Thought Provoking  
By: SIconserver - Sep 20, 2009
Version: 1.3.1
Smule Sonic Lighter Review This iPhone / iPod app is very thought provoking. It works as described; the flint sticker ignited the energy source on the first spin. On the iPodTouch the remote microphone that comes attached inthe earphone wire blew out the flame on the first puff.The earphone microphone can be used with iPhone/iPod OS version 3.0 and later. After the flame was extinguished after about 24 seconds I was surprised to notice that my total energy consumption was a massive 24 watts, if my calculation are correct. The watt (Symbol: W) is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). One watt is equivalent to 1 joule (J) of energy per second. My total Smule Burn to date is only 24 (J) and it would be interesting to know the total "“SMULE UNITS”" being consumed or conserved worldwide on a daily basis.Perhaps the first step in reducing the world’s energy consumption is to reduce our own (SI)?

Lighting Secrets Revealed!  
By: azboi - Feb 17, 2009
Version: 1.3
The 1.1 update got released and I'm updating my review. I first bought the app after watching the youtube video and my single biggest complaint about the older version: too difficult to do phone-to-phone ignites, this has been made easier. Now only the phone giving the light needs to the hold down the valve. Why this is, I don't know. But the blowtorch flame that you get when holding down the valve is pretty cool so I'm not going to complain too much. The globe updates are nice and I am still amazed by the flickers of light in the most unlikely places.

Felina Fontez  
By: filina fontez - Feb 1, 2009
Version: 1.1
I see flames burning in the Philippines on the lighter globe. I wonder if that is my cousin. I know he has an iPhone and lives around Baguio City. I'm going to send him an email now and ask him to ignite the Sonic Lighter. I also see lights in the south pacific. Nothing yet in antarctica. Does the iPhone gps work down there? Can I customize this flame? I want to see all people from the Philippines living in America.

Thought Provoking  
By: SIconserver - Sep 20, 2009
Version: 1.3.1
Smule Sonic Lighter ReviewThis iPhone / iPod app is very thought provoking. It works as described; the flint sticker ignited the energy source on the first spin. On the iPodTouch the remote microphone that comes attached inthe earphone wire blew out the flame on the first puff.The earphone microphone can be used with iPhone/iPodOS version 3.0 and later. After the flame was extinguished after about 24 seconds I was surprised to notice that my total energy consumption was a massive 24 watts, if mycalculation are correct. The watt (Symbol: W) is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units (SI). One watt is equivalent to 1 joule (J) of energy per second. My total Smule Burn to date is only 24 (J) and it would beinteresting to know the total "“SMULE UNITS”" being consumed or conserved worldwide on a daily basis.Perhaps the first step in reducing the world’s energy consumption is to reduce our own (SI)?

More than just novel  
By: Brihaji - Dec 11, 2008
Version: 1.2.1
Besides the sheer novel delight you will get displaying you iPhone's capabilities to you friends (like blowing out a virtual flame, tilting the phone to make it "burn" the sides, and pinching it to make it make it smaller), you may feel the amazingly simple and powerful feeling of being connected to the rest of the world when I saw my tiny vitual flame burning on a globe with the rest of the flames out there. Silent and strong. The feeling of being a small part of something that big is worth far more than the cost of this application.

Awesome  
By: smokey1985 - Oct 28, 2008
Version: 1.2
This application, while not very useful in the traditional way, is incredibly cool. It has got to be the neatest of the useless applications. So it costs $0.99... big deal, most people spend more on a can of soda during lunch. Can of soda gives maybe... a few seconds of pleasure, this lighter application can give hours of fun (especially when hanging with mates at a pub). I highly recommend buying this app. The new obama vs mccaine aspect is awesome.

Paris is burning!  
By: the other oracle - Oct 24, 2008
Version: 1.1
How the people at Smule went about packing all of these crazy things into a 'lighter' is beyond me. Yet I confess I love this product.
First of all, I believe it is the best lighter. The flame is realistic. It sways on tilt. If I tilt 90 degrees, I hear a crackling sound, as if the side of my phone is burning. It interacts with touch: I can resize my flame with pinch gestures. I can burn my finger by holding it in the flame. It interacts with wind: I can make the flame dance with light breath. And I can blow it out with full breath (important: aim at the base of the phone, as this is where the microphone resides). My sister has a 2G and she said it was much more difficult to blow it out. Apple increased the sensitivity of the mic/speaker hardware with the 3G, so perhaps Smule needs to compensate for this on the 2G. My sister eventually did succeed, but it definitely took more work.
Crazy lighter is simply absurd. And these guys are gaming the store: free for two weeks to jack their numbers, then paid for the weekend to drive sales (and land in top 25). Read the reviews people. Read the reviews. iLighter actually has an awesome flame. But that's it. Sonic Lighter is the top lighter on the market.
But it's not really a lighter. Double tap the flame and you'll see what I mean. You immediately see a real-time rendered globe from a perspective of space. And you immediately notice all of the lights all over the globe -- actual ignitions of the Sonic Lighter from people all over the world. Initially I was skeptical -- too easy to make up this data, no? So I tested it. I checked the smule map on their web site -- it allows you to zoom down to the street level. I ignited at work and home. Sure enough, I found my flame, precise to 50 meters, right there where I ignited. Then I ignited on the highway when driving. Smule was less accurate here, but I still found the flame. They must be storing all of this stuff in a big data base and accessing it real-time from my phone. When you finally realize this is real data and real people, then the gigantic flame in France becomes all the more meaningful. Paris appears to be burning to the ground. I especially enjoyed seeing the ignition off the coast of Africa -- Canary Islands? Why is China so dark? No iphones? I want more control over this view. I want to see what is igniting now (not just the past few days).
I also love igniting other phones. This, like blowing, takes some skill. First, you need to hold down both valves on both phones. And second, if it is noisy, you need to put the speaker of the flame (touch pad speaker) near the mic of the phone you are igniting. Once you figure it out, this is the coolest demo on the phone. This concept is extremely powerful -- a real network about real people (vs that virtual nonsense of facebook).
So, top lighter, but not really a lighter. Give me one valve lights. Fix my crash (if I launch fast after quitting I seem to have a problem, but if I wait, this seems to go away). Turn up the sensitivity on my sister's 2G phone. And then I'll give you another star. In spite of these issues, however, I can say this product rocks.
* 1.1 update gave me one valve lights. Doesn't seem to crash. Sensitivity better. Adding another star (as promised).

Sonic LIghter is Surreal  
By: keifferz - Oct 18, 2008
Version: 1.1
I thought I was dreaming when I clicked on the globe and saw all of the flames. How cool. And they are real. I checked out the smule web site. I zoomed down to the street level. Sure enough, my five ignitions marking my way home from work (better then bread crumbs). I figured out the network flame option (two smiley faces on globe view). Took me a while (smule, not sure this UI is intuitive). But I'm now tracking my network. Hope it makes it to the East coast one of these days.

This app seems more significant at second glance  
By: Cache County - Oct 13, 2008
Version: 1.1
At first I thought this was just another silly lighter. Now I realize this is not another lighter. This application has redefined what is possible on the iPhone.
Frankly it wouldn't be possible to do the things this app does without a sophisticated audio engine. I'm guessing they used Chuck -- that engine developed at Princeton (I see on the smule.com website that Dr. Ge Wang is the CTO, plus the app comes from chuck-inc? smule?). Using this 'audio engine', they've done some fairly creative things. I love the ability to blow out my flame. They must be detecting amplitude variations on the microphone. When I talk into the microphone, nothing happens. But when I blow hard, I extinguish the flame. And when I blow lightly, it seems to move the flame around in light gestures.
The flame is solid but perhaps not as compelling as the iLightr flame. Yet these guys seem to be doing full audio out/in while probably serving up >25 frames/sec. Not bad. I also like the idea of the Sonic Modem. I was able to light my friend's phone. It only works if you are close, and you need to believe that in fact your flame is coming just underneath the flints on the other phone. I wonder what will be coming next.
I found a bug -- if you receive a call with the Sonic Lighter running you lose audio. At least the people at Smule noted this on their website faq. But I would expect more from a bunch of audio experts. (It appears they fixed this in the 1.1 -- updating my review).
What I love most is the ability to see anonymous flames across the globe. I double-tap my flame, and presto, a world-view of all ignitions. I already seem flames in Europe and the West Coast. I would like the ability to zoom in and have a more detailed view.
All and all, this is an extremely compelling application of iPhone technology: audio, GPS, multi-touch, GPU (likely opengl), and accel. (you can burn the side of your phone if you tilt the phone sideways).
Bravo Smule.

A very fun app!  
By: P.L.A. - Sep 29, 2008
Version: 1.0.1
This app is very fun! I love looking at my sonic light on the globe when I am travelling and watching the "fire" spread across the different continents. And it leverages all the functionality of your iphone: wifi to spread the flame to your friend's phone, speakers to blow the flame, GPS to see all the sonic community members on the globe. A must have to play with fire without getting burned...and really worth the 0.99 cents.

Worthless, BUT worth 99 cents  
By: j.eck - Sep 21, 2008
Version: 1.0
Let me explain, sure the are like a thousand lighter apps out there all of which do pretty much the same thing; show a flame. But this has some pretty inocative features that make it down right worth the buck! I love that you can view the globe in 3D and see where else the app is running WORLD WIDE... Perhaps the most interesting function that I have seen any app (lighter or otherwise) utilize. Nevermind the fact that the flame reacts to physics and the multi touch display. VERY COOL WASTE OF TIME, worth every one of my 99 pennies.

Clever!  
By: BrahmsIs - Sep 20, 2008
Version: 1.0
Not only great design and execution of the lighter itself (using the mic as a wind velocity input tool to affect the graphic is cool, and watching the side of your iPhone bubble and melt when you turn it on it's side is amusing), but the best part is seeing the simultaneous ignitions on the globe graphic. Fascinating to see where people all around the world are using the same app at the same time. Can't wait to see what else Smule will be coming out with!

It Does Exactly As Stated!  
By: thetoothfairy - Sep 17, 2008
Version: 1.0
I just had to see this for myself... the lighter does work when you flick it and it does flicker when you blow and does fry the side of your phone... but really though... but it is neat to see... what is cool about it is seeing all the lighters around the world.... now if this is true or not that they are really out there.... will leave it on my phone for awhile and check in awhile to see if more show up on the map... according to it already there is alot of people that have this already.... but not by the reviews of this app so far... so wonder where they got this app at? Unless they have a warez version of it..
If you are nosey and want to see this... buy it.... as for the price was it really worth it to me.... NO.... but gave it five stars because of what you can with it...

a greeat way to show off your iPhone  
By: _paul - Sep 16, 2008
Version: 1.0
So I just saw this app on Gizmodo and figured, for $.99, why not try it out. It's a lighter, so I didn't plan on reviewing it, but it does some neat tricks. Turn your iPhone sideways and the flame shifts with it. Expose it to wind (blow into the microphone), and the flame flickers. The graphics are cool and the sound effects are a surprise. You can see a globe with other users, so it will be interesting to see how the flame spreads!

Cool!  
By: MushyBeanz - 08-Oct-2008
Version: 1.1
I have been looking for a lighter sim to mess about with but the others on the app store didn't appeal to me. Some don't use the accelerometter and others just seem boring and had bad reviews. However after reading the reviews below of this one and all the extra features this offers I couldn't resist (the globe of other users and being able to blow out the flame is just cool). Animation of the flame is good and it uses the accelerometer to tilt the flame too. So overall for me it's well worth the money and offers more than other lighter sims on the market - highly recommended for only £0.59p!

Awesome lighter app  
By: NA Guy - Sep 26, 2008
Version: 1.0.1
Just a couple of suggestions. When you turn the lighter upside down, you should make the flame turn blue and really small (it shouldn't just stay on the side of your iPhone/iPod. Also, when your "burning" the sides of your iPhone/iPod or your finger, you should have a burning sound (maybe like a fireplace?). One last thing, make the animation of the flame starting (it shouldnt just appear) and the flicker more realistic. Other than that, its a pretty amazing app. I reccomend this app to everyone.
P.S. You should make the mic more sensitive so when you "blow" the flame out, it doesn't take several tries.

Lots of fun and certainly better than comparable apps  
By: Moeblues - Sep 25, 2008
Version: 1.0.1
Sure there are lots of iPhone ligthers around, and none are intended to do anything useful. Take this one as a demonstration of some really awesome things that can be done on the iPhone, nothing more, nothing less. And this app does them really well. I was most impressed by the geo-located lighters around the globe. I don't understand some of the really poor reviews here, with basically false or meaningless content. Competitors perhaps?

Nice quick fun  
By: GoldnGT - Sep 24, 2008
Version: 1.0.1
This is a nice CHEAP app to really show some of what's coming with the iPhone. Its more than just a lighter, its got a nice chunk of social interaction built in. Well worth the .99. The first day I downloaded it I played with it for a good 30 mins just trying different things. The next day my cousin downloaded it and we had a nice time wasting the work day showing people how it all worked. I haven't wasted any money =)

My new flame  
By: mattie-dee - 13-Oct-2008
Version: 1.1
Very cute. Well thought out, works perfectly. Can't wait to test the ignite other iphones. Love the globe view! I'd put it close in the league of Koi Pond: excellent $1 app full of nice surprises.

Cool  
By: RobySoft - 04-Oct-2008
Version: 1.1
This is great fun