Welcome, one and all, to another 148Apps holiday shopping guide! Are you having trouble figuring out what to get for a distant relative, new neighbor, or estranged second cousin? Thankfully there are people like us putting together handy-dandy holiday shopping guides for you! Whether you’re looking for new hardware and accessories, or just something a bit less impersonal than an iTunes gift card, we’ve got you covered.
Today’s guide is for those creative types in your life. These are the people who like to draw, compose music, sculpt, or otherwise make things with their iOS devices. So long as they enjoy creating, and you’re in need of some gift ideas, you should check out our list below.
Griffin Technology and Misfit have combined their powers to make a whole new line of accessories for Misfit Shine and Flash. Now fitness fans can get the Ribbon Wristband, Sleep | Sport Band and Shoe Pouch for their Shine and Flash. The Ribbon Wristband is available for $19.99 for a 2-pack and comes in exclusive Misfit colors Bamboo Shoot Green and Grey.
If you prefer to wear your fitness tracker somewhere out of the way, you can pick up the Shoe Pouch for $14.99. It can slide under your shoelaces or can be laced through the loops on the back of the pouch. It also features reflective accents to make for safer running at night.
The Sleep | Sport Band is softer and stretchier than previous sport bands and can be worn either as a wristband or an armband. You can pick one up for $19.99.
“The fitness tracker market has boomed over the last few years and as Griffin continues to develop the wearable technology accessories market that we created, we feel it’s important for us to align ourselves with the highest-quality wearable technology devices like Misfit,” said Chris Paterson, General Manager of Design and Product Marketing at Griffin Technology. “Our new partnership will help to further provide Misfit users with new ways to wear their devices and enhance their experience.”
When iOS 8 went live, Readdle introduced the Ultimate Productivity Bundle by Readdle. This bundle includes some of their best apps - PDF Expert 5, Scanner Pro, Printer Pro, and Calendars 5 - for only $19.99. That's a 25% discount, plus if you already have a few, users can use the “Complete My Bundle” option to get additional apps at discounted rates.
Apple has featured the bundle as their "Essential Bundle" on the App Store. So check out the Ultimate Productivity Bundle by Readdle today.
One of the Playstation 2's biggest Japanese RPGs, Dragon Quest VIII, has just been made available on the US App Store.
Everything from the PS2 version is here, reworked for iOS. So it's essentially the same game you've probably played (or at least heard of) way back when, only it's all been shrunk down to fit on your iPhone and iPad. And the controls have been reworked for touch screens, naturally.
You can download Dragon Quest VIII right now for $19.99, and the game features absolutely no in-app purchases of any kind - you get the whole thing right from the start.
The CoPilot navigation app has received an update that brings a whole bunch of new features.
Version 9.6 unveils the new CommuteMe feature, which looks to learn the user's daily commute and then provides live traffic and arrival estimation info on the fly. It also gives users the ability to add a point of interest as the next stop without altering the final destination, as well as drag & drop functionality that allows for trip editing and improved POI searching.
There is also an update to the North American map database.
Parent company ALK Technologies consumer business vice president David Quinn mentioned the company's mission in a press release. "CoPilot v9.6 introduces unique adaptive learning technology and smarter route searching to make your daily drive more predictable and less stressful," he said. "It's the latest step in our mission to make every journey easier and more efficient through advanced navigation technology".
• NEW CommuteMe™ feature learns your preferred daily commute and provides real-time traffic* and ETA info along that personal route you love. You know the one that gets you to work and home for dinner on time!
• NEW ability to add a POI as your next stop without altering your final destination
• NEW Drag & Drop trip editing to easily move stops up or down within your trip
• IMPROVED POI search on your route to find the closest POIs and save time by avoiding driving too far out of your way
• YOU ASKED FOR IT so we made it simple to change your CoPilot ID (email address) directly within CoPilot, just go to MyCoPilot > My Account
• ADDED the option to navigate to Decimal Minutes Coordinates
• NEW! Free map update – In addition to an update for our maps of North America, CoPilot now includes the complete street-level map of Puerto Rico for reliable offline routing and guidance.
The Strongarm Universal Mount is hindered slightly by its need for incredibly smooth surfaces, but it can still be a very effective stand for iOS devices under the right circumstances.
Screens VNC's latest update has added a few new things amidst the various (and probably expected) improvements. The app now features support for Dvorak keyboards and the iCloud Keychain, the ability to manage Screens Connect records from inside the app, and a trackpad mode for those times when you just don't feel like using the typical touch-based gestures.
If you're already using the VNC client, you can go ahead and update it whenever you feel like it. If you don't use it, you still have the option of downloading it off the App Store for $19.99.
Square has been around for a fair bit now; making digital transactions on-the-go and generally allowing small business owners a convenient way to charge customers using nothing but their iPhone and a tiny add-on. The new Merchant Case they've created in conjunction with Griffin Technology looks to improve upon that convenience.
Aside from simply securing your phone in a sturdy non-slip case, it will also make toting the reader and using cards even easier. There's a spot in the corner of the case allows the Square Reader to slip right in without having to take the case off, and a groove along the bottom that allows credit cards to slide through easily and consistently. And once you're done processing transactions for the day you can simply tuck the Square Reader into a compartment on the back of the case and forget about it until it's time to use it once more.
The Merchant Case + Square Reader set won't be shipping for another couple of weeks, but you can preorder it now for $19.99 on Griffin's website.
iA Writer is considered by many to be one of the (if not the) best iOS text editors on the market. Or at least it was, until iA Labs went and released the next best thing: Writer Pro.
Writer Pro is an all-new iOS writing suite. "Syntax Control" will scan your text (currently limited to English on iOS) and automatically highlight nouns, prepositions, verbs, and more for easy editing. It also offers an interesting and organic workflow system that lets users begin by typing out notes, move on to editing in order to flesh everything out, then share work instantly across all of their devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac). Sound cool? Well you can grab Writer Pro off the App Store right now for $19.99.
+Universal & Apple Watch App - Designed for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
Sygic North America: GPS Navigation gets a new HUD in its latest update, helping drivers keep their eyes on the road by displaying the new heads-up display on their windshields. The HUD is available as an in-app purchase for $4.99 and features live traffic and turn-by-turn voice guidance.
“As we head into the heavy travel season, we hope our HUD will help drivers stay safe on the roads so they can spend more time with their family and friends and less time driving down heavily-trafficked and dangerous winter road conditions.” said Sygic CEO, Michal Štencl, in a press release.
Features
•Offline maps that don’t require a cellular data connection
•3D cities and landscapes
•Multi-stop routes and Drag & Drop route editing
•Speed limit display and audio warning
•SOS/Help to find assistance nearby
•Interactive map - tap on any street, POI, or photo to choose action
•New speed cameras feature with a constantly-updated database of stationary and mobile speed traps
iBank for iPad gets a brand-new redesign for iOS 7 in the latest 2.0 update. Those who purchased earlier versions of the app are able to download the update for free, while new users need to purchase the app for $19.99. The new update makes it easier to browse through custom account books, accessing details on accounts, budgets, transactions, and investments. Users will also find it easier to review trades, positions, history, performance, and more when it comes to investments.
“With this version of iBank for iPad we re-imagined the app for iOS 7 while making it more capable than ever for tracking accounts, budgets and investments on the go. There’s nothing that comes close for mobile money management, on any platform.” said IGG’s president, Ian Gillespie, in a press release.
OmniFocus 2 for iPhone is a task management app for people who absolutely need a comprehensive app that can do a lot, even if it can be a bit convoluted.
