May 28th in App Reviews, Games by Jonathan Norman .
BrainShake for the iPad has become a quick hit on a platform that is still very new, rising to the #1 free download spot in many countries, but that status of “Free” won’t last long! Better pick it up fast! So what is BrainShake and why is it #1? It’s a combination of Simon Says and Bop-It. It’s nicely put together, the graphics are well done, sounds and performance of the app are top notch, and the game-play is very easy to understand. These are important staples for anything that takes up my precious gigabytes on the iPad. (more…)
May 27th in App Reviews by Jonathan Norman .
Are you someone who checks the newspaper or online source daily to find out what your horoscope is? Do you enjoy solving the mystery of your love, money, or career days? Ever been tempted to call one of those numbers on TV late at night? If so then Astrologist Pro is for you!
Astrologist Pro ($4.99) is a stunning app that provides you with a wealth of information about your personal astrological sign. This isn’t general information, it’s tailored to the individual. Users enter their profile data within the application and are transported to a beautifully designed information sector. Here you will find out what your love, career, health, and money meters are for the day. Is it a bad day for love? Should you watch your spending? The app predicts what days might be good for investing or gambling, starting a new diet, changing jobs, and even meeting new people. Need some guidance, look no further. Users can travel into the future and find days that are said to be high on the meter for particular interests and plan accordingly. Did you have crummy day at work last week? Go back in time to see if it was simply in the “cards”. (more…)
May 21st in App Reviews, Games by Jonathan Norman .
Before the iPad was released there were a few apps that made blog posts, social media sites, and general Internet headlines, one that was put out there early was Game Table. However I’ve noticed recently a trend that is swaying in a different direction when it comes to this particular app and I wanted to set the record straight! I am in no way affiliated with the developer, I just simply believe in the app and want to share it with you in case you missed it early on.
There are tons of game apps available for the iPhone and iPad, obviously if you’re a developer you’ve got to offer something different to make people take notice. That’s what the makers of Game Table knew when they created their game app. (more…)
May 19th in App Reviews by Jeff Cormier .
The iPad is a media consumption device. Listening to music is lovely, game-playing is grand and the device handles video viewing with valor. After extolling the virtues of the iPad and its multitude of media capabilities, the question becomes how to maximize and manage the media maintained on your magical device? Enter ImToo iPad Mate at a price of $59.95.
ImTOO iPad Mate is an all-in-one application for Apple iPad owners (ImToo iPad Mate supports all iPad models along with the iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS) to backup iPad movies, music and photos to one’s PC (a Mac version is forthcoming), export media files from one’s PC to an iPad, and facilitate media transfer from the iPad to iTunes.
iPad Mate can also convert CDs, DVDs, images, IFO folders, other types of video and audio files contained on your PC to your iPad. Using the iPad Mate management software one can organize and edit iPad media files, edit file information, and preview DVDs and other forms of video with a simple to use interface. (more…)
May 18th in App Reviews by Jonathan Norman .
Here’s a question about a million people have asked in the last month and a half. Why is there no Facebook app for the iPad? Ok, sure, you can use the iPhone app, but let’s face it, it looks like garbage. I have heard arguments that there isn’t a need for one with the iPad allowing for the actual Facebook site to look fine on the large display. That’s true in some ways, it is a beautiful webpage viewer. However I think those who put this out there are missing something. Notifications. There are none with the webpage bookmarked to your home screen. If I want to see if anyone commented on a post of mine I have to CHECK for updates and replies. I don’t get that nice notification message or counter on the app icon, and I certainly don’t want to turn on email notifications and have them filling up my inbox! I also like my mobile/handheld devices to offer something different…as do many others, thus why there are so many apps available. I understood that Facebook wasn’t ready (though find it hard to believe) to put an application out there for iPad at launch. I even forgave them when the first few weeks or so passed. But they squashed the only app out there that tried to fill the void (poorly I should add), but they have yet to follow up with an official one of their own. You’d think that Facebook would have realized the need for this long ago but they haven’t for some reason…which is odd seeing how Apple has teamed up with FB for their iTunes/Apps Store as of late. (more…)
May 15th in App Reviews by Jonathan Norman .
An oversight that came with all iPads is the lack of a file management system or built-in document viewer. Immediately there were apps available to fill this void, some good, some bad. One that does a nice job of allowing users to view and manage their files is ReaddleDocs ($4.99). Now first I want to make clear that while this app will open many different file formats it will NOT allow you to edit them and replace the file changes in a “cloud” service such as “Google Docs”. If that’s what you’re looking for then keep moving, this app is not for you, at least at the moment. However if you want to have the ability to view files in Google Docs, iDisk, Dropbox, MobileMe, and other storage locations, transfer files via iTunes file sync, or over your home wifi or even 3G….well then this app IS for you.
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May 12th in App Reviews by Jeff Cormier .
Apple’s iPad is, if nothing else, a tremendous device for media consumption. Video viewing, and reading books have received much of the attention, but music is a form of media not to be overlooked when using the iPad.
The iPad, like the iPhone, comes pre-loaded with an iPod music player, no surprise, but a recently launched app, iTurntable HD from Sanken System Co., Ltd., lets one turn the iPad into a touchscreen turntable.
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May 10th in App Reviews, Games by Jeff Cormier .
The iPad is, if nothing else, a great device for entertainment, specifically gaming. Given the ease with which the device is used, games can be played by individuals of all ages making the iPad and the games played thereon something the entire family can enjoy.
Monstory – A monster sounds match game fits into the aforementioned family friendly category better than one would think a game involving monsters would.
The premise of Monstory is simple. Monstory is a $.99 match game for the iPad (iPhone and iPod touch versions are also available) where you search for matching cards featuring creatively constructed cartoon monsters which make sounds that are just as cleverly designed.
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When deciding to review iWork for iPad I wasn’t sure if I should treat it like a package or as individual apps (man that’s a lot of i’s). I settled on reviewing all three applications at the same time but to keep them separate from one another, in order to highlight each of their strengths and weaknesses better.