This is something that could turn out big. A new iphone app called Dreamwalk provides users with a geocaching game that raises the ante a little by getting local businesses involved. Users can use the software to seek out "treasures," just like any similar game. Except, in this case, participating companies get to hide their own prizes for players to pursue, allowing them to get new prospects through the door in the process.

When you launch the app, it shows you a map that details where prizes are hidden. There are three ways to collect bounty - Instant Prizes, Collector's Stamps and Treasure Hunts - all of which require going out into the real world. For Instant Prizes, you simply have to go to the marked location on the map to get the reward added to your onscreen prize bag. Tap that and get instructions on how to redeem. Do note that these are usually simple stuff, like free fries at a local restaurant or cheap tickets to a show.

Collector's Stamps, on the other hand, require you to travel to different locations, gaining letter stamps at each one that spell out the words to the final destination. Treasure Hunts work similarly, except you gain clues instead of stamps. Since they're harder, the prizes for these two are usually bigger (e.g. videocams and gaming consoles).

Because they've only just launched, there are only a few thousand hidden treasures across the US, most of them concentrated in large metro areas (think New York, LA and Washington DC). However, developers at Dreamwalk Pty Ltd are negotiating for new businesses to come in and, potentially, make the loot more lucrative for avid treasure hunters across the country. Participating merchants, by the way, can easily upload new prizes via Dreamwalk's website, which will then turn up on gamers' maps.

Dreamwalk's beauty is that it is a win-win for all parties involved. Businesses get very hip marketing and users get a chance to win loads of free stuff around their area. An excellent concept that's totally worth the free App Store download.

[Dreamwalk Mobile]

Does your kid have an iPhone?  My nine-year old nephew has one - a hand-me-down from his mom when she got her shiny new 3GS.  While kids will most likely use it to play games, you have to keep in mind that they can also use it to surf the web.

As on the PC, you'd like to keep them off from objectionable areas of the internet.  Problem is, Safari offers zero parental controls on that end.  As such, they're pretty much free to wander about cyberspace unrestricted.

The Mobicip Safe Browser fills this gap, giving you options to block out unsavory websites from being accessed on your kids' iPhones.  Yep, it's an alternative browser that's actually approved by the App Store, because it does offer something that the native Safari client doesn't - a child-safe surfing environment.

Before you can force your kid to use it instead of Safari, you'll have to disable the latter manually: Settings -> General -> Restrictions.  It would have been better if this could be handled right from the app itself, although being a one-time change, it's no biggie.

Its main strength is that it functions and looks nearly like Safari, making the transition from using one to the other seamless, with no required learning curve.  The lack of a facility to import bookmarks is  bit of a letdown, though.

Mobicip itself costs $4.99, which gets you the child-safe browser plus a free account for their filtering service.  Any URL accessed from the app gets filtered through the company's servers, which decides whether to either allow or block it.  Free accounts get three levels of filtering: elementary, middle and high school.

If you want more detailed control of your child's surfing habits, you can also sign up for a Premium account for $9.99 per year.  This gets you plenty of latitude, including the ability to blacklist and whitelist specific pages and categories, download activity reports and manage multiple devices from a single dashboard.

[Mobicip for iPhone]

Aspiring guitar players can now get a new free Gibson app on their iPhone.  No, it won't turn your handset into a Les Paul as other apps are inclined to do.  Instead, it just bundles a number of free tools that six-string instrumentalists of all levels may find of value.

It comes with five different sections - tuner, metronome, chords, lessons and Gibson.com.  The tuner is a chromatic software that can track whatever note you're currently playing (which it receives via your iPhone's mic) and indicates whether you're flat, sharp or in tune.  It starts in "All Notes" mode, but gives options to allow for alternate tunings.  Very useful, especially if you've got a bad ear for sound.

The metronome is just a regular metronome app, which allows you to choose a specific BPM rate.   Tapping the screen three times will adjust the tempo according to your speed.   The chord area, on the other hand, gives you access to 30 chord charts, a great resource if you need help figuring out which finger goes where on the fretboard.

Need guitar lessons?  The app comes with very useful ones, drawn off the award-winning Learn and Master series from Legacy Learning Systems.  It comes with a variety of instructions for new licks, riffs and sequences - a definite value for new and struggling players.  Gibson also promises plenty of updates for this section, with more video lessons slated to come.  Finally, Gibson.com is the app's news area, where they list Gibson-related products and special events.

Overall, the free Gibson app is a definite download if you're at all planning to learn the guitar.  Even intermediate and slightly more advanced players might find it of value, too.

[Gibson App]