is denying claims of a Blue Ray add-on. Even if they are planning a Blue Ray add-on, it would be foolish to announce it at this time in the year. It would probably be released closer to Christmas time.