Amazing magic tricks for your iPhone and iPod touch - from TouchTricks.com

Street magic amazes people because they are totally caught off guard. Unaware and with no expectations, the street audience is the ripest kind of prey for the close up illusionist. We’re all familiar with the magic antics of Criss Angel and David Blaine (well, when David Blaine used to do magic instead of pretending he’s a goldfish or trying to catch pneumonia in a block of ice). Since most of us won’t be walking around with cards or other magic props, but will usually have our iPhone or iPod touch, these clever magic tricks from TouchTricks.com are ideal for the magician in all of us. The Touch Tricks Series are created by professional magicians to be performed specifically on the iPhone or iPod touch.

When you think about it, these mobile devices are the best way to perform a trick because you really don’t have to work very hard to get someone’s attention. You know how it is when you pull out your iPhone in a public area and curious people begin to crane their heads over to get a peek at your magical Apple device? This is the perfect time to seize an opportunity to amaze an unsuspecting voyeur with an incredible magic trick. Touch Tricks Volume 1 is a set of four professional grade magic tricks for your iPhone or iPod touch, designed so that the non-professional magician can make jaws drop. We’ve had these babies on our iPhones for two weeks and have had a great time with them. Trust us, these are wonderful tricks that you will have fun with over and over again as you astound your friends, family, colleagues, and yes, even strangers. These tricks work on a normal iPhone or iPod touch (no hack or jailbreak is required). Read on to learn more about each trick and how you can get them for your very own iPhone or iPod touch.

Touch Tricks Volume 1 comes with four tricks and detailed instructions on how to perform them. The instructions are terrific because they are written by professional magicians and include the steps to execute each trick as well as suggestions on how to set them up. The instructions are also peppered with sweet gems of professional advice about what to do and when, and what things to say when asked to do a trick again or what the secret is. The layman’s writing is targeted to the first time magician; it’s easy to digest and will have you looking like a pro in no time.

This volume in the Touch Tricks series requires only the Photo app that is resident on all iPhone and iPod touches so you don’t have to worry about installing additional software. You get the tricks on your device by syncing them through iTunes. Executing each trick is simple. If you know how to use the Home button, the Photo icon, and you can use your finger to flick through photos, then your halfway there.

Our natural tendency was to skip the instructions and just jump right in and learn as we go, however, we quickly realized that to execute a trick properly we needed to read the instructions, and practice. And this, we cannot emphasize enough, is the key to pulling these tricks off. You must practice them. But don’t let that scare you, it’s not like you have to practice them for months like David Copperfield. No, you can master these in about thirty minutes. And guess what? Each time you perform them, you get a little better and a little more confident. By the time we had performed each trick a few times we were feeling like a headliner in Vegas. The tricks really are fun to perform, but the best part is watching the faces of people when they see the trick. It’s a hoot!

Touch Tricks Volume 1 is the first part of a series, with Volume 2 slated to be released in June. Each volume will contain four new tricks for the iPhone and iPod touch along with surprise bonuses. You can purchase these tricks from TouchTricks.com, for the introductory price of $19.95 (normally $29.95), or go directly to the purchase page.

Touch Tricks Volume 1 includes:

1. Postcards from the prefrontal cortex - A postcard appears on your device with instructions to ask your audience a series of questions who then keep the answers to themselves. You seemingly read their mind by revealing the exact answers that they are storing in their minds.
2. Thought whisperer - You ask your audience to think of a two digit number. You then show them five playing cards and ask them to pick one without telling you what it is. You then reveal the one card they selected, then slide all the cards away to reveal their two digit number.
3. And the winners are… - You invite your audience to attend the Magic Academy Awards show on your iPhone or iPod touch. You ask them to select three things for the awards ballot: a food item, a movie title, and best performers. They are astonished to learn that all the things they selected were the winners.
4. Can I get your number? - You tell your audience that there something interesting about numerology and color readings and ask them to help you in this “experiment”. You ask them to think of any number from 1 to 100, then show them a series of colored cards containing rows and rows of numbers. As they look at the cards and concentrate on their secret number, you reveal their number to them and watch their amazement.

After performing Touch Tricks for ourselves, we can tell you that they are worth every penny for anyone who likes magic. These ingenious tricks play to the strengths of the iPhone, a magical mobile device on its own, made even more amazing with Touch Tricks. We can’t wait to get our hands on the next volume in the Touch Tricks series due out next month.