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Had one of those winters where bits have fallen off your house, or you’ve simply got bored of how one room looks and fancy a change? I’ve managed both of those, but I’ve found a silver lining in terms of delving into the world of home improvement apps on the App Store. Here are my favorite four apps that will both inspire and help those with DIY projects planned for the coming Spring.
Handy Man DIY
The Swiss Army Knife of home improvement apps, Handy Man DIY does a bit of everything. It offers a tool to help users calculate how much paint, flooring or trim they need to cover a room. It also offers some great tutorials on completing various bits and pieces of a project, along with lists detailing commonly used items and materials, to ensure there’s no way that you’ll forget what you need to finish the job. It rounds things off with a price calculation tool, and some seasonal reminders of when things should be done.
$1.99  iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-09-25 :: Category: Utilities iHandy Level Free
A free app, iHandy Level Free provides a virtual spirit level, allowing users to align pictures correctly, measure angles and slopes accurately, and calculate the pitch of the roof. Much like a flashlight app, this won’t be a tool that’s used on a daily basis but it will be handy at regular points while undertaking home improvement.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2008-12-22 :: Category: Utilities Dream House
It’s not all about struggling to patch up roofs or completing plumbing tasks, it’s also about turning a house into a home. Dream House offers the inspiration that many need when it comes to figuring out how they want their place to look. Similar to walking around Ikea and taking in the ambience and feel, Dream House offers a virtual tour of rooms to give users a glance at how their house or apartment could look.
$0.99 $1.99
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-04-14 :: Category: Woodcraft
Handy with power tools and love carpentry? You’re a better person than me. Also, Woodcraft is an ideal app to try out. Part design tool, part 3d modelling app and part woodworking aid, the app helps budding and professional carpenters alike figure out everything they need to know about a woodworking project, all through its design interface leading to some very accurate measurements. It’ll take some practice but the completed designs will be very rewarding.
$9.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-13 :: Category: Lifestyle
It’s that time of the year where many of us make plans on how to improve life for the next 12 months. In my case, my resolutions are based around learning new skills and remembering to relax and take some time out every now and then. Like with any resolution, though, we all need motivation and regular reminders to keep at it. There are plenty of apps that can help you in a multitude of ways, but we’ve rounded up our four favorites, each hopefully making life a little more successful!
WishLab
Visualization is a vital key to keeping strong and working towards your goals, even when times get tricky. WishLab is an app that encourages precisely that, by offering a place to write about wishes and aims, as well as allowing for time frames to be set, and progress to be tracked. Users can write about how they’re feeling about their goals, as well as be inspired by others through social features. The app will even remind users to keep going via push notifications or email alerts. Once the goal has been achieved, there’s an attractive section within the app to look back at how things went and feel good about oneself.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-12-13 :: Category: Lifestyle The Habit Factor
Habit building is an important part of completing goals and ambitions. The Habit Factor encourages such sensibilities by tracking everything imaginable, from drinking water regularly to remembering to complete a certain number of exercise repetitions each day. It’s a little pricier than other tools, but its great user interface, color coding and note taking facilities should boost anyone’s motivation to achieve their goals.
$6.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-06-22 :: Category: Productivity Fitocracy
One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions each year is to exercise more frequently. While Fitocracy can’t force anyone to get moving, it can give them great reason to persevere. Using a leveling up system, the app challenges users to compete with their friends, unlock achievements and complete quests. It effectively turns exercise into a game, which is something that many people can relate to and be motivated by. Plus, it’s fun to look back on progress as they steadily improve.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-03-29 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Roller Journal
A mixture of useful tools, Roller Journal both provides a simple way of keeping a journal, while also encouraging users to reflect on the past year and plan ahead for the coming months. This is done through it asking the user a series of questions, creating the perfect foundations to a high quality journal to look back on. Simply writing about what you’ve accomplished that day can do wonders to your productivity levels and Roller Journal appreciates that.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-03-01 :: Category: Lifestyle
Christmas is very nearly upon us and with it, the time of year where we all eat too much and enjoy relaxing with our families. While I’m lucky that I have no significant food allergies or special dietary needs, much of my extended family isn’t so fortunate. Various meals have to be adjusted accordingly for those with allergies, intolerances or medical conditions that restrict what can be eaten. Here’s a look at four of my favorite apps for making finding relevant recipes a little simpler.
Allergy Free Entertaining
Covering most of the bases, Allergy Free Entertaining isn’t quite as perfect as its name suggests but it does a good job, regardless. The app offers 124 recipes, each with gluten free options and ways to substitute ingredients for those who have a dairy, egg, wheat or nut free requirements. Each recipe is easy to read through and understand, plus there’s a comprehensive search facility for those after inspiration.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-02-27 :: Category: Lifestyle 21-Day Vegan Kickstart
Aimed at those who are starting out on the path to Veganism, 21-Day Vegan Kickstart also offers some handy ideas for those trying to cater to vegans’ needs. Divided up according to meal type, it’s simple to check for ideas for breakfast, lunch or dinner. In each case, there are some delicious ideas, whether you’re a Vegan or not. Attractive photography rounds things off nicely.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-09-09 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness So Simple Gluten Free Recipes
It’s not quite the most attractive of apps to look at, but So Simple Gluten Free Recipes offers plenty of recipes for those suffering from a gluten intolerance. Including over 75 recipes, there’s a particularly great Holiday themed section ensuring that there are plenty of cookie and cake based ideas that are perfect for everyone, not just those on a gluten free diet.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-08-04 :: Category: Lifestyle iCookbook Diabetic
Diabetics have a particular challenge on their hands, having to juggle their sugar levels so carefully. iCookbook Diabetic offers a selection of free recipes for users to read through, as well as the option to spend money for the full selection. Each recipe is attractive and easy to browse through, with AirPrint support and voice commands make things all the more convenient. Best of all, though, the recipes are high quality and the kind of thing that ensures that no diabetic feels like they’re missing out this Holiday season.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-11-13 :: Category: Lifestyle
Were you one of the lucky people to pick up a shiny new iPad Mini? Wondering what gaming delights are worth buying for it? There’s a whole bunch. You’re going to have an awesome time discovering them. To start you off, though, we’ve rounded up our four favorite titles that should give you a great idea of just how many hours of quality gaming can be had on the iPad Mini.
Fieldrunners 2
It’s a personal favorite of mine mostly because it’s so darn addictive. Fieldrunners 2 is the creme de la creme of tower defense gaming, offering just enough challenge to keep you playing while still always feeling inviting. This is thanks to its wide selection of difficulty levels, mission types and a trickling of new towers and power-ups that can be unlocked throughout. There’s hours of fun to be had. It looks stunning, too.
$4.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-09-13 :: Category: Games SpellTower
Be warned, SpellTower is going to cut into your productivity levels. That five minute session will turn into hours, easily. Players simply swipe words together with extra points gained for using bonus tiles and creating long words. It’s a simple Boggle style idea but one that’s perfectly implemented. Five different game modes, including local multiplayer, will hook you in for a long time to come.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-11-17 :: Category: Games Bumpy Road
Bumpy Road is an adorably, charming endless runner style game. Players must clear the path and keep the road bumping along in order to keep an ageing couple safe on their journey down memory lane. The further you play, the more you discover things about the couple and their family. It’s that sweet and delightfully heart warming.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-05-19 :: Category: Games Real Racing 2 HD
Consistently on the cutting edge of iOS technology, Firemint’s Real Racing 2 HD demonstrates the power of your iPad Mini while also offering a great racing game. No other game has surpassed it in terms of its extensive career mode, impressive visuals and use of licensed cars. And? If you have an Apple TV, you can zap the gaming up to the big screen in your living room. There’s multiplayer functionality available, too, to seal the deal.
$0.99 $6.99
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-03-11 :: Category: Games
In less than a week, the USA goes to the polls for the 57th time with the two main contenders for President being Democratic candidate and current President, Barack Obama, and Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. While there’s no telling what might come about on Tuesday November 6, there are some great apps out there to help voters remain informed as to any latest developments and see just how each candidate feels about certain subjects. We round up the four best ones currently out there.
PollTracker
PollTracker keeps users informed in real time while offering a stats heavy interface of new polls and figures that have come out about the election race. Tracking everything from voter subgroups to swing state opinions, PollTracker is a statistician’s idea of heaven. There’s analysis, too, courtesy of the app’s editors, plus the ability to see how contests for Congress are going.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-07-20 :: Category: News Politifact Mobile
Ever lose track of where a candidate stands on a certain issue? There’s a lot to take in, after all, especially when considering how many different campaign promises are made by the candidates. Politifact Mobile promises to offer no agenda and merely a look at exactly what items have been promised by which candidate. A report card style interface tracks the Truth-O-Meter record of each politician to ensure that if anyone backtracks on an issue, it’s noticed. It makes for fascinating reading.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-06-24 :: Category: News 2012 Map: The Presidential Election App
Tracking how each state is voting is extremely important to determining who is set to be the overall winner in the Presidential elections. 2012 Map: The Presidential Election App embraces that concept by providing a “Live” map that provides daily updates on the best estimates of what will happen come election day. Offering historical data from 1789 to 2009, it’s possible to see just how each state has voted in the past to get a sense of what’s expected this time round. It’s also possible to create personalized scenarios to see exactly how one swing state could change everything, causing some great conjecture.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-08-06 :: Category: News NBC Politics
Many of the major media outlets and networks have released their own official app devoted to the election but NBC Politics provides the best all rounder. Its app is entirely free with no subscription required, and it offers the latest news and videos about how the election is proceeding. For those short on time, its daily “Tip Sheet” is a particular highlight offering a round-up of the day’s most interesting moments and headlines.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-02 :: Category: News
It’s hard to say exactly when it happened, but Halloween has undisputedly crept up on us to become a big league holiday. The kind where preparations begin over a month in advance, with horror movie marathons, costume discussions, and decorations. With that in mind, it would be a grave mistake to go in ill-prepared, so we’re here to do our part to help ring in the festivities. Here are four spooky games that will have horror-lovers shambling on over to the App Store and coffin’ up their dough.
The Room
Perhaps not the most obvious pick at first, The Room makes up for a lack of blood and gore with an ample amount of atmospheric tension. What starts off as Myst-like series of interlocking, symbol-filled puzzles soon emerges as an implied storyline filled with spine-tingling mystery. Much goes unsaid, but plumbing the depths of the unknown backed by eerie music box chimes is a meticulous thrill all its own.
$1.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-09-19 :: Category: Games Papa Sangre
From one nontypical experience to the next, Papa Sangre is a video game with no…video? Tasked with saving the soul of a loved one, players will take a frequently terrifying first-person audio journey through the palace of the titular demon. With an elegant interface and gripping story, Papa Sangre is a truly unique title that speaks to the power of sensory deprivation. The horrifying, horrifying power.
$4.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-12-18 :: Category: Games The Walking Dead
For a game filled with zombies, The Walking Dead’s horror derives almost entirely from the heart-breaking failings of humankind. Telltell Games has earned a mausoleum full of critical praise for its serialized interpretation of Robert Kirman’s graphic graphic novel, which uses the point and click adventure genre to force players to make tough, lasting decisions about life, death, and the brainless hereafter. All episodes can be purchased from within the app, so start this gripping tale right now.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-07-26 :: Category: Games Dead Space
As far as mobile horror goes, this one may be an oldie, but it’s most definitely a goodie. One of the best, in fact. Not only is it a faithful translation of Visceral Games’ flagship survival horror series to the small screen, but this version may just be scarier. In a dark room, with headphones in, the game’s brilliant tension between all-out action and edge-of-the-seat inaction is brought to the forefront, all backed by a methodical, shriek-worthy soundtrack. Player beware: Necromorphs may induce device dropping. (iPhone version also available.)
$0.99 $9.99
iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-01-25 :: Category: Games
In keeping with the recent mass transit theme, this Favorite 4 is all about maintaining personal space. While many of us might enjoy occupying our commute time with bird-flinging or hack n’ slash action this can sometimes invite some unwanted attention. Lining up that final shot can be difficult enough without some complete stranger leaning over us and watching our every move. This is where games that appear uninteresting, but are actually quite fun, can come in handy.
Organ Trail:Director’s Cut
Like it or not, a number of people dislike “retro” visuals. Whether it’s a general lack of appreciation or some self-imposed snobbery depends on the individual, but regardless not everyone thinks pixels are neat. It frustrating, sure, but it can also mean the difference between someone you don’t know trying to awkwardly start up a conversation on the bus about the game you’re playing and being left alone.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-08-09 :: Category: Games Mission Europa
I’ve gone on at length about how much I love Mission Europa, and also about how downright ugly it is. But that’s the “beauty” of it. It’s a fantastic action RPG with some incredibly deep and rewarding systems, but it looks so bizarre and low tech it won’t draw much attention from the guy standing in the doorway just over your shoulder.
$4.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-03-15 :: Category: Games $1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-03-16 :: Category: Games DragonSlasher
DragonSlasher is another game with visuals that belie a much more complex experience. It looks like a simple action game with solid color cutouts for characters. It’s most definitely not much to look at and at best might draw a curious glance or two for a moment before any would-be gawkers shift their attention elsewhere. And while they’re busy reading some other poor commuter’s newspaper, you get to enjoy what is essentially a side-scrolling portable Demon’s Souls in peace.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-04-02 :: Category: Games Game Dev Story
This really applies to all Kairosoft games but I wanted to stick with the one we all fell in love with first. Although it’s certainly cute to look at and sports some pretty colorful visuals, Game Dev Story is only really interesting when you’re playing it. Watching it, especially when you have no idea what’s going on, is much less interesting. Which means less random people breathing down your neck and more planning a new console launch.
$3.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-10-09 :: Category: Games
This particular commuter-centric Favorite 4 might lean more to the train side of mass transit than the bus side, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant. Anyone who’s used a commuter train to get to work knows just how noisy they can be. Screeching wheels, blaring overhead announcements, business folk screaming into their cell phones, and so on. That’s why it can be important to have a couple of time-absorbing iOS games that can be enjoyed with or without sound waiting in the wings.
Infinity Blade II
Okay so this might seem like a bizarre choice but there’s logic behind it. Completing Infinity Blade II’s story doesn’t generally take long, and once it’s finished it becomes a kind of meta-game about loot grinding. Not much call for atmospheric music and sword clangs there. Besides, the developers themselves suggest that turning off the sound can even improve performance on older devices. Bonus!
$6.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-01 :: Category: Games Hook Worlds
Rocketcat’s refinement of their hook-swinging formula is a fantastic “endless runner” kind of game that offers up four unique variations on the formula. While the music and sound effects are certainly top notch it’s the one-of-a-kind visuals and character design that really make these worlds feel complete.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-12-16 :: Category: Games Wizorb
I still think combining brick-breaking with RPG elements is ingenious. Doing so with a fantastic 16-bit retro aesthetic is even more brilliant. With or without the sound muted it’s a treat to play, but without the sound it gives us the added benefit of not getting the music stuck in our head for the whole day.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-08-03 :: Category: Games Legends of Yore Full
This cute and simple-looking Roguelike is actually much more complex than it first appears. It’s even got pets! However none of its complexities involve the audio, which is about as simple as one would expect given the visuals. Relevant to the pixilated theme, yes. Necessary to enjoy the all the massive amounts of content, no.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-06-09 :: Category: Games
Anyone who takes the bus, train, or subway to work has had this problem at least a few times: You’re in the middle of a game and before you know it you’ve arrived at your stop. You hurriedly close out the game, turn off the screen, stuff the iPhone into your pocket and bolt out the door. Once you have a moment to start it back up you realize that your progress has been wiped. Bummer. If only there were some iOS games that allowed players to save whenever they wanted!
Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer
Ascension was quite honestly the first deck-building game I’d ever played, and it totally made me fall in love with the concept. I also fell in love with the way it saves all the time. No prompts and no menus to browse. The game automatically saves progress at the start of each hand, and it can do so for multiple games whether they’re solo or against other players.
$0.99 $4.99
+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-06-29 :: Category: Games Solitaire by Backflip
I’ll admit that most solitaire iOS games will keep track of a player’s progress at all times, but I like Backflip’s offering so that’s what I’ve decided to go with. Again, there’s no need to do anything in order to save a game and come back to it later. Simply exit the game and the next time it’s started up things will be just as you left them; most likely a step or two away from failure and needing to start another round.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-08-18 :: Category: Games Aliens Versus Humans
It’s an homage to one of the greatest strategy games of all time, and it faithfully reproduces many of the mechanics that even the new contemporary remake has done away with. But more important than that – and the sheer enjoyment of fending off an alien attack without losing a single soldier – it allows players to save their game at any time. Whether they’re in the middle of a mission or on the Geoscape, opening up the options menu and quickly saving progress is always an option. Reloading after getting a soldier named after loved one killed is also just as fast.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-11-24 :: Category: Games Junk Jack
Aside from the fantastic art style and clever adaptation of the block/world-building ideas popularized by Minecraft, Junk Jack also brings constant saving to the table. Pausing the game saves progress. Quitting the game saves progress. It does prevent reloading after losing some favored items or getting killed, but it also makes hopping off the bus or train in a hurry far less detrimental.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-11-07 :: Category: Games
There are a lot of folks out there who take mass transportation to work on their daily commute. Kicking back and enjoying your favorite iOS game is easy enough when you manage to nab a seat, but that’s not always an option. In situations like this – one hand gripping a railing for balance, the other attempting to awkwardly handle an iPhone – having a game or two with simple one-handed control inputs can be a godsend. Which is exactly why we’re providing you with a list of some of our favorite iOS games that won’t require you to sacrifice your balance for entertainment.
Tower of Fortune
I’m still somewhat in awe of just how cleverly implemented this RPG/slot machine hybrid turned out to be. I’m also very impressed by just how much fun I’ve had with a game that pretty much boils down to the repeated use of a single button. This reliance on one button for most of the “action” (i.e. spinning) turns out to be a major selling point when you factor in situations that only leave you with the use of a single thumb.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-27 :: Category: Games Puzzle Craft
People like town building and people like matching puzzles. Throw them together and we have an excellent mash-up of genres with the added benefit of being playable in just about any situation. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been stuck on a crowded train and relied on Puzzle Craft’s gloriously simple interface to kill time. It sure has been a lot, though.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-08-16 :: Category: Games The Last Rocket
Looking for a game that can be enjoyed on a crowded bus but offers up a bit more complexity than simply tapping a single button every now and then? How about a complex and rewarding puzzle-platformer about a sentient missile? The beauty of The Last Rocket’s interface is that it’s all gesture-based (tap, swipe, hold, etc) and can be performed on any part of an iOS device’s screen. Making it perfect for holding on for dear life and playing a game at the same time.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-08-11 :: Category: Games Trigger Knight
Trigger Knight is another game that keeps the interface as simple as possible, thus making it ideal for packed buses and trains. Tapping the screen is all a player has to do in order to play, and it can be tapped anywhere. No buttons and no context sensitive swiping, just tap to activate various items or shops at key moments. Then hope it’s enough to get you to the next “refueling station.”
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-15 :: Category: Games
So, there’s a bit of a brouhaha over iOS 6 switching its maps provider from Google Maps to TomTom and other Apple sources. Yes, the 3D flybys in the maps are pretty, but the lack of details once had in Google Maps and loss of transit directions is a backbreaker for some. Sure, Google Maps has a mobile website that can be added as a web app, but maybe it’s time for something all new. Unless or until a separate Google Maps application is released, here’s four fine alternatives for mapping and directions.
HopStop
 Transit directions are notably missing from iOS 6 maps. However, for those needing to get around, HopStop provides valuable directions. Supporting many major North American cities, just choose the starting address, destination, departure/arrival time, and preferred method of transit, and the app provides helpful directions, including alternate arrival/departure times for buses and trains. It even includes some transit options that Google Maps doesn’t, such as suburban Pace buses in the Chicago area.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-02-05 :: Category: Navigation FREE! iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-01-20 :: Category: Navigation Waze
 This app uses OpenStreetMap data to power its maps, relying on the free user-supported data supplied to provide reliable up-to-date information, similar to Wikipedia. It uses this data to provide a free turn-by-turn navigation solution. The hook is that data on traffic, accidents, speed traps, and more, is all provided by people also using the app. Simply driving around with the app open can help intelligently detect where rough traffic is based on slower speeds. Waze can even find cheap gas along routes based on user-submitted reports.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2009-08-01 :: Category: Navigation MapsWithMe
 This app offers over 7800 maps of cities and places all over the world, which are all downloaded direct to one’s device. So, where data service is spotty or nonexistent, this app still provides valuable street data along with various locations and landmarks available offline. It’s perfect for the iPod touch and wifi-only iPad. The maps are curated by the development team, including their CEO who wears a sweet hat.
$4.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-12 :: Category: Travel MapQuest
 Long before there were Google Maps, there was MapQuest. While The Lonely Island declared Google Maps “The best”, who’s got an app on the App Store now? MapQuest does! Find important places and get turn-by-turn directions using their main app, or use their “Local” app to find the best restaurants and bars based on crowdsourced information. MapQuest is a survivor, and will be around to give us directions when all that’s left is Twinkies and cockroaches!
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-06-11 :: Category: Navigation FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-11-07 :: Category: Travel
Appropriately enough, there’s a practically endless supply of Endless Runners to choose from across the App Store. Which ones are the best and most worthy of your attention, though? We took a look at our favorite 4 in recent times and explain just why they’re worth diving into.
Solipskier
Solipskier has been quite a hit both commercially and amongst the developer crowd. It’s not strictly an Endless ‘Runner’, instead focusing on skiing but it is fantastic fun. Players must draw the ski slopes while picking up speed and completing some impressive jumps and tricks. It also offers some innovative and memorable music thanks to a feature that means music ‘pops out’ when skiing fast, adding to the sense of speed as you solely hear the sound effects rather than soundtrack for a time.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-08-12 :: Category: Games Tiny Wings
Yes, it’s nearly as huge as Angry Birds (and continues the bird theme well) but it’d be impossible to not mention Tiny Wings when rounding up the best Endless Runners. All about flying endlessly, players control a cute bird as they bounce across many hills. One tap is all that’s needed to control momentum with numerous challenges encouraging players to improve for next time. The latest update included an extra mode for even more fun. It’s a wonderfully calming yet gripping experience.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-02-18 :: Category: Games One Epic Knight
One of the more recent entries to the genre, One Epic Knight combines dungeon crawling with endless running, pitting a knight against a never ending dungeon as he attempts to collect up all the loot, clear the evil creatures and dodge some fearsome traps. Swipe controls ensure none of this feels too complicated and it’s a great change of pace for a normally predictable genre.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-08-23 :: Category: Games Ski Safari
Many games have included avalanche chases, Ski Safari focuses solely on this big problem with Sven the skier desperately trying to escape the cavalcade of snow while using animals to help his escape. Each animal offers a different ability to speed Sven up plus a selection of objectives add extra purpose to the game. It’s adorable and addictive in equal measures.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-26 :: Category: Games
Are you ready for some football, in particular the 2012–2013 season of the premier American football league, the National Football League? Well, with the season kicking off tonight with the Super Bowl champion New York Giants playing the Dallas Cowboys, I’ve collected four apps to help make the game-watching and fantasy-football-playing experience better. No matter what, they’re better than the replacement refs are going to be!
 NFL ’12: The NFL’s official app offers video, including a single screen scoreboard of all the week’s games on the iPad. Get score alerts for individual games. See highlights and analysis videos from NFL.com, along with news stories. Is that significant other clueless about sportball, and expects you to leave the house on Sunday afternoons? Or do you live outside your favorite team’s market, and don’t want to pay for Sunday Ticket, which costs about as much as operating J.P. Morgan’s yacht? Then for $29.99, you can listen to every game from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-09-09 :: Category: Sports  NFL Game Rewind: Every fan of their team has plenty of things to say about what they think they saw while watching. However, there’s a reason why NFL coaches don’t eat buffalo wings and drink beer while coaching, because it doesn’t provide them cogent analysis. So sober up, and subscribe to NFL Game Rewind, a service that provides the ability to rewatch past games on a play-by-play basis. The $69.99 subscription offers even coaches’ film, which will provide more in-depth looks at games, with deeper archives available. The $49.99 subscription offers this year’s games, available commercial-free and in condensed forms, to relive games in short time frames.
FREE! iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-08-30 :: Category: Sports  Thumb: Fantasy football is an integral part of the football fandom experience. After all, nothing makes a meaningless blowout more exciting than when your wide receiver scores a touchdown in garbage time to win your matchup that week. But deciding who to start is a pain. Why not rely on the wisdom of random internet strangers? Use Thumb’s fantasy football section to post simple thumbs-up-or-down questions on whether someone should be started on your team, and watch as the guy you benched scores 3 touchdowns in one game and the guy you started sets the NFL fumbles record your fantasy team is led to victory by listening to the opinions of others!
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-05-03 :: Category: Social Networking  Fantasy Football ’12: You’re the Ludacris of fantasy football, in that you have fantasy football teams in different area codes, or at least on ESPN, Yahoo, and NFL.com. If only there was one app that could manage teams on all those different sites! There is! Based off of Fantasy Monster, this is designed solely for managing fantasy teams from all across different leagues. Remember, the more fantasy leagues you’re in, the more likely you’ll be able to call yourself a fantasy football champion.
$2.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-07-23 :: Category: Sports $4.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-07-23 :: Category: Sports
Casual gamers need never look far to find a Hidden Object based treat on the App Store. It’s one of the most plentiful of genres with each title involving a series of puzzles and a variety of different scenes to explore. Because there’s so much choice, this seemed like the perfect time for us to round up our four favorite titles and explain just why they’re so great.
Time Trap HdO
Time Trap is a particularly distinctive title thanks to its beautiful if surreal landscapes. Deviating away from more conventional Hidden Object settings, the game sticks with a Sci-Fi post apocalyptic style theme for its suitably long story. Its moodiness juxtaposes with its hidden object ways but that makes it stand out all the more. It gains extra value through its spooky soundtrack.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-08-20 :: Category: Games Little Things Forever
Little Things Forever is the antithesis of Time Trap. It’s immensely colorful and cheery. There’s no storyline to follow with the focus entirely on solving Hidden Object based puzzles, but there’s plenty of fun within. Players find objects within intricate pieces of artwork, simply for the joy of doing so. The game’s lists are randomly generated, also, so there’s limitless fun to be had.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-31 :: Category: Games Midnight Mysteries: Devil On The Mississippi
The Midnight Mysteries series is great for combining Hidden Object elements with adventure gaming tropes. Devil On The Mississippi offers precisely that. There’s a spooky story to be told but alongside that are plenty of puzzles to be solved and objects to be found. In each case, such interactive elements are some of the finest you can discover within the genre.
$4.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-07-25 :: Category: Games Strange Cases: The Lighthouse Mystery
What stands out most about this title is the variety of types of objects to be found. It’s a fairly typical but enjoyable title from Hidden Object experts, Big Fish Games, but it keeps things interesting. Some scenes offer a standard list of objects to find while some offer merely the silhouette or clues to what needs finding. It’ll keep players on their toes but happy.
$4.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-08-15 :: Category: Games
Arguably the biggest and most famous of soccer leagues, the English Premier League begins once more tomorrow with fans eagerly awaiting a season of soccer that will last them until May 2013. Will Manchester City retain the title once more or will Manchester United manage to snatch it from their grasp? Either way, I’ll be keen to see if Swansea City can stay up for another season. We’re celebrating the start of the season by taking a look at the four best apps to use alongside your soccer watching experience.
Caught Offside
Caught Offside has been an immensely popular independent soccer website for a while now and its app supplements matters all the more. It offers a wide variety of content from up to the minute news, video highlights, rumors to in-depth features and analysis. As expected, there are also the all important live scores and stats to keep fans up to date.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-13 :: Category: Sports FREE! iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2012-06-10 :: Category: Sports Live Score Addicts
The ideal way to check the latest scores at speed, Live Score Addicts is guaranteed to keep fans up to date on scores for 420 different leagues and cups around the world, as well as the crucial English Premier League. Push Notifications means you’ll never miss a change of score or the presence of an ominous red card. Other information such as substitutions, attendance and even Head2Head comparisons are available.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-12 :: Category: Sports Premier League 20 Seasons
Premier League 20 Seasons won’t keep you informed on the latest developments this season but it will give you fantastic insight on the past 20 seasons of the Premier League. The app offers more than 100 classic moments from that time, along with interactive quizzes to test your knowledge of the Premier League. It’s not always perfect at streaming the content but there’s no denying it’s exciting stuff checking back on the iconic moments that have been and gone.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-11 :: Category: Sports FourFourTwo Soccer Stats Zone
Predominantly UK based soccer magazine FourFourTwo has released an app that stat fans will absolutely adore. Soccer Stats Zone doesn’t stop where other apps do, it provides every stat imaginable from passes and tackles completed to a broken down analysis of every single manoeuvre performed during a match. Analysis on how a match has changed after a key incident such as a goal or red card is included as well as player versus player and team versus team comparisons. Your head will explode with facts in no time.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-08-15 :: Category: Sports
Many of us don’t solely game on our iPhones or iPads, we game on consoles and PCs, too. Coinciding with that is one of the most exciting developments when it comes to iOS: apps that tie into other games. Whether it be through providing the latest match statistics while on the move, or through providing a new and cool way of controlling a console, there are some great crossovers going on. We take a look at the four best out there at the moment.
My Xbox Live
My Xbox Live ably demonstrates just how an official app for a console should deal with things. It leaves the currently EU only Official Playstation app behind in terms of functionality. Users can easily track and compare their achievements, change their Xbox Live avatar and check in with friends, all via the app. Most excitingly, iPad users can control their Xbox 360 with the app with media controls as well as access to a quick list of recent console activity.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-07 :: Category: Games World of Warcraft Mobile Armory
Despite a lull in subscriber numbers, World of Warcraft has continued to dominate the hearts and free time of many MMO gamers. The Mobile Armory means that even away from your PC, you can’t escape the allure of the game. The app provides a way to view all your characters, along with stats, equipment and achievements. Guild stats and the in-game calendar are also viewable, so there’s no excuse to miss that all-important raid. For the aspiring auctioneer, it’s also possible to view how the latest auctions are progressing.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-07-15 :: Category: Utilities Call of Duty Elite
The biggest multiplayer FPS of them all? Maybe. Call of Duty Elite requires an Elite subscription but the app provides a plethora of statistics to make it worthwhile. Users can review recent matches, check how they’re improving over time and what areas of the game they need to work on, such as if they excel at a particular weapon or not. It’s also possible to view and edit custom classes, ready to implement when you’re back in front of a console or PC.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-10 :: Category: Games Halo Waypoint
Another hugely popular multiplayer FPS is Halo. Unlike Call of Duty, there’s no need for a separate subscription, users can dive right into Halo Waypoint. The app provides similar stats, offering game history breakdowns, campaign progress, weapon stats, as well as overhead views of all the maps. Challenges can also be created and tracked from the app, making it an ideal tool to dabble in during a lunch break.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-10 :: Category: Games
Last week, we brought you a list of apps to watch and track the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games from anywhere in the world, because let’s face it – most of us are not going to the UK for the games. For those of us who are able to get there, or who already live there, here’s a nice list of four of our favorite apps to help you get around the Games this year.
London 2012: Official Join In App for the Olympic and Paralympic Games
This app, by The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, is for the folks at the games this year. It provides a full-featured guide to being there, including maps, event and venue schedules, and up-to-date calendars of the events happening around the Olumpic games themselves, with free and paid local and cultural events listings. There are searchable maps, facilities details, and even augmented reality views to help you get the most out of your trip to the London games. Create a personalized schedule and then share with friends on Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare. This is a pretty comprehensive app for the Olympic visitor this summer.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-16 :: Category: Sports London 2012 Information
In addition to the Olympic information contained in this app, like medal and athlete info, London 2012 Information includes something the other big apps don’t: the ability to search for nearby useful things, like banks, bars, take-out food stalls, ATMs and the like. Get stuck without cash when on the way to a particular event? Use this app to search near the venue and find one that doesn’t take you too far out of your way.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-20 :: Category: Sports Journey Pro – London UK by NAVITIME
Available in both free, ad-supported and ad-free paid versions, Journey Pro covers the London tube, London bus, DLR, Overground, Tramlink, River Service, National Rail, Birmingham Tram, Glasgow Subway and domestic flights. Trying to see an out-of the way event? This app will help you plan your route across all these public transportation services. The app includes interactive, zoomable maps if you have an internet connection, live departure information, and real-time push notifications for London tube service updates and weekend closures. You can even share your routes with friends from within the app itself.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-02-17 :: Category: Travel FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-09-13 :: Category: Travel London Bus Checker Live Countdown
London Bus Checker offers a live countdown for all of London’s 20,000 bus stops. That’s got to be helpful in getting around the city by bus, right? And surely any olympic event trip will involve some bus travel at some point. This app doesn’t use schedules, but real-time information relayed to servers from each bus as it travels around London. It includes route maps of all 700 bus routes, letting you search by name or post code. Heck, it’ll even notify you with an alarm when you reach your destination.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-09-27 :: Category: Travel
Summer is here and more people are taking to the skies, roads and rails to travel than at any other time of year. It’s great to bring a proper DSLR camera along for professional quality photos, but they are bulky and not always the best options when you are on the move. And, with the iPhone 4S, it’s no longer necessary to bring along a standard point-and-click digital camera at all. Whether your iPhone has the latest optics or not, there are tons of apps that make taking, enhancing and sharing vacation pics easier and more fun. This week we look at our four favorites.
Simply HDR
HDR, when speaking of photography, stands for High Dynamic Range and there are many apps that achieve a full range of tones, lighting and detail by superimposing different photos of the same composition onto one another and manually or semi-automatically adjusting them to achieve rich realistic end results. The photos can be beautiful, but most apps require at least some degree of knowledge about HDR to function well. Simply HDR, however, takes both the mystery and layering away. With a single image and some behind the scene magic, photos come out looking lush with no effort. That said, the app does come with a slider for smoothing and several HDR effects including black and white.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-06-20 :: Category: Photography 360 Panorama
If you are vacationing anyplace with a killer view – skyline or landscape – a panoramic image allows you to capture a much wider view than traditional photography. As always there are many apps for that, but for ease of use and great results 360 Panorama remains our choice. This universal app allows you to take individual photos and patch them together seamlessly to create stunning vistas. The app uses the iPhone’s gyroscope to enable a full 360 degree view and stitches the images with amazing speed.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-07-30 :: Category: Photography GroupShot/StillShot
Group and family vacations call for group and family shots. But trying to get a photo on the fly where everyone looks good is next to impossible. Someone is always looking away, blinking, or making a funny face. GroupShot solves this problem by letting you import several snaps of the same group in the same setting – you really want to snap the base images quickly so everyone stays aligned – and then with the simplest gestures you can swap out funny faces from one photo and replace them with a better facial expression from other images.
The same developers also make make StillShot, another great tool for travellers, specifically those who shoot more video than they take photos, but still want to have an album to browse through later. All this app does is capture frames from video and convert them to stills, but it does so with remarkable ease and great looking results.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-01-16 :: Category: Photography $0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-05-01 :: Category: Photography Facebook Camera
Facebook is still the most popular photo sharing venue, and they recently released a dedicated camera app that puts all your friends’ photos in an easy-to-navigate stream and let’s you share yours. The app has a few fun Instagram-like effects, and pictures can be cropped or rotated, but what makes Facebook Camera shine is speed. Uploading pictures to Facebook is not only faster than with third party apps, it even beats uploading to Facebook directly by several seconds. Vacation time is precious time, and this app will help you keep your eyes on the view, not on your iPhone screen.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-05-24 :: Category: Photography
May is Zombie Awareness Month. While pop culture seems intent on making us aware of zombies on a regular basis, this is the special month for zombies. May is almost over, but that doesn’t mean there’s not just enough time left to celebrate with some zombie-themed apps.
 Zombies, Run!: Rule #1 of zombie survival? Cardio. What better way to get that than with a fitness app/game that has players trying to outrun virtual hordes of zombies? Missions can be done and survival accessories completed by jogging. There’s even a “Zombie Chases” mode that turns interval training into having to occasionally go faster when the zombie horde nears. Custom playlists can be used, with in-game audio occasionally cutting in to advance the story.
$3.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-02-27 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness  Zombieville USA 2: The best way to survive a zombie infestation is by sticking together. Thankfully, Zombieville USA 2 comes with multiplayer options, including online over Game Center for 2 people. Ever see a man in a trucker hat with a shotgun ward off zombies together with a goth girl using a katana? Zombieville USA 2 players have.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-10-27 :: Category: Games  The Walking Dead: The best way to understand the enemy is to read about them. Also, to learn from the mistakes of those who tried to survive before. This app lets users buy issues of the groundbreaking comic written by Robert Kirkman, and read them on iPhone and iPad. The app features all the latest issues, as well as collections of past issues.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-10-22 :: Category: Books  Zombie Gunship: After trying to survive the zombies, why not eliminate them? This shooter has added new environments to kill since its original launch, but the goal remains the same: take out hordes of zombies from a hovering gunship, while keeping them away from the humans’ stronghold. After years of zombie media where frantic and panicked survival on limited resources was the focus, being able to blow zombies away with deadly weaponry is just satisfying. Also satisfying? The game’s AirPlay Mirroring support, for watching zombie guys going everywhere on the big screen.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-07-21 :: Category: Games
In a matter of weeks, one of the biggest soccer tournaments out there begins: Euro 2012. Qualification is over and 16 European teams are all lined up to prove which one is the best of the bunch. As a Brit, I’m ever hopeful that England will achieve glory but regardless of what happens, I’ll be enjoying seeing some high quality action. In honor of such good times ahead, we thought we’d take a look at the four best apps out there to use alongside the tournament.
Total Euro 2012
We might have covered Total Euro 2012 previously but it’s unparalleled in what it offers and deserves mention again. The app offers pretty much everything any soccer fan could want during the tournament. Detailed statistics on every player are offered, along with past performance analysis. This will all tie in perfectly with the app’s future live updates, formations and live commentary that will be offered with every match during Euro 2012. Arguably, fans won’t need another app when they have this.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-05-09 :: Category: Sports Football Attack Euro 2012
Soccer fans love to discuss with friends just what they think the score will be in each match. Heck, we’ve all been there. I always have a competition with a friend every tournament where we predict each match and whoever gets the most right, wins a prize. Football Attack Euro 2012 is the internet based equivalent using Facebook accounts to collate everything. It’s simple yet immediately appealing to groups of fans.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-03-28 :: Category: Games Official UEFA EURO 2012 app
For obvious reasons, UEFA is guaranteed to have the most reliable information on all things Euro 2012. Official UEFA EURO 2012 app keeps all that knowledge on an iOS device with the latest articles and news, as well as a calendar, group standings and lineups. Personalized alerts can be set up so users can see all the news about their favorite team quickly. Highlight clips and video interviews are set to be included during the tournament.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-23 :: Category: Sports Euro 2012 Football Quiz
Think you know everything about football and the Euros? Euro 2012 Football Quiz tests this knowledge with 500 questions on the tournament. Everything from fixture dates to memorablia questions are asked here and it’s a fun way of learning some new facts.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-13 :: Category: Sports
Cinco de Mayo, the celebration of the Mexican victory over the French in the 1860s, has increasingly become a celebration in America as well as Mexico. Check out our favorite four for celebrating Cinco de Mayo including apps on food, dancing, and history.
Rick Bayless: Mexican Essentials
Good Mexican food is the first thing that comes to mind for Cinco de Mayo. I remember sneaking into Spanish class one year in high school on May 5th to steal some food (I was in French). Rick Bayless: Mexican Essentials is a cookbook app that also contains instructional videos by award-winning chef and Mexican cuisine master, Rick Bayless. The app not only contains Rick’s 35 essential Mexican recipes, but also 40 videos on his tricks and techniques, 32 key ingredients with advice on how to buy and use them, a shopping list aggregator, and social media sharing. I think I’m going to give the Tortilla Soup a try this year.
$2.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-25 :: Category: Salsa Fresca HD
Keeping up with the food theme, what’s Cinco de Mayo without some good salsa? Salsa Fresca HD is an iPad cookbook with various recipes for salsa. There are all kinds of salsa types included in the app like tomato, corn, bean, and more. Each salsa recipe is accompanied by a picture and suggested “good with” ideas. It even contains tips and tricks on how to perform various salsa-related tasks like roasting tomatoes and rehydrating chiles.
$2.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-09-16 :: Category: Pocket Salsa
Another salsa app? Not quite. We’re still on salsa, but this time we’re talking about dancing. There are Cinco de Mayo celebrations all over the world and most consist of dancing as well as food. Pocket Salsa is a portable salsa instructor. For partiers looking to learn to salsa dance before their favorite Cinco de Mayo celebration, this app includes 150 video salsa lessons, salsa rhythms, a salsa podcast, and even more videos through in-app purchases. The app even has AirPlay support to watch the lessons right on a TV.
$3.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-05-13 :: Category: Lifestyle Cinco de Mayo: The Battle of Puebla
It can’t hurt to brush up on the history of Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo: The Battle of Puebla provides users with a detailed video on both the Battle of Puebla, the military victory that led to the traditional celebration on May 5th, and the history of the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The videos include accompanying text for users impatient users that want to read ahead. The app also includes two games, a quiz and a paint game, that can be unlocked for an in-app purchase of $0.99. But the app is free and so are both videos.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-06-28 :: Category: Education
For those in the Northern hemisphere, Spring is here which means sun, less rain and snow and more plant growth out in the garden. This makes it an ideal time to round up our favorite four gardening apps. Each is an app that will help keen gardeners keep their land in check, whether it be by providing guides to fruit and vegetables or by helping users plot out their garden.
iVeggieGarden
Aiming to be an all round solution for gardeners, iVeggieGarden offers reference and planning tools as well as a means of tracking things. There’s even a means in which users can enter their own notes and photos of how things are progressing. Over 50 different vegetables and over 500 different varieties are catered for with a plethora of information from appropriate temperatures and planting depths to harvesting tips. The app should cover all the key questions that both novice and experienced gardeners may have and it’s all done in a very attractive format.
$0.99 $9.99
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-12-21 :: Category: Reference Vegetable Garden
Similar to iVeggieGarden but for those on a budget, Vegetable Garden offers growing tips, soil preparation advice and a schedule chart for vegetables. It’s geared towards the UK market in terms of growing times but everything else is universal. A plot planner helps users plan out their garden, no matter how big or small.
$2.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-02-15 :: Category: Reference Gardening Toolkit HD
An iPad exclusive, Gardening Toolkit HD uses the extra screen space to create an appealing way of tracking everything to do within the garden. A notes section helps users keep track of what they need to do and when. There’s a colorful and photo-packed encyclopaedia of more than 1000 plants. For the US users, they can enter their zip-code and be informed of how hard their soil is, plus there’s information on suggested plants for the area. It’s an all round attractive reference tool.
$3.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-06-23 :: Category: Lifestyle Harvest – Select the Best Produce
Harvest provides a guide to how to pick the best produce by offering tips and techniques of exactly how to look for the ripest and healthiest fruit or veg. It’ll be ideal once keen gardeners have already grown their crop. A large variety of different produce is catered for, each with their own bunch of tips and tricks that are impressively educational. The app follows such tips up with information on pesticide residue levels which can help those who still buy from stores, but why would you want to do that once you’ve finished growing your own, anyhow?
$1.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-07-01 :: Category: Reference
It’s coming down to the time for us procrastinators to either suck it up and do our taxes or file an extension. Taxes, and finance in general, are not the most exciting of tasks. And on a yearly basis, I seem to wait until the last minute to get this done (just did mine today). When taxes and finance are put into app form, they can be a little less boring. Check out our four favorite tax season apps for taxes and generally being in a better mood about finance and budgeting.
Tax Receipt Log: The most important thing about finance apps is speed and organization. Tax Receipt Log makes the process of saving receipts both quick and organized. Users snap a picture of the receipt, enter an amount, and tag it under a category. Text and voice notes can also be added to the entries. And when tax season comes around, all of the expenses can be exported as a spreadsheet and sent out via email. It may be a little late to organize receipts in this way this year, but now’s a great time to start for next tax season.
$2.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-03-31 :: Category: Finance CoinKeeper: This is a recent favorite of mine and we even awarded it an Editor’s Choice award here at 148Apps. CoinKeeper does what most finance and budgeting apps fail to do, it makes the process of entering all transactions into an app make sense. CoinKeeper has a beautiful and unique interface. The motion of dragging a coin from an income to an account and from an account to a budget just simply makes sense. It’s a quick motion and is intensely visual. Seeing a monthly budget in terms of colors and coins filled up by percentage is exactly what I need to keep my money in check. Anyone serious about their budgeting absolutely must have this app.
$5.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-10-17 :: Category: Finance PocketMoney: I reviewed this one back in 2009. Like CoinKeeper, PocketMoney is a way to keep track of all transactions through the year. It has budgeting options, multiple accounts, and everything most would need out of a budgeting app. There are even advanced options like category splitting which allows users to put parts of a transaction in one category and other parts in another (like buying a DVD while grocery shopping… partially in entertainment and partially in food). Unlike CoinKeeper, PocketMoney doesn’t have a unique and revolutionary interface. It has the more traditional iOS interface with simple rows of transactions and bottom buttons. I would suggest this one for users that can’t get attached to the CoinKeeper interface.
$4.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2008-07-11 :: Category: Finance Mint.com: Mint is a service that helps users track all of the information that PocketMoney and CoinKeeper need inputted manually. Mint keeps track of accounts and transactions automatically and does its best to sort the transactions into categories. Budgeting is fairly easy with Mint but the automation isn’t exactly perfect. Transactions will sometimes be categorized in the wrong place and need to be manually fixed. Also, Mint doesn’t work with all banks. Billy Miller, who reviewed Mint on 148Apps back in 2009, had some trouble with the app supporting small banks and credit unions, “A lot of people who prefer small banks or credit unions will probably run into the same situation.”
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2008-12-18 :: Category: Finance
After a long winter, especially for Texas Rangers fans (though Texas weather can rarely be described as wintry), the new baseball season is finally here! Well, technically it started a week or so ago in Japan, and then there were still spring training and exhibition games, but finally, real baseball is here, and all 30 teams are going at it, trying to win the World Series. As a fan, there are several must-have apps to keep up with all the action, even if sometimes baseball can hardly be described as “action-packed.”
 MLB At Bat 2012: While this official MLB app does provide live scores, news, and video highlights, same as past years, the fun of it is still in its subscription content. $14.99 unlocks live audio, box scores, and video highlights. However, the app just got sweeter for MLB.TV Premium subscribers. By logging in to the service that offers live game broadcasts from anywhere (and supports AirPlay, though the Apple TV also has the MLB.TV app built in), now the mobile At Bat service comes free, thanks to the app moving to a freemium model. As a bonus, it’s now universal, instead of the iPhone/iPad split in past years.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-02-29 :: Category: Sports  Baseball Trade Rumors: This app for the website coveirng all the latest transactions in Major League Baseball takes the old New York Times slogan “all the news that’s fit to print” and reshapes it into “print all the news!” The site reports on news regarding relatively unknown minor league players and free agents. The site is also picking up on their original reporting, as they broke a story on Joey Votto of the Cincinatti Reds negotiating a huge value long-term extension. The app itself provides news filters and push notifications to get the latest news on favorite teams and players as they happen.
$2.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-10-27 :: Category: Sports  Fangraphs: This app provides live scores in a different way. It offers play-by-play win expectancy calculations, showing that based on past game results, which team is most likely to win given the current situation. It also provides the information in an easy-to-view graph, which provides an interesting visual way ot follow the story of a game, and its ups and downs, to see where victory was clinched, or an amazing comeback happened. As well, each player’s WPA (win probability added, which can go negative) is displayed, showing that based on expected outcomes, how much their performance in the game actually impacted the final result. As well, the database of players and advanced stats is easily serachable from within the app.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-23 :: Category: Sports  ESPN Fantasy Baseball 2012: Of course, a big part of the fun of baseball season starting up is that it’s also fantasy baseball season. While the game requires more commitment then the ever-popular fantasy football due to the about ten times the amount of games in a baseball season, it’s easier to check up on a team thanks to smartphones. This app in particular makes it easy to update ESPN fantasy league teams’ rosters, check matchups, and catch up on the latest ESPN headlines and tweets from their army of analysts.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-02-18 :: Category: Sports
Starting this Thursday March 15th, the round of 64 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship begins, with the first 32 games being played on Thursday and Friday. That’s a lot of basketball to keep track of. The tournament’s format allows for the unexpected to happen, and every year the unexpected keeps happening. Some team no one has ever heard of will shock a basketball giant, and there’s a good chance that the ultimate upset, a 16-seed beating a 1-seed might actually happen this year. So why be the only person who doesn’t know that it happened until the highlights air on SportsCenter later? The only person on earth who can watch and keep track of all these games at once is Timothy Burke of Deadspin. This is his setup for capturing video and screenshots. However, with these four apps, anyone can keep track of the madness from anywhere to a lesser degree.
 March Madness Live: Why not kick off this Favorite Four with the app to follow the tournament? For a $3.99 in-app purchase, all the games of the tournament, even the Final Four and National Championship Game, can be watched via this universal app. Follow the big upset on the bus, or watch one game on the iPhone, another on the iPad, while yet another is on the TV. I can’t and won’t judge, because I’ll probably be doing the exact same thing.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-03-09 :: Category: Sports  Slacker Radio: Can’t watch the game for whatever reason? Well, then Slacker Radio is here to the rescue, as the app will be streaming all the games of the tournament for free. Just check the NCAA Broadcasts section of the app for all the basketball goodness. I’m not saying that it’s wise to be listening to a game while watching several others simultaneously, just that it’s possible. Trying that may lead to a real case of March madness from basketball overload.
FREE! + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2009-01-12 :: Category: Music  ESPN ScoreCenter: Stuck not being able to watch or listen to the game? Or perhaps just alerts of one’s favorite team would suffice, because no one cares if South Dakota State can upset Baylor because they’re gonna lose in the next round anyway? Well, this app provides live score updates and push notifications. I recommend this app for college basketball scores especially because ESPN employs the trillest college basketball analyst in the land, Jay Bilas (pictured at left).
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-06-02 :: Category: Sports  PlayUp: Want a second screen experience, but only want to track one game at a time? Well, then PlayUp can help users keep track of not just scores of all the games, but to also chat with other fans watching the game. Talk trash, root with fellow fans, or pick up the cause of the underdog when they start to rally against a basketball behemoth. Just remember, that underdog may be the one that busts that carefully-planned bracket.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-10-02 :: Category: Sports
Whether you chalk it up to climate change or not, it’s been one heck of a strange winter. Now it’s March, notorious for its leonine bitter entry and mild sheepish departure. With everything else turned on its head, who knows what’s in store as we make our annual seasonal transition. We’ve put together our favorite four iOS weather apps to keep you informed of what’s coming your way as we bid goodbye to old man winter.
AccuWeather for iPhone
From AccuWeather.com comes a feature rich app which bears the same name. Accuweather for iPhone provides local and international hourly and 15-day forecasts with radar animations, satellite imagery and storm warnings. Cool features include Pin Location for tracking friends and family, social media griping, er, sharing on Twitter and Facebook and all kinds of special health and lifestyle forecast categories ranging from allergy and arthritis reports to dog walking and early golf course conditions. The app’s sleek utilitarian design takes maximum advantage of iOS 5′s best features too. From iCloud support to Notification Center and calendar integration, this app does it all. An iPad version is also available, but it gets less enthusiastic user reviews.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2008-12-21 :: Category: Weather $0.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Weather Weather+
Presently on sale to celebrate the end of winter, Weather+ is a universal app that wows critics and users. This app balances function and design with something near perfection. According to the developers every worldwide weather station is included, and the app serves up five-day forecasts for them all with stunning fullscreen video. Along with the basics this app gives users wind direction and speed information along with the humidity index, and rain and snowfall expectations. The app includes a gorgeous old-school flip-style alarm clock and swipe gestures switch locations with ease.
$0.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-11-23 :: Category: Weather Magical Weather
Optimized for the big iPad display and meant to be left running to show off its good looks, Magical Weather is still feature-packed. Along with the visual representations of 16 weather conditions it has daily, even hourly, forecasts for up to nine of two million locations world-wide. It dishes on highs and lows, humidity, wind speeds, UV indexes and atmospheric pressure and displays in Celsius or Fahrenheit. It’s eye candy to a meteorological end.
$4.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-09-27 :: Category: Weather Weather Live
Ignore that Santa’s hat, Weather Live’s icon and app have just been updated. This beautiful universal package is feature dense too. The app puts form first, in that it’s like looking out a magic window at something akin to what’s out the kitchen window. But, alongside the amazing design are current conditions and seven-day forecasts. It has the 411 on the humidex or windchill – and in March we can easily see both – with sunrise and sunset details, wind, visibility, all that good stuff. The app lets users search for locations by postal/zip code, IP, and geo-positioning and the icon has a badge indicating the current temperature. Weather Live speaks Metric and Imperial and has customizable widgets so users see as much, or as little, as they prefer.
$1.99 + Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-11-17 :: Category: Weather
February is Black History Month in the US. It’s a time to reflect on the past of a people who have journeyed from slavery to the Oval Office and look at the heroes, sung and unsung, who made the transformative journey possible. It is also a time to look forward, for people of all races and ideologies, and to continue the quest for true racial equality in America. Apps are great educational tools so we’ve collected our favorite four that look backwards and forwards at this epic struggle to show by word and deed that all men – and women – are indeed created equal. If we missed an essential please let us know in the comments.
Then and Now Series: Black History
A look at the lives of 100 historically important Black people in a simple easy-to-use app, Then and Now Series: Black History focuses on the people behind the struggles and successes. Seek out more information on the names you’d expect to find or browse to discover lesser known, but equally important, figures from Black History. The app also allows users to print or share their discoveries with anyone who also wants to learn more.
$1.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-08-11 :: Category: Education Black History In An Hour
While Black History In An Hour is long overdue for an update it still allows those who want to learn more without investing too much time to get the most important facts on the most salient topics. This app goes beyond the US to the rest of the West and into Africa, but it focuses mostly on key events in the history of African Americans particularly during slavery. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive eBook, just a starting point for discussion or further study.
$2.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-10-08 :: Category: Education Black History Facts
Another basic guide, Black History Facts does not focus on the struggle for racial equality in the US alone, but rather explores Black History from around the world. The app offers over 530 snippets of information including 15 that were added as recently as january of this year. The app’s stated purpose is to foster deeper inquiry and provoke discussion.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-12-15 :: Category: Entertainment The Root for iPad
Brought to iPad by The Washington Post and The Root, The Root for iPad looks not at black history as recorded in the annals, but black history in the making. This app aggregates relevant web news as well as curated commentary from highly respected African American writers. The app tackles the current implications of race in American society and myriad related issues. It even has podcasts on hot topics. The newest of the apps on this list, it’s optimized for iOS 5 and incorporates a host of sharing features to spread the best stories around the web via social media to open debate… and minds.
FREE! iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-12-18 :: Category: News
Ah, Valentine’s day. That wonderful day where those in relationships set huge expectations for perfect romantic escapades that can seldom be met by their partner and singles wish they could share in the homage to Hallmark and Cupid. Finding the right thoughtful token or date locale doesn’t have to be an expensive ordeal, however. As always there are a bevy of holiday-themed apps that claim to help make the day either more special or more commercial depending on your point of view. We have collected our favorite four apps for singles and couples looking to make the most of February 14 without waking up broke on the 15th.
Build-a-Card Cupid Edition
Heartfelt words, to a lover, relative or friend, can make them feel special and cherished. Greeting cards are the most traditional way of sending sentiments, but printed brick-and-mortar shop cards are expensive and seldom say exactly what you want. e-cards are less expensive, but it’s still hard to find the right one and harder still to keep them out of spam filters. Build-a-Card Cupid Edition is packed full of love-themed templates and graphic elements to allow users to customize valentines with their own words and photos. These particularly pretty cards can then then be sent via email, Twitter or Facebook and you can send as many as you like for less than the price of a single dead tree card.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-01-18 :: Category: Entertainment $1.99 iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-01-19 :: Category: Entertainment iWrite Love Poems
If sending a card is touching, nothing is more romantic or traditional than sending an original stanza or three of romantic poetry to your beloved. Sadly, however, not all of us are gifted wordsmiths. If you are looking for some help in composing a grand romantic ode or a simple rhyming couplet, iWrite Love Poems, an App Store Valentine staple, can help. It offers eight types of poems from seductive to wistful, general style tips and if the creative juice still won’t flow, the app creates its own loving verses. The GUI would benefit from an iOS 5 makeover, but there is in-app email sharing to pass along the love notes.
$0.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-01-22 :: Category: Entertainment Urban Spoon
A classy dinner date to a hot spot or intimate eatery doesn’t have to break the bank. With Urban Spoon’s apps, not only do dates have endless dining options worldwide, but all you have to do to impress and stay solvent is pick a location, cuisine, and price range. A shake or spin will provide a hip dining spot to enjoy and a way to impress that special someone with your culinary savvy.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2008-07-11 :: Category: FREE! iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-04-27 :: Category: OK Cupid
We promised we would’t leave out singles, and we haven’t with card makers and restaurant suggesters, but if you are looking for a hot Valentine’s date, or for that perfect someone, OK Cupid, the app for the well-known dating site, can certainly help. Subscribers can access all the profiles and interact on the fly from the privacy of their palm. Based on the community size there should be someone for almost everyone. And if you still don’t find that perfect someone, at least not in time, there are a ton of valentine updates to popular iPhone games to tide you over until Mr or Ms right finds you.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-11-25 :: Category: Social Networking
Forget paying for a personal trainer. The App store is overflowing with personal trainer replacements in the form of health, exercise and diet-related apps. But with hundreds of apps to choose from, users might feel overwhelmed with options. Indeed, it’s difficult to figure out where to start. That’s why we’ve come up with four of our favorite fitness apps that will give users the resources of a personal trainer, without actually having to hire one.
Wellness Tip of the Day
This app is great because it offers a variety of broad health-related information. The app updates daily with health and wellness tips from the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Enterprise. Tips are classified into different categories, such as Food Favorites, Mind Favorites, Body Favorites and Misc Favorites. The app features two different interface styles – one that lets users pop bubbles to view tips and another more traditional, calendar view.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-07-06 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Daily Burn
Part of staying healthy requires balancing one’s diet and exercise routine to achieve optimal results. That’s why Daily Burn makes my list. The app helps users gain weight or lose weight, depending on their needs. Users can choose to follow a plan that’s low-carb and will lead to weight loss, use a bodybuilding routine that will lead to increased muscle mass or choose from one of the app’s many other programs. In addition to tracking calories, protein, carbs and other nutrients related to diet, Daily Burn also helps users by providing a fitness training program that will lead towards accomplishing their goals. And with stat-tracking and data analysis through the app’s website, it’s difficult not to love this app.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-09-28 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Fitness Builder
This is the most expensive app on my list of recommendations, but there’s reason for it. Fitness Builder contains over 200 different workouts, spread out across 5,600 images and videos, as well as specialized tracking tools and fitness plans. This is a truly comprehensive exercise app, hence the subscription cost. Users aren’t coughing up money for nothing, though. The app also allows users to ask the company’s physiologist their own personal questions. Definitely a nice extra that separates this one from similar fitness apps.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-03-26 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Ease into 5K
I recently started running, and this app is an awesome companion. Ease into 5K is designed to help train users to be able to run 5,000 meters. The app tells users when to switch from walking to running, providing interval training spread out across 3 sessions a week, each being 30 minutes. Ease into 5K also tracks session stats, so users can easily view their progress. What’s more, the app runs in the background, so users can listen to music while using it.
$2.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-01-14 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
Last week, as part of our Health & Fitness themed month, Lisa looked at how apps can help people keep track of the calories they consume. That’s great but weight loss and general improved fitness levels won’t be achieved without some exercise thrown into the equation. While iOS apps can’t force anyone to exercise but they can go a long way to encouraging someone to work harder to achieve their goals. We round up four of the best apps when it comes to tracking progress.
RunKeeper
RunKeeper should be the first port of call for anyone planning on partaking in some outside exercise such as running, walking or cycling to get fit. Other exercises are catered for like swimming, skiing and rowing too with the app’s strength stemming from its GPS functionality although indoors use is also possible. RunKeeper tracks more than just how far the user has travelled with speed, pace and calories calculated. Via the GPS functionality, the app even tracks the route taken. All that information is then synced to the RunKeeper website for additional stats and profiling. Interval workouts and target pacing can also be set for the competitive user.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-01-13 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Fleetly
Fleetly is an incredibly simple idea that taps into one key thing that all humans react well to: a feeling of achievement. Within Fleetly, users enter the workout that they’ve previously performed with the app then allocating points according to how tough the exercise was. Those points then go towards a levelling up system and a global leaderboard with numerous challenges to join and medals to gain. There’s a workout generator and coaching side to the app too but the real beauty is in the way it makes its users compete with themselves as much as with others.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-11-19 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness All-in-Fitness
All-in Fitness sets out to encompass everything possible fitness wise with 100 ready-made workouts, 1000 fitness & yoga exercises and a calorie counter. The focus here however is on its tracking. The app allows its users to enter numerous different kinds of exercise in order to track calorie consumption and general performance levels. It’s a very in-depth app that seems determined to miss nothing (it even includes sex in exercise type) so it might take a little time to fully figure out, but it’s ideal for those who need both guidance and a way of tracking all in one app.
$9.99 iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-07-10 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness Gym Hero
In comparison to the previous app, Gym Hero is incredibly simple. That’s where it’s ideal for experienced gym rats. For those who don’t need to be told what exercises will work for them or how to achieve better results, Gym Hero enables a simple and quick way of entering workout progress without the need to repeatedly enter words like sets and reps. It’s even possible to set up different workouts making it incredibly quick to use for those juggling different routines depending on the day.
FREE! iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-10-01 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness
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