One of the great things about digital distribution solutions like Steam and the App Store is the ability for developers to notify their customers automatically about available updates to their products. These updates can be pushed out automatically to end users and keep bugs and security holes in check without too much work (or thought) on the customer’s part. In the days of yore, we had to go to a developer’s website, figure out which version of the software we currently had, download the correct patch to go from version 1.092 to 1.097, unzip the files, find our program directory, run the patch, and hope nothing broke in the process that would force a reinstall. These days, we just click an update button and get on with our lives.

While Steam automatically downloads updates for any game you have in your library, the App Store is a different beast. All you get is a badge on the App Store icon with a number. This number signifies how many apps you currently have installed that have updates available. A great system, but one I have found that most people ignore completely. That’s why I’m going to let you know which apps have updated and which updates you should download.

Name: iMTG

Price: free with in-app purchases (App Store Link)

I originally reviewed iMTG several weeks ago for their card database and deck-builder. Since that original review, a new update has been released that adds some very cool features to the application.

The first addition is a card scanner that allows you to take a picture of a card instead of typing in its name to look it up in the card database. I just happened to have a stack of random cards to put in my new Commander deck, and began using them to test this feature out. There’s a little alignment guide on the screen that you line up with the name of the card and then hit the scan button. You need to have a very steady hand for this; otherwise, you will just miss the name completely. The system worked fine on cards with the post–8th Edition frame, but I could not get it to read any of the old framed cards at all. If it does recognize a card, it will bring you to an Oracle reading of the card with a picture and current prices. Very cool!

The second added feature was the ability to send your deck lists out through e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter. This is a great feature, and one that all deck-building apps should have.

Finally, Bluetooth and Game Center support were added. This lets you connect to another device wirelessly so that you can both keep score without sharing one phone. If you are having a problem connecting with the Bluetooth, make sure to disable Wi-Fi on your device. I’ve found that leaving it on can cause some interference issues.

There are in-app purchases available for this app, mostly to disable ads and store more decks. With the free version, you can only use the card-name scanner ten times; after that, you will have to pay $4.99 to unlock the unlimited version.

iMtG is a good piece of software overall. Version 1.6 has several bugs in it, but I’ve already tested out version 1.8 that the developer has submitted to the app store, and all of these problems are gone. I hope Apple approves the 1.8 update soon.

One last warning about this app: Some of the new features are only available on iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 4. If you are still rocking that 3G from 2008, it might be time to upgrade.

Name: SCG Mobile

Price: $4.99 (App Store Link)

SCG has released version 1.1 of their app, mostly with minor UI tweaks and bug fixes. Most notably, however, they have included prices for near-mint and slightly played cards below their image. These slight changes don’t really justify the $5 price tag, but they are definitely steps in the right direction.

I have seen Tweets and screen shots of the next version coming out from SCG, and it includes the ability to log in and read premium articles. Once this happens, I could see paying the money for the app, but I would really like to see some heavy UI cleanup before I gave the app my stamp of approval.

Name: Decked Builder

Price: free (Lite Version), $3.99 (Full Version), $5.99 (HD Version)

While there are no new features in this app from my previous reviews, there has been an update released that fixes some memory leaks that the app was having. Even if you haven’t noticed any problems, you should still update it.

That’s it for this week. Tune in next week when I cover drafting tools for the iPhone and Android. As always, direction questions or comments to spork at thehappywalrus dot com, or shoot me a message @The_Spork on Twitter.