There are now seven serious star-charting apps in the iTunes Store (as of 30 January 2009). Each is good in its own ways, and each has its weaknesses.

I actually purchased this app by mistake. I wanted to view more details and read the reviews, but the apple store just starts the purchase without a confirmation.

Like it, bought it. Hopefully more "stars" (as in the sky) are added and a new App Logo without the huge cross can be created and uploaded.

The "Light Pollution" setting is a brilliant feature for deciding what you could actually see in-town. This is also one of the only apps I've seen that includes the Constellation Picture/Artwork so you can try to visualize what you actually see. The app feels very light-weight and not prone to crashing from heavy use.

The high price hurts sales, but this is actually the best app in the store for learning the constellations. It's not perfect, but feels like a work in progress written by people with significant expertise in astronomy, programming, and user interface design. I predict they will fix the flaws and would like to see the app receive more support from star gazers. Not all other astronomy apps show cartoons for the constellations, and many that do include only an incomplete set. In nearly every case in other apps, the constellation lines are arbitrary rather than clear (why draw Geminii as a box with a line off it when it can appear as stick-figure twins?), and the cartoon is an arbitrary superimposition of a character that does not fit on top of its stars (why show the Serpent Bearer's serpent not following its line of stars?). This is the only app showing carefully conceived, beautifully drawn lines and cartoons for every constellation. I have wondered since childhood how the ancients saw pictures in the night sky. Only this app shows me how. Improvements needed: Night vision mode, especially in menus; better stability; foreground added to landscape shown at horizon; option to see below the horizon to see the gorgeous cartoons in the opposite hemisphere; short histories of the constellations.

With regrets, lowering my rating from four stars to two, I hope only temporarily. With OS 3, this app has major issues with stability. Freezes upon launch or crashes just after more often than boots successfully. The authors are responsive to questions, but wrongly think crashing occurs only when memory is short. Even with MemoryInfo (an app everyone should have) showing 35-50MB free prior to launch, there are still troubles. This app has extraordinary potential but needs some quick fixes. Other tweeks needed: • Awkward to have to push a start button to get the clock to advance in real time. • Light pollution mode needs to be more gradual. Turning it on wipes out too many stars even at the lowest setting. • Darkness is not calculated properly. Sky is shown as too light to see stars even when it is actually completely dark outside. Original review: The high price hurts sales, but this is actually the best app in the store for learning the constellations. It's not perfect, but feels like a work in progress written by people with significant expertise in astronomy, programming, and user interface design. I predict they will fix the flaws and would like to see the app receive more support from star gazers. Not all other astronomy apps show cartoons for the constellations, and many that do include only an incomplete set. In nearly every case in other apps, the constellation lines are arbitrary rather than clear (why draw Geminii as a box with a line off it when it can appear as stick-figure twins?), and the cartoon is an arbitrary superimposition of a character that does not fit on top of its stars (why show the Serpent Bearer's serpent not following its line of stars?). This is the only app showing carefully conceived, beautifully drawn lines and cartoons for every constellation. I have wondered since childhood how the ancients saw pictures in the night sky. Only this app shows me how. Improvements needed: Night vision mode, especially in menus; better stability; foreground added to landscape shown at horizon; option to see below the horizon to see the gorgeous cartoons in the opposite hemisphere; short histories of the constellations.

UPDATE -- Version 1.2.2 fixes the problem of crashing upon launch. Other tweeks needed: • Awkward to have to push a start button to get the clock to advance in real time. Clock should run automatically by default. • Light pollution mode needs to be more gradual. Turning it on wipes out too many stars even at the lowest setting. • Darkness is not calculated properly. Sky is shown as too light to see stars even when it is actually completely dark outside. Original review: The high price hurts sales, but this is actually the best app in the store for learning the constellations. It's not perfect, but feels like a work in progress written by people with significant expertise in astronomy, programming, and user interface design. I predict they will fix the flaws and would like to see the app receive more support from star gazers. Not all other astronomy apps show cartoons for the constellations, and many that do include only an incomplete set. In nearly every case in other apps, the constellation lines are arbitrary rather than clear (why draw Geminii as a box with a line off it when it can appear as stick-figure twins?), and the cartoon is an arbitrary superimposition of a character that does not fit on top of its stars (why show the Serpent Bearer's serpent not following its line of stars?). This is the only app showing carefully conceived, beautifully drawn lines and cartoons for every constellation. I have wondered since childhood how the ancients saw pictures in the night sky. This app shows me how. Improvements needed: Night vision mode, especially in menus; foreground added to landscape shown at horizon; option to see below the horizon to see the gorgeous cartoons in the opposite hemisphere; short histories of the constellations.

I have been using Planetarium for Palm OS for years. It has 2 million stars, full object databases, Alt-Az and sky view, rise/set times and much more. It is a professional grade tool. It's $30. This app is a fun toy but not worth the price.

That's the message I get after the most recent upgrade to iStellar. Tech Support at AstroArts gave the typical non-response: