Now that the iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak is available for the iPhone 4S, new iPad, and older devices, the subject of jailbreak in general is getting a lot of attention again, and with it, the dark side of jailbreaking. It seems whenever someone wants to attack the very concept of jailbreak, one of the first salvos unleashed is app piracy. The sad, ugly truth is that those attacks are made possible because some people who jailbreak do so mainly or entirely to get "free" apps. And the sadder, uglier truth is that there's no such thing as "free". Everything has a cost. Even and especially theft.

We're going to use the words "theft" and "steal" here instead of piracy because that's what we're talking about. Steve Jobs once raised a pirate flag at Apple as a symbol of their counterculture and ideals, and the jailbreak community has embraced that spirit.

By no means has the jailbreak community embraced theft.

Both iMore and Mobile Nations have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to even the discussion of piracy. We place an incredibly high value on developers and the apps they make, and don't want to play any part, directly or indirectly, in disseminating information that hurts developers, the iOS platform, and the legitimate jailbreak community.

Likewise, prominent jailbreak developers have gone out of their way, numerous times, to distance themselves from app theft and ask those using their software not to steal apps.

There's a reason for that. App theft is not a victimless crime. It hurts the iOS platform, it hurts iOS developers, and because of that, it ultimately hurts iOS users.

Stealing apps isn't free. It comes with a very real cost.

Getting the excuses out of the way

For years people have been copying CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray movies, games, and anything else they could get their hands on. Ever since media became copyable, people have been copying it. Some have applied philosophical wrappers around it -- that all bits should be free. Others think that since the original version remains, copies don't equate to theft -- you're not taking it away from anyone else. Others justify their actions based on the hostility often displayed towards users by traditional media companies.

The law does allow for copying in some situations, in some jurisdictions. It sometimes allows for copying to make a backup or change format, for example ripping a CD to iTunes or copying iTunes music to a disk. But none of them make allowances for theft.

Another common excuse is availability and price -- if content could only be bought immediately, and at a fair cost, there'd be no content theft. Game of Thrones is the most common current example. HBO won't release it for sale for months, so users go elsewhere to get it. If HBO would only put it on iTunes, Amazon, etc. in a timely manner, the argument goes, no one would be going elsewhere.

Well guess what -- in almost all cases, the App Store and apps do just that.

And not only that, apps are incredibly inexpensive by any reasonable standard. Paid apps are often $0.99 and most iPhone apps top out at $4.99 with very few exceptions. In most cases they're not only less than a cup of coffee or a movie, but substantially less.

Also, Apple allows users to re-download purchased apps. If you deleted an app by accident, it stopped working right, or you got a new iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch you have the ability to re-download your content without having to re-purchase anything. Your purchases are tied to your iTunes ID, not a specific device. Apple even allows you to authorize content on up to 5 computers and, when it comes to apps, practically as many iOS devices as you'd like.

Easily available, cheaply and fairly priced, and automatically backed up. That removes many of the rationalizations and justifications.

Note: There are some regions that don't support the App Store, or specific parts of the App Store, due to local policies on rating requirements or other licensing issues. In those particular cases, in those particular places, stealing apps may seem like the only way for these users to obtain App Store apps or games. This problem typically arises in countries that don't carry the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, in areas where iTunes payments are difficult or challenging, or where Apple is simply not allowed to provide a legitimate service. Still there are legitimate workarounds, like using a U.S. App Store account and loading it with gift cards. If you want to support developers, you'll find a way.

The cost to app developers

When you jailbreak to steal apps you're essentially taking money out of someone's hand, whether it's an independent developer or a development company. App development takes a lot of time and a lot of money.

Apps can and do cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop. That means every sale is important and can make all the difference to a developer -- the difference between continuing an app or canceling it, making payroll or not making it, feeding their family or not feeding them.

If recent statistics are accurate, almost 60% of developers don't break even on costs when developing and executing an app. These costs typically involve marketing, development, graphic design fees, software licensing, and anything else that goes into submitting a fully polished app to the App Store.

These costs don't stop once the app is submitted to the App Store. If the app uses push notifications or has a web server back end, that costs money. Sometimes a lot of money. If a developer wants to provide technical support to their users, a service we've all come to expect, that's also a lot of money. There are considerable recurring costs for any development team that plans on supporting their app and updating it regularly.

Making, maintaining, supporting, and updating an app is incredibly expensive. And there's no promise every developer will ever get all that money back.

That's the cost to developers, and to users who may get less apps developed or updated because of it.

The cost to Apple

Apple owns the iOS platform. Anything that hurts developers hurts Apple. To that end, Apple has tried to implement services such as in-app purchases and iAds so developers can keep prices down and still earn a living. Yet there's more Apple can and should do.

There have been several developers who have reported seeing more players active on Game Center than have actually purchased their game via the App Store. Sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. There needs to be a way to shut stolen apps out of Game Center so there's less incentive to use the stolen versions of games. iTunes knows which apps we've bought. If a game isn't on our purchased list, it shouldn't work in Game Center. That removes the ego gratification of leader boards and the fun of multiplayer unless and until a legitimate copy of an app is purchased.

The same could be done with iCloud for non-game apps. If an app isn't on our purchased list, it doesn't sync, it doesn't back up.

I'm not pretending to know how complicated such a system would be to deploy, or how much it would disincentivize app theft, but it doesn't seem beyond the realm of possibility.

The more popular an app or game is, the higher the likelihood it will be stolen, and the less money a developer will make from it. If developers find they can't make enough money, they'll stop developing those popular apps. That not only hurts users who want great software, but it hurts the platform.

That's the cost to Apple.

The cost to jailbreak's reputation

I've been jailbreaking since iOS 1.x and I've never once stolen an app. For myself and many others out there, jailbreak is a tool to add functionality to our iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, and iPods -- functionality that Apple won't or hasn't give us stock. I actually think I've spent almost as much money on jailbreak apps as I have stock apps. Yet even though many jailbreakers don't steal apps, the conception that jailbreak is a gateway to app theft is impossible to escape.

I've had people come to me for help with their iPhone, people that don't even know how to use iCloud, but who know all the ins and outs of app theft. They can't be bothered to back up their own data but they'll spend hours and hours figuring out how to screw a developer out of $0.99 or $4.99.

And they cost jailbreak its reputation. They enable jailbreak to be called a tool for app theft instead of a breeding ground for innovation. They enable those who would like to see jailbreak made illegal to couch their self-interest in the flag of criminal justice.

That's the cost paid by the jailbreak community, and by those who jailbreak for legitimate reasons.

The cost to users

I'm not here to give anyone a lecture on morals or ethics. If you're stealing apps, one article probably won't change your mind. Maybe you already know that you're costing developers money, that you're tarnishing the reputation of the jailbreak community, and maybe even that you're hurting the iOS platform. Perhaps you've justified it to yourself by saying developers are rich and you're copying not stealing, or you don't care about the jailbreak community, or that Apple has so much money nothing could ever hurt iOS.

But what about us?

We're all connected.

If you're stealing apps it's because you want apps. Keep stealing them, and the quality and quantity of apps will eventually diminish. If you're jailbreaking, you need the jailbreak community to keep releasing tools for jailbreak. Keep using jailbreak to steal apps and either laws using you as an excuse, or jailbreak developers fed up with how you're misusing their tools will stop providing them. And all of this is dependent on Apple not figuring out a way to shut it all down or make it so time consuming that it might as well be shut down.

I'd like to envision a strong future for jailbreak and for stock iOS. Stealing apps is simply the right way to get all the wrong attention, and to hurt everything you enjoy.

On the other hand, buying the apps you like rewards developers for their hard work and helps ensure they can continue to update those apps, and make more of them, now and into the future. It shows the world that jailbreak is about adding functionality and not stealing money. And it shows Apple that their time and attention is better spent being inspired by jailbreak rather than shutting it down.

Losing apps, losing jailbreak tools, and ultimately losing jailbreak is the cost to users.

Conclusion

For years we've been clamoring for great content, readily available and priced fairly. With the App Store, we have it. The best defense against accusations that jailbreak is all about app theft is simply not to steal apps. The best way to get more great apps is simply to buy the great apps we have today.

There's no such thing as free. Even theft has its price. And we can all choose not to pay it.

VicMan Visage Lab for iPhone is an app that will give your portraits a complete makeover with just the tap of a button. I'm always fairly skeptical of these types of apps because they have the potential to produce results that look very fake and overdone, but not VicMan Visage Lab -- the results are very good!

VicMan Visage Lab includes two sample photos, one of a man and another of a woman. Here's the before and after on the woman model.

Here's the before and after on the male model.

Pretty good, huh?

Using VicMan Visage Lab is extremely easy. Just select the photo you wish to edit and let the software work its magic. When it's done, it'll zoom in on the photo and briefly show the original photo before applying the retouches.

The retouches that VicMan Visage Lab applies are skin makeup, eye makeup, teeth whitening, shine removal, wrinkle smoothing, and color enhancement.

After the retouches are completel you can pinch to zoom in and out of the photo and tap the little snapshot in the bottom left corner to switch between the original and retouched version.

If you are unhappy with the results, you can choose specifically which effects you want to apply. Unfortunately, this doesn't give instant feedback, so you'll have to wait for the retouching to happen again. This also means that there isn't a way to compare between different combinations.

VicMan Visage Lab also includes some effects that you can apply to your photo. A few of them, like Sunny Colors and Glamour Effect, are subtle but have a great impact on portraits. Other effects include Black & White, Retro Sepia, Poster Look, Xmas Bokeh, In the Wave, and Light Bokeh.

Now, I know that seeing great results on photos that were included with the app may not be very impressive, so here's a before and after comparison of a photo of me.

For this photo, I disabled Shine Removal and Wrinkle Smoothing because I felt they made my face look flat and lack dimension. I also applied the Glamour Effect.

The good

• Works surprising well
• Can select between 6 different retouching tools
• Many of the filters are subtle, yet awesome

The bad

• Each time you want to select a different combination of retouching tools, it goes through the entire process over again with no way to compare the different results
• Filters take too long to apply

The conclusion

VicMan Visage Lab is a fantastic app for improving portraits by removing flaws and giving them that extra little oomph. If you're planning to participate in this week's portrait iPhoneography contest, this is probably a great app to pick up!

VicMan Visage Lab comes in three different versions. The free version is ad supported and does not include all of the filter effects. The Pro versions have no adds and includes all the filters. The iPhone only Pro version of VicMan Visage lab is $0.99 and the universal version for iPhone and iPad is $1.99.

Free for iPhone & iPad- Download Now

$0.99 for iPhone - Download Now

$1.99 for iPhone & iPad - Download Now

The Google Search app for iPhone app was recently updated with a complete redesign that makes searching on Google a rather pleasant experience. It features a very stylish and snappy UI that's bound to impress anyone who uses it.

The home page of Google is very clean and Google-esque with barely off-white background and the Google search field directly in the center. Along the top of the screen you'll see what account you're logged into and find access to settings.

On the bottom of the screen you'll see icons for Apps, Voice, and Goggles. The apps section lets you access all the Google Apps on the web: Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Google+, News, Reeder, Photos, YouTube, Translate, Offers, Tasks, and Blogger. You can also find a list of other apps that Google has available in the App Store with direct links to download.

The Voice icon lets you perform a voice search. Just speak what you'd like to search for, and Google Search will type it into the search field for you! It's been extremely accurate in my experience.

Google Goggles is a neat feature that performs a search based on a photo you took. For example, if you want to look up a book, just take a photo of the cover with Goggles and Google will find it for you.

As you type into the search field, Google will automatically display popular search terms. If you see the one you want, just tap it instead of typing it completely out -- it's a huge time saver. When you perform the search, the results will be displayed in a similar fashion as on the web and Mobile Safari. Along the bottom of the screen you choose what kind of search you'd like to perform (web, images, places, news, etc…), but as you scroll down, the controls disappear. Google refers to this as auto full screen. As you scroll up, the controls will reappear. It's very cool.

When you tap on a result, the webpage will open in a tab on top of your results and a very thing blue line will progress underneath the tab while the page loads. Auto full screen works on web pages as well.

When the controls are displayed, you can navigate between pages, refresh the page, open in Safari, share via email, or perform a word search on the page. When doing a search, each appearance of the word will be placed in a yellow box. You can either scroll through the webpage to find each instance of the word, or tap the arrows next to your search to jump to the next/previous time it appears.

Search for images with Google Search is absolutely gorgeous. The photos are displayed as a collage. The collage is separated into distinct rows, but not all the rows are the same height. Each row will contain anywhere between 1 and 3 images in their original crop ratio. I think this is much more interesting than showing each photo cropped as a square.

The good

• Beatuiful design
• Extremely fast
• Voice search is very accurate
• Image searches are stunning
• Web access to all Google Apps
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• Can't have more than one tab

The conclusion

I never used to use Google Search for iPhone, but now I find myself using it quite often. The experience is much better than Safari -- and it's super fast!

Free - Download Now

Because We May is an initiative that launched recently to celebrate indie developers' ability to change their own pricing whenever they like. What better way to do that then to have a gigantic sale? From now until June 1, you can pick up around 140 top-notch iPhone and iPad games at a significant discount, and in some cases free.

Although changing a pricetag might seem like a weird thing to make a lot of noise about, the Amazon Appstore apparently doesn't let developers change pricing on a whim. Sure, that's only directly related to Android, since iPhone app developers only have the One True App Store to deal with (and maybe Cydia if they can't deal with the restrictions), but it does send a message to Amazon that these devs will take their business elsewhere if they don't have the flexibility they need to stay in operation. The issue also monkeys the whole agency model kerfuffle we've been hearing about e-books on iOS and competing with Amazon's monopoly.

But enough politics, let's get to the games. I've covered a ton of free games lately for both iPhone and iPad, but here are just a few of my favorite paid apps being featured through Because We May.

• World of Goo - $4.99 $1.99 (Universal, $0.99 on iPhone - also, the dev that organized Because We May)
• Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP - $4.99 $2.99 (Universal, $0.99 on iPhone)
• Trainyard - $2.99 $0.99 (Universal)
• EDGE Extended - $2.99 $0.99 (Universal)
• Canabalt - $2.99 $0.99
• League of Evil 2 - $1.99 $0.99

Apple has recently removed Airfoil Speakers Touch by Rogue Amoeba and AirFloat by The Famous Software Company from the iTunes App Store for using AirPlay APIs in a way Apple did not intend them to be used. These apps basically let you use another iOS device as an AirPlay speaker. So, for example, you could beam your audio from your iPhone to an iPod touch or iPad. Though these API's are public, it looks like some reverse engineering was needed to get them to work in this way, and that's what Apple has taken exception to. Airfoil was just taken down this week, while AirFloat was yanked last week.

Apple may just be sour that these devs have found a way to crack into AirPlay without going through the usual "Made for iPhone" accessory certification process, and allowed users to have AirPlay speaker setups without buying additional AirPlay certified audio gear.

There's obviously a big business in that kind of thing, but also a lot more quality control; there's no way of making sure these apps don't provide a sub-par experience, since there's no documented iOS API to test against. If the AirPlay is glitchy or inconsistent, then buyers might get the idea that AirPlay sucks, and will refrain from spending more on, say, an Apple TV.

There was a certain amount of noise made since these types of apps have been in the App Store for years in some cases, and have been approved over and over again during that time, including when they submitted versions with the AirPlay features.

Again, it shows that frustration doesn't only exist in Apple's curation, but in the sometimes arbitrary and sometimes delayed ways in which they enforce it.

Well, I guess the Cydia store exists for a reason... Is Apple right to shut these guys down and protect private APIs, or should they go ahead and let developers make cool apps that leverage the technology that's already there, stability and testing be damned?

Source: Rogue Amoeba, Daring Fireball, The Verge

Absinthe 2.0 has launched and it provides support for a fully unthethered jailbreak under iOS 5.1.1 (and only iOS 5.1.1) for the following devices:

• iPad, iPad 2, new iPad (except the 2012 iPad 2, which will come later)
• iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S
• iPod touch 3, iPod touch 4

Developed by a collaborative "Dream Team" between Chronic-Dev Team and iPhone Dev Team, Absinthe 2.0 and promises to be so easy, your "grandma could do it." Here are the steps:

1. Make a backup of your device in iTunes by right clicking on your device name under the ‘Devices’ menu and click ‘Back Up’.

2. Once your backup is complete return to your device and go to Settings – General – Reset – Erase all Content and Settings. This will make the jailbreak process much faster.

3. Open Absinthe and be sure you are still connected via USB cable to your computer.

4. Click ‘Jailbreak’ and wait…. just be patient and do not disconnect your device.

5. Once jailbroken return to iTunes and restore your backup from earlier. Right click on your device name under the ‘Devices’ menu in the left panel of iTunes and click ‘Restore from Back Up…’ then select the latest backup you created before. (restoring this backup will return all the content previously on your device ie, apps, photos, etc.)

You can grab the download via the source link below, and if you need any help, jump right into our Jailbreak Forum.

Source: greenpois0n.com

IOS JAILBREAK DREAM TEAM RELEASES ABSINTHE 2.0 – IOS 5.1.1 JAILBREAK AT #HITB2012AMS

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS – 25th May 2012 – Today @pod2g and the @ChronicDevTeam announced the highly anticipated release of Absinthe 2.0 at #HITB2012AMS held at the Okura Hotel in Amsterdam.

Known as the “iOS Jailbreak Dream Team”, @p0sixninja, @pod2g, @planetbeing, @pimskeks released the untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 on the final day of the week-long conference. Echoing Steve Jobs’ trademark WWDC encore of ‘… and one more thing’, the team announced the release of Absinthe 2.0 during the closing minutes of their 2 hours talk at the conference.

Absinthe 2.0 will affect the majority of Apple devices running iOS 5.1.1 including iPad 1,1 – 2,1 – 2,2 – 2,3 – 3,1 – 3,2 – 3,3, the iPhone 2,1 – 3,1 – 3,3 – 4,1 and iPod 3,1 – 4,1. The jailbreak does not support the third generation Apple TV and support for iPad 2,4 will be added at a later date.

The team announced that the new Absinthe 2.0 will be available immediately for download from the official ChronicDevTeam website: http://greenpois0n.com The release announcement came after recent rife speculation spreading through online social networks on the actual release date and scope of Absinthe 2.0. The jailbreak community’s interest was first piqued when the team announced they were scheduled to appear at HITBSecConf2012 – Amsterdam to deliver not one but two talks covering both the Corona (A4) and Absinthe (A5) jailbreaks for Apple devices. On the 20th of May, a tweet from team member @pod2g stating the release of Absinthe 2.0 was ‘in a matter of days’ led to further speculation that the final release would be made at HITBSecConf which ran from 21 – 25 May.

“We want to take this opportunity to thank Hack in the Box for giving us the chance to all get together for the first time, especially in the beautiful city of Amsterdam, it has been a great delight for us to announce our next release at this event. Thank you to all our supporters and keep jailbreaking!! ”

“This was certainly one of the most highly anticipated talks we’ve EVER had at one of our HITB conferences, and we’ve done quite a few of these. The excitement from the Dream Team followers and overall Twitter and online buzz has been terrific!”, said Dhillon Andrew Kannabhiran, Founder and CEO of Hack In The Box.

“It was truly an honor to host the Dream Team in their first ever ‘real world’ meet up and we would like to thank them for taking the time and effort to make the trip over to not only join us at our third European outing, but to help kick-start our celebration of ’10 years of HITB awesomeness’ with the release of Absinthe 2.0!”, he added.

HITBSecConf2012 – Malaysia (#HITB2012KUL) marks our 10th annual event in Asia and runs from October 8th till 11th at the Intercontinental Kuala Lumpur featuring 42 of HITB’s best speakers of the decade in one massive event. Registration is already open: http://conference.hitb.org/hitbsecconf2012kul/

About iOS Jailbreak Dream Team: The group is made up of members from the Chronic-Dev Team and the iPhone Dev Team and consists of @MuscleNerd @pod2g @planetbeing @p0sixninja @pimskeks.

About iOS jailbreaking: iOS jailbreaking, or simply jailbreaking, is the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on devices running the iOS operating system through use of custom security exploits. Jailbreaking allows users to gain elevated access to the operating system. Consequently it also allows users to download additional applications, extensions and themes that are unavailable through the official Apple App Store.

Apple has made some minor changes to the layout of the App Store within iTunes; the same changes are reflected on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. With such a huge number of apps now available in the App Store finding what you are looking has gone from hit and miss to downright daunting. Apple has been rumored to be completely revamping its iTunes software but in the meantime, they're still tweaking what we have now.

When you visit the App Store you will now see two new features -- Editor’s Choice and App of the Week. Editor’s choice looks to have taken the place of the previous iPhone and iPad App of the Week. This week’s editor’s choices for the UK are The Thames, Air Mail, and Extreme Skater. In the U.S. different apps have been chosen and they are Facebook Camera (fairly fast, given it was only released yesterday...), Sketchbook and again Chillingo’s Air Mail.

The App of the Week for this week is Cut the Rope: Experiments. Apple’s App Store twitter account tweeted the information and included a new hashtag “#FreeAppoftheWeek”. We don’t know if the App of the Week will always be a free app, if it will be a paid app on temporary sale for free, or if -- as we assume -- it won’t always be free and that it will still be any app, paid or free.

These new changes may make things slightly easier to find apps that maybe of  interest to you but the App Store still has a long way to go before it becomes a great experience. Hopefully the rumors of an iTunes redesign will turn out to be true and Apple will use the acquisition of Chomp to offer a better version of the App Store; until then, we will take any improvements we can get.

Source: Touch Arcade

iMore is here to help you play God, build cities, and run commercial empires with these top free simulation games for iPhone.

Last week we featured the best free iPad games, but there were a few new categories there that weren't in my original best free iPhone games post. One of those categories is simulation, where your micro-management skills pay the virtual bills. Some of these will look familiar, but others may be new to you. Keep in mind that all of the current picks here are free-to-play, but subsist on in-app payments for various non-essential perks, so if you're not a fan of being nickeled-and-dimed, this list might not be for you. Buckle up hit the jump to see our favourite free simulation games for the iPhone.

Tiny Tower

Tiny Tower is a really simple social management game with 8-bit-style graphics. Your job is to populate a tower with bitizens, assign them jobs relevent to their skills, keep their respective businesses stocked, and build more floors on top of your building. Over time, your bitizens earn you money which can be spent on purchasing new stock for various types of stores, or for putting the next storey onto your tower. You'll need to ferry bitizens from the ground floor with the elevator if you'll ever want to move new people in, plus once in awhile VIPs will provide you extra bonuses, like knocking off a few hours from your restocking time.

Tiny Tower occasionally gives you Towerbucks for handling the elevator, which can be used to hurry restocking, construction, or elevator upgrades. Towerbucks can also be bought through in-app purchases.

• Download now

The Sandbox

The Sandbox is clever mix-and-match game with an 8-bit art style. You take the role of an almighty creator trying to combine various elements in the right order at the right spot in order to complete a puzzle. Those goals can be as simple as evaporating water and as elaborate as discovering electricity. In that sense, there's a definite Doodle God vibe, except this is a lot more fluid. Beyond painting element-infused pixels, you also have control over a wide variety of environment elements, including temperature and weather. The real magic of The Sandbox is that elements all behave as you expect them to - trees catch fire if you turn up the world temperature, dirt falls when you paint it in the sky, and electricity surges through metal and shoots off the ends of wires with sparks. Given, all of that action is in chunky pixels, it's still all very believable. Outside of the puzzles, you can also go freestyle to make your own creations and share them online in the burgeoning pixel art gallery.

Though The Sandbox is free, new elements are unlocked with mana points, which are awarded as you play through missions or bought through in-app purchases. Mana points can also be used to purchase hints for particularly tricky puzzles - luckily the hints aren't too expensive. There's Game Center support here to track achievements, but it's not Universal, so unfortunately no enjoying this one on the big screen.

• Download now

My Country

My Country is a city simulation game where you build businesses, attract residents, and connect with neighboring communities. It's about as close to a full-featured, free version of the premium SimCity game as you'll find. Sure, there are some of the FarmVille trappings of having to tap on buildings to collect revenue, but there's a ton of depth to the resource structure; for example, to run a business, you have to gather up equipment either through other business or upgrading residential units to hire the required professionals. You need to juggle ecology ratings and electrical demands as your city expands from one era to the next. As you complete missions, you gain experience points, level up, and unlock new buildings to propel your metropolis to further heights.

The in-game cash you earn from running businesses within your city (or country, once it gets big enough) is generally what you use to expand and unlock new buildings, but you can also use the premium CountryBucks currency to complete most of the same tasks.

• Download now

Order Up!! To Go

Order Up!! To Go is a cooking and restaurant simulator that tests your time management skills. The gameplay is twofold - for one, you're working on building up the reputation and menu for your restaurant, always with an eye to the next establishment, so there's a fair bit of budgeting involved. The cooking itself is very similar to the Cooking Mama series in you cut tomatoes with downward swipes and flip burgers with curved swipes (though I wouldn't mind some accelerometer control for that). What really keeps the game fun is the variety of other mini-games and the great humor both in the writing an art style. Smaller nuances, like recognizing customers as they come in and using the appropriate spices adds even more depth to the frantic gameplay.

You earn silver coins through regular gameplay, which can be used to buy your ingredients, access new restaurants, and hire extra help, but you can speed up the process with premium gold coins acquired through in-app purchases.

• Download now

The Sims FreePlay

The Sims FreePlay is a classic life simulation game where you tend to a collection of virtual people, each with a variety of needs and colorful spectrum of personality quirks. You do everything from steering their conversations with other Sims, decorating their home, getting them to work, and making sure they bathe regularly. A recent update even added the ability to play as and care for child Sims. As you guide your Sim to accomplish daily tasks, you gain experience points, level up, and unlock new items. Unlike the old Sims games that had a handy fast-forward button, activities in The Sims FreePlay all happen in real-time, so when you put your little people to sleep, they're gone for 8 real hours.

As you play, you earn Lifestyle Points, which can be used to immediately satisfy your Sim's needs and quickly complete tasks. Those can be bought through in-app purchases, alongside the game's currency, Simoleans, which your Sims earn through various kinds of work.

The UI is better-suited for the iPad; on the iPhone, I find gameplay a little cramped, but everything is still there, and in the world of simulation games, there's really no contest. Saved games can be manually synced to the cloud between iPhone and iPad, but that can prove to be a hassle if you switch back and forth a bunch.

• Download now

Your favorite sim games for iPhone?

Facebook is the most popular photo sharing service on the web so it comes as no surprise that they released an app dedicated to the photo aspect of Facebook -- it's called Facebook Camera. With Facebook Camera, you can easily share multiple photos to Facebook, add filters to them, tag your friends, and view a newsfeed restricted just to photos posted by you and your friends. And, of course, you can also leave comments and likes on photos.

The main screen of Facebook Camera is the news feed, except that this news feed only contains photos, not status updates and links like in Facebook for iPhone. You can sort the stream to show photos posted by your friends or just your own photos.

The appearance of the photos in the stream is similar to the new look that was recently implemented into Facebook for iPhone. The photos are full-width and wider than the white background. Each photo is also cropped as a square.

At the bottom of each photo you'll see a thumbs up button to "like" it, a comments button to leave comments, and the number of likes and comments is also displayed. When you tap on the numbers, a popup will appear that shows who liked the photo as well as all the comments. You can also leave a comment of your own. This button actually does the exact same thing as the speech bubble button.

Tapping on the photo will display it on a black background with the caption at the bottom as well as buttons to "like", comment, and tag.

At the top of the feed, you'll see a strip of photos from your Camera Roll and a button to launch the camera. Sliding down on the news feed will slide it off the screen so you can scroll through all the photos in your Camera Roll.

Tapping a photo will display it bigger and allow you to crop, tag, or add filters to it. These filters are remarkably similar to Instagram's filters, but this is to be expected since Facebook recently purchased Instagram. Once you've edited the photo to your liking, you can select it with the checkmark button or share it. If you select it, you'll be taken back to the grid of your Camera Roll photos so that you can repeat the process with more photos.

Once you're ready to share the photos, just tap the share button. This screen looks similar to the photo sharing screen on Facebook for iPhone. It will display small thumbnails of all your selected photos, let you say something about them, add a location, add friends, and adjust privacy settings.

The good

• Beautifully designed
• News feed displays either your friends photos or just your own
• Upload multiple photos at once
• Edit photos by cropping and adding filters
• Tag friends
• Adjust privacy settings before posting
• Leave comments and likes on photos

The bad

• Speech bubble and comment/like count buttons perform the exact same thing

The conclusion

I must say that I'm rather surprised with how much I like this app. I do nothing but complain about Facebook for iPhone, but Facebook appears to have done an outstanding job with Facebook Camera. It's not an Instagram replacement, but it's as great addition to Facebook. Now I'm just curious to see how long before these filters become available on the web version of Facebook.

Free - Download Now

Bump is a very popular iPhone app that people use to share information like photos and contacts by "bumping" their phones together. It used to be restricted to only iPhone users, then it appeared on other mobile platforms, and now you can share photos with your computer.

To share a photo, you must first visit https://bu.mp/ on your computer's browser. You don't even have to connect your iPhone to the same wifi network.

Next, you open Bump on your iPhone, swipe to the right to see your photos, and select which photos you want to share. To "bump" with your computer, you simply tap the spacebar on your keyboard with your iPhone.

The first time you do this, you will be required to accept the bump both on your iPhone and your computer, but this is only for the first time. Although Bump claims you only need to lightly tap your keyboard, you actually need to do it harder than you may have been expecting. Basically, the bump needs be be strong enough to be noticed by the software.

Onc the bump is complete, you'll see the photos appear on the website with options to download them all or download individually. You can also just simply drag the photos to your desktop (or other folder) to quickly save them.

As of right now, only photos can be bumped to a computer. You cannot share contact information, nor can you chat with the Mac. I don't see either of these as a problem, since users will typically be using this feature to share their own photos to their own computer. Most people have contacts synced with their computer and there's no reason to chat with yourself.

Personally, I'm very excited about this update and have bookmarked https://bu.mp/ on both of my computers.

Free - Download Now

It's been about a week since Facebook released Facebook Pages Manager, and now Facebook has announced Facebook Camera -- an app dedicated to viewing and sharing photos to Facebook. The big talk on the internet, however, is that this app comes shortly after Facebook's acquisition of Instagram. This is particularly interesting because Facebook Camera allows you to add filters to your photos before uploading -- these filters are strikingly similar to Instagram's filers.

Let's take a look. Here's Facebook's Cream filter next to Instagram's Valencia filter.

And Facebook's Copper next to Instagram's Earlybird.

And Facebook's Cool next to Instagram's Hudson.

No words are even needed to describe the similarities.

So the real question becomes -- did Facebook copy Instagram before buying it, or did Facebook buy Instgram to copy it? I'm inclined to believe it's some combination of the two. There's no doubt that Facebook has been working on this app since well before it purchased Instagram, but my bet is that it was when they started working on the filters they would include with the app that they pursued an acquisition of Instagram. Although the Facebook Camera's filters are not identical to Instagram's, some of them are strikingly similar. As someone who regularly uses Instagram, I noticed the similarities instantly. In fact, before comparing them side-by-side, I thought they were exact replicas.

Which brings to my next question: will Facebook Camera ever include the exact same filters as Instagram? Is this something Facebook should even consider? Some have argued that Facebook is competing with itself by introducing Facebook Camera, which is true in many ways. But ultimately, I think even if both apps include the exact same filters, they will both be independently successful. With the risk of sounding like a snob, the quality of photos on Facebook are not generally as good as Instagram. People typically choose to use Instagram when they want to share a photo they think is particularly good or some fancy collage they created. Facebook, on the other hand, is where people share anything and everything, including random memes and photos from the internet.

What's your take on this? Did Facebook copy Instagram before buying it, or did Facebook buy Instgram to copy it? Was this even a good move by Facebook?

Free - Download Now

The extremely popular Twitter client Tweetbot for iPhone and iPad has just been updated to version 2.4. It brings a new search view, keyword mute filters, offline favorite and Read Later support, and more.

One of the coolest features of this update is offline favorite and Read Later support. Now if you're offline, you can still mark tweets as favorites or send a link to your favorite Read Later service. When you do so, you'll see a banner that says the favorite or link is queued. Once you jump back online, the action will be complete.

The updated search view of Tweetbot 2.4 now shows nearby tweets added with the ability to change location, location-based keyword searches, and improved search box, and a few other UI adjustments. To change your location, you simply scroll around the map. It's very cool.

Additionally, Tweetbot now has basic smart quote support including ellipsis and em dash. Also, when viewing a photo in full screen on an iPad, holding down on it will give you options to save or copy the image, view the website, or tweet the link.

Tweetbot has also added new gestures. Now you can dismiss web and map views on the iPad with a 2-finger swipe down gesture and if you swipe to the right in a profile view, Tweetbot will go back one level.

Last but certainly not least, their already incredible "mute" feature (which lets you stop seeing tweets without unfollowing someone) now supports keywords. Don't want to read about the Facebook IPO or the season finale of your favorite show, just add the right words to your filter and they'll be gone from your timeline. Better still it supports regular expressions (RegEX) so you have excellent, fine-grain control of your mute filters.

The best Twitter client for iPhone and iPad just keeps getting better and better!

$2.99 for iPhone - Download Now

$2.99 for iPad - Download Now

The highly anticipated FTP client, code editor, CSS editor, and previewer, Diet Coda for iPad has hit the App Store. Now you can make quick edits to your website while on the go or on vacation.

A while ago, we were going on vacation, and facing a difficult question: do we take the MacBook, or the iPad? 95% of what we needed was on the iPad, and it felt right to travel light. But what if we needed to fix or post something on our website? We'd be straight out of luck. So, the Macbook was packed. And work on Diet Coda begun.

With Diet Coda, you can edit documents right on your server or staging server, quickly edit works on your servers, insert chunks of codes with "clips" by a single tap, and take advantage of the built-in terminal. Diet Coda also features powerful FTP and SFTP file management and support for HTML, CSS, JS, and PHP.

In addition to the introduction of Diet Coda, Panic has also released Coda 2 for Mac. It features a brand new UI and better text editing, file management, clips, sites, design, and MySQL.

Diet Coda will normally be $19.99, but it's 50% off until the end of Thursday, May 24. Similarly, Coda 2 for Mac is available for $49.99 (regularly $99.99) for today only -- so you better grab these quick!

Diet Coda for iPad - $9.99 - Download Now

Coda 2 for Mac - $49.99 - Download Now

Special Operations Apps has announced a new lineup of gun accessories and iOS software that allow soldiers to use iPhones and iPads as heads-up displays, complete with nightvision, target information, infra-red, laser range finders, and video recording. The [SOA]2 system uses scopes from another manufacturer, US NightVision. Special Operations Apps hopes to get this working on Android, the Lumia 900, and the Nokia PureView (which would be a good fit given its insane camera).  Down the road, they hope to include object recognition, facial recognition, and motion tracking.

We've already seen the U.S. military get pretty heavily involved in mobile, but they've been focusing primarily on the app side of things. I'd be curious to see how many other third parties start finding ways to put these devices on the field, since it seems like SOA is fairly specialized. It still seems weird to me that consumer-grade electronics can be considered secure and reliable enough for military use, but hey, if it generates cool (and likely expensive) smartphone gear like this, I'm all for it.  One of the product managers, Jonathan Springer, put the relationship between soldier and smartphone in a pretty clear context.

Bottom line up front, this joint teaming alliance is about integrating the best uses of technology we have right now and putting this technology into the hands of our combat soldiers downrange. The soldier already knows these mobile smart devices. It's already in his pocket, and he's already an expert at using it.

Any military folks in the house? How useful does your iPhone or iPad come in your line of work?

Source: SlashGear

iMore's authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free educational apps for iPhone and iPod touch

Looking for great educational app for your iPhone or iPod touch? The App Store is home to over half a million apps and games, and a surprising number of them are available for free. Some of the most beneficial free apps are free educational apps.

iTunes U

The free iTunes U app for iPhone gives you access to courses from universities and schools. These courses are completely free and even include assignments. iTunes U and the instructors provide course materials, including audio, video, books, documents & presentations, apps, and books. iTunes U includes over 500,000 free lectures, videos, books, and other resources on thousands of subjects from Algebra to Zoology.

• Download Now

Khan Archiver: KhanAcademy Educational Videos On The Go

Khan Academy is one of the best products of education and the internet, and with the Khan Archiver app for the iPhone, you will have free access videos on topics ranging from kindergarten, advanced science, humanities, history, and more. Even more, you can download the videos to watch offline.

• Download Now

SparkNotes

SparkNotes is one of the most popular study guides for literature, Shakespeare, poetry, philosophy, drama and short stories. With the free SparkNotes for iPhone app you can access 50 pre-installed study guides in your library and hundreds of study guides online. You can also check-in at the place you're studying and indicate what subject your studying which could then result in impromptu study sessions with other SparkNotes users studying the same subject at the same place at the same time.

• Download Now

Quick Graph

If you're a student taking a math class, there's a good chance you could benefit from a graphing calculator. Unfortunately, such devices are very expensive, but the good news is that there are several app solutions for your iPhone -- the best being Quick Graph. It lets you graph multiple equations at the same time, change their color, trace along them, and more. Quick supports both 2D and 3D graphing in rectangular and polar forms.

• Download Now

Flashcards+

With school comes lots of studying. One of the most common studying techniques is to use flashcards. With the free Flashcards+ app for iPhone, you can say goodbye to the stacks and stacks of flashcards that accumulate over the course of a semester and use electronic flashcards on your iPhone instead. The beauty of Flashcards+ is that you have your flash cards with you wherever you go, which means you'll likely squeeze in more mini study lessons throughout your day and end up with better grades as a result!

• Download Now

The Official SAT Question of the Day

The free Official SAT Question of the Day for iPhone app is exactly what its name implies -- an app that gives you a new official SAT question every day. You can also view the questions from the past 7 days. When checking your answer, The Official SAT Question of the Day will give you an explanation as well as give you a statistical breakdown of how many questions you've gotten correct in that category.

• Download Now

More free iPhone apps

For dozens of additional free iPhone apps, including free social networking apps, instant messenger and communications apps, entertainment apps, finance apps, fun and games apps, health and fitness apps, kids apps, music apps, navigation and location apps, news apps, photography apps, productivity apps, reading apps, shopping apps, sports apps, travel apps, and general utility apps, see here:

• Best free iPhone apps
• Best free iPhone games

Rene Ritchie contributed photographs to this article.

Convert photos and drawings into coloring pages that can be printed and colored with real crayons

Printy is a cute little app that will turn anything you take a photo of into a coloring page that can be printed on real paper and colored with real crayons. It's is incredibly easy to use and does an equally incredible job at producing colorable PDFs.

There's literally only four screens included with Printy. The first one let's you choose between taking a photo or choosing one from your Camera Roll. In the next screen, you move and scale your photo to fit in the square. Yes, you must crop your photo to square.

Once you accept your crop, you'll be shown the first draft of your coloring page. There are two sliders you can adjust to make it look better. The first slider controls the thickness of the black lines and the second slider controls the darkness of the image.

Once it looks best, tap the checkmark to generate the final high resolution image. You should notice that the lines smooth out and look better than in the previous screen. You can then choose to print the image to an AirPrint compatible printer or email it has a high resolution PDF. Here's an example of a PDF created by Printy.

My only real complaint is that once you print or email the image, you can't save it anywhere. At the very least, you should be able to save it to our Camera Roll, but even better would be if you could export to a folder in Dropbox dedicated to Printy PDF files.

The good

• Does an amazing job
• Fine tune the image by adjusting the thickness and darkness of lines
• Print to AirPrint compatible printer
• Email high resolution PDF

The bad

• Forces a square crop
• Can't save to camera roll
• Dropbox support would be awesome

The conclusion

I am very impressed with how well Printy works. Now, if you try to take photos of things that aren't flat or that have have too much detail, the results will not be as great. But keeping in mind that the purpose of Printy is to create coloring pages, probably for a child, you wouldn't be taking photos of these types of things anyway. I anticipate that my daughter will want me to take photos of characters in her books when she gets to the coloring age as well as use screenshots from her favorite apps and books on the iPad.

$0.99 - Download Now

Motion Math: Wings is an iPad game with the focus of increasing conceptual understanding of multiplication. The goal is simple, tilt your iPad to guide the flying bird to the biggest number.

The catch is that the number isn't typically represent by its normal written form. Sometimes the numbers may presented as a grid of dots, a group of dots, a small group of dots preceded by "2 groups of", and more. There's a total of six different visual forms that a number can take. It's your job to fly the bird into the larger number. As the difficult increases, so does the speed of the bird and the size of the numbers.

As a math instructor, I can confidently say that lack of conceptual understanding is why so many people struggle with mathematics. Unfortunately, this often starts at a very young age, but games like Motion Math help fill that gap. Instead of just memorizing that four times 6 is 24, players will need to also be familiar with the many different visual forms that this operation can take. The mental exercise will absolutely have an impact on your child's understanding.

Motion Math: Wings may be free to download, but it's by no means free. The free download comes with the first island of 5 different levels of difficulty. These 5 levels can be played as many times as you wish and should be enough for you to decide if you want to purchase more levels. There are three different areas of learning that you can purchase: pre-multiplcation ($1.99), basic multiplication ($2.99), and advanced multiplication ($2.99). Or you can buy all the levels for $6.99.

The good

• Both educational and fun
• Numbers are represented six different visual forms
• Develops conceptual understanding
• 10 levels of difficulty
• players win feathers and twigs to color the bird and build its nest

The bad

• Boring graphics

The conclusion

Motion Math: Wings isn't your typical boring arithmetic game. Instead of sticking with the traditional form of numbers, Motion Math includes many different visual forms to represent numbers which will result in an increased conceptual understanding of arithmetic, versus just memorizing what the outcomes should be.

Free - Download Now

The classic and terribly addicting game Bejeweled by PopCap has made it's way onto the iPad. Bejeweled Blitz has been available on the iPad for quite some time, but the new Bejeweled HD offers 4 games modes: Classic, Butterflies, Diamond Mine, and Zen.

The general goal of all game modes of Bejeweled is the same: match gems that are the same color by swapping pairs of adjacent gems. There are two different ways to swap a pair. One is to tap one of the gems you wish to be included in the swap (it will be highlighted by a square around it) then tap the other gem you want to switch it with (they must be next to each other). The other option is to touch the first gem and drag it into the position of the other one.

The minimum number of gems of the same color that must be touching in order to qualify as a match is three. But if you create larger matches, you will get more points and gems with special powers.

In the Bejeweled Classic, the goal is to simply perform as many matches as you can. As you earn points, the bar at the bottom of the screen fills up and as time passes, the bar goes down. Your ultimate goal is to fill the bar before it drains.

In Butterflies mode, you start with one colored butterfly on the board. You can treat it just like a gem by matching it with same-colored gems. If the butterfly is included in a match, it gets set free. If it's not included, it moves up the board. Every move you make also introduces a new butterfly to the bottom of the board. If a butterfly reaches the top, it gets snatched up by a spider and the game is over.

In the Diamond Mine mode Bejeweled, the jewels are placed underground with a few layers of dirt at the bottom. Making matches along the bottom of the mine, will dig the dirt deeper. Each time all the column get below the line, you will be awarded 25 more seconds and the dirt will come up. You goal is to play as long as you can before the time runs out.

Zen mode is the "stress-free" mode of Bejeweled that doesn't have any pressure. There's no time limit, the bar at the bottom does not decrease, and there's no spiders taunting you at the top of the screen. Just sit back and relax and try to make the best matches you can.

As you may have notice, one of the most popular versions of this game, Bejeweled Blitz, is missing from Bejeweled HD. It is, in fact, represented on the main screen, but it's not actually included. Tapping on the Blitz icon will take you to the App Store to purchase Bejeweled Blitz separately (it's free).

The good

• Four games modes: Classic, Butterflies, Diamond Mine, Zen
• Fun
• Addicting

The bad

• Blitz mode is a separate app

The conclusion

I've always been a huge fan of Bejeweled and it's great to finally have more than Blitz on my iPad. My new favorite game mode is Diamond Mine. The Butterfly Mode is also very fun. Ok fine, I like all game modes of Bejeweled HD!

$3.99 - Download Now

Last week, I reviewed the new Facebook Pages Manager for iPhone app, but the secret is that I actually downloaded it from the Canadian App Store because it wasn't yet available in the U.S. Well, I'm happy to report that Facebook Pages Manager is now available in the U.S. App Store. It popped up earlier today, but almost immediately disappeared, but it seems to be here for good this time.

The introduction of Facebook Pages Manager has also brought some new changes to the "normal" Facebook for iPhone app via a stealth update. Now you'll see a message at the top that advertises the new app for Pages and a button that will take you directly to the App Store to download it.

left: Facebook for iPhone - right: Facebook Pages Manager for iPhone

There's also been a few other cosmetic changes in the past weeks that some users haven't seen until today. The most noticeable of these changes is the giant photos and that posts are separated by much more than just a thin line. Images are now wider than the rest of the post and shown at full width. The also have some subtle shadowing that makes it look like the photos are laying on top of the post. Additionally, if a user posts more than one photo at a time, Facebook for iPhone will display them as a collage of two or three photos like you're used to seeing on the web.

Strangly, this new look is not present in the the new Facebook Pages Manager app.

For those who have a Facebook Page, what do you think of the new app? Personally, I think it's a step in the right direction, but it's still missing some key elements like messages and news feeds, but hopefully we'll see those features coming in the future.

What about the new look to Facebook for iPhone? Do you like it? I'm a huge fan of photos and appreciate the new focus that Facebook is trying to place on them, but I do think it could've been done a little better cosmetically.

Free - Download Now

Thanks John

I spend a large part of each day in Panic's Coda app for Mac. It's an FTP client, code editor, CSS editor, and previewer -- and more -- all rolled into one. And it's coming to iPad this Thursday as... Diet Coda.

Diet Coda takes everything we've ever learned about world-class web code editing, and wraps it up to-go. It's packed with features, bathed in fun, ready to work.

So go on, take a vacation and only pack your iPad — you'll get your job done, quickly and delightfully. It's so good, you might never touch your desktop again.

The only concerns I have are those imposed by iOS. First, the continued lack of a persistent internet connection background API (only VoIP, streaming audio, and location can persist in the background). Second, iOS still doesn't support all forms of VPN, for example, OpenVPN, which means Apple have to build it in, leading back to the first problem...

Diet Coda is going to be $9.99, or half off for the first 24 hours. If it lives up to the demo, and the expectations set by the Mac app, it'll be more than worth it.

Speaking of the Mac app, the long anticipated Coda 2 for Mac is arriving the very same day.

Coda 2 represents a incredible overhaul of every facet of our venerable all-in-one web code editor. It’s a release packed with tons of improvements that will make you more efficient and faster at your job. And on top of that, it’s got brand new features that will make it an even more indispensable part of your process.

Coda 2 will also be half off for the first 24 hours, and available directly from Panic or via the Mac App Store.

That's an interesting way to work within the confines of the MAS. Users often don't like "paying again" for what they consider "the same app" even if it's a substantial update. Of course, the Mac App Store, like the iOS App Store, doesn't allow for upgrade pricing, and developers can't afford to undertake substantial development "for free".

If you saw Batman Begins, you don't get to see Dark Knight for free, so there should be absolutely no more expectation for free future versions of apps than there are free future versions of movies. By offering a one day sale, and publicizing it, Panic gives owners of the first version, and interested first time buyers alike, a chance to get in at a steeply discounted price.

Source: Panic

Every week iMore's editors carefully cull through hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPad apps and games, and countless accessories, and pick only one of each -- one app, one game, and one accessory. Innovative, interesting, or just plain exciting, they might might be the latest and greatest or the most newly updated, or they might be classics or hidden gems. The only constants are, they'll always be among our very favorites, and they'll worthy to join the exclusive ranks of iMore's new picks of the week.

This week we have an old social favorite with new social hook, the sequel to the sequel of one of the best shooters ever, and way to give your iPhone an incredible new set of eyes...

App of the Week: Flipboard with SoundCloud

Flipboard is a dynamic, up-to-date, but highly personalized magazine created from everything being shared to you from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Reeder, LinkedIn, Flickr and most recently added, SoundCloud.

That's right, now you can enjoy amazing sounds created and shared by your friends and people you follow on SoundCloud as well as explore dozens of recommended audio feeds in new Audio category in the Content Guide.

Using Flipboard is joyous. You simply flip through the different stories in your feeds that are displayed with big images and an expert of text. When reading an article, advancing through pages also requires the act of "flipping". It's actually pretty fun.

Flipboard is one of our favorite personal magazine apps, and it also supports our favorite read later services: Instapaper, Pocket, and Readability.

Free - Download Now

Game of the week: N.O.V.A. 3

This week, there was really only iOS game worth talking about: Gameloft's N.O.V.A. 3. The franchise has long been meeting the needs of hardcore Halo fans looking for something similar on their iPhone, and over time, N.O.V.A. has very much come into its own.

You play the role of Kal Wardin, a reluctant (and supposedly retired) military man who's the only one with the skills to fend off the usual intergalactic threats. Your standard assortment of shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades, and missile launchers are supplemented by superhuman abilities like slowing time, telekentic force pushes, and freezing enemies. Though there's a 10-level single player campaign, the real game takes place online, where you fight 6 v 6 across a variety of classic game modes, like team deathmatch, free for all, and capture the flag. As you play, win or lose, you gain experience points and level up, which unlocks new weapons, equipment, and add-ons to spawn with. One of the most exciting elements of multiplayer is the ability to hop into a variety of awesome high-tech vehicles, like walker mechs and jeeps.

This sci-fi first-person shooter boasts Retina-optimized graphics for both iPhone and iPad, but be warned new iPad owners - the price for razor-sharp textures is steep. In order to keep the framerate up, you'll be sacrificing lots of cool effects like depth of field and motion blur. Gameloft is also trying to push in-app purchases for guns, which is a trapping generally left to free games, but luckily you can earn all the in-game currency you need through regular gameplay.

N.O.V.A. 3 provides top-notch action, great multiplayer, and graphics that you will have a hard time finding anywhere else on iOS. Although many scoff at dual-stick shooters on mobile, I find Gameloft has done a great job at integrating gyroscope control since Modern Combat 3, particularly for fine aim adjustments. I also take zero issue with the "inspiration" they pull from sci-fi games on other platforms; if Halo isn't ever going to find its way to the iPhone and iPad, then more power to Gameloft for bringing it here. For action game fans, N.O.V.A. 3 is a no-brainer.

$6.99 - Download now

Accessory of the week: olloclip lens system

The olloclip is a compact, convenient lens system that easily slides over your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S camera and turns it into a fun, flexible, photography powerhouse. The olloclip contains both a fisheye and wide-angle lens, and you can unscrew the wide-angle to reveal a macro lens as well. That's 3 extra options in one small package.

We used the olloclip extensively at both CES 2012 and Macworld|iWorld Expo 2012 and it worked fantastically well. The fisheye let us fit multiple people into frame for video interviews, and the macro let us get in really close for details. We even used the macro to capture the Retina display comparison shots for our new iPad review.

Combine it with the killer tips in our iPhone photography column and you're on your way to one fairly incredible ultra-mobile photo kit.

$69.99 - Buy now

Curated by Leanna Lofte, Simon Sage, Georgia, and Rene Ritchie

Cuboid is a fun 3D puzzle game for the iPhone and iPad of flipping and rolling a cuboid through a maze-like puzzle placed in the setting of mystic, ancient ruins.

Cuboid is available on the iPhone and iPad as a universal app, but the screenshots in this review will be from an iPhone, only.

For those who may not know, a cuboid a rectangular solid that is in the shape of a box. In this game, if you were to cut the cuboid in half (longways), the result would be two cubes.

The goal of the game is simple, roll the cuboid through the puzzle so that you get it to fall through the square hole. It's possible to roll the cuboid off the board, so be careful!

As you progress through the game, new elements such as buttons and teleports will be introduced to the game. When this happens, Cuboid has you play a simple tutorial level so that you understand how the new addition to the game works.

Once you succeed, you will receive 1-3 stars based on how many moves it took you to reach the goal. If you complete the level in the least number of moves possible, the level will also be marked as "etalon". (An etalon is actually a physics device used to measure wavelengths, so I'm not really sure why this word is used.)

If you're stuck and can't figure out how to beat a level, Cuboid includes a hint button that will quickly show you how to beat the level from the cuboid's current position. You are only given a few hints for free, though. If you want more, you must purchase them from the Cuboid Store.

Which brings me to the parts of Cuboid I do not understand. As you play the game, you earn coins. If you tap the button that says how many coins you have, or you tap the hint icon when you don't have any left, you are taken to the Cuboid Store. I was expecting to be able to purchase hints with the coins I've earned. Nope. My choices are to buy hints or to buy coins… but I can't figure out what I can do with my coins! Why do I want to buy 1500 coins for $4.99? As far as I can tell, these coins don't actually have a purpose.

The other horrible thing about Cuboid is ads. Not so much the ads themselves (all ads are always horrible), but the fact that it's not clear how to get rid of them. I've searched through every menu and there is no obvious method of purchasing an upgrade to remove the ads. However, through some trial and error, I discovered that if you tap the X on an ad, you'll get the offer to remove ads for $0.99. It's well worth the $0.99, in my opinion, but I can't believe how difficult it was to find this in-app purchase.

In general, everything except the actual gameplay is very poorly done. There's no written directions to be found (and that's a shame, because I'd really like to know why HeroCraft is using the word "etalon" when perfectly beating a level). I would also like to know what all the icons mean in Settings. Music, sound, and hints was easy enough to figure out, but I'm not really sure what the movie icon is for. Despite the ample space on the Settings screen, there is no written description for what settings are actually being changed.

When tapping the ribbon on the main menu, you are taken to the ranking section in Game Center for Cuboid, but there doesn't appear to be any way to exit this screen. It turns out that the "Done" button is just invisible. If you tap in the upper righthand corner, it briefly appears and activates.

The good

• Awesome graphics
• Addicting
• Challenging
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• No clear, written out directions
• To purchase the upgrade for no ads, you must tap the X when an ad pops up
• Not sure what the movie icon in settings represents. Again, no words to describe what it is
• Game Center ranking page has an invisible Done button. You can't see it, but if you tap in the upper righthand corner, it briefly appears and activates.

The conclusion

Luckily, none of the bugs I experience affect the actual gameplay of Cuboid. Cuboid is a very fun game and I really like how they've added a star value to each level. This allows the game to be played leisurely with the goal of just passing each level, or competitively with the goal of reaching "etalon" status for each level. With that said, HeroCraft does have some serious issues they need to address, mainly the horrible discovery of upgrading to no ads and giving an actual purpose to coins.

Free - Download Now

You’ve got the new iPad, you have tried out your front facing camera with FaceTime, but now you realize that many of your friends don’t live in the iOS world. So, how can you video chat with your BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Phone friends?

The good news is that there really are a bunch of options for video chatting with Android, Windows Phone and Windows and Mac PC users.  The bad news is that there aren’t, as of yet, a bunch of great options.   We will take a look at a good cross sampling to help give you some choices in the realm of video chat. The only caveat here is that you will need to pick an app tied to a service that your friends actually use or are willing to use.

Using Skype on the iPad

Finding and Adding Skype Contacts

1.  If you are not already in Skype, tap the Skype icon from your Home screen and log in, if asked.
2. Tap the Lists key along the left hand margin.
3. Tap one of the Contacts lists displayed, then touch the the “+” icon  at the top
4. Next, touch the Search Skype Directory and type someone’s name, email address or Skype Name. Tap Search to locate that person.
5. Once you see the person you want to add, touch his/her name.
6. Check the picture to make sure you have the right individual.
7. Tap Add Contact at the top.
8. Adjust the invitation message appropriately.
9. Tap the Send button to send this person an invitation to become one of your Skype contacts.
10. Repeat the procedure to add more contacts.
11.  When you are done, touch the Back key at the top or the Skype directory key if you are not already in your Skype group.
12. Tap the Contacts group you just added top from the Lists screen to see all new contacts you have added.
13. Once this person accepts you as a contact, you will see him listed as a contact in the group from which he/she was invited.

Making Calls with Skype on Your iPad

1. If you are not already in Skype, tap the Skype icon from your Home screen and log in, if asked.
2. Tap the Lists button.
3. Tap a Contact Group to see your contacts.
4. Tap the contact name you wish to call
5. Tap the Video Call or Voice Call button. Sometimes, you don’t want to “show yourself” so a voice only call can be helpful.
6. You may see a Mobile or other phone button. Making any other kind of call requires that you pay for it with Skype Credits.

Easily switch cameras using the Skype app

Switching Cameras with Skype

Free - Download now

Fring for iPad

Fring is a popular Android video chat app that has been around for a while for iOS users.

The killer feature of Fring is that it supports group video chat for up to four users simultaneously.

Like Skype, you can call landlines and other phone numbers for discounted rates – but our interest today is in video chat. Fring also works over 3G and 4G networks as well as over WiFi.

Adding friends in Fring

You add friends in Fring by looking for their User-ID. You can also add your networks, which will bring in your contacts. You can add your Address Book, your MSN Live account, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo or AIM.

Add contacts from many different networks

Placing a video call

Options on a call

Tap the Group video button and select participants. You can touch the + button to add friends to the call.

Tap the Group icon to start a group call in Fring

Get Fring here:

Free - Download now

ooVoo Video Chat for iPad

ooVoo is a newer service which tried to one up Fring by enabling group video chat for up to 6 people at a time. ooVoo has apps available for smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android) and Macs and PC’s. On Macs and PC’s, you can have up to 12 people on a video chat.

ooVoo also work over 3G and 4G networks as well as WiFi.

Adding friends to ooVoo

When you first start up ooVoo you are asked to upload your address book to their servers to look for friends. You can always Deny this request and input your contacts manually – or Allow it and ooVoo will search for your friends.

Choose to Allow or Deny ooVoo to upload your contacts and look for ooVoo users

Once ooVoo finds your contacts, you can choose which ones to add to your address book.

Placing a Video call

Just select someone from your Contact list and select Start a Video Call. Once they answer, the call is in session.

Options on the call

Using the Group Call option

Choose multiple users to initiate a group call in ooVoo

Get ooVoo here:

Free - Download now

Yahoo! Messsenger for iPad

People still use Yahoo! People even still use Yahoo! Messsenger, so having the option of video chatting with Yahoo! Messsenger friends is a great option for your iPad.

With Yahoo! Messenger, video calls and chats are free to your Yahoo! Messenger contacts. Yahoo! also gives you the option of low cost calls to  landlines and mobile phones as well as free international texting to a few places.

Adding friends to Yahoo! Messenger

When you sign into the Yahoo! Messenger app, all of your Yahoo contacts will show up. You can also add contacts individually by touching the + icon at the top right of the app.

Placing a video call

Tap the video camera icon to initiate a video call on Yahoo! Messenger

Options on the call

Yahoo Messenger is available here:

Free - Download now

Vtok – Google talk video calls on iPad

If you are a Google voice user, you might want to check out Vtok as an option for video calling using your Google Voice account.

As long as your friends are Google contacts using Google Video and voice chat- you can talk to them – and see them – for as long as you’d like.

Adding Contacts to Vtok

Simply sign in using your Google sign in information and all your Google contacts will show up.

Tap the + button at the top right to add contacts individually.

Placing a video call

If your friends are online, the video camera icon turns green. Simply touch the icon to start the video call.

Tap the green video camera to initiate a video call on vtok

Options on the call

Very much like the other apps, you can Switch the camera, Mute or end the call.

Vtok is available here:

Free - Download now

Tango Video Calls on iPad

Tango is yet another variation on a theme of apps that can be used cross platform for making Video calls. Tango adds some new features, such as the ability to send free video messages as well.

Tango works over WiFi as well as over 3G and 4G networks. Tango is an iPhone app that you need to run in 2x mode to fill up the iPad screen.

Adding contacts to Tango

When you first set up Tango you will be asked to let Tango match up your address book with emails and phone numbers of registered Tango users. If you allow Tango to do this, you will see all of your contacts who also have Tango accounts when you login.

You can also touch the + (invite) icon to send an email invite to friends to join you on Tango.

Placing a video call

The Tango video chat screen

Simply touch the Video icon next to the contact you wish to call and the video call will initiate.

Options on the call

Tango options are pretty limited. You can Switch the camera view, Mute or End the call.  The one thing that Tango adds is sort of a gimmick, but it can be fun; that is called Tango surprises. Tap the icon with the stars and you can choose animated surprises -  like balloons  - to come down during the call. You can purchase more surprises in the Tango store.

Tap the Surprises icon and choose from animated options like balloons

Tango is available here:

Free - Download now

Conclusions:

After looking at all these apps, there are certainly options for iPad and iPhone users if they want to video chat with non-iOS friends and family.

The simple reality is this; if your friends and family have an iOS device, you are hard pressed to beat FaceTime for ease of use and call quality. The one downside to FaceTime is that it can only be used over WiFi.

If your friends or family members are  non-iOS users, Skype may very well be the best alternative of the bunch.  It is popular, easy to set up and use and the picture and audio quality was generally pretty good – both over WiFI and over cellular networks.

Among the other Video chat services, the bottom line come down to where your friends, colleagues and families are.  If everyone is on Yahoo!, then maybe Yahoo! Messenger makes sense.  If everyone is on Google, then Vtok might work.

If group video chat is important to you on your iPad or iPhone, both ooVoo and Fring offer easy group video chat.  The challenge is that you need to get your friends and family to join the service and learn a new app.

Tango, Fring, Google (Vtok) and Skype are available as mobile apps for most, but not all platforms. Skype is not on BlackBerry and while it is on Windows Phone, it still can’t run in the background, which limits its usability on that platform.

Since each of the apps is free, try them out, see where your friends are and then enjoy yet another feature that helps make the iPad and iPhone so incredibly versatile.

Are you currently using a Video chat app regularly on your iPad or iPhone? Have you tried any of these out and can share your experiences? Let us know in the forums.

The Weather Channel for iPhone is the most popular alternative to Apple's built-in Weather app and it recently received a complete makeover. It still has all the great features of the previous design, but the new UI is much more beautiful and user friendly.

The main screen of the Weather Channel displays the location (with zip code) and the temperature in a nice big font. In smaller letters underneath the temperature, you'll find what the temperature "feels like" and the high and lows for the day. If you tap the + sign, you'll find more detailed information for wind, humidity, UV index, dew point, visibility, pressure, and sunrise and sunset times.

The background of the home screen will change depending on the time of day and current weather conditions. You can also customize it with your own photo.

In addition to the current conditions, The Weather Channel also has tabs for the hourly, 36 hour, and 10 day forecasts.

The other sections in The Weather Channel are Map, Video, Social and In Season.

The Map tab lets you layer radar, clouds, radar/clouds, temperature, feels like, 24-hr rainfall, 24-hour snowfall, and UV index over the map. There is a key at the top so you know what the colors on the map represent.

The Video section is filled with must-see, local, and world videos as well as videos that are on TV.

The Social tab lets you read tweets about the weather both nearby and regionally. You can also check out photos taken by other Weather Channel users in the iWitness section.

From the In Season tab, you can check pollen, hurricane, and tide forecasts. The pollen and hurricane forecasts include maps and diagrams and are very informative. The marine section breaks the down sea, waves, wind, and high tide information into a nice, easy-to-read 2-day forecast broken down into separate morning, afternoon, even, and night sections.

The good

• Much better design than before
• Current, hourly, 36-hour, and 10-day forecasts
• View maps of clouds, radar, and more
• Videos
• Read tweets about the weather
• View photos taken of the weather
• Check pollen, hurricane, and tide forecasts

The bad

• Ads are annoying. I would gladly purchase an upgrade that removed them.

The conclusion

The Weather Channel for iPhone was always a good weather app, but now it's a great alternative to Apple's built-in Weather app. The new UI is much better -- both on the eyes and to use.

Free - Download Now

Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all bring podcasts directly to your iPhone and iPod touch, which is one of the best ways to enjoy them when you're in the car, working out, sitting in the office, or simply lounging around the house. While all three allow you to browse and search for podcasts, which one has the best features geared towards the most users?

Let's listen and find out!

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Navigation and interface

When it comes to podcasting apps, it's important to have an app that not only lets you listen to the podcasts you already know and love, but search for and discover new ones as well. Of course, it also has to be visually pleasing and easy to navigate. Sometimes too many features and too many options are a hindrance and not a help.

Instacast's interface is super clean and very simple. Adding podcasts and browsing for new ones takes only a few taps. You can also sort by genre to refine what kinds of podcasts you're interested in.

Instacast has an easy to navigate interface that's streamlined and simple. Upon launching the app you'll be presented with a list of your current subscriptions. You can tap through the top tabs to view playlists and bookmarks as well. If you'd like to create playlists, you can do so easily but you'll need to purchase the premium in-app upgrade.

Tapping the "+" button in the bottom left of the main page let's you add new content. You can search through popular audio and video podcasts as well as sort by genre or search if you already know what you're looking for.

Downcast's main page and search page are easy enough to navigate but once you start digging through settings and other options, it can become cluttered and confusing.

Downcast also has a super simple layout. The tabs along the bottom are pretty much self explanatory and even those new to podcasts should have no trouble finding their way around the main portions of the app. Tapping into a podcast and tapping on an episode will cause the episode to play. This is a bit odd to me as I'd expect tapping into an episode to bring me to a detailed information list and show notes followed by an option to play.

You can tap the info button to view info but this feels like a more awkward layout. Once you've selected a podcast or viewed info, show notes and information are then presented.

As you start to get into other tabs, it can get a bit more confusing. While you don't have to pay an additional fee to create playlists, the amount of options presented is overwhelming and is probably unnecessary for most users. Those could be buried deeper for power users so the higher level remains cleaner for general users.

The settings sections of the app allows you to fine tune many things including refresh frequency, how you want the app to handle new episodes, and specific player controls such as skip intervals.

Pocket Casts has the most appealing interface of all three but may feel limiting to power uses.

Pocket Casts is by far the most visually appealing of the podcast apps. When you first launch Pocket Casts you'll be presented with your list of podcast subscriptions. Tapping on the tiled button again will switch from titles and descriptions to a list view of episodes. (You can toggle these views from the top as well.) Selecting a podcast will give you a list view of all the episodes in that group.

The top of the screen also gives you a quick view of how many podcasts you have total, how many are physically downloaded, and how many you haven't finished listening to. Tap on any of the numbers at the top to view only those episodes. The second tab shows you what is playing, allows you to skip and stop, and gives you access to show notes.

Finding podcasts to listen to is easy with Pocket Casts. Either search for what you're looking for at the top or browse categories. When you find one you want to subscribe to, just tap add.

Settings is also easy to navigate and doesn't present overwhelming options. This may feel limiting to power users who want to tweak every last option, but its the better choice for most users who just want to play their shows.

When it comes to navigation and which app is more visually pleasing, Pocket Casts nails it on both counts.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Listening to shows and viewing show notes

No matter how slick the interface or granular the settings, a podcast app has to be judged on how easily it lets you play shows, control the playback of shows, and access additional information like show notes.

Instacast's player is not only visually appealing but gives you the most information in the most efficient way.

Instacast has a great player that's easy to use and nice to look at. It hides unnecessary controls out of view until you need them. Along the bottom you'll only see the play, skip, and back buttons. Slide them up and you'll see other controls you can use to fine tune scrub or jump back. While Instacast still seems to be struggling to nail proper touch targets for some of their controls, they're intuitive and when they work, they work well.

Accessing show notes in Instacast is simple. Tap the top left arrow on the play screen and you'll be brought back to the info screen, or choose the list icon in the upper right and view all links and bookmarks from the show notes. If you want to view a link within the show notes, clicking on it will bring up a built-in browser. You never have to leave the app while listening and following along but if you choose to close the app, Instacast will continue to play on in the background.

Downcast gives you the most player controls and options in one windows but feels cramped.

Downcast's player has a pretty straight forward player but it tries to pack too much onto one screen. You'll find the skip controls towards the top and some other controls towards the bottom. Show notes are located in the middle of the screen (when available). Downcast also has a built-in browser so clicking any links will take you to them within the app.

If you like having all your information on one screen at the same time, Downcast will give that to you, but at the cost of looking overly cluttered.

If you decide to exit Downcast, audio will also continue playing in the background until you choose to stop it.

Pocket Casts player shows a good amount of options, though some controls feel hidden.

Pocket Casts is less cluttered than Downcast but still squeezes a lot of information into a small amount of space. However, some of the controls feel hidden.

Tapping the left or right of the screen while playing a podcast brings up skip controls -- skip back 10 seconds or forward 45 seconds. Swiping to the left will bring up show notes. However, the show notes feel a bit cramped as they only populate the center of the screen.

Tapping any type of link will pull you out of the app and into Safari, while Pocket Casts will continue to stream in the background.

So this round goes to Instacast. It has the nicest experience when it comes to actually listening to podcasts and reading show notes.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Streaming and downloading

Most podcasts in most podcast apps can be streamed or downloaded. Both serve a useful purpose. Streaming can save you local storage space on your iPhone, which can be particularly important if you have 16GB but still want to watch a lot of video shows. It can also give you access to the show you want, when you want, even if you're on 3G. Downloading means you have the show on your iPhone whether you're online or offline, and can be done ahead of time over Wi-Fi so you don't use up your 3G data.

Instacast allows you to easily control how you want new episodes handled, including separate options for audio and video shows.

Instacast allows you to easily choose whether or not you'd like to be able to stream or download when on a cellular (3G) network. If you don't want either of these options enabled, just tick them off and your podcasts will only download or stream when Wi-Fi is available.

If you don't want podcasts to physically download to your iPhone and prefer to stream, you can disable that within settings as well or tell Instacast to only download the most recent episodes.

Downcast's settings panel is again cluttered but gives you many options when it comes to streaming or downloading.

Downcast also lets you choose how you want it to handle podcasts when Wi-Fi is not available. If you don't want episodes to automatically download you can set it to never, or you can set it to only download when Wi-Fi is available. Otherwise you can stream when you'd like or decide to download at a later time.

Pocket Casts' streaming and download settings are much easier to navigate and presents options in an easy and streamlined way.

Pocket Casts won't automatically download episodes to your iPhone. It will add them to your subscriptions and you can stream them any time, or you can manually choose to download episodes when you like. You can also view how much available storage you have, and what episodes you are currently downloaded and stored locally on your device. If you're concerned about storage, you can also set cleanup to remove older episodes to conserve space.

While Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all allow you to adjust settings, Downcast continues to be the most confusing of the three. Instacast and Pocket Casts offer the easiest ways to manage download vs streaming when it comes to handling your content. Tie.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Syncing between iOS devices

If you listen to a lot of podcasts and have both an iPhone and an iPad or iPod touch, you'll probably want the ability to pick up where you left off no matter which device you're on. That's where syncing comes in.

Instacast and Downcast both support iCloud sync for playlists, settings, and subscriptions.

Instacast and Downcast both support iCloud syncing and have iPad apps. While the Downcast app is a universal binary for both iPhone and iPad, the Instacast HD app is a separate purchase.

However, iCloud data syncing is still problematic and it doesn't work all the time. Apple needs to fix this.

Instacast has a music library feature that allows you to import your existing podcasts from iTunes into Instacast.

Instacast also allows you to sync podcasts from iTunes that may not be available as a standalone podcast feed. The Music App tab will show any podcasts that you've imported from iTunes. The first time you open the app it will ask you if you'd like to import any existing podcasts from iTunes into Instacast. Currently it only supports audio and not video. If you've got audio podcasts you listen to that may not have a direct podcast feed and are only available in iTunes, you can use this section to import your podcasts so you don't have to use two apps to listen to podcasts. You can also search for that podcast within Instacast's catalog and if it finds it, you can subscribe via the app and not have to use iTunes.

Pocket Casts currently doesn't offer sync, or an iPad app, but they do have an Android app.

When it comes to syncing, Instacast offers the best support. (When iCloud works.)

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Playlists

If you subscribe to tons of podcasts, playlists become increasingly important. Instead of scrolling through endless lists of shows, you can set them up to give you what you want, when you want it, in a nice and orderly manner. And that makes how playlists are managed an important consideration as well.

Instacast makes it simple to create a regular playlist or a smart playlist.

Instacast offers complete playlist support only if you're a premium subscriber. To create a playlist just tap the Playilst tab from your main screen. You can also tap the "+" button in the bottom corner to create a playlist. Name it and then check off the subscriptions you'd like to be a part of that playlist.

Smart Playlists are also supported by Instacast. Just choose to create a smart playlist instead of a regular one and you can automatically tell Instacast which types of podcasts to group in that playlist. For example, I've got one set to filter partially played podcasts by oldest first. It's a good way to remind me that I've got podcasts I haven't finished listening to yet.

Downcast has tons of settings when it comes to creating playlists.

Playlists within Downcast are a more customizable and allow you to group podcasts in several different ways. You can choose which podcasts you'd like included and then narrow that by which individual episodes you'd like to include by status. If you don't want played podcasts showing up, you can tick it off. If you don't want streamed podcasts showing up in a certain list, turn that off as well.

Most users probably won't use the extensive features that Downcast offers and, not surprisingly, they may appear confusing to those who are new to podcasts. Advanced users will appreciate the flexibility.

Pocket Casts doesn't have the native ability to create playlists but the organization of the app may make them unnecessary for many.

Pocket Casts doesn't support playlists as far as I can see. So if playlists are a feature you need to stay more organized, I'd rule out Pocket Casts as an option. Update: Pocket Casts does have playlists, they were just well hidden. I would, however, argue that the Pocket Casts interface is so simple and clean and easy to navigate that you may find yourself not even needing playlists.

When it comes to playlists, even though they cost extra, Instacasts has the best, simplest support.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: New episode notifications

If you look forward to your favorite podcast becoming available each week, it's always good to have push notifications to remind you when it's ready for you to listen to.

Luckily, Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all provide push notifications and provide them well. Pocket Casts takes it a step further and handles them server-side.

Tie with a slight edge to Pocket Casts.

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Cost

Good apps should obviously cost more than bad apps, but all other factors being equal, what each podcasting app costs should factor into your consideration.

Instacast is $0.99 for the basic app, and an additional $1.99 for full playlist support (dubbed Instacast Pro). If you want iPad support, that'll cost you another $4.99 for Instacast HD. So, depending on your needs, you're looking at anywhere from $0.99 for he basic iPhone and iPod touch app, to almost $8 for the full Instacast "suite".

Downcast is $1.99 and is a universal app for both iPhone and iPad.

Pocket Casts is also $1.99 but is iPhone and iPod touch only.(There's also a free version, Pocket Casts Lite, that you can try before you buy.)

Instacast vs. Downcast vs. Pocket Casts: Conclusion

Instacast, Downcast, and Pocket Casts all provide a better and more powerful podcast experience than Apple's built-in iTunes and Music apps.

Pocket Casts has the best, most disciplined interface and is the simplest and easiest to use overall. If you're brand new to podcasts and just want something that works elegantly and well, check out Pocket Casts.

Downcast is the opposite -- complex to the point of being cluttered. That makes it best suited for power users who want to control and tweak as much as possible, and value accessibility over elegance.

Instacast is expensive if you want the full package, but it's also the best overall podcast app for iPhone right now. It strikes the best balance between simplicity and features, making it easy to use but still powerful. For most users, most of the time, Instacast is podcast app to get.

Instacast - $0.99 - Download Now

Downcast - $1.99 - Download Now

Pocket Casts - $1.99 - Download Now

Additional resources:

• Pandora vs. Slacker vs. Spotify: iPhone streaming music app showdown!
• Dropbox vs. SkyDrive vs. Google Drive: iPhone cloud storage app showdown!
• Instapaper vs. Pocket vs. Readability: iPhone read later app showdown!
• Even more app reviews

ScreenDIY is an iPhone app that lets you create unique Lock screens and Home screens from a wide variety of designer wallpapers, shelves, frames, icon skins and more.

The home screen gives you 5 different options: App Shelves, Icon Skins, Background, Lock DIY, and Home DIY.

The App Shelves, Icon Skins, and Background sections are simply backgrounds and cannot be customized. ScreenDIY has a good variety of backgrounds including many girly ones.

When viewing a background, you can view it with sample icons to get an idea of what it'll really look like on your Home screen.

In addition to the basic backgrounds, you can also make your own Home and Lock screens from the DIY sections of ScreenDIY.

In the Lock DIY section, you can mix and match backgrounds (excluding ones with skins and shelves) and calendars and frames. You can also choose one of your own photos from your Photo Library to use as the background. When creating your Lock screen, you can preview what it will look like with the time, date, and slide to unlock UI of the iPhone's Lock screen.

Customizing your Home screen is very similar, only instead of calendars and frames, you have icon skins and shelves.

The only real disappointment with the DIY sections is that you have to scroll through the all the choices. There's no option to browse through a gallery of choices like there is in the other sections.

The good

• Lots of backgrounds
• DIY sections allow for my customization
• A good selection of girly choices
• New backgrounds added weekly

The bad

• No iPad support

The conclusion

ScreensDIY is a great app for creating custom Home screens and Lock screens. I like to regularly change my backgrounds and really like the choices that ScreensDIY has to offer. It's also great that the devs are keeping the content fresh by regularly adding new backdrops.

$0.99 - Download Now

Mobile game developer and publisher MocoSpace recently polled 10,000 players to find out "Y U Play?", and the most striking data showed that a whooping 31% if respondents were playing games in the middle of class.  Just about as many respondents were playing mobile games because they were bored as those who played because they actually enjoy the games. Those two categories combined made up two thirds of the top reasons. 10% were looking for competition, 9% were trying to meet new people, 6% were just trying something new 3% were looking for somewhere to flirt(!), 3% played because they were always on the go, 2% played to connect with friends, and 1% to connect with family.

I could only imagine that it's an uphill battle for educators to keep the attention of younger generations that were pretty much born with these gadgets in their hands. Higher learning institutes are certainly doing their best to engage through mobile tech, but games are always going to be a temptation, especially with so many great free ones available. I know I would have had a hard time staying focused in class if smartphones were a big thing when I was in school.

It was also a little disconcerting to see that many people weren't actually that engaged with the games and were just looking to kill time. It's not surprising considering the rise of casual games, but it does mean that developers face an uphill battle against fickle end-users. It's more funny than anything that flirtation is a significant enough reason to play games to even show up on the chart, nevermind that it's a bigger pull than being a way to connect with friends.

I play smartphone games because they're fun, plain and simple. Meeting new people and competing aren't particularly high on my list, but what about you guys? What impulse drives you to bust out Angry Birds?

Source: CultofMac

Now you can manage your Facebook business and fan Pages with a dedicated app that lets you view insights

Facebook for iPhone and iPad has a slew of problems, but now poor Pages management can be crossed off that list with the introduction of Facebook Pages Manager for iPhone. It's very similar to the normal Facebook app with the addition of being able to view Insights about your Page and manage admins.

Before Facebook Pages Manager, users would have to use the original Facebook app to view their Pages, but didn't have any access to admin controls. Now when you visit your Page with the Facebook for iPhone, you'll see an announcement at the top announcing the new app with a link to App Store.

As previously mentioned, Facebook Pages Manager is very similar to its older brother with the side-panel design and profile page view. Just like the main Facebook for iPhone app, Facebook Pages Manager also doesn't show the cover photo to your Page.

There is one thing you'll notice missing from Facebook Pages Manger, though -- messages. At the top of the screen you'll find the buttons to see who has recently liked your Page and notifications, but the messages button is absent. This is a shame, especially since Facebook's dedicated Messages app also doesn't support messages for Pages.

When viewing your Page's timeline, you can sort by everyone's posts, posts made by your Page, or hidden posts.

From the side-panel, you can select between the Pages you manage and look at the Insights for the selected Page and manage its Admins.

The Insights screen tells you how many likes you have, the number of people talking about your Page, weekly total reach, and a graph of your trends.

The good

• A dedicated app for Page management is great
• Facebook for iPhone users are already family with it
• View Insights, including graph of trends
• Manage admins

The bad

• No cover photos
• No access to page messages
• Can look up photo albums
• Can't upload photos to a specific photo album
• No iPad support

The conclusion

I'll admit that when I first heard that Facebook released a new app, I let out a little groan. But once I realized it was an app for managing Pages, I actually got a little excited since managing Pages on the main Facebook app is terrible. So far, I'm impressed with Facebook Pages Manager -- just rather surprised that they left out messages. But I guess I'd rather them leave it out then to introduce it with a bunch of bugs. Hopefully Facebook updates it soon.

Facebook Pages Manager is not yet available in the US App Store, but it should be soon. It's available now! Go get it!

Free - Download Now

Blogshelf II is a fantastic way to discover and follow websites and blogs

Blogshelf II is the successor to Bloglshelf, a uniques RSS and blog reader for the iPad. Imagine iBooks filled with blogs -- that's Blogshelf. It's a gorgeous and relaxing way to stay caught up with your favorite websites.

The main screen is a bookshelf, similar to iBooks, filled with all the blogs and websites you are following. To rearrange their placement on the shelf, simply hold your finger down on a blog to enter the edit mode.

At the upper right hand corner of each screen of Blogshelf, there is a question mark that when tapped, fades the screen and adds white pulsating circles to important areas of the page. Tapping one will give you instructions and information about that region. I really like this implementation of help.

When viewing a blog, you'll see a clean list of its post, each displayed with a thumbnail of the first image of the story. Tapping the website's name will let you edit its settings, including cashing behavior, how often to update, the ability to disable thumbnails, and more.

When reading an article, the page is very clean with option to change the font type and size. You can scroll through the article by swiping up and down, and switch between articles why swiping left and right. I really like reading articles on Blogshelf, but I don't like how it handles photos. Here's an example of an article I wrote on iMore, yesterday.

Although both of the photos shown were originally the same size, Blogshelf is showing them sized differently. At least when you tap them, thought, they become nice and big, like this.

One of the really neat features of Blogshelf is the that it's very easy to discover new blogs and websites by tapping Subscribe from the main blogshelf screen. Just like in iBooks, the bookshelf will flip around to reveal a subscription "store".

From here you can browse through featured blogs and top blogs by category. You can also search for a specific website and connect with Google Reader and Blogger to subscribe to blogs you've subscribed to on those services. (Tip: if you browse to the Apple category in the Top Blogs tab, you'll find iMore!)

Unfortunately, I must now tell you about another issues with photos. When looking closer at a blog that you may want to subscribe to, tapping on an article will bring up a popup that lets you scroll through the post. Often times, the photos will appear distorted, like this.

Although the picture issues are a little annoying, I trust that the developers can quickly fix these bugs.

The good

• Great way to discover websites
• Pretty
• Support for Google Reeder and Blogger

The bad

• Has issues with photos

The conclusion

There are lots of different RSS readers in the App Store, but I really like Blogshelf's approach -- it's relaxing. My absolute favorite feature of Blogshelf, however, is blog discovery. The blog "store" is really awesome and I've discovered some great websites because of it.

Free - Download now

Stunt Pear is a physics-based puzzle game where you catapult a cute little pear to smash, bounce, and spin your way through 144 levels. The objective is easy, get the pear in the barrel -- but that's easier said than done with gears, cannons, bubbles, tires, pinball bumpers, skateboards, and shopping carts as obstacles.

Stunt Pear is a universal app for the iPhone and iPad, but all the screenshots shown in this review will be from the iPhone.

Controlling the pear in Stunt Pear is very similar to Angry Birds. Just pull the pear with your finger and stretch out the rope to the desired length and angle, then let go. In every level, there is a bucket somewhere and it's your goal to get the pear in the bucket. Often times, this involves using various obstacles to your advantage or perfectly timing a spin or bounce.

A great feature of Stunt Pear is that as you're adjusting your shot, the power and aim (or angle) is displayed at the top of the screen. If you pay attention to this while you play, it will help in making the appropriate adjustments during your next try.

One of the things that annoys me about Stunt Pear is how it handles zoom. When the level starts, it's zoomed out so you can see the entire level. After a few seconds, it slowly zooms into the pear on the catapult. But by then, you're probably already adjusting your shot and may have been relying on the pulled back zoom to adjust your aim. So then you have to waste time to throw away the shot and reset, then tap the screen to zoom out. It would be much better of Stunt Pear kept the zoom the same, whether that's close or far, and left it up to the player to adjust the zoom, preferably by pinching.

Stunt Pear features 144 levels between 8 courses. As you beat levels, new courses get unlocked, and the good news is that you can unlock all the levels pretty quickly which allows you to skip levels if you get stuck. You can also choose to play a level at random.

The good

• Fun
• Good graphics
• Challenging, but not too hard
• Displays power and aim when setting up shot
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• Zooming is annoying. Would prefer a the more standard pinch-to-zoom method.

The conclusion

Stunt Pear is great little game. It's casual and the levels are short, making it easy to pick up and play for just a few minutes. But it's also addicting, so if you want to play for a long period of time, that shouldn't be a problem either. Plus, the little green pear is just adorable!

$0.99 - Download Now

iMore’s authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free games for your iPad

Looking for the very best free games for your iPad? Whether it's strategy, shooter, sports, casual, physics, action, role-playing, racing, word, or sims, iMore has carefully collected dozens of our favorite free iPad App Store games and listed them below for your playing pleasure.

We'll be updating the list regularly, and adding new games and new categories, so bookmark this page and check back often!

Although you can absolutely play all of the games listed her for free, most of them are built on in-app purchases. That means you may get annoyed by "freemium" up-sells or be limited by "lite" content. Still, they're a great way to test the waters and have some fun before deciding to buy or unlock full versions.

For more free apps, check out our complete free iPad apps article, and for iPhone and iPod touch users, check out our free iPhone apps and free iPhone games listings.

Without further ado, here are our favorite free games for iPad.

• Best free strategy games for iPad
• Best free shooter games for iPad
• Best free sports games for iPad
• Best free casual games for iPad
• Best free physics games for iPad
• Best free action games for iPad
• Best free role-playing games for iPad
• Best free racing games for iPad
• Best free board games for iPad
• Best free word games for iPad
• Best free simulation games for iPad

Best free strategy games for iPad

Spice Bandits

Spice Bandits is probably the best tower defense game I've ever played. You take on the role of an adorable little space pirate who plunders various locations on Earth to gather up as much spice as possible. Of course, pesky humans aren't interested in letting you get away with that, and attack your various strongholds in waves while you defend with all sorts of upgradeable alien towers. Maps have a variety of themes and terrain qualities, making every round a new experience. Over time, you gather spice which can be spent on new kinds of turrets (provided you're a high enough level and have the prerequisite turrets purchased). Spice can also be used to deck out your alien avatar in some swanky threads viewable by friends in competitive and co-operative missions through Game Center.

As you level up, you get upgrade points (which can also be bought with spice) to customize your play style as you see fit - cheaper turrets, faster rate of fire or more mesmerizing disco music are just a few options. Spice Bandits lets you buy spice through in-app purchases, which also eliminates ads between levels.

On the iPad, Spice Bandits makes excellent use of the bigger screen, and the devs have made a lot of user interface changes so you can see more of the action. Spice Bandits also lets your port over your game progress from the iPhone version easily through their Crystal network and cloud saving; it's universal too, so there's only one download to manage across devices. Though the graphics aren't fully optimized for the new iPad, an update which partially optimizes them for the big Retina display is on the way.

• Download now

Battle Nations

Battle Nations is a great mix of real-time strategy with lots of resource gathering and turn-based military combat. The goofy graphic style and hilarious dialog keep things fresh between firefights, and since resources are produced over the hours between sessions, you'll be checking in on your camp often.  Battle Nations hosts player-versus-player combat with select friends, staged as "live fire excerises". You'll probably want to sink a reasonable amount of time into the single player campaign first so you can level up and unlock the advanced structures and units to reduce your buddies to piles of ash.

Battle Nations is monetized with Nanopods, which you can buy through in-app purchases, earn through gameplay, or be rewarded by watching video ads. These are used to hurry up production on particular tasks, like healing troops at the hospital or training new units. Nanopods are also used to to construct unique buildings, which are often just super-charged versions of standard ones.

There's no Retina Display support for the iPad just yet, but when zoomed out all the way, I find the graphics are still very sharp. There's supposed to be Game Center support for sharing achievements and whatnot, but it doesn't seem to be working right now. It would be handy to have that enabled for finding friends to play against, but I'm sure it's coming in due time. Finally, Battle Nations is universal, and syncs up gameplay across iOS devices thanks to the developer's own registration and cloud saving service.

• Download now

Hero Academy

Hero Academy is a turn-based, multiplayer-only tactical combat game that pits cartoony armies against one another. Each side gets five actions points every turn to move their troops, kit them out with gear, cast spells and otherwise attack opposing units on the board. Each online player (either random or a designated buddy) has one or more crystals they must defend while trying to destroy the other side's. You can also win by running your opponent out of reinforcements, as each side only gets so many of each type every game.

Hero Academy includes The Council army (humans) for free, but charges for the others, such as Dwarves, Dark Elves and The Tribe (orcs). You can also pay for fancy army-themed avatars as well as taunts to make your soldiers jeer after a turn.

On the iPad, Hero Academy supports cloud saving, Game Center, and is universal. Unfortunately, it isn't fully optimized for the new iPad's Retina display due to the ton of extra effort required to recreate their hand-drawn art assets. Robot Entertainment has their own registration process, so when you log in on other iOS devices, your purchases and current games are loaded in. Not much has changed looks-wise from the iPhone version, so some of the elements feel slightly oversized, but overall, the gameplay is solid as ever.

• Download now

Best free shooter games for iPad

Gun Bros

Gun Bros is a dual-stick shoot-em-up where you and your brother-in-arms (either AI or through online multiplayer) blast through waves of incoming enemies across a variety of themed planets. Each level you earn coins to spend on guns and gear to change your damage output, speed, health, and other characteristics. You also gather up a mineral called Xplodium, which can be refined into coins; you can purchase higher grades of refineries which can provide a higher coin output. A recent update added the ability to turn on your bro and go head-to-head in deathmatch mode if you're feeling less than friendly.

Warbucks are a separate type of currency used to buy particularly high-end gear. You can earn them through in-app purchases, watching video ads, or converting a ton of the regular coins at the bank.

Even though Gun Bros isn't full optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, Game Center integration is great. If you've got friends that play, it's really easy to jump in with them for a few rounds, and you're actually offered greater mission rewards for playing with more friends. Gun Bros supports cloud saving and is universal to boot, which makes playing on both iPhone and iPad a breeze.

• Download now

MetalStorm: Wingman

MetalStorm: Wingman is a flight combat game with full multiplayer support, AirPlay compatibility and accelerometer and swipe controls.  As you play through the campaign mode, head-to-head multiplayer dogfight mode, or endless survival mode, you earn credits which can be used to buy various types of missiles, cannons, and new jets focusing on defense, agility, or firepower. Don't get too trigger-happy, since your ammunition is limited. If you're not into shooting down your buddies, you can also invite Game Center wingmen to play through the campaign levels co-operatively.

A lot of the hardware upgrades require you to use premium coins, which are sold in batches for $0.99 and up or earned through regular gameplay.

MetalStorm: Wingman has full support for the new iPad's Retina display, which is a welcome sight on this list. The co-op nature of the game also gets its hooks into Game Center for matchmaking, though I found cloud saving functions were inconsistent - be warned if you're prone to hopping between your iPad and iPhone a bunch.

• Download now

Frontline Commando

Frontline Commando is an on-rails third-person shooter about a gung-ho military man left behind enemy lines. You dodge behind cover with single taps, and pop out to take aim and eliminate nonspecific middle eastern insurgents. Don't get too attached to that wall you're hiding behind though, since it can be destroyed as a firefight drags on, and grenades can quickly flush you out into the open. When you level up, new weapons are unlocked for purchase, plus you get a few bars of gold, which can be used to buy premium items. Weapon upgrades span assault weapons, sniper rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers, each with their own set of damage, clip size, reload speed, and accuracy attributes.

You can also increase survivability with medkit purchases and body armor upgrades. When things get too hot, you can buy airstrikes to clear out the immediate area. Both "war cash" and gold can be bought through in-app purchases.

Frontline Commando performs great on the new iPad with full support for Game Center, cloud saving to keep your game synced up with your iPhone campaign, and they've just recently updated with Retina-optimized graphics, a new map, and fresh power-ups.

• Download now

Best free sports games for iPad

Baseball Superstars 2012

Baseball Superstars 2012 is a whimsically exaggerated baseball game with Japanese-style characters and dialog. While the game keeps tabs on minute details, such as batting averages, running speed, stamina, and confidence levels, there are some more cartoony encounters with "super players" that wear outlandish costumes and wield the unlikeliest of powers. As a batter, you can control where you swing by tilting the iPad, but don't worry, you won't actually have to swing it like a bat - just tap the screen at the right moment. Pitching is done through a series of swipes within a target box. You'll encounter plenty of challenges, including injuries which require recuperation in a hospital, managing your team roster, and playing against friends online. Personally, I found this game impossibly hard when set on normal difficulty, but I'm positive baseball fans will appreciate the amount of detail in this game. After putting some time into Homerun Battle 2 Free, it's clear that Baseball Superstars 2012 is the top free baseball game on the iPad, but for more baseball-themed apps, check out our ballgame roundup over here.

Through in-app purchases, you can get G points, which are spent on character items, training sessions to improve your stats, or even buy whole levels for your batter or pitcher.

The pixelation oreplef the old-school graphics are really apparent on the iPad's larger display, but the animation remains high-quality. Game Center integration doesn't extend beyond achievement tracking, and while cloud saving is available, you have to make sure you have a Gamevil account active and manually upload game data to and from your iPhone.

• Download now

NFL Pro 2012

NFL Pro 2012 is a full-fledged football game complete with leagues, playbooks, and extensive rosters based on real players and teams. Your players gain experience and level up as you go, letting you improve their stats in a number of areas, like run blocking, catching, awareness, and agility. Every down, you pick a play available (either offensive or defensive), and while you manually control one player, the AI handles the rest. Controls during play are dead simple, but most of your time will be spent flipping through and picking plays. Unfortunately, your selection is really limited to start, and it takes an obscene number of premium credits to permanently keep playbooks.

Every game you play uses up energy, which you can replenish over time or through in-app purchases. Experience points to level up your players can also be bought, along with credits to buy new playbooks, stadiums, gain access to new teams, divisions, and conferences, and extend quarter lengths.

Unfortunately, there's no cloud saving, though NFL Pro 2012 is a universal app. It doesn't seem like there's any update to Retina graphics, which are likely headed to EA's premium titles first. There isn't even any Game Center support, which makes me think NFL Pro 2012 is due for a big update soon.

• Download now

Real Soccer 2012

Real Soccer 2012 offers a wide variety of gameplay types in a fast-paced, realstic package. The core controls are laid out with a standard virtual joystick and sprint, pass and shoot buttons, but progresses in complexity with fancy gesture-based maneuvers. You can unlock a variety of different cups, starting with International, and working your way to Asian, African, American, and European cups, plus there's regional league play unlocked as you play and level up. Just remember that you're limited by how many matches you can play by a stamina rating, which recovers over time. Loading screens have bits of trivia, and occasionally test your own football, err, soccer knowledge with a multiple choice quiz.

Playing Real Soccer 2012 earns you coins which can be used to purchase new soccer balls that provide a variety of different bonuses, like extra XP per match. "Cash" is Real Soccer 2012's premium currency, which can be traded in for international teams, additional stamina, team stat boosts, access a few select stadiums, and even the ability to clear all yellow cards.

On the iPad, Real Soccer 2012 boasts universal status, but no love with cloud saving, Game Center, or Retina iPad optimization. Real Soccer 2012 is in a tight race with Pro Evo Soccer 2012, which, though "lite" and saving most of its leagues and progression for paying customers, has a really great Flick Soccer-style penalty kick drill.

• Download now

Best free casual games for iPad

Bejeweled Blitz

Bejeweled Blitz is a lightweight version of PopCap's famous gem-matching puzzle game. You're served up a board of colored jewels, and you can swap the position of any two that are next to each other with a tap or a swipe, but only if it lines up three or more of the same type. Matching sets then explode in glitter, serve up points, and as the the gems above drop down into place, more fall in from the top. The catch is that every round only lasts a minute, so the pressure is on to match up as many jewels as possible. PopCap keeps you coming back for more with a shot at a daily giveaway, the value of which increases by how many consecutive days you've played.

You earn coins through gameplay (which can also be bought through in-app purchases), which are spent on various pre-game power-ups and the occasional rare gem which can supercharge your next game in a number of flashy ways. Of course, if Bejewled Blitz isn't enough for you, there's the full iPhone version available for $0.99 with a bunch more game modes.

Bejeweled Blitz has graphics that are optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, is universal, and though there's no Game Center support, the game ties in very closely with its Facebook counterpart and lets you sync up your progress across devices that way.

• Download now

Trainyard Express

Trainyard Express is a routing puzzle game where you simply have to draw down tracks to get trains from point A to point B. Things get tricky once you have to start merging trains, combining their colors to get to the right end-point, and deal with overlapping tracks switching at the right time.

Trainyard Express is one of the few "lite" titles on the list, meaning there's a full version available for $2.99. Even though the 60 stages in the free game might not seem like they have a lot of replay value once you solve them, there's an expert mode unlocked once you beat the game that keeps tabs on how many tracks you lay down and how long it takes for the trains to get to their destination.

Trainyard Express has a great, simple art style with assets that are optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and there are no ads to boot. There's no Game Center support unfortunately, but you can share your unique puzzle solutions at Trainyard's website as well as on Facebook. There's also the option to switch players locally if someone else wants to solve the puzzles without seeing your solutions.

• Download now

Temple Run

Temple Run is a dead-simple platform game where you sprint through ancient ruins while being chased by spirits displeased that you just swiped their idol. You turn corners, duck under obstacles, and leap over pits with swipe gestures while collecting coins along the way. There's a bit of accelerometer control, so you can snag coins in the middle or to the left or right side of corridors by tilting the iPad, but for the most part, you're just relying on twitch reflex swiping. Gameplay can be extremely bite-sized, but still amply rewarding.

The coins you collect while temple-running (or in-app purchasing) can earn you power-ups like speed boosts, new unlockable characters, and even exclusive wallpapers.

On the iPad, Temple Run fares reasonably well, offering the same fast-paced gameplay as the iPhone version, complete with Game Center leaderboards and achievements. The game's universal, and though my upgrade purchases transferred over, the game didn't seem to recognize the achievements I had earned. There's no word on whether the graphics have been updated for the new iPad's Retina display, but Temple Run still holds up extremely well in the looks department for casual gameplay.

Best free physics games for iPad

Cut the Rope: Experiments Free HD

Cut the Rope: Experiments Free HD is a popular game that involves dropping a piece of candy into a hungry green creature's mouth by slicing rope with swipe gestures. While the candy's dangling and swinging, you use nearby tools such as suction cups and air puffers to move it around obstacles, like hungry spiders and destructive spikes. If you can get the candy to pass through any of the three stars on the level before feeding Om Nom, you gain bonus points and bragging rights, but they are strictly optional objectives.

Though you only get 12 levels in the free version, the full game with 125 levels is only $1.99.

Cut the Rope: Experiments Free HD on the iPad supports iCloud sync and Game Center, which might not be particularly useful for such a short game, but at least it's there if you end up shelling out for the full version. We actually experienced some severe wonkiness playing the standard Cut the Rope Free HD game on the new iPad; not only is it not optimized for the high-resolution display, but the game can't even render properly on a big Retina screen. On the plus side, Experiments runs fine, despite also being unoptimized.

• Download Now

Fruit Ninja HD Lite

Fruit Ninja is a well-known slice-and-dice game where you swipe through various kinds of fruit as they sail through the air. You get bonus points for chopping through four or more fruit at once, but you have to make sure to avoid the bombs that get tossed in every now and then.

In the free version, you get Classic mode in which you only get to let three fruit hit the ground. The paid version, available for $2.99 (currently on sale for $0.99), includes a Zen mode where you cut up as much fruit as you can within a limited time frame, split-screen multiplayer, and special fruit like the freeze banana, which slows the movement of everything on the screen, making for easy targets.

The Fruit Ninja experience really excels on the big screen, despite not being a universal app (and thus no cloud sync) and graphics that haven't been updated for the new iPad. The core gameplay is there, and so is Game Center support, which is all you really need to show fruit who's boss.

• Download now

Angry Birds Free

Angry Birds is the quintessential physics game for iOS, wherein a group a birds suicidally fling themselves into rickety buildings so that the pigs inside that stole their eggs can suffer a terrible, terrible demise. Every level you get a selection of birds that you slingshot towards structures at varying angles and velocities. The birds available each level can have different properties - for example, the yellow one dive-bombs when you tap the screen while it's in mid-flight, while the blue one splits into three. You're scored based on how few birds you use to clear the level, as well as how much destruction you cause in the process. The only thing that really matters is that all of the pigs in each level get eliminated.

The free version of Angry Birds gives you a total of 24 levels, but you'll need to drop $2.99 in order to get tons more. Keep mind that there are a lot of different free versions of Angry Birds available, including a seasonal one and one based on the Disney movie Rio. Try 'em both if you're looking for variety. Keep in mind that you'll have to put up with some pretty obnoxious banner ads while you play the free versions.

Angry Birds is a lot easier to play on the iPad since you've got more room to adjust angle and the strength of your slingshot. So far, it looks like only Angry Birds Space is optimized for the Retina iPad, unfortunately. Rovio is particularly bad about charging extra for the "HD" versions of their titles, so don't expect a universal version any time soon.

• Download now

Best free action games for iPad

Jetpack Joyride

Jetpack Joyride is a side-scrolling evasion game with simple one-button controls and a great sense of style. You play as a rebellious bureaucrat named Barry who's tired of the work at his top-secret military lab, and decides to snag the company's experimental jetpack for a jaunt through the facilities. Holding your finger on the screen puts the gas on the jetpack, letting you elevate over obstacles such as laser security systems and incoming missiles. Along the way, you'll also be able to snag other experimental vehicles, including the Crazy Freaking Teleporter, and the Profit Bird which is powered by pure concentrated sarcasm.

You're rewarded coins based on how far you make it through before wiping out, but can also pick up loose coins throughout the level. You even earn more through completing missions, like high-fiving the scrambling scientists on the ground floor. Those coins (which are also available through in-app purchases) are spent on new jetpacks, outfits, and recently gadgets.

Jetpack Joyride will be sharp as a pin on the new iPad thanks to Retina-optimized graphics, plus there's Game Center support for leaderboards and achievements. It's a universal app, but I've had mixed results with cloud sync; it managed to get my rank and cash from my iPhone game, but didn't register some of my previous gadget purchases.

• Download now

Wind-up Knight

Wind-up Knight is a whimsical running game where you're on a gallant quest to save the princess, as is often the case. The hero continually moves forward, while you're in charge of slaying evil chickens, protecting your little toy head from falling debris with a shield, leaping over yawning chasms, and rolling under treacherous traps. You have to make sure to be speedy too, since the knight is only wound up so much, and he'll run out of steam if you dally or don't pick up fresh cranks.

Gathering all of the coins in a level and finding a hidden cards rewards you with notes which can be spent on items like new helmets and swords. As you might expect, those notes are also purchasable through the App Store. Though you're welcome to buy later levels through in-app purchases (and they push a 30%-off bundle deal pretty aggressively in your first play-through), you can unlock them if you absolutely master every chapter in each book. This is really challenging though, which will be a turn-off for casual players that aren't willing to pay for the other books, but a great incentive for hardcore gamers.

Wind-up Knight enjoys seamless iCloud sync and is a Universal app, so you can keep playing on your iPhone while away from the iPad. Game Center is around for the sake of achievements, but there's nothing in the way of multiplayer, which is too bad, because I'd love to see how my friends kit out their knight and their top scores on each level as I'm playing it.

Despite its kid-friendly graphics (which are polished and gorgeous, though only partially optimized for iPad-sized Retina displays), Wind-up Knight has some great grown-up humor; even if you're pretty sure you won't buy the later books, it's worth giving a try just for the GeoCastles gag.

• Download now

Cordy Sky

Cordy Sky is a jumping game where you're an adorable little robot trying to get from the ground of an alien planet to a docked spaceship so you can continue on your intergalactic mission. Small bouncy platforms aid your ascension, but be careful, otherwise you drop down to the earth and have to start all over again. Luckily, you have a fellow robot called Volt that can grab you if you drop too far, but only if you've collected the appropriate token while climbing skyward. Your trip is split up into five sections, the end of each being marked by a fuel cell you need to get the spaceship running again. Controls are are either through virtual buttons, tilt, or swiping. I prefer to use tap controls on the iPad version rather than tilt, but the option's all yours.

As you go, you collect gears, which can buy one-time boosts, permanent power-ups, or vanity costumes. Of course, you can always just buy gears through in-app purchases, but you can get by perfectly well on your own. Don't let the cute graphics fool you, though - this game has plenty of challenge to it.

Cordy Sky on the iPad is universal, and I managed to get the important stuff imported from my iPhone game. A stray forum mention said that the game was updated to optimize the graphics for the new iPad, but I haven't been able to find any official confirmation.

• Download now

Best free role-playing games for iPad

Dark Legends

Dark Legends is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in a modern world of vampires, zombies, and other supernatural menaces. It's made by the same guys behind Pocket Legends, but this iteration is decidedly more gory. The branching quest structure is simple, and has a nice combination of time-based tasks with static rewards, and combat missions that you can enjoy through either online multiplayer or solo gameplay. The control scheme is the standard virtual joystick layout with quick access to vampire powers on one side, including a one that lets you pounce on an enemy and drain them dry once you've worked up enough bloodthirst with your melee weapons. When you're not questing, there are shared areas in which you can hang around and shop, as well as player versus player arenas where you can test your mettle.

Going through missions uses up limited energy, which regenerates over time, or you can instantly recharge with the premium platinum currency. Platinum can also be used to buy some pretty classy-looking vanity items.

Although the polygon count isn't particularly high in Dark Legends, the textures are optimized for the new iPad. There's no Game Center support, but since you're logging on through a separate account whenever you play, you can pick up and drop off between iPad and iPhone as you see fit.

• Download now

Six-Guns

Six-Guns is an open-world multiplayer western. You embark on missions for beleaguered commonfolk, handling the likes of bandits and supernatural nasties to bring some iotum of peace to the wild west. Combat is straightforward third-person revolver shooting with a virtual joystick and a few buttons. You're rewarded for your deeds, of course, and can use the coin you earn to equip new weapons, fresh threads, and buy new horses to expedite your trips between towns.

In addition to being able to buy in-game currency through in-app purchases, you can also get Sheriff Stars, which access high-end gear and auto-complete missions, though you can also earn them through watching ads. You're even able to buy experience points and health boosts, if you're having trouble getting through a particular quest.

Six-Guns is optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and since you're logging in through Gameloft's service, there's no problem picking up where you left off on any iOS device.

• Download now

Heroes vs Monsters

Heroes versus Monsters is a party-based hack-and-slash fantasy role playing game with simple controls, a cute style, and tons of customizability. You command a party of four heroes with an intuitive drag-and-release control scheme. All of your standard classes are there, like warriors to soak up the damage, clerics to keep them alive, and various kinds of damage-dealers ranging from archers to fire mages. Scouring the world, you find new monsters to slay, more loot to plunder, more heroes to recruit, and along the way you gain experience, level up, and unlock powers best-suited to your playstyle through an extensive tree of powers.

The coins you earn through gameplay let you buy phat new equipment for your party, but you can also buy your gold pieces through in-app purchases. All of the gear you equip is nicely represented on your heroes. The only real downside I've seen so far are that you'll also have to deal with an ad along the bottom which so far as been for the same app time and again. It's also worth noting that Heroes vs Monsters is pretty much a complete clone of a premium title called Battleheart; if you're willing to shell out three bucks, you might rather it go to the those who cooked up the original idea.

There's also a significant border around the outside, which I assume is a relic from the iPhone port, since there's no support for the high-res Retina display on the new iPad. There's Game Center support anyhow, and it's universal, but no cloud syncing, unfortunately.

• Download now

Best free racing games for iPad

Forever Drive

Forever Drive is a sharp, polygonal top-down racing game with a cool abstract art style. The controls are simple and fluid, with options for tilt, tap, or d-pad. You're scored based on how many stars you pick up and how tightly you hug highlighted shoulders, but don't get too wild; you have a limited amount of time to get through as many tracks as possible. That means you need to drive smart and avoid the civilian traffic that explode in a Tron-esque display if you so much as nudge them.

One of the core elements of Forever Drive is the track builder. It's pretty simple - you draw a line from one end of a square to the other, pepper some scenery along the sides, and the highlighted turns, varied elevation, stars, and extra traffic are added in automatically. You then have the option to share these tracks online, which then randomly compose the arcade mode of other players. When you play, you get fed a series of user-built tracks which you can rate up or down after you're done driving them.

There are also weekly leagues where you have a chance to win in-game currency, with which you can buy a few unlocks, but the vast majority of car bodies, variations, and paint jobs are earned by gaining experience points throughout gameplay. If you're impatient, you can always buy credits through in-app purchases.

Forever Drive is a universal app with cloud saving, so no worries about saving your progress on the iPhone version. Game Center leaderboards are supported, plus OpenFeint if you're into that kind of thing. There aren't big-screen Retina graphics just yet, as the developer just got the new iPad recently, but maybe we'll see an upgrade soon.

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Road Warrior Racing Free

Road Warrior Racing Free is a side-scrolling racing game set in a gritty Mad Max-style future. As you race through arid badlands, you try to make use of your car's side-mounted miniguns, missile launchers, and other assorted weaponry to take out the competition, while hoping they don't do the same to you. You don't have to worry about acceleration while playing since the game puts the foot the floor for you automatically; all you have to worry about is blowing up anybody who tries to pass you and possibly doing a sweet frontflip while diving off a mesa. You're offered up a variety of different maps every time you play, each one with a different level of difficulty and special rules, like no weapons.

You earn in-game cash as you play, which can be spent on new weapons, armor upgrades, new chassis, paint jobs, and lots of other items to pimp your ride. Of course, you can also buy the in-game cash to speed up your advancement.

Right now, Game Center support is limited to leaderboards, but the developer is promising live multiplayer soon - it's already on Android. It doesn't seem like there's any cloud saving support even though it's a universal app, but that hardly puts a dent in Road Warrior Racing's badassery.

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GT Racing: Motor Academy Free+ HD

Motor Academy Free is a more down-to-earth, mostly-realistic racing game. Starting off, you earn various licenses by learning how to drive different classes of cars. After that, you're off to the races, winning tours, special invitation events, and completing contracts. The coins you earn there let you buy a variety of recognized brand-name cars, like Bugatti, BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Ford, Chevrolet, and Audi. They even kindly give you the option to rent cars for a round if you don't have enough to buy it outright. Even this racing game has some RPG mechanics in it, including quests which you complete, and leveling up to unlock new cars and courses.

Coins are earned through regular gameplay, while in-game cash is mostly bought through in-app purchases, which you can trade in for new cars or select upgrades to parts like brakes and suspension.

There's no cloud syncing here, so get comfortable playing on either your iPad or iPhone for the long haul. There's also no Game Center hooks, but Gameloft still does a decent job of handling online multiplayer on their own.

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Best free board games for iPad

Poker by Zynga

Poker by Zynga is a simple but polished Texas Hold 'em game for iPad and plays cross-platform with folks on Facebook. The game has been out for a long time, so boasts a full feature set - you can add friends, find tables within your comfort range, and even give other players gifts for display, like drinks, or a box of tissues if they're having a particularly rough run. The one downside to Poker by Zynga is that you'll have to have a Wi-Fi connection active in order to play, and as fun as it is playing with real people, they can just as often be aggravating.

Though you're given a stack of chips to start, and can earn more through various ads and daily giveaways, you'll have to shell out real cash for chips when you run out, just like a real casino.

The iPad version of Poker by Zynga doesn't use Game Center since it relies on its well-established Facebook users to keep playing, and there's no mention of Retina iPad support, but it's not particularly needed to enjoy the game. Keeping up with games across iPad and iPhone was easy as pie since they're both connected through your Facebook account.

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Shadow Era

Shadow Era is an unabashed homage to Magic: The Gathering, a fantasy tradeable card game where two heroes command armies and arcane powers to slay their opponents. Every turn, you're given the option to discard a card, which adds to your resource pile. The more resources you have, the more allies you can summon and spells you can cast from your hand. Creatures under your control have power and health values which can be influenced with enchantments, but the real fight is between each side's individual hero cards. Each one has 20 health, and whoever dies first loses.

Shadow Era sells booster packs and whole decks of cards through in-app purchases, which you can mix and match as you like to create a deck best suited to your play style. You can also earn the premium in-game currency just by playing and leveling up.

On the iPad, there's a ton of screen real estate which allows you to see the whole board at once with minimal camera angle switching. The card graphics have been fully optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, plus on top of standard Game Center support, Shadow Era has its own cross-platform multiplayer network so you can play with your cards no matter which device you happen to be using.

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BoardBox

BoardBox is a highly-polished collection of classic board games, including chess, checkers, go, tic-tac-toe, reversi and backgammon. There are a bunch of interesting variants, including some more exotic games like Chinese chess, and a handful of very nicely rendered boards and pieces to pick from. There's a handy little sidebar included which lets you save games and look up rules through the Wikipedia article.

On the downside, there's no AI player for those days that you're on your own, and when it's eventually included, it will be an in-app purchase to activate. At least all you really have to put up with are small banner ads at the bottom of the screen, which can be disabled for $5.99 (which seems like a lot to me).

There's no iPhone version of BoardBox, so you'll have to take the whole iPad with you to play on the road. Though there's no Game Center support, online multiplayer is available over e-mail - clunky, but it works.

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Best free word games for iPad

Charadium II HD Free

Charadium II HD is another take on Pictionary where you try to draw something after picking one of a small group of words, and your partner online has to guess what it is. Both players are rewarded points for how quickly they answer, and can even lose points if it takes too long, but at least you're given hangman-style hints as time goes on. Stars are showcased in your profile, which are given by other players that are particularly impressed with you. Charadium II Free is a really nice alternative to Draw Something, and in my opinion, the better option of the two for a number of reasons. For one, Charadium II replays are viewable online, which allows you to share them on Facebook or wherever else you like. Secondly, Charadium II doesn't try to nickel-and-dime you for individual colors; once you upgrade from the free version, not only do you get a full pallette, but also a bunch of different brushes, letting you get really creative. Finally, there are lots of great game modes, including live public rooms where anyone who's online can jump in and guess what's being drawn, private games with your personal friends, and the standard drawn-out turn-based matches.

Besides having the usual "lite" version trappings of holding features hostage, you'll also have to deal with the occasional video ad and banner. At least they don't harass you for microtransactions.  The full version isn't insanely priced, though a tad high at $2.99.

Game Center is ripe with achievements for this one, and as you plow through them, you go up ranks (which don't seem to do much of anything other than look pretty in your profile). Charadium II HD Free supports the new iPad's Retina display, so your fine artistry and that of others will really pop on the big screen. It's not universal, but I don't think this is the kind of game you really want to be playing on your iPhone anyway.

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Words with Friends HD Free

Words with Friends pits you against friends on Facebook and elsewhere to a friendly word scramble game where you're given a set  of tiles with letters (each with a corresponding score), and you have to arrange them on a board to make the best word you can. The board is peppred with bonus squares which can multiply the value of letters or whole words if you're lucky enough to land on them. Each side goes back and forth planting words and picking up new tiles until the whole board is full or there are no more new tiles to draw.

Although I understand that Words with Friends is the most popular and polished Scrabble-ish game available for iOS, and as a wordy dude, I should be into these kinds of games, I actually hate them with a burning passion. Why? Because people win by jamming letters together for the highest points, and hoping the server accepts whatever they put in. In that way, I definitely prefer real Scrabble, since you're relying on proper vocabulary skills and only occasionally having to put up with friends pulling seemingly made-up words out of thin air; in Words with Friends and all video games like it, obtuse words outside of any normal vocabulary are the norm. That said, even if you're losing, odds are good you will learn all sorts of new obscure words - just don't expect the round's outcome as any kind of reflection of skill.

Words with Friends HD is monetized through ads and two kinds of in-game purchases: the Word-O-Meter, which helps you find better words, and the Tile Pile, which can let you know which letters are still left to pick up. Of course, they'll also kindly remind you to upgrade to the ad-free pro version for $2.99.

In any case, It's great being able to see the whole board on the iPad version; on the iPhone you're continually zooming in and out. There's no Game Center here, but Words with Friends HD Free is cross-platform with Facebook, which opens up your pool of opponents considerably. Despite not being universal, a common log-in system means you can pick up your matches across devices and stay in sync.

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Prose with Bros Free

Prose with Bros is best described as online competitive fridge poetry. Two partners, either found through Facebook or a random pairing, are given the same set of 50 words. They have to arrange those words into the most interesting combination possible, and once submitted, other players get to vote on which of the two they prefer. Random pairs show up for you to judge as soon as you launch the game; you can even have a creepy robot voice read the entries out loud to you. After 12 hours of voting, the winner is decided. Even if you don't win, you can still earn Kudos from other users, which are shown off in your profile. Previous prose is saved in the cloud for posterity, just in case you need to show it off later. I'm a huge fan of this game, and have seen some pretty hilarious phrases cobbled together.

The best part about Prose with Bros is that there isn't any catch - no microtransactions, no ads, no nothing, just fun. There used to be a paid and an ad-supported version, but they took out the ads in the last update in April. Why? Maybe they hate money. I'm cool with that.

Prose with Bros is universal and syncs games nicely across devices once you're registered. There's no Game Center support to help you hook up with other iOS bros, but finding them through the Facebook integration is easy enough. The graphics aren't exactly mind-blowing, but you don't need much for a word game.

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Best free simulation games for iPad

GodFinger All-Stars

GodFinger All-Stars is a fun little world control game where you tend to a little planet full of villagers. By spinning around a cross-section view, you make sure they're happy and productive, and check in on them time to time to collect the gold they generate. That gold goes to upgrading their homes which can house more people, who then, in turn, produce more money. Of course, you have to tend to their needs, like providing rain and sun for the farms, as well as altars to worship you from. To accomplish all of this, you execute gesture-based miracles with long presses and swipes. These miracles burn up Awe points, which regenerate over time, or can be bought through the app store. GodFinger All-Stars recently included a fun little endless climber side-game where you can earn some additional gold by hurling one of your followers through the heavans.

Over time, you complete missions, gain experience points, and expand the surface area of your planet. You can have a lot of fun around your world by raising and lowering the ground, decorating the area, and flinging your hapless devotees beyond the horizon.

Godfinger All-Stars isn't universal, but it saves all of your log-in information on their own network, and lets you visit the planets made by your friends, even without Game Center support. It doesn't seem like things are optimized for the new iPad just yet, but these guys put a ton of emphasis on graphics, so I expect an upgrade soon.

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The Sims FreePlay

The Sims FreePlay is a classic life simulation game where you tend to a collection of virtual people, each with a variety of needs and colorful spectrum of personality quirks. You do everything from steering their conversations with other Sims, decorating their home, getting them to work, and making sure they bathe regularly. A recent update even added the ability to play as and care for child Sims. As you guide your Sim to accomplish daily tasks, you gain experience points, level up, and unlock new items. Unlike the old Sims games that had a handy fast-forward button, activities in The Sims FreePlay all happen in real-time, so when you put your little people to sleep, they're gone for 8 real hours.

As you play, you earn Lifestyle Points, which can be used to immediately satisfy your Sim's needs and quickly complete tasks. Those can be bought through in-app purchases, alongside the game's currency, Simoleans, which your Sims earn through various kinds of work.

The UI is scaled very nicely to the iPad, but unfortunately the graphic elements aren't optimized for the new iPad yet. Also, I didn't have any luck getting my saved progress from the iPhone version over to the iPad, so don't count on any cloud sync here.

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My Clinic

My Clinic is a comic hospital business sim where you manage and staff a fledgling facility, treat incoming patients, and research new treatments. The ailments you treat range the whole spectrum of goofiness, such as emergency calls for sore throats and dealing with broken nails of debutantes. At any given time, you'll have a random assortment of patients that you can chose to see, each with varying treatment times, experience rewards, medicine costs, and payment structures. Patients have one or more critical moments throughout their treatment time where you can buy and apply specialty medicine to speed up recovery time. Once treated, you get paid based on how quickly you treat the patient. The more often you treat a particular case, the better your doctors get at it, and can finish them lightning-fast once they become experts. As you complete missions, you're regularly rewarded with various power-ups, which can improve staff efficiency, speed up equipment delivery time of new equipment, help you find new doctors more quickly. Earning experience points and leveling up will unlock new types of patients that visit your hospital, as well as the research paths and equipment to treat them.

The game developers are based in Russia, so every once in awhile you'll see some broken English, but on the whole, these guys have managed to strike a great level of humor and sufficiently tweaked the FarmVille game mechanic to keep things interesting.

You occasionally earn gold coins through gameplay, though they're primarily used as premium currency that you buy with in-app purchases. Coins can speed up task completion, be used to buy vanity items for the front of your hospital, and a few other odd higher-end items.

There's only an iPad version of My Clinic, so no bouncing back and forth with your iPhone, unfortunately. Game Center support is included so you can create medical associations with your buddies, and hire them in your hospital. That way, you earn a cut from their cashflow if they're lower level than you. There's no mention of Retina iPad support, but as is, the game looks just fine.

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Your favorite free iPad games?

Of course, there's an insane number of free iPad games out there, and we're always looking for more. Feel free to leave a comment with your favorites, as we'll be updating this list regularly. We'll be including some of our top free real-time strategy, rhythm, and location games down the line.

Rene Ritchie and Leanna Lofte contributed photos for this post

Animal lovers, Cutest Paw for iPhone and iPad is for you! It's a fun app that's filled with thousands of photos of cute animals ranging from the common household pet to exotic animals like tigers, orangutans, pandas, and foxes.

Cutest Paw lets you sort photos by newest, popular, random, or animal type. The photos are organized into 3 columns, but each picture is a scaled down version of the original crop ratio, giving each page a collage feel. It's much more interesting than cropping everything to a square like many apps do.

When you tap on a photo, the photo is displayed nice and big with the caption under it. From here, you can "hug" it (similar to "like"), save it to your camera roll, share on Facebook, or leave a comment (must connect to Facebook first).

I have two complaints with individual photo pages. The first is that in order to go back to the results page, I have to scroll to the bottom and tap Back. I wish there was a back button at the top of the screen or even a gesture (like pinching) that took me back. On a similar note, in order to scroll, you cannot have your finger touching the photo (which often times takes up most of the screen). Instead, Cutest Paw requires you to be touching one of the small areas on the outside of the photo in order to scroll.

If you don't want to go back and select a photo, but want to simply browse through them all, swiping left or right on the photo will move to the last/next photo.

To sort the photos by animal type, you must go to the Search tab. From there, you'll see categories for dogs, cats, user submissions, mice, rabbits, squirrels, birds, monkeys, hedgehogs, tortoises, pigs, ducks, foxes, orangutans, pandas, bears, tigers, otters, ferrets, and deers. You can also type in a custom term to search through Cutest Paw photos.

To share your own photo, head to the upload tab. You must have a free account with Cutest Paw in order to upload. Once you upload your photo, you can view in the "Your Uploaded Photos" section so you can easily check on your photos and how many views and hugs they've received.

The good

• Lots of adorable animal photos
• Sort by newest, popular, random, or animal type
• Share your own photos
• Save photos or share to Facebook
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• Can't scroll down with finger on picture, must be on the background
• No landscape support
• Performance could use a little work

The conclusion

Cutest Paw is a must-have app for animal lovers and kids. The quality of photos can be hit or miss from the newest and random sections because these include user submissions, but when viewing specific categories, the photos are generally very good.

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Clipping and saving coupons is the most classic way of saving money, but in today's digital world, it feels rather archaic. SnipSnap for iPhone lets you say goodbye to physical coupons by taking photos of them to carry with you at all times and store clerks can scan the processed bar code right on your iPhone.

To add a coupon, you simply take a photo of it, or "snip it". SnipSnap will then process the coupon for you by converting the barcode on the photo into one that can be scanned by a store clerk (this process may take a few minutes). SnipSnap will also look at the dates valid and display when the coupon is redeemable or expires on the main Coupons page.

When viewing a coupon, you'll see all the details like minimum spending requirements. You can also look up the important dates, bar code, promo code, offer details, consumer restrictions, and retailer legal. SnipSnap also allows you to mark coupons as a favorite and share to Twitter, Facebook, or email.

When redeeming a coupon with SnipSnap, you have two different options for the clerk. The easiest one is the barcode which can be scanned by a store scanner. If that doesn't work, you can also display the coupon's code in nice, big, easy-to-read text. And if the store clerk is still a little suspicious of your coupon, you can show them the photo you took and allow them to pinch and zoom to see the details.

Another cool feature of SnipSnap is the Discover tab that shows coupons being snipped by other SnipSnap users. You can also use the search field to search for coupons at a specific store. I really like this feature, but sometimes I get coupons that are one-time use only (like on a receipt) and don't want to share it publicly in fear of someone "stealing" it. SnipSnap does allow you to disable sharing snipped coupons to the community pool, but I wish it'd let you do it on an individual basis.

A feature that makes SnipSnap way better than keeping track of physical coupons is that it will remind you when a coupon is about to expire. You can choose the notification to be sent at 1-3 days or 1-2 weeks before expiration. Additionally, when you arrive at a store that you have a coupon for, SnipSnap will send you notification reminding you of your coupon.

The last thing I want to mention is that SnipSnap does not work with "manufacturer coupons". This is not a fault of SnipSnap, however. These coupons require stores to collect coupons and return them to the manufactures. Until manufacturers change their rules about these coupons, I don't expect to see manufacturer coupon support anytime soon.

The good

• Quick and easy to use
• Processing only takes a few minutes
• Reminders when coupon is about to expire
• Location reminders
• Discover coupons being snipped by other SnipSnap users

The bad

• Can't edit sharing options when uploading coupon. Must set a universal setting.
• Not compatible with "manufacturer coupons" (because these types of coupons must be physically collected and turned in to the manufacturer by the store)

The conclusion

Personally, I've never been much of a coupon user unless they come through my email inbox because I can't keep track of them nor remember to bring them. Now that I have SnipSnap for iPhone, I look forward to the savings in my future. But if I'm not careful, I may see myself making unnecessary purchases due to me "not wanting to miss out on a deal" before my coupons expire!

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Having lots of Gmail, Facebook Twitter, and LinkedIn Contacts on your iPad and iPhone is great, but how do you get them all into your Contacts app where you need them?

I get to use most of the newest devices and test out all the platforms in my job. My "go-to"  phone is the iPhone 4S, but there are features I see on other devices that I really wish were present in iOS. At the top of the list of wants is rich contact integration with my social networks.

WebOS had perhaps the most elegant approach with Synergy.   If you have a contact on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Gmail –- whatever -– just log in and you get a unified contact card with all that information. Doesn’t sound so hard, right?

Now, Android does this pretty well, Windows Phone does a great job with the People hub and QNX –- the OS on the BlackBerry Playbook (and the upcoming BlackBerry 10) -- does an amazing job at this contact integration.

So, why is it so hard for iOS to get this one important feature right? Well, we will have to let the boys and girls in Cupertino figure that one out. For now, there is a way to get all this information into the Contacts app... it just takes a little extra work.

Getting your basic information into Contacts

In the old days, you needed to connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC and then sync your contacts from your Outlook, Google or native contacts app on the computer. It was messy and often inaccurate. Now, fortunately, the majority of our contacts get “sucked into” the iPhone through some sort of cloud syncing.

How to get your iCloud Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

If you don’t yet have your iCloud contacts on your iPhone, just go to your Settings app and then touch the iCloud tab. Just turn the Contacts switch to the ON position and all your iCloud contacts will be in sync with your iPhone, Mac, iPad, etc.

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How to get your Google Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

If you use the standard Gmail setup (IMAP instead of Exchange, see below), getting your Google Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad isn't as easy as it should be.  When you typically sign into a Google account you can choose to sync your email, calendar and notes – but not your Google contacts. The easiest way to do this is either:

1. Export your Google contacts from the Google Contacts web app on your computer.
2. Import then contacts to your iCloud account.

1. Log into your Gmail account.
2. Choose Contacts.
3. Under the More tab, choose Export.
4. Choose which format to export all your contacts and where to save the file.

Export your Google contacts into a format that you can import into another app like iCloud

To import these contacts to your iCloud account for syncing:

1. Log into your iCloud account via iCloud.com and click on Contacts.
2. Click on the Settings gear and then choose Import vCard
3. Navigate to where the exported contact file is located and import it into iCloud.

If that is either confusing or a pain in the rear, the other option is to set up your Google account as an Exchange account which will wirelessly sync all your Google account data –- Contacts, Calendars, Notes, etc with your iphone.

1. Go to your Settings app.
2. Tap the Mail, Contacts, Calendars tab.
3. Under the listing of your accounts, touch the Add Account tab.
4. Choose Microsoft Exchange from the list of options
5. Put your Email address in the Email field (youremail@gmail.com)
6. Leave the Domain field blank.
7. Your Username should be your Email address.
8. Input your password.
9. Add a Description such as “Primary Gmail” or something like that.
10. Touch the Next button at the top right hand corner.
11. On the next screen, in the Server box, type: m.google.com
12. Choose Next.
13. On the following screen, simply turn ON or OFF the things you want to sync with your Google account. For our purposes, make sure that the Contacts tab is in the ON position.
14. Select Save and your Google contacts will now sync with your iPhone contacts.

How to get your Facebook Contacts onto your iPhone and iPad

Most of us have our contacts spread out over our various apps –- especially our social networking apps. I have lots of data for some folks in my Google account, but they are not Facebook friends. The reverse is often true as well. There is a way to get your Facebook contacts into your iPhone – you just have to dig a little to find it.

First off, make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app downloaded from the App Store.

1. Start up your Facebook app and login into your account.
2. Tap the top left hand corner to get into your Facebook options and touch on Friends.
3. Tap the Action button (the one that looks like a Send key) in the top right hand corner.
4. Choose Sync Contacts from the list.
5. Turn the switch next to Syncing to the ON position – this will had (add?) your Contacts, profile pictures and links to your Contacts app.
6. Read the scary message from Facebook saying that all contacts from your device will be sent and stored by Facebook as subject to their privacy policy.
7. If you are comfortable with that, choose Sync Contacts in the lower right hand corner and your Facebook contacts will be integrated into your iPhone Contacts app.
8. If you want to replace the existing photos of your contacts with their Facebook pictures, turn the Replace photos switch to the ON position.
9. You should now see new category in the Contact information for Facebook contacts that says: Facebook and has a link to his/her Facebook page.

NOTE: This is not perfect, after doing this several times I still have some Facebook contacts whose Facebook page is not listed in their iPhone Contact card.

When it does work, just tap the Facebook address and you can launch their Facebook page right from the Contacts app.

How to get your Twitter Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

For many of us, we follow people on Twitter who are not our “friends.” For others, we would like to have the Twitter information for our Contacts in case we do want to follow or Direct Message them. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to do.

1. First off, download the official Twitter app from the App Store.
2. Go to your Settings app and look for the Twitter settings.
3. Touch the Twitter tab in settings.
4. Touch the Update Contacts button to get Twitter information for your contacts put into their Contact cards.

NOTE: As with Facebook, there are some privacy concerns here. Twitter essentially takes all the email addresses and phone numbers stored in your Contacts app and cross references them against their database to get you the Twitter contact information.

How to get your LinkedIn Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

LinkedIn may be where most of your professional contacts are stored. For many of us, this is yet another completely different list of contacts than those stored in Gmail or Facebook.  Fortunately, it is easy to get your LinkedIn data into the iPhone.

1. Download the official LinkedIn app from the App Store.
2. Start up the app and login into your LinkedIn account.
3. Touch the You icon – usually at the top right of the four icons.
4. Touch the gear in the upper right hand corner which is the Settings area for LinkedIn.
5. Touch the Download Connections tab and make sure that Download Connections is turned ON.
6. Touch the Download Now button to bring in all your LinkedIn connections into your iPhone.

NOTE: I experienced some interesting things when I did this; some of my contacts, which had their Facebook page link in the web page section of the Contact card, now had the LinkedIn page instead of the Facebook page.  The Contact photo changed according to which app I used last to sync contacts. In some cases, I really wanted the Facebook photo and not the LinkedIn one, so I had to go back and sync the photos from Facebook to replace the LinkedIn ones.

If at this point you are saying to yourself “this is way too complicated” you may be right, but it is the best way to get all this data into one place – Your Contacts app.

How to deal with multiple contact entries

iOS has the ability to link Contacts, so if you had more than one Contact for the same person, you could combine them into a unify view. However, it doesn't seem to work anymore (or was removed). Hopefully this get restored or fixed in iOS 6. Until then, you will need to go to your computer and go to the web site or app and merge the contacts that then sync with your phone.

Merging your Google contacts

If you sync your contacts via Google, the process of merging contacts is not too complicated.

1. Login in to your Gmail account
2. Across the bar at the top, click on More and then on Contacts
3. Once in Contracts, click on More and then scroll down to Find & merge duplicates.
4. Google will then go through your contacts and merge those that have the same name.
5. It is always a good idea to go and check to make sure it was done correctly – but overall this is pretty easy and seamless and will clean up your multiple entries for the same contact.

Merging your Mac address book

For Mac users, Finding and merging your duplicates in Address Book (Contacts under Mountain Lion) is quite easy.

1. Open up your Mac Address Book app.
2. At the very top, click on the Card menu and then scroll down to Look for duplicates and click.
3. You should then receive a message saying that “X number of duplicates were found.”
4. Click on Merge and the cards will be combined so you only have one contact card per individual in your Address Book.

NOTE: If you currently manage your contacts through the iCloud website, there is no way to merge your duplicate contacts from the Contacts app on iCloud.

Conclusion

So, after all this, you should have all your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts along side your Google or whatever other contacts you have on your iPhone. You can launch the Facebook page of your contacts; go to their Twitter page or LinkedIn page right from their Contact card.

This is not a perfect solution as we said at the outset. We wish that you could send a Facebook message or a Direct Message like you can from other platform Contact apps. We wish you could see status updates in the Contact app like the BlackBerry Playbook. Hopefully, these things will be on the horizon for us iOS users.

Do you have other thoughts about the Contacts app on iOS? Have you found other solutions for merging your data? Let us know in the forums.

Sparrow for iPhone is an email client for iPhone that offers many more features than Apple's built in Mail app such as the ability to add attachments when composing a message, a multi-pane navigation layout, and custom signatures. The main new features in today's update is landscape composing, the ability to edit and create labels/folders, and easier navigation between messages. Unfortunately, the biggest feature that users have been waiting for, push notifications, is still absent from Sparrow.

The folks at Sparrow headquarters have been hard at work to bring push to their users. Sadly, their first attempt used a VoIP process that was entirely inappropriate for push email (it's meant for apps like Skype) and Apple rejected it. So, like instant message apps have been doing for years, Sparrow will have to handle Push Notifications on their end. But here's the catch - push will not be a free upgrade. It won't even be a one-time in-app purchase. Push for Sparrow will be integrated as a yearly subscription.

You were more than 16 000 helping us on our Apple quest to get the VoIP privilege. We can’t thank you enough for your support. Unfortunately, Apple has confirmed that they are not willing to do any exception to the rule and that Sparrow will NOT be granted with the privilege.

This means we’ll have to do Push on our side and that it will be integrated as a yearly subscription into Sparrow’s future update.

There's no word yet on how much the subscription will cost.

How much would you be willing to pay to have push included with Sparrow? Personally, I'll wait to see if Apple has any surprises for the built-in Mail app in iOS 6 before committing to a subscription with Sparrow. But if Apple doesn't address some basic needs like adding attachments and custom signatures, I'll jump ship to Sparrow in a heartbeat -- I already have for Mac.

$2.99 - Download Now

Source: Sparrow

MGTitleMenu is an open source iOS interface component that lets developers conveniently add pop-up, tile-based contextual menus to iOS apps. It makes the most sense on big screen iPad apps, but can also be used on iPhone or iPad touch. MGTileMenu, as the name hints, is from well known iOS developer Matt Gemmell under a free, attribution license (it can also be licensed without attribution for a small fee).

The idea is, if you're holding an iPad, you can invoke the context menu via a gesture (for example, a double tap). You can the quickly tap one of five action icons, or tap a "more" icon and get additional sets of action icons to choose from. MGTileMenu can also be configured for left handed or right handed use.

Gemmell was also kind enough to include his design and development process in his blog post about the component.

MGTileMenu was created as a way to show options or tools contextually, wherever your hand might be on the iPad’s screen. It’s for use in an app that I’m working on, and I thought it was worth releasing as a useful component.

The tiles are exactly the same size as app icons on the iPad’s Home screen, which provides a sensible consistency and presumably capitalises on Apple’s own research and testing. Believe it or not, the identical size was actually a happy coincidence: the first rounded-rectangle I drew by eye in Photoshop turned out to match iPad app icons to the pixel.

Having made the mockup, I felt there was something visually missing; the tiles needed something to unify them. A bezel seemed like a reasonable choice, so I started experimenting with the concept.

Check out the video below and then go read the whole post via the source link below. The parts about the bezel and the animation flocking are particularly interesting.

Source: mattgemmell.com

RIM has only just begun previewing BlackBerry 10 and already features like the on-key, gesture-based word prediction are being quickly copied for the iPhone -- at least for jailbreak. Octopus Keyboard is the name of the tweak, and Jeff Benjamin from iDownloadBlog took a look at its current state of development.

As of now the Octopus keyboard can do the following:

• Automatically learns new words as you type them
• Custom completion engine
• Should work for any input language with key input (English, French, Czech, Russian, etc.)

Here are some of the remaining items that he wishes to accomplish before go-live:

• Avoid learning mistakes
• Autocapitalize words in sentences
• Handle , . ! etc at the end of a sentence
• Better handling and display of longer words
• Compatibility with popular tweaks like SwipeSelection

Octopus Keyboard is currently slated for a May 20 release on Cydia. There's no information on pricing yet.

The current iOS keyboard does and forcing you to stop typing and hit a tiny X target to refuse them if they're incorrect. Here's how Kevin Michaluk describes the BlackBerry 10 typing process:

Instead of placing suggested words above the keyboard, which diverts your attention from the keyboard keys while typing, the BlackBerry 10 keyboard layers its suggestions on the frets between the rows, above the key you're about to tap for your next word. From there you can easily swipe a word up or ignore it. Watching the demonstration at BlackBerry World, it really is brilliant. We're excited for it.

The Octopus Keyboard doesn't look like the Blackberry 10 keyboard, but it does implement the words-on-keys concept. It looks a bit odd seeing it on iOS, where the keyboard hasn't changed much in almost 5 years. Kevin also wonders if RIM -- or anyone RIM may be licensing any part of the technology from -- might take action to prevent jailbreak from stealing BlackBerry 10's thunder, given it's still months away from launching.

You can see it all in action in the BlackBerry 10 keyboard hands-on video below, and compare it to the Octopus Keyboard preview immediately thereafter. Check them both out and let us know what you think.

Source: iDownloadBlog

We're just under a month away from Apple's WWDC 2012 and with it, an expected preview of iOS 6. Last year, we had a list of features available through jailbreak that we wanted Apple to make mainstream in iOS 5. Apple listened, and we got everything from Notification Center to Wi-Fi sync. This year is no different -- once again we have wants. Here are my top jailbreak concepts Apple should implement in iOS 6.

Widgets API

Developers don't currently have the ability to develop widgets for Notification Center. If Apple would open up API for widget access and allow developers to integrate them with current app offerings, it could open up a whole new world of possibilities. This ability is already available on Android and other mobile platforms.

Jailbreak apps have been taking advantage of widgets since iOS 5 was released. There are several widgets that allow access to contacts, system toggles, music, battery info, quick Google searches, and more. Having access to all kinds of settings and apps right from Notification Center is much more convenient than digging for an app or system setting.

Notification Center enhancements and quick replies

While iOS 5 was a huge improvement over the way notifications were handled under previous versions of iOS, there is still room for improvement. Jailbreak apps like IntelliscreenX and LockInfo offer much more control over notifications than stock iOS does. You can fine tune notifications down to the tiniest detail. Do all users need this ability? Absolutely not. But a compromise would be nice.

First, find a way to make the Lock screen more intuitive. Right now all Lock screen notifications are dismissed the moment you swipe to unlock. By all means, clear the screen, but why not keep the notifications available in the window shade until they've actually been viewed, like they are in Notification Center proper.

Second, add the ability to clear app badges the same way Notification Center can be cleared. One little X gets rid of an entire list in Notification Center, but there's no way to get rid of badges in an app without hunting down and viewing every alert individually -- if you can find them.

Thirdly, make in-app banner notifications actionable. Right now if you tap them you're ripped out of the current app and sent into the source app. Having to exit one app to respond to something as simple as an SMS or iMessage, or tweet, is irritating. BiteSMS and Messages+ for jailbreak have offered this functionality for a long time. Enhancements of this nature would make the entire experience of using the iPhone or iPad much faster and much better.

Siri API

While Siri is great at dictating notes, punching out emails, scheduling Reminders, and sending messages, it can't do anything beyond that. Yet. And even if Apple expands it to support other integrated services, like Twitter, it still wouldn't enough.

Having options like sending out a tweet via Tweetbot, or adding a task to Clear, or otherwise letting App Store apps integrate with Siri directly would be a welcome addition. Jailbreak apps such as AssistantExtensions add tons of functionality to Siri. It'd be nice to see that become official in iOS 6.

Better multitasking gestures and shortcuts

Right now the iPad has limited multitasking gesture shortcuts but the iPhone and iPod touch have none at all. Jailbreak apps like Zephyr have brought gesture shortcuts to iPhone and iPod touch, but this is really something Apple needs to slap a coat of paint on and release as stock in iOS 6.

Tabbing through apps should be easier. Sure there's the iOS 4 fast app switcher, but swiping is faster. Custom gestures for favorite app access would be great as well.

Mail enhancements

Mail has previously been given a unified inbox, threaded messages, and flags. Otherwise it's not much different from the days of iOS 1. Mail Enhancer allow jailbreakers to better handle and sort mail on their iPhone or iPad. You can color code different mail accounts so you know what account a message is from when in the unified inbox.

And for the love of all things that are good in the world, can we please have multiple signatures for mail accounts? For users with separate accounts that they use for different purposes, editing signatures can be a huge pain. I may not want a client having my home phone number but I want my friends and family seeing that in my signature. Allowing multiple signatures is the only feasible solution and hopefully it's on the slate for iOS 6.

In addition to per-account signatures, per-account mail tones would be a nice bonus. Sometimes work mail needs to stay on when personal mail does not (or vice versa).

Better Folder functionality

iOS 4 brought the addition of Folders but their functionality remains limited.. The iPhone only allows you to place 12 apps within a folder while the iPad allows 20. Sure, the iPad screen can show more apps at one time, but the difference harms users who want a consistent Home screen setup between devices. For example, if I have 15 productivity apps and keep them on both my iPhone and iPad, on my iPhone I have to have 2 folders while I only have one on my iPad.

Jailbreak apps such as Infinifolders and Folder Enhancer have been around before iOS supported folders. They've also been more functional. Both allow you to stick as many apps as you want in a folder and either page through them like you would Home screen apps or scroll vertically, whichever you choose.

Nested folders is also something jailbreak apps allow for. I frequently use this feature for game folders. I have my strategy, puzzle, adventure, action, and other types of games inside of one main games folders. Unfortunately, it's probably far too hierarchical and "file system-like" for Apple to ever consider.

Themes or Home screen refresh

It's about time for Apple to re-design the Home screen or give us a way to customize it if we want to. iOS 4 introduced the ability to set a picture as your Home screen background but besides that, the Home screen we all know hasn't changed much since the inception of iOS. There's always an argument for familiarity and experience which Apple prides themselves on but it's beginning to look a bit dated.

Jailbreakers have been theming their iPhones for years. While I don't necessarily want my iPhone looking like an Android phone, apps like Shrink allow me to change icon size while apps like Winterboard give me the ablity to change up fonts and status bar icons.

It's highly unlikely that Apple will ever integrate even an Apple exclusive Theme Store into iTunes, but at the very least it would be nice to see iOS 6 bring with it a newly designed Home screen or a few options for customization.

Your iOS 6 want list

What jailbreak apps can you not live without that you'd really like Apple to add stock? Are there any quirks or oddities in iOS that you really can't stand and use jailbreak as a solution?

Hit the link below to let us know in our forums!

Additional Resources:

• What jailbreak features do you want most in iOS 6?
• Best jailbreak apps for new iPhone users
• Jailbreak and unlock discussion forums

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a jailbreak app to manage off-device media, a sheet music app, an app for social networking, a video player that lets you watch old-school movies, and a popular virtual pinboarding app.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

XBMC for iPad - Chris Oldroyd

This week’s pick is a jailbreak app that I use all the time and is the only reason I keep my iPad jailbroken. When it comes to managing off device media the iPad with App Store apps is just not good enough. Air Video and other similar apps do a decent enough job of letting you access media on a PC or Mac but everything that is in a non Apple approved format needs to be encoded on the fly and it means the process is slow and a little ugly.

With XBMC I can connect to my NAS (Networked Attached Storage) box and access all of my content straight over my network, it plays all sorts of file types like AVI and MKV as well as MP4 and M4V all without any encoding or delay; the picture quality is excellent too. XBMC is a highly customizable app and if you are prepared to invest a little bit of time with the app itself and how you store and name your media on your NAS it can look absolutely stunning with the correct meta data.

XBMC is available as a free download from Cydia and it works on the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Steinway Etude - Gary Mazo

Last week I was in guitar mode, this week I am back in piano mode – my primary instrument. There are lots of apps for purchasing sheet music and others for instruction. What makes Steinway Etude unique is that it combines both functions in one app.

First off, Steinway Etude is a music store where you can purchase sheet music. There is a pretty good selection of music from pretty much every musical category. Most songs are about $3.00 which is not terrible compared to pricier services such as Musicnotes.

Once your music is purchased (and there are some free songs to download as well) you see it on a bookshelf – reminiscent of iBooks. Tap the song you want to play and you have the main screen. Touch the Play arrow and you will hear a midi version of the song play, following along the notes in the song. There is also a small keyboard at the bottom showing you which notes to play.

For beginners, this is a great feature; you can see how to play the song, hear how to play the song and then try to play it on your own. I usually maximize the window to just see the song – but its nice to know that if I ever did get stuck I could listen to parts of the music to help me along.

Options are a plenty in Steinway Etude. You can adjust the tempo, turn on or off the right and left hands on the keyboard below, differentiate the hands with unique colors, change the background and more.

Pages just slide left to right and page turns are quick (which is key for a music apps.) All in all, this is a very useful app with a good library of music to purchase and the ability to learn while you play.

Free - Download Now

Google+ for iPhone - George Lim

So, I’m one of those few people who still uses Google+. I’m also a sucker for gorgeous iOS apps, so when Google recently updated their Google+ app, I was happy.

The app is mainly a significant UI improvements. Its certainly easier for a human to understand, navigate and use, as well as overall being cleaner. Its clearer how you can switch between ‘Circles’ to get the posts you want. Instead of having multiple circles which you change by swiping side to side, you get one stream which is changeable through a simple drop down menu.

While not a new feature, I use Google+ hangouts on the iPhone all the time, and I think, for a 10-way video call it is implemented very well. I have a Google hangout with friends every weekend, with the app, I can join it where ever I am.

There are still some gaping holes in the app; the ability to post YouTube links and getting an embed preview, editing posts and comments, and the fact that your display picture is just a small landscape section on your menu-screen, so it doesn’t show your display picture properly.

However despite all these flaws, I still really like this app. Its certainly better than the Facebook app (even on iPad).

Free - Download Now

Video Time Machine - Seth Clifford

My pick this week is pure joy. Video Time Machine is a sweet little app that allows you to watch all kinds of things from years gone by. One of my favorite activities on YouTube (and the internet in general) is find and watch commercials and shows from my youth. The app allows you to do this with a great interface that makes searching for a time period easy. You just roll the dial back to the year you want, select the type of content you want to see (TV, music, ads, trailers, video games, sports, etc.) and the app serves up the goods. Sharing to Facebook and Twitter is baked in, so you can get your friends in on it quickly too. There's no direct search right now, but that's also what makes it kind of cool - it's kind of like a jukebox on random. And it's a universal app that supports AirPlay, so if you want to throw it up on the big screen, you can do so.

I'm really digging it, and I hope that more content gets added as time goes on. It's the perfect way to kill a few minutes and put a smile on your face.

$2.99 - Download Now

Pinterest - Leanna Lofte

When the Pinterest for iPhone app first released, I hated it. It was terribly buggy and miserable to use. It's had several updates since then and it's now a great app. It's beautiful and runs great. I go through phases with Pinterest, but now that they have a solid iPhone app, there's a good chance I'll use it more regularly. What would seal the deal, though, would be if they updated Pinterest to be universal for the iPad as well. Hopefully soon!

Free - Download Now

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

Planning events and get-togethers is never a fun task because it's difficult to find a date and time that works for everyone. Invy removes this stress by doing the hard work for you. All you have to do is create the event with several possible dates and invite your friends. Once everyone responds, choose the date that works for most people.

When you first launch Invy, you are prompted to choose which email you want to be associated with Invy. You can add more emails as well. So if you plan to receive invites from both your personal and work emails, you can add both accounts to Invy so that all your invites are in one place.

The design of Invy is very clean and modern. On the main screen, you'll see all your invites and events. When creating an event, you are prompted to enter a title, location, and select recipients. Then you choose as many possible dates as you want. Obviously, the more dates and times you choose, the better chance you have one of them working for everyone.

Left: invite on the web. Right: invite in Invy for iPhone

When you send the invite, all the invitees will receive an email, and if they use the Invy app, they'll also receive a push notification informing them of the invite. For those who don't use the app, they can just click the link in the email to view the invite on the web. The web is formatted to look exactly like the app. Invitees must then check the boxes for the dates they're available.

If you select a date that conflicts with an event in the built-in Calendar app, Invy will warn you of the conflict. This is super cool, except for the part where Envy considers all-day events, including birthdays and holidays, as a schedule conflict.

Invy also includes a chat room for each event, so that invitees can discuss details (or whatever they want). This can be done both from the iPhone app and the web.

Once everyone has RSVP'd (or it's time to make a decision), you can view the invite to see who has RSVP'd to what dates and tap "choose this date". Once you do so, all the invitees will receive a notification (either by iPhone or by email) informing them that a date has been picked. Invy will also add the event to Calendar for you.

The good

• Pretty and modern UI
• Quick and easy to use
• Invy checks Calendar for schedule conflicts
• When you select the final date for an event, Invy adds it to Calendar
• Chat with invitees

The bad

• Invy considers all day events, including birthdays and holidays, as dates that you already have plans

The conclusion

If I ever have to plan any sort of meetup, even just coffee with a few friends, I'm turning straight to Invy. It's super easy to use and makes it much easier to figure out when everyone is available than speaking to each person individually. In fact, I'm now hoping that I'm given the task of choosing a date for some get-together just so that I have an excuse to use Invy. Is that weird?

$1.99 - Download Now

Noir Photo is a fantastic iPhone and iPad app for converting your photos into monochromatic images. This includes black and white conversions with the ability to add sepia, silver, blue-gray, or chartreuse tints to further set the mood.

Noir Photo has a very simple and easy to use UI. At the top of the screen, you'll see your photo. On the iPhone, if the photo is portrait, it will rotate to landscape so that you can see the entire image. The bottom half of the screen is where you'll find all the editing tools. Along the top of this section is 6 preset buttons. After choosing the one you think best works for your photo, you can fine tune the inner exposure, outer exposure, and contrast with the dials. You can also use pinch to zoom on the photo to fine-tune the placement and size of the vignette and drag the points to adjust its shape. Lastly, you can choose from the four different tints: sepia (brown-ish), silver, blue-gray, or chartreuse (green-ish).

You can also view your photo in full screen by hiding the editing controls. In full screen mode, you can still adjust the vignetting and choose from the presets. You cannot fine-tune the exposures and contrast, though.

Personally, I would rather have access to the different tints than the presets when in full screen mode. After I've adjusted my photo, I like to switch into full screen mode to get a closer look and see if it looks right. Because the presets are also color coated, I tapped them thinking I could see what my photo looked like with a different tint. To my dismay, all my settings I just finished perfecting got undone in favor of the preset. Noir Photo does not have an undo button, so this is annoying, to say the least.

The good

• Fast
• Easy to use
• 4 different tints
• Adjust outer/inner exposures and contrast
• Adjust the vignetting
• Maximum 2592x2592 output resolution
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• No undo button

The conclusion

Noir Photo does a great job at monochromatic and black and white conversions. If you're participating in this week's black and white photography contest, you may want to check this one out.

$2.99 - Download Now

Svpply offers fun, beautiful, and social way to shop from a a curated collection of products and stores from around the world from your iPhone and iPad. Featuring over 70,000 stores and brands and 1.1 million products, a gorgeous UI, and a way to follow what your friends buy and want, Svpply is a shopper's dream come true.

Svpply is broken down into six categories: men's women's, tech, media, home, art, and other. Selecting one of these categories will break down into even more categories, making it easy to shop for a specific type of item. Selecting a most specific sub-category isn't a requirement, however, so if you just want to browse general categories, you can.

In addition to browsing by category, Svpply also lets you search. I found this to be the only way to could shop for children and baby products, as there is no category for kids.

When viewing an item, a larger version of the photo is displayed, as well as it's price range, name, and which store it's from. You can then choose to mark it as something you want, collect it into a personal collection, or buy. Tapping buy will send you to the vendor's website in the built-in browser. Unfortunately, this is the only way to actually view more photos of the item. I wish Svpply gathered all of the photos from the store's website, not just one.

If you keep scrolling down the items page, you can see which people want it and browse through similar items. If you added the item to a collection, you can also view that collection. Lastly, you can view any comments that have been made about the item and leave a comment of your own.

Once you've marked some items as "want" and created some collections, you can head over to the "You" tab to view these items. There is also a category of things you own, but I cannot figure how to actually add items to this category.

The feed is where you can see the activity of your friends (who have been added by connecting your account with Twitter or Facebook). You can filter your feed by category, gender, and price. As you scroll through your feed, you'll the products that your friends have recently said they want with options to want or collect them yourself.

The good

• Adds a social element to shopping
• Beautiful UI
• Create personal collections
• Lots of categories and sub-categories
• over 70,000 stores and brands
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• No kids category
• Must tap buy and visit vendor's website to see more photos
• Can't figure out to mark that you own an item
• Can't connect to both Twitter and Facebook, only one

The conclusion

I really enjoy using Svpply to window shop for anything from clothing, shoes, decorations, and art. I haven't actually purchased anything yet, but Svpply is working as a bookmarking system for me to reference when I'm ready to buy. Creating personal collections reminds of Pinterest -- in a good way.

Free - Download Now

If you're looking to bake some delicious cake, pastries, cookies, or breads, look no further than The Photo Cookbook - Baking for iPhone and iPad. It's packed with gorgeous photos of not only the final product, but also of what each stage of the process should look like.

The Photo Cookbook - Baking is a universal app for iPhone and iPad, but I'm going to be using screenshots from the iPad version. Both versional offer the exact same functionality and content.

On the home screen of The Photo Cookbook - Baking you'll see four different columns, each one representing a different category: cakes & traybakes, pastries, small cakes & cookies, and breads. Each entry is represent by a gorgeous photograph of the delicious product. You can also scroll each column independently. There are 15 recipes in each category, totaling 60 total recipes.

When viewing a recipe, you'll first see a list of all the ingredients followed by a photo of all these ingredients separated into their portions. Tapping on one of the ingredients in the photo will pop up more info about it, including another photo, description, preparation, and designations.

As you scroll down this page, you'll see all the steps in the recipe. With each step, there is a photograph of how your creation should look at this stage of the baking process. Some of the steps are shown side-by-side, while others are shown full-width. At the end of each recipe, a gorgeous photograph will demonstrate what your final baked good should look like. For example, check out these double ginger cupcakes.

Yum!

At the top right of the screen, there are three icons that let you mark the recipe as a favorite, take notes, or email the ingredients list. In a perfect world, The Photo Cookbook - Baking would be able to create a new Reminders list titled "double ginger cupcakes" and list out all the ingredients needed. But, alas, the iOS 5 SDK does not allow this. Maybe in iOS 6?

The good

• Gorgeous photography
• Easy read and follow steps
• Pictures of ingredients in their portions are helpful
• Pictures with each step is helpful
• 60 recipes in 4 categories

The bad

• Would like to see more categories and recipes. No pie?

The conclusion

I feel like The Photo cookbook was designed specifically for me. Although I don't like to cook, I love to bake, and I also refuse to use cookbooks without pictures. I want to know what the final product is supposed to look like, and The Photo Cookbook - Baking takes that idea way farther by showing photos of ingredients and how your creation should look at each stage - and these photos are gorgeous!

Now excuse me. I have some double ginger cupcakes to make.

$4.99 - Download Now

iMore's authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free ebook, comic book, and article reading apps for iPad

Looking for great free reading apps for your iPad? The App Store is home to over half a million apps and games, and a surprising number of them are available for free. Some of the most popular free apps are free reading apps. We're talking ebooks, comic books, web articles, and more. So start reading, and then start downloading!

iBooks

iBooks is Apple's free ebook and PDF reading app for iPad. It's a stylish way to read not only books purchased from the iBookstore, but all the free books from the massive Project Gutenberg library as well as any of your own ePub or PDF files.

• Download Now

Readability

Readability offers a gorgeous way to read articles from your favorite website without the distraction of ads and other fluff -- for free! You simply set up your free account and add articles with a bookmarklet . A lot of other apps, like Twitter, offer Readability support so that you can add articles directly from those apps.

• Download Now

Kindle

The free Kindle App for iPad is Amazon's ebook reader. Unlike Apple's iBooks, Kindle is cross-platform. If you already have a large Kindle book collection, free or otherwise, or you just want to keep your options open for the future, Kindle is a great choice.

Comics

Comics isn't only the best way to buy new Marvel, DC, Image, and other comic books, but it also includes 500 free comics and one of the best reading interfaces in the App Store!

• Download now

Pocket

Pocket -- the new name for Read it Later -- is a free iPad app that lets you save optimized version of articles and photos and just about anything you encounter on the web and social networks for offline viewing at your leisure and convenience. (You can save videos too, but still need to be online to watch them later.)

• Download Now

More free iPad apps

For dozens of additional free iPad apps, including free instant messenger and communications apps, education apps, entertainment apps, finance apps, fun and games apps, health and fitness apps, kids apps, music apps, navigation and location apps, news apps, photography apps, productivity apps, reading apps, shopping apps, sports apps, travel apps, and general utility apps, see here:

• Best free iPad apps

Leanna Lofte contributed significant sections and photographs to this article.

Going to the supermarket has finally reached the 21st Century, thanks to the iPhone and Stop & Shop

If you live in New England, New York or New Jersey and shop at Stop & Shop, now you not only can you bring your own bags, but you can use your iPhone to scan your groceries and then check out of the store. When it works, it is a blast.

Now Shopping apps aren't new –- we highlight some in our recent best free apps post.  The nice thing about shopping apps is that they can really make our lives easier and allow us to see the iPhone for the productivity tool it can be.

I’m usually a pretty agreeable and social guy –- I like to talk and spend time interacting with friends and family; I just don’t enjoy interacting with most people who work at the grocery store or retail stores. When I shop (which I hate to do) I definitely employ the male stereotypical “hunter” mentality. I go in knowing what I want, I find it on my own, I buy it and I leave. Pretty simple.

Grocery shopping used to be a challenge for me – so I would make it a game with my kids. My goal would be to get in and out of the super-market without having forced human interaction with anyone. Usually I failed miserably.

Then, our local Stop & Shop introduced those little Scan it “guns” that you check out with your card, scan your stuff and then check out at a self check out. For the most part, this was a good solution – but you had to walk around with those dumb looking “wands” that inevitably ran out of charge or malfunctioned.

Stop & Shop has introduced the new SCAN IT! mobile app for iPhone and Android. The concept is pretty simple – download the app, input your loyalty card number and then connect to their special WiFi network in the store. Use the phone to scan your stuff and then scan an “exit code” and pay at a self-checkout. Sometimes, however, things in concept work better than they do in reality.

Once the app is downloaded, you will be prompted to input your Stop & Shop loyalty card number so that when you use the app –- it always knows who you are and credits your account with the loyalty points and coupons. Once the app is set up and ready to go, your phone will automatically connect to the Scan It mobile WiFi network in the store – you just need to make sure that you have WiFi turned on and have your phone set to discover available networks. .

Touch the Scan button to begin your shopping trip. Scanned item and any discounts are shown.

Once you are connected, just touch the Scan It icon along the bottom row. The screen changes and a yellow Scan   button appears. Touch the Scan button and simply point your iPhone screen at the bar code of the product you wish to buy. Any in-store promotions are automatically reflected in the price and the item gets scanned and put into your cart automatically. Just let the camera focus on its own on the bar code and it scans it, applies discounts and puts it in your cart – very simple and cool.

One of the more annoying features of the app is that occasionally as you walk by something that is on sale a loud cash register sound is played and a coupon for the sale item shows on the screen. You can always just ignore it – but clearly it tries to get your attention to things on sale and it does a pretty good job of that.

Promotional offers pop up when you walk in front of things that are on sale. Touch the Cart button to check and see what you have already scanned.

You can always touch the Check Cart button to see what you have in your cart, what your running total is and how much you have saved on this trip. There is also a button to tap to remove an item from your cart – just touch that button and scan the item you want to remove – so far, pretty simple and lots of fun.

Achilles was the classic Greek hero – part of the Trojan war and prominent figure in Homer’s the Iliad.  Achilles had that one weak spot, however –- an arrow to his heel did him in. The “Achilles Heel” of using the SCAN IT mobile app is the checkout.

In fairness, I had several successful checkouts using the SCAN IT! app.  There is one flaw in the system, however, and that is that when you scan the “end shopping trip” bar code with your iPhone, you are still then required to produce your physical loyalty card and scan that at the register. It makes much more sense – since they system already knows your card number – to have your final scanning using the phone accomplish that task – but, the extra step, and, thus, the need to still have your plastic loyalty card with you – makes this somewhat cumbersome at checkout.

I can live with all that – but one recent experience at the checkout was absolutely maddening. I scanned the “end shopping” code with my phone and I then got a code displayed on my screen.

The LCD screen on the register said “Assistance Needed” which is code word for the dreaded audit. An employee comes and has to manually scan five or six items to make sure you are not defrauding the system. I get it – but it happens every fourth or fifth trip to the store, which is annoying.

The dreaded secret code for "you have been audited". So much for getting out of the store without talking to any employees.

Using the iPhone and SCAN IT! app, however – the experience shows all the flaws in the system. First and employee came over and said “I don’t know what to do since you used your phone.” So, a second employee came over – now forcing me to interact with yet another grocery store employee – and said:” I need to take your card and go get a scanning wand and come back.” So, the iPhone app, which is supposed to eliminate the need for the card and the scanning wand, now created a situation where the card and the wand were necessary to check out. The employee scanned the requisite number of items with the wand – which is so 2011 – and then I had to rescan my plastic card and then I could check out. Essentially, for that trip, the app on the iPhone was almost useless.

The good

• Very convenient
• Easy to set up and use
• When it works, it makes shopping almost fun

The bad

• The checkout process is not well thought out
• When it works, it makes shopping almost fun

The conclusion

While SCAN IT! mobile shows lots of promise, there are still a few bugs to work out - especially the entire checkout process. This is a very usable app and really shows how stores are quickly understanding how consumers want to use their phones as productivity tools to make the little things in life easier - like grocery shopping.

Free - Download now

Do you use a grocery checkout app for your iPhone? We’d love to hear your experiences in our forums.

Instapaper is the original "read later" service that lets you save web pages for offline reading in a highly optimized, distraction free format. It also syncs them between your iOS devices and the Instapaper web site, so you can catch up on your reading pretty much anywhere. A recent update includes some very nice visuals with iBooks-style page-turning animations and gestures.

For those who don't like page-turning animation because they feel it's too slow, you'll be happy to know that the pagination mode has also been improved to be lightning fast and more accurate.

Some other changes include a new draggable dot bar to replace the scroll bat in pagination mode, new two-finger-swpie gesture to close an article, automatic full-screen switching, the ability to share Drafts and Quotebook apps, and you can now select the Twilight Sepia color tint at any time.

I'm a big fan of Instapaper. It's gorgeous and rock solid, but with other great contenders like Readability and Pocket, you may also want to check out our Instapaper vs Pocket vs Readability: Read later app for iPhone shootout.

$4.99 - Download Now

Gameloft has launched N.O.V.A. 3, the next step to their sci-fi first-person-shooter franchise for iPhone and iPad. This time, you're taking to the streets of Earth, engaging in gripping firefights with a bunch of high-tech weaponry and vehicles. As with previous games, there's full support for multiplayer, spanning 6 modes and including up to 12 players, but there's also a ten-level single-player campaign to get you warmed up. Vehicles now let more than one player hop in, which promises to be a ton of fun when playing online. There's no Game Center support, since Gameloft has their own setup for multiplayer and achievements, but N.O.V.A. 3  is optimized for the new iPad.

The N.O.V.A. franchise has been around for awhile, and has been a staple for the quality of mobile first-person-shooters in many respects. Modern Combat, another one of Gameloft's brands, has very much done the same, only it targeted the Modern Warfare and Call of Duty crowd rather than the hardcore Halo players.

Personally, I'm itching to give this a shot. Are you?

$6.99 - Download now

Same gorgeous gravitational Astronut action of the iPhone version, now in impressive iPad size.

Astronut for iPad is an interstellar treasure of a game. Created by the amazing Iconfactory, the talented team behind Twitterrific and Ramp Champ, the premise is as simple as it is fun. You ricochet through deep space, using the gravity of planets and other celestial bodies to slingshot you in just the right direction to avoid hostile aliens and inhospitable singularities, and collect shards and other rewards.

Initially released for the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad version takes all of the fun of the original and kicks it up to warp speed on the bigger, vaster iPad screen in full on Retina glory. What's more, if you already have the iPhone version, you can use it as a controller for the iPad version.

Play mechanics remain the same as the iPhone version. As your Astronut hurtles through the void, you can jump from one celestial body to another, and turbo charge your jump when your boost is available. Because the iPad is physically bigger than the iPhone, the controls have been repositioned. You hold the iPad in portrait mode and tap the virtual buttons on the side. Bonus levels can be controlled by tilting the iPad. (Or, as previously mentioned, you can also use the iPhone to control the action.) They're clear and consistent enough that, after a few tastefully inserted tips fly by in the early levels, you'll be all set.

Astronut boasts 6 sectors and 24 levels. Unlike the iPhone version where you can upgrade to the full version of Astronut via in-app purchase, the iPad version charges you up front and gives you all the levels right away. There are 40 challenging achievements to unlock, and full Game Center support so you can not only beat your friends, but let everyone know you beat them.

The design is gorgeous, as you might expect from an Iconfactory app. But Astronut is not just pixel pretty -- the sound design is fantastic as well.

If you liked Astronut on the iPhone, you'll love it on the big iPad screen. If you haven't tried Astronut yet, the iPad version is a great way to start.

The good

• Looks great, sounds great, plays great
• Casual but captivating
• iPhone controllable

The bad

• Settings are buried (I'm scrounging here.)

The conclusion

There are few things better in this world than native iOS games made by native iOS developers. From pixel to bit, Astronut for iPad captures every spark of awesome ignited by the iPhone original and translates it perfectly the iPad. I still can't tell you who'd win in a fight, a caveman or an astronaut, but I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Astronut is all win.

$1.99 - Buy now

The Google+ for iPhone app received a major makeover earlier today, and boy is it beautiful! The new Stream shows off large photos and includes many new little animations that really catch the eye.

Each story in your stream is topped with the author's profile photo and name. Behind the name is a dark, transparent bar that also displays a zoomed, horizontal chunk of the user's profile picture. As you scroll through your stream, the photos in these banners will also scroll every so slightly. It's not super obviously, but if you pay attention, you'll see it.

While scrolling, when you reach a new story you haven't seen on your screen, yet, the banner will quickly fade into the screen slightly enlarged, then quickly fall back down to normal size. I think this animation is very cool, but others have complained that all the new movements make them dizzy.

If the stories published on your stream are photos, or links with hero photos, then the pictures will be displayed in full width, front and center. At the top of the photo, you'll see the caption or comment about the story. In the bottom left you'll see a comment button and count, and in the bottom right is the +1 count. Tapping the +1 count will add a +1 on your behalf.

I'm going to pause for moment here to mention something about sharing links. If you share a link to Google+ from the plus.google.com interface, Google+ will grab an image from the article to display with the link. But if you paste a link into the sharing screen with the Google+ app for iPhone, it displays as just a simple, boring hyperlink. (See the screenshot of Rene's status above). Lame.

When sharing a status or photo with your circles, you can choose which circles to include, whether or not to attach your location, and take a photo from within the app, or choose one from your Camera Roll.

From the main menu, you can quickly access you Stream, profile, messenger, photos, and circles. You can also turn on Instant Upload to sync the photos on your phone to a private Google+ album, video chat with up to 9 friends with mobile Hangouts in Messenger, chat with multiple friends at once, and check out Nearby and What's Hot streams.

The Good

• Gorgeous
• Instant Upload syncs photos from your phone to a private Google+ album
• Video chat with up to 9 friends with mobile Hangouts
• Chat with multiple friends at once
• What’s Hot and Nearby streams

The Bad

• Sharing links doesn't include a photo
• No iPad support

The Conclusion

I've very impressed with the new and improved Google+ for iPhone app. It's absolutely stunning and a joy to use. Sure, it has some annoyances like not showing photos when sharing a link, but it's still an improvements over the previous version. My biggest gripe about Google+, however, is the lack of users and activity. If all my friends and family used Google+, I'd be all over it. Unfortunately, they do not. So it looks like I'm stuck with Facebook for now.

Free - Download Now

PayAnywhere is not a new service. They have been around for a while, and process 10 billion dollars annually for hundreds of thousands of businesses already signed up. Now there are no shortage of options when it comes to processing payments on the go. Square has been around for a while, PayPal has introduced their services, and there are various others as well. While many have found comfort in the Square reader, the app itself is very basic and that can limit its appeal. Whether you are looking for a new service to test out, looking for something that offers added features, or just an app that looks better, you'll want to check out PayAnywhere.

So what makes PayAnywhere different? Well, the app is designed with the business user in mind. Receipts are customized with company information, users can input an inventory of items with set pricing to use, and there are a slew of other features as well. Take a beautiful and easy to use app, and then add in the fact that their processing fee is lower than anyone else out there, and it becomes quite enticing.

PayAnywhere is offering their reader for free when you contact them, and if you are in a larger business they'll send you as many readers as you need.

Recently, Google gave their social network, Google+, a complete makeover on its website, but the iOS app was still left in the cold. However, today, Google+ for iPhone received an well needed facelift.

The new user interface is entirely different to its predecessor, opting for a sleek black theme across the app. The stream now displays larger images with larger profile images so you can easily who is posting, or sharing. They’ve removed the old side-by-side navigation of ‘circles’ and replaced it with a simple single drop down menu which makes it much easier to change which circle you are viewing, so you can view the posts from the people who are important to you.

One massive update is that you can now finally start ‘Hangouts’ on the go through the messenger. Just start a conversation with a single friend or circle; and then tap on the ‘camera’ icon.

Unfortunately, there is still no sign of an iPad app.

Will this iPhone app update get you interested in Google+ again?

FREE - Download Now

There was a time when power users simply had to jailbreak their iPhone as a matter of necessity. If you wanted to get any serious work done with iOS, you had to jailbreak. If you wanted apps, if you wanted copy and paste, if you wanted multitasking, if you wanted proper notifications and Lock screen info, if you wanted Wi-Fi sync, if you wanted any number of features users of other platforms took for granted, you had to jailbreak.

But iOS has evolved. Year after year, Apple has added features, sometimes copied them directly from jailbreak. And each time, the functionality gap closes, the reasons to jailbreak become fewer, and the number of users who jailbreak become fewer along with it.

iOS 5 was the turning point for many. Could iOS 6 be the final straw? Could we be approaching a future where Jailbreak has little or no legitimate place in most iPhone and iPad users lives?

The good of the many vs the good of the few -- or the you

Almost all the big ticket innovations that Apple has brought to iOS, jailbreak brought first. Prior to iOS 5, to pick but one recent example, if you wanted real, unobtrusive, notifications, you had to jailbreak and install apps like IntelliscreenX and LockInfo. MobileNotifier had a strong influence on the way that Notification Center handles notifications today.

With iOS 5 Apple introduced Notification Center. And they did them in a way that catered to the mainstream. There are no difficult settings to weed through or overwhelming menus and options like you find in LockInfo or IntelliscreenX. Is Notification Center perfect? Certainly not. But it's easy. And that's what matters to the majority of consumers.

IntelliscreenX and LockInfo do far more, far better than Notification Center, but to many former jailbreakers, Notification Center does enough, good enough, that they'll stop jailbreaking and just make do.

Not everyone, but a significant number of people.

Innovation at the speed of freedom

Apple only releases one new version of iOS a year (or 16 months last year). While they have interim updates in between, those are adding increasingly fewer new features, and never add major, system-level changes. Jailbreak, by contrast, never stops. New tweaks and new utilities are always being developed and released.

That means jailbreak is typically faster at discovering and delivering new features. While the masses may not know they need a feature or function until Apple gives it to them, power users typically want it before Apple can or is willing to give it to them. To keep to the same example, jailbreak users had LockInfo and IntelliscreenX and Mobile Notifier long before Notification Center shipped.

Whether this year will bring with it a newly designed Home screen or other major new feature, odds are it really won't be that ground breaking to jailbreak users.

In this aspect, jailbreak will continue to be a breeding ground for many developers that want to push the limits of what the iPhone and iPad are capable of. They'll bring the future to us today.

But again, the amount of users who need a cutting edge level of functionality is less now than it used to be. Apple has taken care of the low hanging fruit and for the most part, only niche-needs remain to be filled. That means less people will go through the trouble to jailbreak because it's increasingly not worth it for them. Good enough is good enough and perfect isn't worth the trouble it takes to get it.

The rejection objection

Many developers that find themselves rejected by Apple for one reason or another have used Cydia, the jailbreak app store, as a way to distribute their apps. Whether Apple rejected an app because they manipulated the iOS file system, or because it duplicated -- and sometimes improved! -- the functionality of a built in app, or because it hooked into and changed a part of the system Apple simply doesn't want changed, Cydia (or another jailbreak app store) remains the only way to get certain apps.

However, while there are apps that Apple will never let onto the App Store under current policies, Apple is rejecting less apps than they used to. Often there will be some neutered version of an app that does something similar, and unless a user really needs a specific prohibited feature, they'll increasingly suck it up and make do with the App Store. Again, good enough.

Themes and toggles and tweaks, oh my

Even though Apple adds more and more native functionality with each major revision of iOS, there will always be a niche group of advanced users that want to customize and fine tune their experience beyond what Apple allows. This holds true for rooting and homebrew communities on other, more "open" platforms as well. For some of us, there's just never enough. We'll customize and flash down to the ROM level if we can.

For the iPhone and iPad, whether it's a new look for the Home screen and icons, fast access to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or other Settings, or system extensions for Notification Center, folders, Siri, or more, there's almost no chance Apple can will meet these needs, especially not any time soon.

These jailbreakers are still jailbreaking, and likely will for a longtime to come.

Illegitimate interests

While we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to app theft here on iMore, we simply can't talk jailbreak without facing the reality that some segment of the user base jailbreaks simply to steal apps. Those are the users that will probably continue to jailbreak regardless of how much functionality Apple adds. They could care less. It doesn't matter how nice Starbucks is inside if all someone wants to do is steal coffee.

It's a sad reality but one that exists on almost every platforms, mobile or otherwise.

Those who jailbreak to steal aren't the ones that keep Cydia going. If they're stealing App Store apps, they're most likely not paying for jailbreak apps. The users who support jailbreak open their wallets to support the jailbreak community -- they like paying for apps and themes and tweaks because they know that's how they'll get more of them. Same for app store apps (and coffee!)

Some users will continue to jailbreak to steal apps, but if that's ever the only reason left to jailbreak, the community would likely stop looking for exploits, creating tools, and making great jailbreak software. It's a dead end.

(Considering Cydia is still chugging along, arguably better than ever, it's a good sign that there are still many users out there who jailbreak for legitimate reasons.)

A tale of two systems

As iOS becomes more refined and functional, certain users who used to jailbreak find it no longer worth their effort, and they either settle into, or settle for, stock. However, Apple will never be able to please everyone. In fact, pleasing everyone is the opposite of Apple's philosophy. Apple will continue to make the iPhone that Tim Cook and Jony Ive and Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall want to own and use. That will suit the mainstream just fine, but it will continue to leave many other users wanting more or different.

There may be less casual jailbreakers now than there were before, and there may be less reason for average users to jailbreak now than before. Good enough may be good enough for many.

But not for everyone, and not for those for whom better or perfect is a very personal, sometimes changing target.

iOS may make more and more users happy, but jailbreak will remain, giving advanced levels of control and customization, and allowing users to "beta test" the future. The users that will be interested in doing that are the tinkerers, hackers, and mobile enthusiasts. These are the users that see a new piece of tech and have to have it or want to find a way to get their current device to duplicate another platform's functionality before Apple decides they can have it. While this will always be the case for some, it isn't the case for many.

You can never predict the future. Apple or the carriers could crack down on something that drives more users to jailbreak again. A breakthrough new feature could appear on a competing platform and jailbreak could once again offer it well in advance of Apple. But it will never be the same as the heady days when you had to jailbreak just to run apps, or just to use an iPhone outside the U.S.

Jailbreak under iOS 5 is not what it was under iOS 4 and the same will most likely hold true with every iteration of iOS to come. As more features are added and the needs of many would-be jailbreakers are met, the numbers will continue to dwindle and users that once swore by jailbreak will find themselves weighing out whether or not jailbreak holds value for them anymore. At some point, iOS will cross the threshold of being good enough for some jailbreakers to being good enough for many.

And that's okay. Because the jailbreakers who are left will be just as passionate and just as needy as always. There may be less as a percentage of the total user base, but those who remain, who still want jailbreak, will really want it. They'll need it.

And that -- sense of shared purpose more than any number of people -- is what makes a community.

Getting ready to take the written driving exam to get or renew your license? For many of us, this exam is very stressful and difficult to pass since it always asks questions involving scenarios that we don't regularly encounter. With DMV Genius, you can study for this exam while on the go.

DMV Genius is a free app to download, but restricts you to just one exam from three states. For $2.99, you can unlock four more exams in any state. Each state is a separate purchase.

Each sample test comes with 20 multiple choice questions. These questions are tailored specifically for your state and are very similar to what you would see on the real exam. In fact, many of the questions are identical to questions you'll encounter on the on the actual test.

Each question in DMV Genius has 4 multiple choice options. Simply tap the answer you think is correct. If you're right, it will highlight with green and receive a little checkmark. If you get the question wrong, a pop up will appear telling you you're wrong and an explanation of the correct answer. The selection will also be highlighted with red.

With each question, you can also ask for a hint.

Once you answer all 20 question in DMV Genius, you'll be informed if you failed or passed and the statistical breakdown of your score. Each time you retake a test, the questions get shuffled.

The Good

• Awesome way to prepare for the written driving test
• Questions are real questions that may appear on your test
• Hints and explanations for each question

The Bad

• If a choice is too long, it scrolls

The Conclusion

DMV Genius is a fantastic way to study for that pesky writing driving test, especially for teens or anyone who's taking the test for the first time. And since it's on your iPhone, you can study while experiencing those horrid wait times at DMV right before your test!

Free - Download Now

iMore's authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free social networking apps for iPhone and iPod touch

Looking for great free social networking apps for your iPhone or iPod touch? The App Store is home to over half a million apps and games, and a surprising number of them are available for free. Some of the most popular free apps are -- surprise, surprise -- free social networking apps. We're talking Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, Path, and more. So start reading, and then start downloading!

Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social network on the planet, and it's always been one of the most popular free apps on the iPhone. Inside the free Facebook app, you can update your status, view photos, and check into your location. You can also keep up with your news feed, messages, events, pages, chat, as well as upload your photos and videos, and much, much more. (And if you're looking for more friends, check out our Facebook name swap thread!)

• Download Now

Twitter

Twitter and the iPhone go together like chocolate and peanut butter, and the free, official Twitter app for iPhone is the best way to get started finding cool celebrities and interesting internet personalities to follow, and trending topics to get involved with. (And be sure to check out our Twitter name swap thread to find other iMore members to tweet with!)

• Download Now

Twitterrific

Twitterrific was the very first Twitter app for iPhone and it remains one of the best to this day. With a combined view for the ultimate in Twitter reading experiences, Tweetmarker support, and and iPad and Mac version, If you're not brand new to Twitter and want at free Twitter app with a less mainstream, more traditional focus, then you want Twitterrific.

• Download Now

Google+

The free Google+ app for iPhone gives you instant access to your Google account, and instant uploads for your photos. Share to your circles, read updates from your stream, and join mobile hangouts.

• Download Now

LinkedIn

With the LinkedIn app for iPad, you will have on-the-go access to your professional network. You can keep up with the latest news and keep up with your groups and share content.

• Download now

Path

Path is a free Smart Journal app that helps you share life with the ones you love — your thoughts, the music you’re listening to, where you are, who you’re with, when you wake and when you sleep, and beautiful high quality photos and videos

• Download now

Pinterest

Pinterest is the new, rapidly growing, free social network that let's you pin photos, articles, recipes, or anything you think is cool, to your virtual pinboard. With the free Pinterest for iPhone app, you can view the pins of your friends, repin, like, and comment on your favorite pins, and pin directly from your camera.

• Download Now

Soundcloud

Almost every social networking app lets you share photos. The free Soundcloud app for iPhone lets you share music, voice memos, noises, and more. Record them where ever you are and share them to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more.

• Download now

Find my Friends

Find My Friends lets you easily locate your friends and family from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Whether you're on a family trip to a theme park or just want to meet up with some acquaintances for a drink, Find my Friends can make sure everyone knows where everyone else is.

• Download now

More free iPhone apps

For dozens of additional free iPhone apps, including free instant messenger and communications apps, education apps, entertainment apps, finance apps, fun and games apps, health and fitness apps, kids apps, music apps, navigation and location apps, news apps, photography apps, productivity apps, reading apps, shopping apps, sports apps, travel apps, and general utility apps, see here:

• Best free iPhone apps

Leanna Lofte contributed significant sections and photographs to this article.

Instacast 2.0 is a significant update to one of the most popular iPhone podcast clients. It changes the user interface and user experience while lowering the entry price and adding an in-app purchase for additional functionality. Both of those things have caused some controversy. Our own Seth Clifford, co-host of iPhone & iPad Live and Iterate is clearly on the "ticked off" side of this particular equation. And he's clearly got his Hulk pants on for this one.

Instacast released its 2.0 update yesterday to some Twitter fanfare. As a regular user of the app, I updated immediately. Now, to be clear, I don't love Instacast. In fact, I have lots of personal issues with it. But as a regular listener of podcasts, it sucked the least of all the apps I've tried, and I've tried many. I wish so much that Apple would add even the most basic subscription support for podcasts to iOS within the native music app, but they haven't, and it doesn't look like they will any time soon.

What I found after updating was an interface that remained just as abstruse as the initial one, with the "added value" of reduced functionality. Most notably, the default behavior for podcasts downloaded within the app was altered. The original behavior of the app was that when podcasts were downloaded, they would stack up in a list, from oldest at the top to newest at the bottom. Now that order is reversed, to list the newest at the top. Which fundamentally changes the only way I listen to shows.

Read the rest of it via the link below. To be fair, there are some people who seem to really like the Instacast update. I haven't spent any real time with it yet, but plan to. The previous version, as Seth states in his article, had significant usability problems (as do all the iOS podcast clients I've tried).

Source: Seth Clifford

If you're a student taking a math class, there's a good chance you could benefit from a graphing calculator. Unfortunately, such devices are very expensive, but the good news is that there are several app solutions for your iPhone and iPad -- the best being Quick Graph.

Quick Graph is a fantastic graphing calculator that lets you graph multiple equations at the same time, change their color, and also view the mathematical notation of equations being graphed by nicely formatting fractions and exponents You can toggle equations on and off by tapping the symbol that looks like an eye.

When you add or edit an equation, a keyboard pops up with math symbols, operations, and functions. There are six available variables: x, y, z, r, theta, and phi, depending on if you are graphing 2D or 3D equation in rectangular or polar form.

After adding an equation, you can change its color from the 24 preset colors or from the color wheel. You can also adjust the opacity which is great for graphing inequalities.

In addition to graphing equation, you can also solve them. For example, if you want to solve 2x+5 for x=10, you type "x=5;2x+5" and the answer will appear right below your entry.

To trace a graph, simply hold your finger down on the screen and the points associated with the x value of where your finger is will pop up. If you have more than one equation, points will appear on all of them. The coordinates associated with the points will appear over the points.

You can also interact with the graph by pinching to zoom in and out and scrolling to pan around. If you want to reset the window, just tap the refresh button.

As previously mentioned, you are not limited to just 2-dimensional Cartesian graphs. You can also graph in polar form and 3D. Interacting with 3D graphs is quite awesome. I am impressed with how smooth the Quick Graph runs when rotating the object around.

One of the great (paid) features of Quick Graph for instructors is the support for VGA out. However, when projecting the app, only the graph is shown. This is disappointing because it would be helpful for students to be able to see how equations are entered since it can sometimes be tricky. Seeing which equations are graphed and the colors associated with them is also helpful for students.

Advanced Features

Quick Graph is a free app that includes a lot of features. However, if you want to plot more than six equations at once, graph inequalities and implicit equations, use 2D tracing and independent 2D zoom, and project the app with VGA, you'll need to pick up the $1.99 in-app upgrade. I must say, I am very impressed with how much is included for free and find the $2 purchase to be quite a steal.

The Good

• Rectangular an polar forms
• 2D and 3D graphing
• Dark and light themes
• Includes a very helpful user manual
• Advanced features are only $1.99
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Does not support iPad Retina display
• VGA out only displays graph. No mirroring option.

The Conclusion

Quick Graph is a fantastic graphing calculator for the iPhone and iPad. It runs super smooth and, as its name implies, is super quick. The biggest disappointment for me is that Quick Graph doesn't yet support the new iPad's Retina display, but I'm sure it's coming, so I still recommend that every math student and instructor pick this one up.

Free - Download Now

Twitpic for iPhone had the potential to be a really neat app and a possible Instagram alternative, but it missed the mark on too many levels

Twitpic is one of the most popular photos hosting services for Twitter and now they've released their very own iPhone app that lets you browse through the photos of all the people you follow on Twitter who have shared their photos with Twitpic, add comments, as well as add filters and effects to your own photos to share to Twitter and Twitpic.

Sounds a lot like Instagram, doesn't it? In fact, it's very similar, but I'm not ready to call it an "Instagram Killer" -- it falls short in too many ways.

There are three different types of feeds with Twitpic: your main timeline, the popular stream, and streams for individual users. All off them show rectangular thumbnails of the photos with a little icon that shows how many comments have been left on the photo. For the timeline an popular streams, you will, of course, also see which user posted the photo and their profile photo.

Tapping a photo will open it on a black background, and after a brief pause, the toolbars and caption will appear, and after another short pause, will disappear again. You can tap the screen to bring up the toolbars at anytime and tapping the comments icon will bring up all the comments for that photo and allow you to leave a comment of your own.

Unfortunately, comments on photos must have been made with the Twitpic app. I would've like to see all Twitter @replies to the tweet that included the photo be marked as comments in the Twitpic app. Since most people see Twitpic photos in Twitter, it makes perfect sense.

One thing that sets Twitpic apart from Instagram is that there are more editing options available. The "Add Effects" screen has tabs for effects, enhance, crop, orientation, and brightness. Crop, orientation, and brightness should be self-explanatory.

In the enhance screen, you can choose auto, night, backlit, or balance, and the effects tab has 10 different filters you can choose from. They're OK. Nothing amazing, but not terrible.

What is terrible, is the naming inconsistencies in the Twitpic editing screens. When you first take or choose the photo you want to upload, there is a button in the top right hand corner called "Add Effects", but this screen has five different tabs, one of which is called "Effects". When tapping on one of the tabs, the navigation arrow in the toolbar to take you back is called "Editor". But wait, I thought that was the "Add Effects" screen? Sure, I know what they mean, but it's the little details like this that make me think the app was thrown together.

The other thing that annoys me about Twitpic is the edits are destructive. Once you hit "Apply", there's no turning back. Returning back to that screen doesn't let you adjust your edits, just layer on new ones. The biggest problem with this is with effects. A lot of the effects apply some sort of special edging to your photo, which is fine, until you decide you want to crop your image. You'll either crop it completely away or, depending on how you crop, only crop it off a couple of the edges. The only way to fix it is to start over and make sure you save adding the effect for last -- even though it's the first tab. Yet another thing that makes me ask "was this app really put through proper testing?"

Once you have your photo edited to perfection, you can share it to Twitter with Twitpic and… that's it. Your photo isn't even saved to your Camera Roll! And what about the unique twitpic.com URL that is assigned to each photo? Nope, nowhere to get that either. What Twitpic was thinking, I have no idea. I guess they want to be greedy with your photos and not only not give you the means to share directly to another network, but not even let you share your photos separately to somewhere else like Facebook or Instagram.

The Good

• Browse through the Twitpic photos of who you're following on Twitter
• Upload photos to Twitpic and share to Twitter
• Edit photos with minor adjustments and add filters/effects

The Bad

• Inconsistent naming
• Destructible edits
• Can only share to Twitpic and Twitter
• Doesn't save to Camera Roll

The Conclusion

Twitpic for iPhone had the potential to be a really neat app and a possible Instagram alternative, but it missed the mark on so many levels it's not even funny. The editing experience is terrible and the restriction to only sharing to Twitpic and Twitter and not even your Camera Roll is a deal breaker for me. If they wanted to be exclusive to Twitter, they could've at least pulled in the replies to the tweets with Twitpic links to the comments, but not even that's the case.

Sorry Twitpic, that's three strikes -- you're out.

At least it's free - Download Now

Most players on iPhone and iPad tend to spend more money than those playing on an Android device -- five times more, to be exact. This according to a Newzoo study that examined the growth of mobile gaming in Europe and North America. It showed that there are now 101 million American mobile gamers, 69% of which are playing on smartphones and 21% play on tablets. Of them, iPhone claimed 19 million gamers, which is 28% of everyone that plays games on a smartphone. Surprisingly, the iPod touch managed to snag nearly as many with 18 million players. As you might expect, the iPad rocks the tablet gaming world with 12.7 million gamers (a 60% slice of the whole tablet pie). In the U.S., the vast majority (91%) of revenue was made through various in-app streams, not counting advertising, though that figure is a bit lower for Germany and France, which ranged between 73% and 87%.  This data was gleaned from a survey of 17,000 people plus data from Distimo, who do regular reports on app downloads.

This data isn't a huge surprise considering how much Apple has polished the purchasing process on iOS and through iTunes. Game piracy is a very real concern for many Android developers, and likely contributes to iOS being as profitable as it is. What's more surprising to me is that in-app purchases constitute such a big chunk of revenue; I'm rarely interested in spending any cash on in-app purchases, and would much rather pay cash up-front for a full game without being harassed by ads or prompts to buy virtual currency. The good freemium games out there will tend to have their IAPs mostly in the background, and will naturally lead people to them through engaging gameplay rather than obnoxious pop-ups.

How much do you guys tend to spend on iPad and iPhone gaming? Are in-app purchases appealing to you? Developers, how much more profitable do you find your iOS titles compared to Android?

Source: Forbes

Microsoft SkyDrive, Dropbox, and the newly introduced Google Drive all focus on storing your data in "the cloud" (i.e. in massive data centers) instead of on a physical hard drive in your home or office. That means not only can you free up some valuable internal storage space, but enjoy the piece of mind that comes with solid off-site backup, and the convenience of accessing your files from all your computers, many of the your devices, and almost any web browser. While Dropbox, Skydrive, and Google Drive will all get the job done, which one is the best choice for most iPhone and iPad users?

SkyDrive vs. Dropbox vs. Google Drive: Interface and Experience

While you can access Dropbox, Skydrive, and Google Drive via the web, that's not usually not the best option for iPhone and iPad users. Apple severely limits what web browsers can do in iOS, so while web sites are great to view supported files, they're not much good for anything else. That means the first thing most iPhone and iPad owners will do when choosing a cloud storage service is to look at their native app offerings.

SkyDrive allows you to view files on your iPhone and iPad in either list view or as tiled icons.

SkyDrive is a universal app for iPhone and iPad users. The overall interface is incredibly straight forward and easy to use. Upon signing into SkyDrive, you'll be presented with your files and folders. You can choose to view them as a list or a grid. Tapping into a folder allows you to view the contents and open any documents inside that folder. You can also upload pictures to SkyDrive or create more folders.

If you need to edit a document, you can open it in a supported app by tapping the export button. Unfortunately you won't be able to sync changes back or save back to SkyDrive unless the individual app supports saving to SkyDrive. This is both a limitation of iOS and a product of SkyDrive's popularity relative to DropBox.

Dropbox's user interface is easy to navigate on both iPhone and iPad. Browse all your files via the main tab or star documents you frequently access for quick access from the favorites tab.

Dropbox functions in a very simliar way to SkyDrive and is also available for both iPhone and iPad. That's not surprising -- there are only so many ways to make a file browser. In the Dropbox app you can navigate through folders and mark things as favorites. Doing that stores a file locally for quick viewing later, even if offline. You can also pop into settings and set Dropbox to cache a certain storage amount locally for even quicker access to files you view regularly.

You can upload pictures and videos to Dropbox from within the app, but nothing else. (Again, that's an iOS restriction.) You will, however, be able to view many common files types from your iPhone or iPad such as Word, Excel, PDFs, and many image file types. You can also send supported files to other apps for editing or viewing.

Even though Google Drive doesn't have an iPhone or iPad app (yet), you can still access your Drive files via mobile Safari. Not the best solution for most but the up side is unlike others, you'll be able to actively sync and edit documents without using 3rd party applications.

Google Drive doesn't have a native iPhone or iPad app yet. (Google says they're working on it.) You can access your Google Drive files via mobile Safari though. It's not the most intuitive or functional solution and it has to make you wonder what exactly Google was thinking when they released Drive without an iOS companion app. (It's not like they lacked the time or resources to get it done for launch day.)

As a work around, you can use the Google Search app which provides access to Google Apps. It's not a full solution but it works. You could also add a homescreen bookmark to Google Drive for quicker access.

Until the iOS app arrives, iPhone and iPad users will probably shy away from Google Drive. Dropbox is easy to use but could definitely make do with an update. Right now, SkyDrive has the best design and interface.

SkyDrive vs. Dropbox vs. Google Drive: Features

While SkyDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive are all cloud storage and sync services, they all work differently and offer a different set of features. Before you decide which one is for you, you need to figure out exactly which features you need most.

SkyDrive allows you to view most file formats and also supports media streaming. Sharing documents is easy. Open the document you'd like to share and you can send a link, view and edit permissions, and share with others.

SkyDrive boasts online file collaboration, public file sharing, and version tracking. You'll be able to edit files online via the Microsoft Office web apps, or from your computer via the traditional Microsoft Office suite, and have them all on your iPhone or iPad when you need them.

If your main purpose is to use a file storing service to free up space on your iPhone or iPad, SkyDrive can help you do that with built-in media streaming, which means you can upload music and video to SkyDrive and stream it into the app on your iPhone or iPad.

Dropbox allows you to easily upload video and audio content from your iPhone or iPad. It also supports media streaming and many other file types for easy access to the most common file types.

Dropbox also offers built-in media streaming in their iPhone and iPad app. You'll also be able to share files and folders online, create share folders publicly, and track document versions. However, Dropbox doesn't include the ability to edit documents via web-based apps, nor do they have their own desktop suite. You need to open any documents stored in Dropbox in a local editor on your desktop or mobile device.

Google Drive may not have a native app but the ability to edit documents and spreadsheets in mobile Safari may be a draw for some users. Some features are not supported in mobile view like spreadsheet view so you'll need to use the desktop version which is a bit clunky on an iPhone or iPad.

In addition to lacking an iOS app, Google Drive doesn't currently support media streaming. So, if you were hoping to unload some music and videos to Google Drive, that's not an option yet. You will, of course, be able to access everything on your iPhone or iPad via mobile Safari but that isn't an ideal solution. Google Drive does enjoy Google Docs support, however, but unlike SkyDrive it doesn't offer a native desktop document editing suite.

Google's lack of an iOS app hurts it again here. When it comes to features, Dropbox and SkyDrive are extremely comparable but Dropbox's inability to let users edit files on the web gives SkyDrive a slight edge.

Skydrive vs. Dropbox vs. Google Drive: Workflow and syncing

While mobile document creation has come a long way, most iPhone and iPad users will most likely still spend most of their time creating documents on their Windows or Mac PC, and will definitely need to access them there. So, a seamless workflow between desktop and mobile apps is a must.

SkyDrive's web interface, integrated with Microsoft Office Online

SkyDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive all offer both a native app for Mac and Windows as well as a free web portal. When it comes to the native Mac and Windows apps, all three apps have almost identical interfaces and functionality. They seamlessly integrate with your file system. You'll just notice a new folder in your main tree of files. They'll also all add a system tray icon to your Mac or Windows PC for quick access.

Google Drive's online interface, integrated with Google Docs.

To use these services from your Windows or Mac PC, you simply drag and drop, or copy and paste your files into the folder, and then work them the same way you did previously. You won't notice any difference, but the files and folders are syncing your data constantly with each respective cloud service.

When you return to your iPhone or iPad to pull up a document, it'll just be there. And if you ever need to access your documents from someone's else's Windows or Mac PC, you can do so easily by accessing the web based version of SkyDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

Dropbox's online interface, not integrated with anything.

Google has the better desktop clients but their lack of an iOS app kills the overall workflow model. Dropbox has great apps but once again doesn't have online editors like Microsoft or Google. That makes SkyDrive the winner.

SkyDrive vs. Dropbox vs. Google Drive: 3rd party app compatibility

Many iPhone and iPad apps integrate support for cloud storage. If you're looking to use text editors frequently, for example, it will matter a great deal which services are supported.

While SkyDrive and Google Drive are fully functional cloud services in their own right, neither enjoys anywhere near the support of Dropbox. Dropbox has simply been around a long time an many developers have chosen to embrace it. In fact, for many apps, you won't find support for many cloud services outside of Dropbox (and Apple's iCloud, which is not exactly the same).

Dropbox by far has the best support from other app developers.

SkyDrive vs. Dropbox vs. Google Drive: Storage space and pricing

Using SkyDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive means you get online storage that can free up local drive space, you get online backup that can keep you files safe, and you get remote access that lets you get to your files no matter where you are. All of them offer some amount of free storage, and the ability to buy more to suit your needs.

SkyDrive gives you a generous 7GB for free. If you'd like to add more storage on top of that, this is what you'll pay:

• 20GB - $10 per year
• 50GB - $25 per year
• 100GB - $50 per year

Dropbox gives users the smallest amount of free storage, coming in at only 2GB for a free account. They do offer a referral program that'll allow you to rack up an additional 250MB for each individual you refer up to 8GB total. Otherwise, to buy additional storage, here's what you're looking at:

• 50GB - $9.99 a month or $99 per year
• 100GB - $20 a month or $199 per year
• 1TB+ team accounts - $795 per year for the first 5 users

Google Drive gives you 5GB of free storage from the start. After that, here's what you can expect to pay -

• 25GB - $2.49 a month
• 100GB - $4.99 a month
• 200GB - $9.99 a month

There are sometimes special promotions or cross promotions where you can get additional storage bonuses for free, sometimes for a limited time. It's hard to predict when these will happen or for whom they'll apply, but it's worth doing a web search before paying just to see if there are any special offers available.

Otherwise, Dropbox makes for the most expensive service by far and gives the least amount of free storage to new users. Conversely, SkyDrive offers both the highest amount of free storage and the cheapest price for additional storage. However, Google Drive is extremely competitive, so if you're already a Google user, there's no compelling difference.

SkyDrive vs. Dropbox vs. Google Drive: Conclusion

If you take each individual category and weigh them equally, it looks like SkyDrive is the winner here. But not all categories should be weighed equally. A lot of free storage is great. Cheap additional storage is great. Arguably better desktop apps and inarguably better online document editors are great. But none of that matters if you need your cloud service to be supported by your iOS apps and that support simply isn't there.

Until Google Drive gets a proper iOS app with streaming media support, it's impossible to recommend it as anything other than a secondary or tertiary backup service to drop extra copies of your files for extra safe keeping. If you're already a heavy Google user, especially a Google Docs user, the free service is there for the taking.

If you're brand new to cloud storage and all you want to do is offload some media and documents to free up space on your iPhone and iPad, SkyDrive's combination of free storage and low additional storage costs make it the best option.

If you need to have your docs and data available in your iOS apps, then even though it's more expensive and doesn't have an online editor built in, Dropbox is still the only way to go.

Everyone's individual needs and priorities will be different, but for right now, for most users, most of the time, especially if you don't need anything more than the free storage they offer, Dropbox remains the best cloud storage solution for iOS users. iPhones and iPads are app-centric devices, and that's still where Dropbox shines.

SkyDrive - Free - Download Now

Dropbox - Free - Download Now

Google Search - Free - Download Now

Additional resources:

• Dropbox for iPad review
• Instapaper vs. Pocket vs. Readability: Read later app for iPhone shootout
• Pandora vs. Slacker vs. Spotify: iPhone music streaming app shootout

Evernote, makers of the widely popular note-taking and idea management apps for iPhone, iPad, and pretty much every platform you can think of, have bought Penultimate, one of the premiere hand-written note-taking apps on the iPad. Evernote will be keeping Penultimate as a separate app, however, and will be moving to push it out to other platforms as well. Ben Zotto, Penultimate's developer, has written a blog post about the acquisition:

Penultimate has come a long way since its launch as the original dedicated handwriting app for Apple’s first iPad two years ago. It now offers scores of powerful features within that same accessible and attractive design. It’s remained a top-selling app, and millions of people have showed us that they’re doing things with Penultimate we never imagined. I’ve been amazed and humbled by all of the passionate users I’ve encountered— you have offered your valuable feedback, support, and candid (!) critiques. Penultimate would not be what it is without you. I believe that this partnership makes a lot of sense, and Penultimate is only going to get better from here. Not just incrementally better, but WAY better, and quickly. I’m excited about the future of the app, and I sincerely hope that you will be too.

Zotto also notes, interestingly enough, that core members of the Evernote team have been involved in mobile handwriting recognition technology going back to the days of the Apple Newton.

The main Evernote app is currently iMore's favorite way to enter text, record voice, and take photos (and be able to search text in photos) for every day productivity. Evernote has branched out into other, more specific apps as well, including Evernote Food and Evernote Hello. Penultimate added basic Evernote support earlier this year, but that will no doubt increase now that they're a member of the Evernote family.

Here's the full press release.

Mountain View, CA – May 7, 2012 – Evernote, the company that's helping the world remember everything, today announced the acquisition of Penultimate, the most popular digital handwriting application for iPad, and the fourth best-selling iPad app of all time. The acquisition will allow Evernote to expand its handwriting capabilities, while also making Penultimate available on more platforms and devices.

"Digital handwriting has been around for decades, but it has never gone mainstream because the hardware and software simply weren't aligned. Thanks to Penultimate and the iPad, that's all changing," said Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote. "For the first time ever, writing on a tablet is really great, which is why we chose this moment to make the acquisition. We have big plans for Penultimate that will both enhance the app and bring more capabilities into Evernote. It's already the best handwriting app out there, and it's only just getting started."

The Penultimate app is designed to resemble a physical notebook. Individuals can use a finger or stylus to take notes wherever they like. The application allows users to choose from a variety of paper types, ink colors and line thicknesses. Notes taken in Penultimate can be saved directly to Evernote with a single tap.

"Technology often distances us from things that feel natural and human. With Penultimate, our goal was to use the most advanced tools to enable something that was at once powerful and familiar," said Ben Zotto, creator of Penultimate. "I’m thrilled to join the Evernote family. Their vision and expertise will help bring exciting improvements to Penultimate, and together we’ll elevate the importance of handwriting within Evernote."

AT&T has announced a new home security and automation service called Digital Life that comes with an iPad and iPhone app with a bunch of security and remote control options. With it, you can change the temperature, switch the lights, manage the alarm system, control the window blinds, shut off the water main, and even remotely unlock doors. Here's the full feature list:

• Professional installation of the platform, sensors and other devices
• Integrated, wirelessly enabled platform that combines home security and automation capabilities
• AT&T owned and operated 24/7 security monitoring centers
• A state-of-the-art user interface application, which allows customers to customize a solution based on individual needs, and the ability to manage and control their services from the U.S. or while traveling abroad
• The option to experience and purchase the service in AT&T’s distribution channels, including AT&T company-owned retail stores. The service will also be made available for purchase on att.com when available commercially.
• The ability to add more features and services after the initial installation, hassle free

Trials for the system are kicking off in Atlanta and Dallas over the summer. Want to sign up? Hit the link below.

Source: AT&T's Digital Life registration page

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections includes a way to monitor your electricity usage, an app that helps you learn some awesome blues licks on the guitar, a godsend for regular air travelers, an app and service for listening to your favorite music, and a beautiful way to read articles on the web.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Meter Readings - Chris Oldroyd

This week’s pick is a little utility that helps me monitor and manage my electricity usage. I have just received this quarters bill and as usual it was a shock to see how much I am paying for electricity. With this app I can now log my meter readings as often as I like and see what I am spending and how it changes during the year.

The app makes it easy to monitor your homes utility meters including water, electricity and gas; if you have it. Once you start logging your readings, you can view usage costs etc. in highly visible graphs. If you are in the UK like I am, an added feature is the comparison check. This allows you to see if you can get a better deal and what savings you can make by switching suppliers. You can even make the switch from the app!

$0.99 - Download Now

Blues Licks Lessons from Guitar Jamz - Gary Mazo

I’ve written before on iMore how I have used my iPad – pretty much exclusively – to teach myself how to play the guitar. This was a new hobby I started back in November, which has now turned into more than that.

I’m continually looking for ways to improve, things to learn and tips and tricks for my guitar.

There is a plethora of stuff in the App Store for guitar lovers; tuners, chord charts and apps, sheet music, simulators and more.

Guitar Jamz has been my go to site for watching the guitar guru – Marty Schwartz – teach me quickly and easily how to play some of my favorite songs. This week I was ready for more – I was ready to progress into the acoustic guitar blues.

Blues Licks is divided into five sections; Licks Lessons, Blues Chords, Blues Scales, Guitar Licks and a Blues Guitar Manual. I progressed through each of the lessons and slowly, I am getting the hang of the blues.

This app is great for learning those quick little licks that make you look like you really know how to play cool stuff on the guitar!

Free - Download Now

WorldMate - SimonSage

WorldMate launched for the iPad this week, and having spent my fair share of time in airports, I can safely say it will be a godsend to regular travelers. WorldMate can scan your incoming flight confirmation e-mails to automatically populate your travel itinerary. WorldMate includes a full suite of useful travel tools, including mobile hotel booking, a currency calculator, local weather forecasts, restaurant search. The app is optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and can stay synced with your iPhone at the same time.

TripIt offers similar functionality, but there's something about the WorldMate style that I always preferred. The one downside to WorldMate is that most of the sidebar options pops open a window that's pretty much the iPhone app, rather than making use of the big display with full panes on the right. At least the trip itineraries are well-formatted.

The core app is free, but to celebrate the launch on iPad this week, they're slashing the price of the ad-less Gold version from $9.99 to $2.99. Definitely worth it.

Free - Download Now

Spotify for iPad - Ally

I've been using Spotify for about a month now and while I have found it to be a great service it left out iPad. Now that Spotify has released their iPad app I feel like it's the type of service I can actually use on a regular basis. The apps still need some work to compete with the likes of Slacker and Pandora but the Mac app is really what got me hooked.

The integrated social networking is a feature users will either love or hate. I personally don't mind it and have found it to be useful as I've found a lot of great music through my Facebook friends. The iPad app allows me to now stream to all my devices. I'd still like to see Spotify integrate some of their Mac and PC app features into the mobile apps but it's a good start. I think adding the ability to view stations and popular playlists would really complete the apps. But for my personal needs, I do fine creating playlists and starring tracks and listening to them on the go. If you haven't checked out Spotify, make sure you do and let us know what you think.

Free - Download Now

Pocket - Leanna Lofte

I am way late to the game when it comes to "read later" services and completely regret that. Since picking up Pocket (formerly Read It Later), I've become hooked. The app gorgeous and being able to save articles that I find anywhere, be it Twitter, Facebook, some random website, or my RSS feed. I'm even using Pocket as a way to bookmark my favorite articles that I think I'll want to revisit, like tutorials.

Here's another weird purpose I've found with Pocket. I have extremely sensitive eyes. I can't go out in daylight with sunglasses -- I get a headache and squint all day. Anyway, part of that sensitivity carries over to light-on-dark themes. I don't care how great the article is, if the background is dark and the text is white or very light in color, I won't read it. My eyes scream in pain and my brain starts to sting. But now I just send these articles to Pocket and read them there! It's awesome.

Free - Download Now

Screenshot Journal - Rene Ritchie

Screenshot Journal is handy little utility for developers, designers -- and bloggers. The idea is simply this -- automatically collect your screenshots in one handy place. That's right, no more digging through your Camera Roll. Screenshots are grouped by months, but you can also favorite specific screenshots to keep them even closer at hand. Zoom is available at 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, and 32x with an optional grid overlay so you can double check everything from margin width to the precision of each and every pixel.

You can also share to Twitter, email, or to the clipboard.

If you're away from Photoshop and aren't doing near-real-time preview, but still want to check over your screens -- or take a peak at the screens of others! -- Screenshot Journal is a very good, very mobile tool.

$1.99 - Download now

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

i Learn With - Planet Boing! HD is part of a series of iPad apps that combine learning with fun for toddlers and young children. This particular app in the series is great for the younger players and is the central zone for both parents and kids with a free-play environment filled with lots of bright colors, music, and interactivity.

Before jumping into the fun, bouncy, colorful world, you can customize your character's look. This includes the shape of the torso, head, feet, hands, ears, and more, as well as his or her color. You can also roll the dice for a random customization.

When making customizations, you'll discover some that aren't available. If you tap it, a window will popup tell you how to unlock the item. This typically must be done by completing levels in other apps. This is a great way to motivate your child to play these learning games, but it can also get annoying for the younger kids who don't understand why the window popped up or what it says.

The main part of this app is Planet Boing, the fun world where you take your character to bounce around and gather bubbles that release things like music, shapes, characters, colors, and more. You can drag your character around the world with your finger or flick the character and watch him or her fly and bounce around.

In addition to interacting with your character in Planet Boing, you can also interact with different elements in the world, like trees and flowers, by tapping on them. You can also add more bubbles to the screen by tapping on the magic chest.

One of the fun elements of Planet Boing, is that if you have the new iPad or an iPad 2, you can use the front-facing camera to bring the fun to your world. My daughter thinks this is just hilarious.

In the Parents Center, you can see how your child is progressing in the other "i Learn with" apps and see recommendations of which apps you should get next. (Must register for a free account). These other apps are only $0.99 each and offer a lot of fun, educational content. I'll briefly share some features of i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures! with you.

i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures!

i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures! has three main mini-games: Letters, Phonics, and Words.

In the Letters game, you have to pick the polar bear that's holding the letter shown at the bottom of the slide and guide him down the slide to help him collect all the ice cream balls.

In the Phonics game, you are given a sound, like "ma", and one letter of that sound. It's your job to fling your letter at the penguin that has the other letter on his hat. For example, if you are given the letter "a" and the sound "ma", your goal is to use the slingshot to hit a penguin with the "m_" on his hat.

In the Words game, you are given a word with a blank spot above each letter of the word. This word is actually on the back of a whale, and there are seals swimming in the water with a letter on each of their hats. It's your job to drag the penguins to their corresponding spots on the whale. When you get it right, the whale jumps up in excitement.

The Good

• Colorful
• Musical
• Fun
• Parents section is helpful for tracking kid's learning

The Bad

• Too much nagging to register and download other apps
• The location of the register button on the home screen is in the same location as the home button on the other screens. Young children like to push buttons over and over again, and my daughter hits the home button several times to go back to the home screen, but ends up at the register screen and gets frustrated.

The Conclusion

At only 20 months old, my daughter really loves this app. It may seem boring to the average adult, but for a young toddler, bouncing characters around on the screen and seeing bursts of color and shapes provides endless entertainment. She's still a little to young for the educational apps in the series, but I'm sure she will love them once she gets a little older, especially since she's already familiar with the characters.

i Learn With - Planet Boing!, Free - Download Now

i Learn With Boing: Ice Land Adventures!, $0.99 - Download Now

Once again proving the velocity of jailbreak, no sooner did Daniel Hooper's concept video for an overhauled, gesture-based, keyboard-board iPad text editing update get reported, but it's now been coded up by Kyle Howells as SwipeSelection.

Hooper's concept involved a combination of single and double finger gestures and a Shift key modifier to make text selection faster when doing heavy duty editing. SwipeSelection implements that functionality for both iPad and iPhone. iDownloadBlog's Jeff Benjamin gave it a test drive and liked the way it handled.

It works extremely well, so much so, that I was totally used to it within minutes. SwipeSelection feels incredibly native, and perfectly natural. [..] I’ve tried SwipeSelection on my iPhone, and it works there as well! The only issue is that there isn’t a shift key on the right side of the keyboard like there is on the iPad, so selecting text works better from left to right instead of from right to left. The single finger, and two finger drags work exactly like they do on the iPad, which makes text editing so much more intuitive.

Given Apple's history of adopting ideas that were first implemented by the jailbreak community, and hiring jailbreak developers, there has been some speculation that Hooper and/or his text editing concept could be next.

I'm still not convinced Apple would do anything to divide the text editing experience into distinct keyboard and keyboard-less mode, though a higher level gesture "keyboard shortcut" mode for expert users could be interesting. (Bluetooth keyboard implementation is not a precedent since your hands are physically removed from the multitouch display when using a keyboard and base functionality has to be remapped to match the different input mode.)

The most important thing here is that text editing on iOS has gotten some much-needed attention. Apple took 3 years to introduce text editing into iOS, and while they've been adding options to their popup ever since, they have improved the basic mechanics at all. Coming up with a better, finer grained text selection system across iOS, regardless of keyboard state, would be yet another excellent improvement for iOS 6.

Source: iDownloadBlog

The Ness is a both a gorgeous and effective way to find places to eat near you

The Ness Dining Guide for iPhone is a gorgeous way to discover restaurants and cafes that you'll like. The Ness will make recommendations based on the ratings you've given to various places. You can also read reviews, add reviews of your own, and browse photos from Instagram that are matched with the places in Ness.

The first time you launch Ness, you will be asked to rate a bunch of places near you. You must give 4 or 5 stars to at least 10 locations before Ness has enough information to start giving recommendations.

The search screen is the main screen on Ness -- and boy is it beautiful! It features six pages, each with six categories. Each category is represented by a tall, gorgeous, and vibrant mouthwatering photo. You can tap on a category or type into the search bar in the center. The results page uses the photo for that category in the background and has the results overlaid on top of it. Each result shows its star rating and how far away it is from you.

Tapping on the place is where you'll find more information like contact info, your rating, reviews of "what's good" and "what's bad", how many times it's been mentioned on Facebook or Twitter, and a photo gallery of photos from Instagram that are matched with the place.

From the side panel, you can refine your personalization by rating more places, check out where your friends are going from the newsfeed, edit your profile, add friends, and look up your saved places. Unfortunately, The Ness doesn't let you connect with Twitter, so you can only add friends from Facebook, or via text message or email.

The Good

• Gorgeous, mouthwatering photography
• Makes recommends based on what you do and don't like
• Share favorite locations with friends
• Views photos from Instagram that are matched with the places on Ness
• The more you use it, the smarter it gets
• Connect with Facebook and Foursquare

The Bad

• Can't connect with Twitter

The Conclusion

You're probably sick of me saying it, but The Ness is beautiful! With these types of apps, the experience improves as more users jump on board, so please, pick this one up!

Free - Download Now

Draw Something's next step after being acquired by Zynga is to get people to draw brands that that they're familiar with, like Doritos, the NHL, and KFC. It's an interesting exercise in marketing, and definitely a novel way of getting people to interact with companies, but if overdone, I think it will ultimately sour people on the game, especially if they're already tolerating banner ads in the free version.

My thinking is that as a smaller company, OMGPOP was able to make do with in-app purchases of new paints and bombs as their primary source of income with a bit of help from banner ads. Now that Zynga has paid a bunch for the game, they want a return on the investment and are pursuing more aggressive schemes. The popularity of Draw Something has already started to take a dip; daily active users have dropped from 14 million in April to 10 million. If it continues to dive, Zynga will have a hard time closing these kind of deals with big companies.

I'm all for this new take on mobile advertising, but only if it replaces banner ads. If a player picks a sponsored term, the picture could then provide a link to the advertiser's site, or better yet, serve up a media rich iAd that launches for both players. An extra in-game coin would go a long way to inventivize players to sit through a quick video.

Do you guys still play Draw Something? Personally, I found it mostly just embarrassing if you don't have much in the way of artistic talent, but your mileage may vary.  Is this plan to get players to interact directly with brands a smart, innovative marketing move that you're interested in participating in, or a skeezy trick for companies to worm into your subconscious?

Source: AdAge

With OmniGraphSketcher for iPad you can create stunning, impressive graphs and charts with ease

OmniGraphSketcher is an iPad app that makes it easy to create gorgeous and precise graphs with lines, curves, shaded regions, and more. Instead of using specific equations, like a graphing calculator, OmniGraphSketcher let's you use multitouch gestures to chart your points and draw cuves and bar graphs.

OmniGraphSketcher comes with four sample documents so that you can easily see how they are created or just manipulate them as your own. You can use these as templates be duplicating the document you want to use before editing it.

There is also a fifth document that works like a tutorial and explains the different tools included with OnmiGraphSketcher and how to use them.

To create a text label, just double tap the screen. You can edit the font type, size, color, and choose the exact (x, y)-coordinates for the label.

To create a line, select that drawing tool and tap the screen. This will place a marker for your first point. You can drag this around precisely where you want it to be -- the exact (x, y)-coordinates will pop up as you drag around the marker and it will also snap to coordinates that are marked on your axes. Once you have it placed where you want, tap the location you want your second point to appear and adjust it like you did the first time. You can do this as many times as you want. When you're ready for the lines to be drawn, tap the last marker and the dotted lines become solid and each of the point markers become actual points.

An alternative method to selecting specific points to plot is to simply freehand the curve and OmniGraphSketcher will smooth it out into a beautifully for you. This is great for the times when precision is not important, but when want to use your graph to explain a concept or general idea.

The line style can be changed to be linear or curved and you can change it from being a solid line to one of the multiple dotted line styles. You can also adjust the thickness, and color, and whether there are arrows at the ends. You can make similar adjustments to the points as well as enter their exact (x, y)-coordinates. This helpful for those times when you may be plotting points that are hard to precisely drag to. For example, if you wanted to plot the point (2, 47.5) when the range of your y-axis is 0 to 1000.

Speaking of the x and y-axis, you can adjust their ranges by simply double-tapping the first or last number on the line and typing in what you want to change it to. You can also drag an axis after selecting it to get the same result. When an axis is selected you can also adjust the tick mark spacing.

In addition to creating curves and lines, you can also make bar graphs with OmniGraphSketcher -- and it's super easy. After plotting your points, simply choose the option that looks like a bar graph from the point's option menu. You can choose either horizontal or vertical bars and adjust their thickness and color.

To shade a region of your graph, tap the shading tool. Then tap a boundary point of the desired region and drag your finger to another boundary point, pause, and drag to the next one. Once you've selected the desired location, release your finger to complete the shading. OmniGraphSketcher lets you adjust the the color and opacity of the shaded regions.

If you're creative with your use of lines, curves, and dots, you can also use OmniGraphSketcher to sketch piecewise functions. As a math instructor, this excites me because this is very difficult to do with traditional graphing calculator apps and programs. No longer will I be hand-drawing these types of graphs for quizzes and exams -- I'll create them with OmniGraphSketcher instead!

The Good

• Beautiful
• Easy and intuitive to use
• Different line and point styles
• Create horizontal or vertical bar graphs
• Freehand sketching
• Sketch piecewise functions
• Adjust x and y axes
• Import from iDisk or WebDAV
• Share to email, photos, iDisk, WebDAV, iTunes
• Send to another app as a graph, PDF, or PNG (including Dropbox)

The Bad

• No native DropBox support

The Conclusion

I'm not going to lie, when I first picked up OmniGraphSketcher, I was a bit disappointed. I wanted the ability to graph specific equations. But the more time I spent with OmniGraphSketcher, the more I liked it and appreciated it's value of not also playing the role of a graphing calculator. It's a very simple-to-use and gorgeous app that creates very impressive graphs and charts. You may not be able to graph complicated equations, but that's ok -- there's graphing calculators for that.

$14.99 - Download Now

The Daily was the very first custom daily news app created for the iPad back in 2011, and now you can get all that great content on your iPhone. The Daily for iPhone is beautiful and extremely easy to use app for Newsstand -- no fluff or complicated UI's to distract from reading your news!

If already have a subscription to The Daily for the iPad, your subscription will carry over the iPhone for no additional cost. A subscription to The Daily is $1.99/mo or $19.99/yr. If you don't want to pay for the subscription, you will still have access to great, daily content, just not all content.

When browsing through The Daily, swiping left and right will switch between categories and swiping up and down will scroll through the stories in that category. The categories include news, business, gossip, opinion, arts & life, apps & tech, sports, video, and pictures.

To read a story, view a photo, or watch a video, you simply tap on it. The Daily include 3 different font sizes that can be changed while reading each post. You can also read comments and leave a comment of your own. For stories you want to share with your friends, you can easily send them to Facebook, Twitter, or email with just the tap of a button

This really is The Daily in a nutshell. It's super easy to use and very basic -- which is a good thing.

The Good

• Swipe up and down to scroll through stories in a category
• Swipe left and right to switch between categories
• multi-panel UI to quickly jump to a category
• Read and leave comments to stories
• Beautiful photos
• Videos
• 3 different font sizes
• Share to email, Facebook or Twitter

The Bad

• I have no clue why "Switch to New Issue" is displayed. Tapping it does nothing.

The Conclusion

The Daily is a great news app for the iPhone with great journalism. If you don't want to sign up for a subscription, you'll still have access to great, free daily content. Not only is the content great, but the UI is as well. The Daily found a great balance between being visually appealing, simple to use, and efficient.

Free - Download Now

Two anonymous sources are claiming that Twitter was looking to acquire Camera+, one of the top iPhone photography apps available. This, of course, would be in response to Facebook recently snagging the hugely popular iPhone app Instagram. Unfortunately, the folks that make Camera+ are all over the world, and few were willing to move to San Francisco as a part of the deal.

Twitter has a long-standing mobile lineage, so it makes sense that they're looking to the world of iOS apps to expand their workforce. They reportedly even had talks with Instagram (as did Google) before Facebook swooped it up. Sure, Camera+ only has a fraction of the userbase Instagram enjoys, but really any devs with experience creating filters could significantly upgrade the embedded photography functions of the native Twitter apps for iOS. Camera+ already plugs into Twitter, includes geotagging support, and has offers image stabilization when taking your picture.

Even if these talks fell through (if they happened at all, that is), it's entirely possible that Twitter execs will continue to hunt for savvy app developers to upgrade Twitter's mobile photography experience. Maybe the guys at Camera Awesome would be open to that kind of conversation....

Twitter has a history of buying mobile apps and taking on their developers, after all. They bought Loren Brichter's Tweetie for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and they bought Tweetdeck, darling of the social marketers.

How often do you guys share pictures on Twitter? Which cloud service do you usually upload to? Is there a particular iOS app you use to take your snaps? Do you tend to apply artsy filters when you share mobile pics online?

Source: Bloomberg

iMore's authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free apps and games for iPad

Looking for great free apps and games for your iPad? The App Store is home to over half a million apps and games, and a surprising number of them are available for free. That's free as in free of charge to buy, free of subscriptions to use, and free of any crippling or time-bombing to make you pay later. They're just free. But which free apps are the best? Which are the top free apps you just absolutely have to download right now?

That's where iMore comes in! Here's your ultimate, authoritative guide to the top, 100% free iPad apps for social networking, IM and communications, education, entertainment, finance, fun and games, health and fitness, kids, music, navigation and location, news, photography, productivity, reading, shopping, sports, travel, and general utility.

Whether you're new to iPad and looking for a fast, free way to get started with apps, or you're just bored and looking for a little free fun, check out the apps and games below. And hey, since they're free, you can download them all!

Best free social networking apps for iPad

Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social network on the planet, and it's always been one of the most popular free apps on the iPad. Inside the free Facebook app, you can update your status, view photos, and check into your location. You can also keep up with your news feed, messages, events, pages, chat, as well as upload your photos and videos, and much, much more. (And if you're looking for more friends, check out our Facebook name swap thread!)

• Download Now

Twitter

The free, official Twitter app for iPad is the best way to get started finding cool celebrities and interesting internet personalities to follow, and trending topics to get involved with. (And be sure to check out our Twitter name swap thread to find other iMore members to tweet with!)

• Download Now

LinkedIn

With the LinkedIn app for iPad, you will have on-the-go access to your professional network. You can keep up with the latest news and keep up with your groups and share content.

• Download Now

Best free IM and communications apps for iPad

Skype

The free Skype app for iPad lets you make free audio and video calls and exchange text chats from your iPad to other iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users, as well as Android, Mac, Windows, and millions more Skype users around the world. You can also buy Skype credits to call conventional phone numbers at really low prices.

• Download Now

IM+

IM+ from Shape Services gives you free access to Facebook, Google Talk, WLM, AIM, ICQ, and more right on your iPad. It also includes free Mobile to mobile Beep service, and works as a free alternative to SMS. Group chats, message history, multimedia messages and more are also included.

• Download Now

imo instant messenger

imo is another great, free iPad app for those who love traditional instant messaging (IM). imo supports Facebook Chat, Google Talk, Skype, MSN, ICQ/AIM, Yahoo, Jabber, Hyves, VKontakte, Myspace, and Steam. You can send text, images, and voice as well.

• Download Now

Best free educational apps for iPad

iTunes U

The free iTunes U app for iPad gives you access to courses from universities and schools. These courses are completely free and even include assignments. iTunes U and the instructors provide course materials, including audio, video, books, documents & presentations, apps, and books. iTunes U includes over 500,000 free lectures, videos, books, and other resources on thousands of subjects from Algebra to Zoology.

• Download Now

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is one of the best products of education and the internet, and with the Khan Academy app for the iPad, you will have free access to over 2700 videos on topics ranging from kindergarten, advanced science, humanities, history, and more. Even more, you can download the videos to watch offline, keep up with what the teach is saying with organized captions, and earn achievements as you learn.

• Download Now

Flashcards+

With school comes lots of studying. One of the most common studying techniques is to use flashcards. With the free Flashcards+ app for iPad, you can say goodbye to the stacks and stacks of flashcards that accumulate over the course of a semester and use electronic flashcards on your iPad instead.

• Download Now

Best free entertainment apps for iPad

Crackle

While apps like Netflix are free, you still have to pay for a subscription to actually use them. Not so with Crackle! The free Crackle app for iPad lets you watch hours and hours of Hollywood movies, from Resident Evil to A Few Good Men, and TV Shows from I Dream of Jennie to the Tick, absolutely free. And it supports AirPlay so you can watch on your big screen TV.

• Download Now

IMDB

IMDB's free iPad app means you're always only a few taps away from the latest show times, trailers, movie and TV rations, and cast and episode lists. It's the perfect couch-side companion for any serious entertainment buff, and the perfect mobile app for cinema buffs!

• Download now

TED

The free TED app for iPad blurs the lines between education and entertainment, showcasing riveting talks from experts in the fields of technology, entertainment, and design. With the TED app, you can browse their complete catalog of talks, bookmark and download your favorites, and share individual talks and playlists with your friends. It's like holding genius in the palm of your hand. For free.

• Download now

Best free financial apps for iPad

Bloomberg

Bloomberg for iPad is a great way for casual traders and investors to interact with their stocks and stay up to date with world news. Whether you need to casually monitor stocks on your iPad or just find the urge to check out financial news, the free Bloomberg app has you covered -- for free!

• Download Now

Mint.com

The free Mint.com for iPad app gives everything you love about the web site on the go and in the palm of your hand. You can track, manage, and budget your money, connect your bank, credit, and other financial accounts, and safely, securely keep it with you wherever you are. It also syncs with the Mint.com website so you're always up-to-date.

• Download now

Checkbook HD Free

If connecting your checking account to a third party service isn't your style, Checkbook HD Free lets you use your iPad as a checkbook registrar and more. You can also track your spending on credit cards, savings accounts, cash on hand, or any other account types you may have. While you track your spending, Checkbook HD will create pie and bar charts and reports about your spending and where your money is going.

• Download Now

Best free games for iPad

Angry Birds HD Free

The free Angry Birds app lets you play one of the most popular games in the world right on your iPad -- for free. Yes, it is supported by adds, but you'll be too busy catapulting birds and destroying pigs to even notice them!

• Download Now

Draw Something Free

Draw Something is a sensation and you can play it on your iPad for free with Draw Something Free. In Draw Something, you have a partner and you take turns drawing pictures with the goal of getting each other to guess the correct word. Just like Angry Birds Free, Draw something Free is supported by ads.

• Download Now

Hero Academy

Hero Academy is a great turn-based free iPad game where you and a friend (or random partner) take turns moving and attacking each other with various army pieces on a checked board. You have a set number of action points with which to move your pieces, bring in fresh ones from your stash, upgrade your pieces, and, of course, attack. The main goal is to either whittle down a few crystals on your opponent's side of the board, or run them out of troops.

• Download Now

Best free health and fitness apps for iPad

Epicurious

One of the biggest aspects of living a healthy life is to eat healthy food, and with the help of Epicurious Recipes and Shopping List for iPad, you shouldn't have a problem conjuring up healthy choices. This gorgeous recipe app is packed with recipes and regularly updates with new ones.

• Download Now

WebMD

WebMD is a reputable and accurate online source for medical facts and advice, and with the free WebMD iPad app you'll have complete access to mobile-optimized health information and decision-support tools including WebMD’s Symptom Checker, Drugs & Treatments, First Aid Information and Local Health Listings.

• Download Now

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is is free, the MyFitnessPal account is free, and if you’re dedicated enough to stick with them, the positive effects they can have on your health are priceless. Keep track of what you eat, how much you are working out, etc. If you’re looking to take better control of your weight or your fitness, get MyFitnessPal and get one step closer to a healthier lifestyle.

• Download Now

Best free kids apps for iPad

PBS KIDS Video

The free PBS KIDS Video app brings all your child's favorite shows right to your iPad. Curious George, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That, Dinosaur Train, SUPER WHY!, Sesame Street and Wild Kratts and are all here and ready to entertain and educate.

• Download now

Squiggles!

Squiggles! is a very fun interactive drawing iPad app for kids. Each drawing page asks the child to add squiggles to the picture to make cars drive, give nests to birds, create cotton candy, add water for fish to swim in, etc. When the child is done adding their squiggles and other additions to the picture, they press "GO" to watch it come to life. It's very fun and actually amazing that this app is free.

• Download Now

Best free music apps for iPad

Shazam

How many times have you been listening to the radio, or attending a party, or watching TV when you hear a song that you like but have no idea what the name of the song is or even who the artist is? With the free Shazam app for iPad, all have to do is let your mic listen to the song for about 30 seconds, and Shazam will tell you exactly which song it is!

• Download Now

Slacker Radio

Don't have much music stored on your iPad? Don't fret! With the free Slacker Radio iPad app you can stream radio to your iPad for free. The Slacker music library features millions of songs from thousands of artists and you can customize your own radio stations with your favorite artists and songs. In addition to music, you can also listen to ESPN Radio, ABC News, comedy and more.

• Download Now

TuneIn Radio

The free TuneIn Radio app for iPad gives you on-the-go access to over 50,000 radio stations worldwide. From the local station where you may live now to the far away station where you may have grown up or simply visited and always remembered, TuneIn radio has over 120,000 free shows for you to choose from, right on your iPad.

• Download now

Best free navigation and location apps for iPad

Waze social GPS & traffic

The free Waze app for iPad uses Open Street Map data, which means you're contributing to building a map as you drive, and you also get to view the things added by others. The crowd-sourced nature of Waze lets users share information about traffic jams, accidents, speed traps, and other pertinent data. It includes standard turn-by-turn navigation, but the accuracy can vary depending on the quality of the maps in your area.

• Download Now

Google Earth

The free Google Earth app for iPad lets you, literally, hold the world in your lap. Spin the globe, fly over Antarctica, zoom through Tokyo, or simply check out your own back hard. Google Earth beautifully melds satellite and aerial mapping and imagery to give you just a glimpse of how Superman might feel.

• Download Now

Compass++

You iPad is equipped with a compass, yet Apple chose not to include the Compass app that can be found on the iPhone. Compass++ HD is a free app that will fill that void. It features a huge beautiful compass in the middle of the screen with the digital degree vales for true north and magnetic north. Compass++ also has 5 different themes that you can swipe through.

• Download Now

Best free news apps for iPad

Flipboard

The free Flipboard for iPad app shows you the news that matters to you, along with recommendations from your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram friends. That makes it a dynamic, up-to-date, but highly personalized magazine, right in the palm of your hand! It's also makes it easy to share the stuff you like most back with your friends and social circles.

• Download Now

Pulse News

Pulse News, from Alphonso Labs is an awesome free newsreader for iPad that brings all your news together into one place. With Pulse News, you choose the categories you want to display and the specific content for each section. For example, you might want to add a Gaming, Sports, News, Tech, Science, Art and Design any number of additional categories.

• Download Now

AP Mobile

The free AP Mobile app brings the Associated Press right to your iPad. With comprehensive, timely coverage of local and global news it's not like having a newspaper or TV station in the palm of your hands -- it's like having their news sources. Plus, if you find yourself in the middle of the news, you can even send the AP your tip!

• Download Now

Best free photo apps for iPad

PhotoToaster Jr

The iPad is an awesome device for editing photos, so if you're looking for a fantastic app that lets you make impressive edits -- for free -- look no further than PhotoToaster Jr for iPad. PhotoToaster Jr allows to choose from 14 different effects and different white balance presets, and add vignetting and frames. All of the filters and effects also allow you to fine tune them to your liking by adjusting saturation, sharpness, color filters, cross processing, and more.

• Download Now

Pic Stitch

There are a lot of collage apps in the App Store, but what's great about Pic Stitch is that it's free! With Pic Stitch for iPad, you can create beautiful collages that tell a story in just a few taps. It features 32 different layouts and after you've finished your masterpiece, you can share it to your favorite social network or another photography app.

• Download Now

Best free productivity apps for iPad

Adobe Reader

With the free Adobe Reader app, you can have all your PDFs stored right on your iPad. What's more, you aren't limited to just viewing PDFs, but you can annotated them with text, handwriting, strikethroughs, highlights, and more. You can also fill out forms and add your signature.

• Download Now

Evernote

Evernote isn't just a great free note-taking app for iPad. It's a great free note-taking app on almost every platform. That means no matter where you are, or what device you have access to, your notes are always there for you. You can also add pictures and search for text in the images, add voice notes, and easily share what you've collected.

• Download Now

Dropbox

The free Dropbox for iPad app gives you access to all your files stored in your Dropbox account (free up to 2GB). You can mark items as favorites to store them locally on your iPad for offline viewing, save photos and videos to your Dropbox account, and easily share them with family, friends and colleagues.

• Download Now

Best free reading apps for iPad

iBooks

iBooks is Apple's free ebook and PDF reading app for iPad. It's a stylish way to read not only books purchased from the iBookstore, but all the free books from the massive Project Gutenberg library as well as any of your own ePub or PDF files.

• Download Now

Readability

Readability offers a gorgeous way to read articles from your favorite website without the distraction of ads and other fluff -- for free! You simply set up your free account and add articles with a bookmarklet . A lot of other apps, like Twitter, offer Readability support so that you can add articles directly from those apps.

• Download Now

Comics

Comics isn't only the best way to buy new Marvel, DC, Image, and other comic books, but it also includes 500 free comics and one of the best reading interfaces in the App Store!

• Download now

More free reading apps

• Best free reading app for iPad

Best free shopping apps for iPad

Catalogue by TheFind

Say goodbye to the giant pile of catalogs on your coffee table and pick up Catalogue by TheFind for iPad to meet all your department store shopping needs. You will find all the top catalogs for men, women, kids, beauty, toys, home retailers, and more. Catalogue features a simple, clean interface makes shopping easier than ever!

• Download Now

Ebay

When you're not shopping catalogs and department stores, you probably head to eBay to search for the items you need. With the free eBay for iPad app, you can browse, buy, and pay for items on the popular auction service.

• Download Now

Gilt

Who doesn't love a good deal? With Guilt for iPad, you can find sales for up to 60% off on today's best labels. You can shop for anything and everything -- and fast. Shopping has never been so fun and easy. And since you're getting such great deals, you can push those feelings of guilt aside when shopping with Gilt!

• Download Now

Best free sports apps for iPad

ScoreCenter XL

ScoreCenter XL is a free iPad app by ESPN that brings you the latest scores, standings, and news for dozens of sports and hundreds of teams around the world. If you have a free myESPN account, you get automatic access to all your favorites. If you don't, you can choose baseball, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, rugby and soccer teams to follow right on your iPad.

• Downlaod Now

MLB.com At Bat

Although it has premium options, the free or “lite” version of MLB at Bat for iPad still gives you access to lots of great content. You can watch the scoreboard during every game, see news and highlights from recent games, buy tickets to upcoming games and check in around the league for other scores and highlights. While diehard baseball fans will want to buy the full app, the Lite version is great for casual fans on the go.

• Download Now

NBA Game Time Courtside

NBA Game Time is sort of like MLB.com At Bat – but for basketball. During games, you can follow the game practically play by play – seeing who is on the court at every moment and then seeing the scoring plays displayed on the iPad. You can also check the scores around the league, watch video highlights, check the standings, look at the schedule for every team and get information on each arena.

• Download Now

Best free travel apps for iPad

Yelp

If you're searching for a place to eat, shop, drink, relax and play, the free Yelp for iPad app will provide you with a map or list of exactly what you're looking for. Each location is also filled with reviews by users who have been to that place before. When you decide on a place and have finished your visit, you can leave a review of your own for other users to read when in the same predicament that you were in.

• Download Now

TripIt

The free TripIt app for iPad, when paired with a free TripIt account, becomes your virtual travel assistant. Simply email any flight or hotel confirmations to TripIt and they'll automagically get logged and displayed on your iPad, along with helpful maps and additional information to make your travel safer and easier.

• Download Now

Google Translate

While there are a lot of language courses and travel references available for the iPad, the free Google Translate app lets you find the right phrase, in the right language, right when you need it. Text translation is available in 64 languages and voice translation in 17. Yup, you can talk instead of type! Fantastique! Hen hao!

• Download now

Best free utilities for iPad

Find my iPhone

The free Find my iPhone app by Apple will help you locate your iPad in the unfortunate event that you misplace it or it gets stolen. You can track your iPad from another iOS device or from the iCloud website. You can also send a message and alert to your iPad to help you find it or to provide contact information in the even that someone found your iPad. If you're concerned about the security of your data, you can remotely lock your iPad or even wipe it with the free Find my iPhone app.

• Download Now

Nightstand Central for iPad Free

Obviously your iPad knows how to tell time, yet Apple didn't include a dedicated clock app on the iPad like they did the iPhone. No worries, though, with Nightstand Central for iPad Free, you can use your iPad as an alarm clock each morning. It has a beautiful UI, plays a slideshow in the background, and includes current weather information.

• Download Now

The Weather Channel

Here's yet another app that Apple left off the iPad -- Weather! The Weather Channel app is a great replacement. It features interactive maps and radar, severe weather alerts, and hourly and 10 day forecasts. You can also watch videos of breaking news and weather coverage and upload and view photos of the weather taken by other users. And you get all of this for free!

• Download Now

Your favorite free iPad apps?

Did we miss any of your favorite free iPad apps? If so, head on over to our iPad apps and games forum and add yours to the favorite free iPad apps list! We'll be updating this post often, so your pick could be next!

InstaGamer is a great companion to Instagram that lets you play the traditional matching game with photos from Instagram

InstaGamer is a fun iPhone and iPad game that's just like the classic matching game, only the things being matched are instagram photos. You can play with photos from the popular feed, specific tags, your own feed or photos, or photos you've liked.

Before you play a game, you must select which photo set you want to play from. The popular and featured sets come with InstaGamer for free. The featured set lets you choose from a list of popular tags.

In exchange for $0.99 as an in-app purchase, you can play with photos from your feed (the people you follow), your photos, photos you liked, or search for a specific tag.

After you've chosen your set, InstaGamer to choose 20 random photos from that set. Once it's done, you can scroll through all the photos before tapping play. This is probably a good idea so that you're familiar with the photos before starting the game. It might be helpful to know if there's any similar looking photos. Not to mention, it's a great way to look at Instagram photos!

Each game is a four by five grid with two copies of each of the 10 photos and you simply tap the squares to flip over the photos. You choose photos in groups of two, and if they don't match, both of them flip back over. When a match is made, those photos permanently stay facing up. Once all the photos are matched up, you've won!

At the end of each game, you are given a score somewhere between 0 and 1. Specifically, this number is 10 (the number of pairs) divided by the number of tries it took you to win. So the closer you are to 1, the better you did. As you play more games, you'll see your scores charted on a graph so you can see if you're improving. You'll also be given a quote that is somehow related to you score. For example: "What's got nothing on you!", "Nice Work!", and "A honeybee can fly at 15 mph" are all quotes that I've seen.

The Good

• Very fun
• Neat sounds
• Can access popular and featured sets for free
• Looks amazing
• Full version is only $0.99

The Bad

• Doesn't support landscape orientation

The Conclusion

InstaGamer is a great twist to the classic matching game. Using you and your friend's photos makes the game much more interesting and the little words of encouragement make you want to play over and over again. Although you have to spend $1 play with photos from your feed, it's worth that $1.

Free - Download Now

A recent survey by a marketing firm called App-Promo shows that 59% of developers don't manage to make enough money from app sales to break even on costs, and 80% don't generate enough revenue to support a standalone business. 68% earned $5000 or less from their top app, while 12% earned $50,000 or more.  Those top earners have around $30,000 set aside for a marketing budget.  64.5% of the apps created by those surveyed were paid, while 39.5% relied on advertising and 32.9% were freemium or lite versions of full apps.

The sample size of the group was only 102 developers, plus the marketing firm has a vested interest in scaring devs into pouring money into marketing, but even in that light, the figures still paint an interesting picture. There are a lot of disposable apps out there that I couldn't imagine any iPhone owner spending good money on. The few companies that can churn out really high-quality apps tend to have sizable budgets and a big, established business in the app world. And when developers do make high quality apps, they're often faced by an App Store customer base which no longer puts a high value on quality apps.

You can take a deeper dive in App-Promo's white paper, below,, or check out the short version in the snazzy infographic. Developers, do you have a hard time earning cash in the App Store? How much time and money do you spend on marketing and promotion?

Source: App-Promo, White Paper via TUAW

Squiggles! for iPad is an adorable children's game that instructs the child user to draw squiggles on pictures so that they can come to life. For example, after drawing squiggles behind a few cars and tapping "GO", the squiggles will act as springs that push the cars across the screen -- with sound effects and all.

Squiggles! includes an intro video of a little monkey and bunny explaining what a squiggle is, how they can be large, small, colorful and be used to make spaghetti, clouds, cotton candy, or anything to make pictures come alive.

There are six different pictures included with Squiggles! In the one shown above, you are supposed to draw cotton candy for the kids. (In the screenshot, the cotton candy has already been drawn in). You can do it very simple with just some little squiggles on the sticks, or you can get more detailed and add even more to the scene. There's no limit on the creativity. Tapping go on this picture will make the kids float up in the air with their cotton candy.

The Squiggles! includes 4 different drawing mediums and 10 colors. You can also delete all your squiggles at once with just the tap of a button and save your drawings to your Squiggles! gallery. In addition to drawing, Squiggles! also allows user to add cute stickers to their pictures.

The Parental Zone is where you'll find the Squiggles Gallery, options, and ability to share pictures to Facebook, Twitter, email, or pinter.

As if the really fun pictures that come to life wasn't enough, Squiggle's also includes a book featuring Bobu and Miku from the intro video. It's interactive and incorporates squiggles into the story. You can choose to have the book read to you or to read it yourself. If you choose to have it read to you, you still have to turn the page. This is great for kids who want to interact with the story before turning the page, but I wish there was a way to have the pages automatically turn for the younger kids or to share with Apple TV.

The Good

• Pictures come to life with squiggles
• Six different pictures
• Bold, bright, and colorful
• Parental Zone lets you share pictures with Twitter, Facebook, and more
• Intro video is very cute
• Includes a fun book

The Bad

• "Read to Me" book feature doesn't have an option for automatically turning pages

The Conclusion

I'm just going to come right and say that Squiggles! shouldn't be free. I'd easily drop $5 on it for my daughter. It's very fun and exciting for kids to see their drawing come to life. Combined with the video and book, Squiggles! is a must-have iPad app for children.

Free - Download Now

The popular music streaming service Spotify has updated their app with proper iPad support. Now you can enjoying millions of songs and discover and share music on your iPad's larger screen. The iPad version isn't simply a big version it's iPhone counterpart either -- it's optimized to take advantage of the larger screen and looks amazing.

A Spotify premium subscription is needed to use the service on the iPhone or iPad, but you can try it out for free for 48 hours -- and can be extended to 30 days. The free trial didn't work for me the first time I logged in, but once I logged out and back in, it worked like charm.

On the What's New tab, you'll see a bunch of album artwork along the top that can be scrolled though. These are new songs and can be played instantly. As you scroll through the page, you'll discover trending playlists and top tracks among friends, new releases, and trending playlists and top tracks near you.

Tapping any of the music or playlists will slide out a panel on the right that lets you find out more about it and stream it if you wish.

If you're listening to music, you'll see the "now playing" toolbar at the bottom of every screen. You can also blow this up to full screen so that you can view the album artwork nice and big and in all its glory.

From the Playlists tab, you can access playlists that you have set up on iTunes and playlists you've created with Spotify. Selecting a playlist will also slide out the window on the right and display a collage of artwork of songs that appear in the playlist as well as a lists of the songs in the playlist.

The People tab is where you go to see what your friends are listening to. If you connect Spotify with Facebook, all your Facebook friends who use Spotify will automatically show up in your list. Tapping on a friend will again slide out the column on the right and display your friend's top tracks, top artists, and published playlists.

In Settings, you can enable offline mode, switch to a private session (which expires after 6 hours of inactivity), choose whether you want to show what you listen on Facebook, and more.

The Good

• Clean, pretty, and easy to use UI
• Multiple panels are very well implemented
• Lots of album artwork
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Must have a premium subscription to use Spotify mobile. No free radio available.

The Conclusion

Spotify did a fantastic job with this app. There is a sense of uniformity when using it and the multi-panel design is very implemented. My only issue is that if you don't have a premium subscription, the app is completely useless. Spotify really should include free radio in their mobile apps.

Free - Download Now

Apple is currently rejecting apps that use the Dropbox SDK to provide integration with the popular cloud storage solution. The reason for the rejections is apparently that, under a specific but not inevitable set of circumstances, someone using an app with Dropbox integration could end up on Dropbox's web site and find a way to pay Dropbox for additional storage. That would violate Apple's prohibition against using external websites to circumvent Apple's 30% cut of subscriptions. Dropbox attempted to patch the problem by removing links that would make getting to the full version of the website and finding and buying additional storage possible, but the rejections seem to have continued. Dropbox is now working to try and find a more satisfactory solution and says they'll have more information on that next week.

On the surface, Dropbox broke a rule, caused a problem for developers using their SDK, and is now correcting the mistake. It doesn't appear to have been an intentional or obvious violation, but it was eventually discovered and now Dropbox and their developers have to deal with it.

It's that latter part that highlights some of the continued frustration with Apple's App Store policies, frustrations that persist some 5 years after the introduction of the App Store. The review and rejection process is still, as often as not, impenetrable and capricious. Plenty of apps with Dropbox integration are already on the App Store, presumably using the same SDK as the apps rejected today. That they weren't rejected as well doesn't excuse Dropbox or the apps that were rejected today, but it shows that what one (or many) reviewers let in, another (or many others) may reject.

One of the rejections listed account creation for both Dropbox and Google. (You can pay Google for Google Apps or Google Drive, among other things.) It makes you wonder what would happen if an app linked to store.apple.com...

That's part of what causes frustration with Apple's system. Another part is things like the recent scam app plague. Apps that should have been obvious candidates for immediate rejection to any reviewer who laid eyes on them, were let onto the store to violate intellectual property rights and cheat users out of money.

One absolutely doesn't excuse the other, but people have innate senses of fairness, and for rules to be respected they need to be perceived as being far. (As the old saying goes, people don't mind paying taxes only because it's generally believe everyone pays taxes.)

We want and need real humans reviewing App Store apps, but developers need to believe those reviewers are being fair, and applying broadly consistent standards with generally predictable results.

To their credit, Apple is continually improving the App Store review process. Because the process is human, they recognize they can't always predict all of the edge cases, all of the time. They've made changes over the years, sometimes major ones like un-banning the use of cross-compilers, sometimes small ones like un-banning satirical political cartoons.

So far, however, they haven't changed the policy that affects Dropbox -- the requirement that Apple get 30% of all subscriptions, and that apps can't link to external websites where the same subscriptions can be purchased without Apple getting that cut.

Again, Dropbox knew about it, accidentally broke it, and is now working to fix it. In the meantime, Apple will catch some criticism, both for the policy, and for the way the App Store handles policies. And given the power Apple wields, that kind of ongoing discussion isn't a bad thing.

Source: Dropbox via @sethclifford

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify are three of the most popular streaming apps available. But which one is the best option for iPhone users?

While iTunes is the undisputed king of digital music, it doesn't offer streaming or subscription services, leaving the field wide open for a wide variety of contenders, including Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify. That's important because not everyone wants to buy their music. Some iPhone users want more variety and a better way to discover new music, or simply re-discover old favorites. That's because music is personal. It has to suit both our general tastes and our mood at the moment. A good streaming music app needs to reflect this. It needs to have music available that we like, when we like, and the better it does that job, the better it is.

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify each have their own unique take on streaming music, but which one does it best?

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: User interface and experience

When it comes to streaming music, users want to find what they want to listen to easily and start listening quickly. If you have to dig through tons of menus or spend lots of time figuring out how to find music, you're just as soon switch to something else. It needs to be accessible and even better -- customizable.

Pandora is extremely easy to navigate and use but doesn't have a ton of options. Pick from a station, like or dislike items, and create stations from a track or artist. Other than that, functionality is pretty limited.

Pandora's layout is relatively straight forward and simple. The first tab will aggregate all the stations you've listened to and a "quick mix" that will play a mix of your stations. You can tap the edit button and easily remove anything you don't want. The next tab allows you to add new stations. You can search by either artist or genre. Tapping on a station or artist will instantly start streaming that content. It will also add that station to your playlist tab.

The bookmarks tab does exactly what you'd expect -- it allows you to bookmark tracks and artists. This feature is handy if you want to keep lists of tracks for future purchase (you can jump straight into iTunes from Pandora to buy content). While Pandora doesn't allow you to go back and stream that exact track, you can create a station based on that artist or track. This is great for fine tuning the Pandora app to play content you like. Make sure when listening to tracks that you use the thumbs up and thumbs down feature to filter in content you're more likely to enjoy and filter out things you don't like.

The free version of Slacker shows ads along the bottom. Paid users won't see these. The main menu is where all your content will be located which makes the app extremely easy to navigate through. Overall, it flows together nicely.

Upon launching Slacker you get a home page that allows you to browse some pre-defined stations or create your own custom stations. Premium users will also have the option of creating custom playlists (that's a feature Pandora does not offer in their iPhone app).

After choosing a station or creating a custom station, you can like or dislike songs or artists just as you can with Pandora. When disliking a track, you can either dislike just a specific song or the artist in general. So if you detest Rihanna in all forms, just block her from ever showing up for you in Slacker again.

Slacker also gives you the ability to check out what artists and tracks are featured on a station. Tapping into a station allows you to view info on the station, check out the artists, and check out the song list. Tapping the play button next to the station name will instantly start streaming that station. Overall, the entire layout of Slacker flows nicely. There aren't tons of menus to navigate and all of your presets and content are accessible via the main page.

While Spotify is the most pleasing to the eye, the functionality is still rather limited. You can't search by genre or listen to pre-populated stations. You'll need to create playlists to get going.

Spotify for iPhone is quite a bit different when it comes to overall design and the manner in which you interact with your content. The main homepage shows you a slider of top tracks and new releases with news underneath. The first tab shows any playlists you've created as well as your inbox, starred, and local tracks (we will get more into these later). The next tab allows you to search for artists, tracks, and albums. Once you find what you're looking for you can either stream it, add it to a playlist, or star it to play it later.

Spotify also integrates Facebook to allow you to view what your friends are listening to under the Friends tab. You can, of course, disable this feature (if, like some of the iMore staff, you don't want your friends to know you secretly listen to the Spice Girls...)

I actually prefer Spotify's layout and interface to the others but there's one big downside -- you can't browse genres. If you don't know what you're looking for or find things in "what's new" or "what's hot", there's pretty much no other way to find music from the iPhone app. This doesn't make for a great experience.

Between the three, Pandora is somewhat plain and Spotify lacks the ability to find music productively. Slacker is a nice middle ground. It doesn't overwhelm you. It might look a bit busy at first but after using it, everything just flows nicely together.

When it comes to user interface and experience, Slacker takes the prize.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Content

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all focus on music, yet present content in very different ways. If you want a random selection and don't care for playlists, Pandora provides that. But if you want to customize your listening experience right from the start, Spotify and Slacker are the best bets.

Pandora for iPhone has tons of presets to choose from when it comes to radio stations. But if you want to be able to customize your listening experience, there aren't many controls to help you do so other than liking or disliking tracks and hoping it'll play more of what you like.

Pandora at its core is an online radio streaming service. You can choose the types of music you like as well as like and dislike individual songs or artists. If you come across and artist or song you really like, you can listen to a mix based on that song. What Pandora doesn't do is give you the option to add individual songs to playlists and make your own. It attempts to learn what you like by the ratings you give content. Sometimes those ratings aren't so accurate.

If you want a more radio-like experience and don't want to put too much work into finding and playing content, Pandora is great. Beyond that, it's lacking features even for premium users.

Slacker for iPhone comes equipped with radio stations just like Pandora. You can also like or dislike artists or tracks. Paid users can also favorite tracks to play instantly later or cache stations for offline playback as long as you've got storage room on your iPhone.

Slacker is simliar to Pandora from the standpoint that you browse through stations and like or dislike artists and songs. From there, Slacker will show you custom content based on your own tastes. You can like and favorite songs which will show up under your favorites section off of the main menu. If you are a premium subscriber, you'll be able to listen to songs on demand.

Slacker allows offline streaming of up to 25 stations at a time (as long as you have room on your iPhone to store the content). You'll need to be a plus or premium member, but you'll be able to listen to your favorite stations without using up your data plan. To access stations you've saved for offline playing, just select the cached content section on the main menu and you're good to go.

Spotify for iPhone doesn't have presets built-in. You'll need to add playlists and customize your experience. You can actually only access Spotify from your iPhone if you're a premium subscriber. This may be a road block for users who don't necessarily wants to pay to stream.

Spotify concentrates on a more tailored experience. When it comes to the iPhone app, you can either search for content to play one song or album at a time, or build playlists. There are no stations to weed through or genres to choose from. This may be a deal-breaker for users who want the ability to browse music instead of having to find something specific. There are many times I just want to start playing music and don't really know exactly what I want to listen to. I just know what type of music I want to listen to.

If you'll only be using your iPhone to stream, Slacker will provide you with the best content selection and ways to sort and listen offline. While they don't have custom playlists, you can favorite songs you hear that you like and listen to and access them under your favorites tab on the main menu.

When it comes to content, Slacker wins.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Cross-platform syncing & streaming

If you plan on listening not only on your iPhone but on your computer or other mobile device, such as an iPad, you may want to consider what each service offers on other platforms, especially if you're contemplating a premium membership.

Pandora One gives you access to Pandora's desktop application for Mac and Windows. While it's better than web-based streaming, it's very minimal and nothing to get too excited about.

Pandora has a wide array of mobile apps available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android. You can also listen online. When you sign into your account all your information and saved content will be there.

Pandora One is Pandora's premium subscription model. It gives you access to the desktop application for Mac or Windows. The desktop app really isn't anything to get excited about and s quite dull. There's not much to interact with and it doesn't offer you any particular benefits over using the web-based player.

Slacker doesn't have a native Mac or Windows application but you can stream directly from the website. Paid users will not see any ads after logging in.

Slacker also has applications for most platforms and a few more than Pandora offers, namely a native iPad client. They also offer support for Windows Phone 7, Nokia, Palm, BlackBerry, Android, and many more. Slacker will save all your content under your login and it will be there regardless what app or platform you sign in to.

Slacker does not have a Mac or Windows app but you can, of course, stream straight from their website.

Spotify for Mac is by far the best way to enjoy streaming to your computer. If you spend a lot of time on your computer and need a good client, Spotify is what you want.

Spotify also supports popular platforms such as Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry, and iPad.

While I have an issue with Spotify's lack of a search feature on the iPhone, it makes up for that with the Mac and Windows app. It's by far the best desktop app of the three (especially considering Slacker doesn't even have one). You can view popular playlists, star tracks, see what's popular in your area, and monitor what your friends are listening to.

My favorite feature of Spotify's desktop app is the ability to wirelessly sync your starred tracks and playlists whenever your iPhone is on the same Wi-Fi network as your desktop computer. I frequently use this feature when I'm listening to music in the office or at home. I'll star music that I particularly like and have my iPhone set up to download starred tracks for offline use. I launch Spotify while on my network, the desktop app recognizes it instantly, downloads any changes, and I get in my car and start listening without having to worry about using my data (offline mode requires premium subscription).

You can also use the Spotify desktop client to sync local tracks from your computer. It'll pull everything in from your music library. While I don't typically use this service, it will be a nice addition for users who don't have to have to manage music in two separate apps. Spotify can handle it all.

When it comes to cross-platform support, Spotify takes the win due to their robust Mac and Windows app. When they launch their anticipated iPad app, it'll just be that much better. The iPad app is available now.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Audio quality

One of the most important aspects of listening to music for many is how good it sounds. There's no exception when it comes to streaming content. It's really hard to give a consistent rating considering many things can influence the actual rate at which music stream, such as your internet connection and whether or not a specific track is even available in a higher quality format.

Pandora streams at at average rate of around 64kbps for free listeners on the web, and at 192kbps for premium subscribers. They make no guarantee about mobile listeners, such as iPhone users, considering so many external factors can affect the bit rate.

Slacker doesn't have much information on the exact rate at which they are streaming but they do say that regardless of what platform you are streaming on, you should experience "near-cd quality" audio.

Spotify is a bit better at explaining what they stream. Premium users can get up to 320kbps on the desktop app and within the iPhone app. Of course, actual quality may vary given internet connection and other variables. They say the typical average and free users usually get around 160kbps.

Spotify wins when it comes to audio quality.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Pricing & features

While content is super important, so is the price you have to pay for it. While Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all have a free ad-supported version, they also all offer premium subscriptions.

Pandora's premium service, Pandora One, weighs in at $36 a year or $3.99 per month. So if you can buy yearly, you'll get a bit of a discount. Pandora One will get you the following additions over the free version:

• Higher quality streaming - 192K bits per second
• Removal of ads
• Unlimited skips per day (but you'll still be limited to 6 skips per hour due to licensing issues)
• Access to the desktop player
• Extended timeout (listen up to 5 hours while not by your computer or iPhone)
• Custom skins

Slacker has 2 subcription models to choose from. The $3.99/month plus subscription will get you the following over the free version:

• No ads
• Unlimited song skips
• Mobile station caching (offline playing)
• ABC news
• ESPN radio

The $9.99/month premium subscription will get you everything listed above as well as the following:

• Songs on demand
• Albums on demand
• Single artist stations
• Caching of albums and playlists
• Create custom playlists

Spotify also has two subscription models outside of their freemium model but we're only going to cover the $9.99/month version because, sadly, that's the only version that will even allow you to stream to your iPhone. There is a 48 hour free trial if you'd like to check it out first. Just download the app to activate your trial.

• Manage your local MP3s
• Take your music abroad
• Artist radio
• No ads
• Play local files on your mobile device
• Offline mode on your desktop & mobile
• Enhanced sound quality & content

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all provide access to play content through your home or office systems such as Sonos. They're all widely accepted and you shouldn't run into issues with any of them when it comes to a lot of the popular music systems.

When it comes to price, Slacker offers the most for only $4/month but Spotify offers much more in their $9.99/month package. You'll just have to weigh out what you need and what services you'll really use. Go with the one that has a better value for you personally.

When it comes to cost, it's a tie between Slacker and Spotify.

Pandora vs. Slacker. vs. Spotify: Conclusion

Pandora, Slacker, and Spotify all offer streaming experiences in very different ways. I can't help but feel that Pandora is lacking when it comes to functionality and customization. I know many users just want to listen and go, but access to previously listened to songs and stations would be a welcome addition.

Slacker provides a nice streaming service for free with an easy to maneuver through interface. You can even get offline caching for only $4/month. That's a very sought after feature for many users who want to be more conservative with their carrier data. You won't get it cheaper than you do with Slacker.

Spotify is the new kid on the block but packs a punch. While I think they have the best desktop experience of all three, we're talking iPhone app here. And sadly, that's lacking. There is no way to browse for and discover music. That's a deal-breaker for me. So is having to pay $9.99/month just to use the iPhone app. If Spotify could fix these two issues by beefing up the iPhone app and giving iPhone users access either for free (ad-based) or at a cheaper rate, they'd be the best choice, hands down.

Only one of these apps seems to be a happy medium between discovering and customizing the streaming experience, and that's Slacker. It'll suit most users needs and offers the flexibility most users need.

Slacker is the best streaming app for iPhone.

Pandora - Free - Download Now

Slacker - Free - Download Now

Spotify - Free - Download Now

Since Instagram still has no official iPad app of their own, Iris App is a fantastic alterative

Instagram may not have a native app available on the iPad, but Iris App is here to fill that void. You may not be able to upload photos to the popular photo sharing service, but Iris App does allow you to browse your feed, featured photos, "like" and comment photos, and more.

Along the left hand side, you'll see a thin column that give access to your main feed, featured photos, your profile, search, and the photos you've liked.

Your home feed is displayed as a grid of polaroids. Each Polaroid shows who's photo it is and the number of likes and comments. These images are nice and big and the design is very clean looking. If you want to "like" the photo, just double tap! You can also tap the heart and a sidebar on the right will slide out that lists all the users who have liked the photo, links to their profiles, and the option to "like" the photo. Tapping the speech bubble is very similar, except for comments. If available, you can also view the photo's location on a map.

Tapping on a photo will slide a larger version of the polaroid up from the bottom of the screen that looks exactly the same with the addition of an excerpt of the caption. Which leads me to my biggest disappointment -- if the caption is more than about 40 characters, the only way to view the caption is in the comment view. I think captions should be viewable from the polaroid/thumbnail view. I like to see caption as I casually scroll and browse through my feed.

If you tap on a user's avatar, you'll be taken to their profile. Along the top, you see their name, bio, number of followers and following, a button to follow/unfollow, a "thumbs-up" to recommend the user via email, and a button that lets you view all the user's photos on a map.

The photos in profile mode are displayed much smaller than on your main feed -- there is 4 photos per row vs. two photos per row. But there's a trigger on the bottom of the sidebar that lets you switch to the larger, more detailed thumbnails if you prefer.

The featured photos and liked photos pages also feature these smaller thumbnails, but oddly, there is no option to view them larger.

The Good

• Pretty
• Browse main feed, featured photos, profiles, and favorites
• Like and comment on photos
• Search for users and tags

The Bad

• Can't tap tags
• Can't change thumbnail size for main feed, featured tab, or favorites tab (main feed is big, featured and favorites are small)

The Conclusion

I often use Instagram to browse through photos even when I'm not sharing my own photos and have always longed for an iPad version. Given the fact that Facebook now owns Instagram and that the Facebook iPad app took ages to release, I'm not expecting an official Instagram iPad app anytime soon. I'm just glad to have Iris App as a fantastic alternative.

$1.99 - Download Now

The widely popular twitter client for iPhone and iPad, Tweetbot, has been updated to version 2.3 and brings with it some great new features, including a new tweet detail view with both inline conversations and replies, the ability to stop retweets from individual users, new gestures, and more.

The new tweet detail view is very neat, but I admit that I actually very rarely look at tweet details. I'm more excited about the new conversation view that also includes replies. Many other Twitter apps mix all replies into the conversation stream making it hard to follow, but Tweetbot clearly labels which tweets are in the conversation at hand, and which ones are replies to the specific tweet you are looking at. Very nice.

The other extremely awesome feature is the ability to block retweets from individual users. That person you are following who has the tendency to retweet what seems like everything in their Twitter feed can now be silenced! If you block their retweets, you only see the original tweets from that user in your feed-- some of the people I'm following better watch out!

Tweetbot has also made some adjustments with regards to tweeted videos. Video thumbnails will now show a play button over it as a way to indicate that it's a video and not a photo. Thumbnail support for Vimeo links has also been added.

Some of the other new features include Droplr support, higher res image uploads when connected to wifi, support for $stock links, improved email format, reorganized tweet drawer, the timeline sync bookmark icon is now optional, and holding down the Compose Tweet button will quickly open last draft.

I've always been a huge fan of Tweetbot. Occasionally, I switch to a different client, but I always end up returning to Tweetbot. Fellow Tweetbot users, what's your favorite new feature in this update?

$2.99 for iPhone - Download Now

$2.99 for iPad - Download Now

A Lithuanian developer, LemonLabs, has recently published an interesting infographic detailing a few simple ways in which designers can prepare their assets for developers in a useful and sensible way. The advice ranges from simple standard resolutions for icons, to highlighting particular Apple style guidelines, and how to package your final bundle of assets. A lot of it seems like common sense, but I'm sure there are at least a few iOS developers out there who would like to make sure their designers have at least glanced over something like this.

If you're an avid listener of Iterate, our mobile design podcast -- and if you aren't, hurry up and start listening now! -- you know the subject of how designers pass of assets to developers is rather hotly contested. Some designers want complete control over final image files, right down to the slice, while others think it's the developers job to take the Photoshop or Fireworks source file and cut it up themselves. Likewise, some developers have no idea how to edit an image and just want the slices all pretty and packaged, while other developers want final control to the point of preferring to slice the source files themselves.

When you factor in managing Retina (@2x) and non-retina assets, making sure everything is pixel perfect can become both an art and a chore. Luckily, compared to other platform, Apple's small set of screen sizes makes the task at least somewhat manageable. (iOS developers don't have to invent their own forms of antialiasing and test against different screen technologies, for example!)

So consider this a cheat-sheet, or a funny way to make a much-needed point.

And for way more on the topic of mobile design, keep listing to Iterate and check out our Mobile Design & Development Forum!

Source: LemonLabs via iPhoneinCanada

A new jailbreak tweak called Quasar will let you have multiple apps open and running at the same time. If you've always yearned for the opportunity to have your iPad work more like a desktop OS like Windows or OS X, Quasar could be just what you've been looking for.

Quasar is (the very first) window manager for iPad! Now you can run apps in windows, on your iPad! Simply open any application and it will be opened in a window, just like in your computer. Quasar is integrated to iOS's default app switcher (double pressing home button). Killing an application in app switcher (or holding the close button) kills its window and the application itself, but if you only click the close button, the window is closed but the application keeps running in background (in the app switcher).

Quasar is a version 1.0 jailbreak app and to be fair you can tell. It crashed the springboard a few times when I was playing with it and froze a couple of times too. There are weird rotations and portrait bugs as seen in the video are quite annoying too. Having said that, this could potentially be a game changer as and when it's quirks have been ironed out.

Quasar is available through Cydia for $9.99 and is for the iPad only running iOS 5 or higher.

UPDATE: The developer has already released an update and fixed some of the bugs that we experienced in the demo video. The orientation and rotation bugs are now fixed along with a few other things too. Good to see such speedy bug fixes!

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a utility, a unique Twitter client, a classic video game, a social networking iPad app, a fun photography app for creating comics, and an addicting puzzle game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

FileBrowser - Chris

This week’s pick is a little utility that helps me manage the files and folders on my NAS (Networked Attached Storage). I have just bought a D-Link NAS to store all my movies, TV shows and photographs and was looking for a way to access the content from my iPad or iPhone. FileBrowser does it all and more.

FileBrowser lets you enter the address of your NAS and then view all the files and folders right on your iPad iPhone or iPod touch. It lets you manages files, delete files, rename files and also download files and open them in apps installed on your device or even stream media in Apple approved formats.

$4.99 - Download Now

TweeTV - Chris Parsons

This week, I decided to go ahead and choose just a simple app that to me, really has no purpose yet I use it almost every day. TweeTV does nothing more than show a bunch of streaming tweets based on any number of things. It can be from a topic, a person or even just a word. I like to go ahead and airplay it to my TV while I'm working and looking for things to write. For example, set it to only pull in Apple tweets and you'll catch headlines and tweets from all over the world about Apple. It's not overly functional for collecting "up to date" info but it's fun to just watch tweets from everywhere on any chosen topic just roll by. It has themes built in just in case basic black isn't your thing but really, basic black looks the best. It's available for free in the iTunes App Store for free right now for iPhone or iPad.

Free - Download Now

Battlelog - Simon Sage

I'm a big fan of EA's Battlefield 3, so when they announced that their social network for virtual murderers was coming to iPhone, I was pretty excited. Through Battlelog for iOS, you can view the battle feed of your friends to see their latest achievements, launch directly into chat with friends online, drill down into player stats, and check your progress with various weapon and skill unlocks. There's a sub-section for checking out the latest stories on the Battlefield 3 news feed, but for the most part, this is just a good way to see which of your buddies are online and ready for a few rounds. I'd love to see some more advanced stuff like what's available in the Call of Duty: Elite app, like customizing your classes and tracking challenge progress, but this is a good start. If you're in BF3, definitely download this freebie, and feel free to add me to your buddies list.

Free - Download Now

LinkedIn for iPad - Gary Mazo

I spend a decent amount of time on various social networking sites – using my iPad as the primary tool. It is amazing that now, two years after the iPad was introduced, one of my most used social networking sites finally has an app. LinkedIn for the iPad just launched this week and while it is a bit late to the party – I am really enjoying this app.

First off, it is optimized for the retina display on the iPad – which is great. There are some new features that are very useful – one being the calendar feature. Say you have a meeting at two with someone important and you want to be prepared. With the calendar feature, you can see his/her LinkedIn profile and get set for the big meeting.

The home screen is very clean – just three large buttons to tap on the screen; All Updates, You and Inbox. Inside the All Updates section is where you find the new calendar, updates from your contacts and key news headlines from LinkedIn today.

Inside the “You” section is where you post your own updates, see who has viewed your profile and search all your LinkedIn contacts. You can also easily email your profile to a potential connection, which can be helpful, if you are searching for a new job.

Your inbox is simply where you LinkedIn messages are stored and where you will find pending invitations to connect.

All ion all, I really like the new interface and find it very useful, easy to navigate and uncluttered. It is too bad it took them so long to get this on the iPad – but, now that it is here - it is my pick of the week.

Have you tried the new LinkedIn app? Now that there is a dedicated, usable app, will you use it instead of whichever way you now access LinkedIn? Let us know in the forums!

Free - Download Now

Halftone - Rene Ritchie

When I was a kid, I'd buy comic books and read Sunday comics printed in four colors. Not four color process, mind you, but four colors and four colors only. Everything else had to be simulated by using dots of smaller or larger sizes. Looking back, it was horrible. Looking back, it was wonderful. Halftone is the name of the process used -- the smaller and bigger dots -- to make those old style comic books and Sunday comics. It's also the name of an iOS app that lets you convert photos into retro-looking comic images.

You can add filters, of course, and control the size of the dot patterns. You can also add captions, word bubbles, paper types, and special effect text.

It's not an every day app, but it's a fun one, especially for those of us who were once kids and deeply in love with halftone comics.

$0.99 - Download now

Polymer - Leanna Lofte

This week I've got yet another puzzle game! This one is called Polymer and it's a shape-creating puzzle game that is highly addicting. The goal is to slide the rows and columns around so that you create a complete, closed shape. It's very challenging.

Polymer also has really awesome, calming-like, music and sound effects. Be sure to check out my full review!

$0.99 - Download Now

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

iOS developers on the west coast might be just a little bit peeved that WWDC sold out before they were even awake, and even more may have been cut out from the fun today as Apple canceled some tickets. Luckily, another event called the Indie Developer Lab has been put together for the same time (June 11 - 14) and only a few blocks away from the Moscone Center at The Box (it's fancier than it sounds). Tickets are considerably cheaper at $100/day as an early bird special, compared to $1600 for the whole four days at WWDC.

The show will host a contest called the IDL Remix, where groups of one to three developers will be given some rough source code, and they have to turn it into a polished final product. There's no mention of what the prize is, but it should be a fun little exercise nonetheless. Otherwise, you'll be able to code away in a nice, relaxed environment with lots of other clever programmers to meet and help you out.

The guys organizing this show are @kinkadius, @natetrue, and @flawlessfox of JailbreakCon. So, IndieDevLab may also be a good place to talk about operating outside of the Apple-approved ecosystem, if you're into that sort of thing.

If this sounds like your bag, you can register via the link below.

Source: Indie Dev Lab, via @kinkadius, @natetrue, @flawlessfox

Contacts Journal is a CRM (contacts relationship management) app for your iPhone and iPad. It allows you to log information about your contacts, add to-dos associated with them, and even attach documents to specific contacts. You can add contacts from the built in Contacts app (and keep information in sync between the two apps), or add contacts separately that you don't want in your main Contacts app.

Contacts Journal is available for the iPhone and iPad (separate purchases), but all screenshots in this review will be from an iPhone. Both versions have the exact same features.

Adding contacts to Contacts Journal is very easy. You just tap the plus sign and either manually add a contact, or select some or all of all the people stored in the built-in Contacts app. When you add contacts that were already stored on your iPhone or iPad, Contacts Journal and Contacts will stay in sync.

The contact screen shows the photo you have stored for that person as well as buttons to call, message, or email that contact from directly within the app. You will also find buttons that cycle between logs, to-do's, and documents that you have associated with that individual. To add an entry or document, simply tap the plus sign.

When adding a to-do, you can choose to sync it with the built-in Calendar app and also to receive a reminder notification. You can also choose specific locations for your logs and to-do's.

The easiest way to add a document to a contact is to browse to the document from somewhere else on your iPad, like email or Dropbox, and "Open In" Contacts Journal. You will immediately be prompted to select a contact to attach the document to. The other option is to directly send a document from your computer to the app by connecting both devices to the same Wi-Fi network and typing a special URL into your browser.

The Logs and To-do tabs are simply filled their respective lists. The Maps tab show a map filled with green, red, and purple pins. The green ones represent the addresses that you have stored for your contacts. The red pins indicated places that have to-dos, and purple pins are places associated with a log.

Contacts Journal let's you backup and sync your data with Dropbox. Unfortunately, Dropbox sync is not automatic and you must manually force Contacts Journal to send or receive data from Dropbox. When I expressed my concern about this to the folks at zaal, however, they let me know that the reason for this is because an automatic sync would take up a lot of data. The good news is that Contacts Journal does add a badge to the more tab of the app with the number of changes that I have not been synced with Dropbox. This works as a great reminder -- especially for people like me who must make sure all badges get cleared.

It's also unfortunate that Contacts Journal doesn't support iCloud sync, but the developers let me know that this is actually something they are diligently working on, but are running into issues due to bugs on Apple's end. Once those are worked out, iCloud sync will be available in an update.

The Good

• Add logs and to-tods to contacts
• Attach documents to contacts
• Create groups of contacts
• Keeps contacts synced between Contacts Journal and built-in Contacts app
• Keep devices synced with Dropbox

The Bad

• Dropbox syncing isn't automatic. Must manually send and retrieve data.
• iPad version has a boring UI
• No paid universal for iPhone and iPad version available, even though the lite version is universal

The Conclusion

Contacts Journal is a great way to manage important information about contacts, make notes about meetings and assign documents to them. I'll admit to approaching this app with a "when will I actually use this" attitude, but my thoughts changed as I started exploring the app. Personally, I will probably use Contacts Journal to manage photography clients and attach contracts and receipts to each client as well as make notes about the photo sessions and client requests.

It's somewhat annoying that the iPhone and iPad version are separate, rather expensive purchases. I'm willing to pay a premium price for premium software, but since the iPhone and iPad versions are virtually the exact same app with no UI differences, I would've liked to see a universal version available, even if at just a discounted price than if I were to buy them separately.

The good news is that there is a free, universal version of Contacts Manager available for the iPhone and iPad that restricts you to just 10 logs, to-dos, and documents. It's a great way to take the app for a test drive and see if it'll meet your needs.

$9.99, iPhone - Download Now

$9.99, iPad - Download Now

Free Lite universal version - Download Now

This morning Apple has apparently canceled some WWDC 2012 tickets, claiming that they are "ineligible" because individuals aren't supposed to buy more than one. Of course, companies with teams of developers are allowed to buy more than one, but some combination of using the same address and Apple's system not working the way it's supposed to has flagged legitimate tickets for cancellation. Much to the rage and consternation of developers. Apple is apparently reinstating the purchases but needless to say, it's been a dramatic day for some iOS developers.

The Worldwide Developer Conference sold out after two hours of being on sale. That's with zero advance notice and a 5:30am PDT start time. If a developer was unfortunate enough to be in a bad time zone, or simply away from a computer when they went on sale, tough luck. WWDC policy prohibits the transfer and resale of tickets, which prevents scalping but compounds the problem for developers who missed the tiny window of availability.

That's led to some opportunists still trying to pull of sales on eBay, and to some desperate developers offering to change their name to that of the original purchaser (and pull jury duty!) in order to get access.

Have you had any problems getting your WWDC tickets? Have you been unpleasantly surprised by one of these e-mails from Apple? Developers, how important is WWDC attendence to your business? Let us know in our iOS Developer and Designer Forum

Source: TNW, eBay, Craigslist

Twitter for iPhone isn't your early adopter, power user app. It's not designed for the gadget nerd with tons of followers who engages in non-stop repartees with like-minded friends, peers, and colleagues all day. It for the new mainstream Twitter user who has very few followers, follows tons of celebrities, and is looking for more and better ways to find something... anything... to do on Twitter. Like it or not, since the last redesign, that's the the official Twitter app's target user now. And that's who they're improving things for with this update.

Discover promises "more interesting and timely content that matters to you". Basically that means you see a paid placement on top (mine's a Yahoo! add I could not possibly care less about out), a hashtag (mine's #NewFront, which is impenetrable to me), a trending tweet (mine is something about an Ex-Liberian president that it says is trending but I've never expressed any interest in), a trio of recent friend activities, including their retweets, follows, and favorites, a trio of additional trending hashtags and terms, and a trio of people Twitter recommends you follow.

Activity appears below the redesigned stories in Discover. Now you can tap any story once to see Tweets about a particular trend or news article. You can then read the entire story or join the conversation by replying, retweeting or favoriting related Tweets.

Again, I'm not the Lady Gaga following nouveau Twitter type, I'm not their target user, but all of this is completely lost on me. This tab could disappear tomorrow and my enjoyment of the app would only increase.

Search has also been improved, and claims to be simpler and more error-proof with different spellings and related terms. The search box is present in both the Connect and Discover tabs, the former of which prioritizes @names and full names, the latter of which prioritizes #hashtags or keywords. You can also get a search history in the Discover tab.

We’ve also made a few improvements specifically for iPhone: when you tap the search box in Discover, you’ll see your most recent queries. You can also go directly to someone’s profile when searching for a username in Connect.

I usually prefer one search box to rule them all, Twitter optimizing different search boxes for different types of content works well, even if it adds extra cognitive load by making users choose the "proper" tab before they can query the system.

Notifications have also been made more robust, and you can now be alerted to tweets, retweets, and follows, in addition to the usual @mentions and direct messages (DMs). It brings Twitter for iPhone up to parity with some other clients, but is also a power user feature in what's clearly a mainstream targeted app. Unless Lady Gaga is retweeting and favoriting me left and right, this feature would have felt far more at home in the older version of Twitter.

Overall, the user interface remains gorgeous, the functionality solid, the implementation silky smooth, and the focus on Twitter's new mainstream audience commendable. It's just not the good old Twitter many of us knew and loved, and it's a little sad there's no official Twitter Pro app that could have somehow melded the new experience with the old, more power-user centric functionality and layout.

Free - Download now

Source: Twitter blog

Here's another gem to add to your puzzle game collection - Polymer for iPhone. In Polymer, your goal is create shapes, called polymers, by sliding around the rows and columns. A polymer isn't complete unless all the ends (which are marked with black dots) are closed.

As I was playing polymer and thinking about what I was going to say in this review, my mind kept wandering into thoughts of a Rubik's Cube and the similarities it has with Polymer. I was pleased to discover Polymer's description in the App Store claims the game "combines the logic of Rubik’s Cube, the sliding mechanism of Chuzzle, and the creativity of Lego." Bingo - that's a perfect description.

Polymer has three game modes, but only one of them is initially available. It's called Two Minutes, and as its name implies, you are given two minutes to create as many polymers as you can. To create a polymer, you simply slide around the rows and columns to match up the pieces. All the black dots on the pieces must be connected for a polymer to be complete -- or, as I like to think of it, all the ends must be closed up. Larger polymers give more points.

The more you play, the more points you earn and the more features you can unlock, including additional shapes (which make game-play more difficult), and more game modes. If you're impatient, you can also unlock these features with in-app purchases, but it's not required.

The other two game modes are called One Polymer and Bombs. In One Polymer, you have as much time as you want to create the biggest, highest point-value polymer that you can. In Bombs, you must destroy the pieces that are bombs before they destroy you. Again, these game modes will be unlocked as you earn more points by playing the game, or you can unlock them for $0.99 each.

There is also an in-app store where you can purchase other color schemes for $0.99 each, or you can unlock all content, including all game modes and color schemes for $2.99.

The Good

• Very fun and challenging
• Great music and sound effects
• In-app purchases aren't required to gain content
• More color schemes available as in-app purchases

The Bad

• Two minutes is great, but would love to see longer time options

The Conclusion

Polymer is my new go-to puzzle game. It's a lot of fun and very challenging. Combined with the beautiful colors and awesome music and sound effects -- I'm hooked.

$0.99 - Download Now

Nintendo recently posted their full-year financial results, which included their first operating loss amounting to a deficit of $458 million. Over the whole year, Nintendo sold 13.5 million 3DS portable systems worldwide; to put that in perspective, Apple sold about 9 million iPhones in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2012 alone. Nintendo is optimistically forecasting $247 million in net income by the end of 2012.

After hearing this news, all eyes drifted to the iPhone for hoarding the attention (and disposable income) of casual gamers who are prone to play on the Nintendo Wii system. Meanwhile more hardened players have been long-entrenched with PC, Xbox, and PS3 consoles. On more than one occasion, Nintendo has called out the smartphone world and Apple for devaluing games, and who can blame them with so many awesome free games available? Steve Jobs shot back that the iPod touch was more popular than the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP combined. One of Nintendo's top developers admitted that Angry Birds was actually one of his favorite games in the last year, but Nintendo itself isn't showing any signs of easing its stubbornness.

It's too bad that such a venerable gaming company isn't able to progress with the times. Microsoft and Sony are having a reasonable amount of success by supporting mobile initiatives alongside their gaming consoles; I can't imagine what's stopping Nintendo from jumping into the smartphone world head first, especially in light of a rough 2011. They're already digitally distributing classic gaming titles through the Wii's Virtual Console at a healthy margin - $5 for a 27-year-old game isn't bad mileage at all, and they could milk that even further on the App Store. Investors have pressured Nintendo to get its titles on mobile, and it's really just sensible; Penny Arcade really put it best.

As is, Nintendo's going to push a new console called the Wii U this year, which will highlight a new 6-inch tablet-style controller. Good luck with that, Nintendo - you'll need it.

Now where's out Super Mario for iOS?

Source: Nintendo

One of my favorite PDF annotating apps for iPad, Remarks by Readdle, just got even better with the addition of automatic two-way Dropbox syncing. With the new update, a new, blue folder named Remarks and labeled with Dropbox will appear in your notes once you link your Dropbox account with Remarks. Any notes you create in this folder will automagically sync up with Dropbox -- you no longer have to manually send a note to Dropbox. It works like a charm.

When I compared Remarks with Noteshelf and Notability, one of my complaints about Remarks was that the handwriting wasn't all that spectacular. The good news is that this update has also brought major improvements to the handwriting, bringing it up to par with all the major iPad handwriting apps.

These two additional features are huge improvements to Remarks and I'm looking forward to even more updates. I already know that the next one is going to be pretty awesome.

As mentioned above, I have always been a huge fan of Remarks. As a math instructor, I frequently use it to handwrite solutions to quizzes, exams, and worksheets that I then make available to my students in electronic form.

Giveaway

The good folks at Readdle have given us 5 promo codes for Remarks to give away to you, our awesome readers! For a chance to win, just head on over to the iMore forums and leave a comment in the official giveaway thread letting us know why you'd like to win a copy of Remarks and what you plan to use it for.

ENTER NOW

$4.99 - Download Now

Shadowrun fans will be happy to hear that a new game in the classic cyberpunk setting is well on its way thanks to Kickstarter, and that we'll be seeing it on iOS and Android tablets. Funding wraps up this Sunday, and they're already blown past their $400,000 goal with over $1.6 million from fans.

Much like Tim Schafer's upcoming Kickstarted title, Shadowrun Returns promises to be a throwback to an old-school game style that hasn't been supported by publishers for awhile.  In this case, it will be a turn-based 2D game, which is consistent with its tabletop role-playing game roots. Missions take place on physical, digital, mystical, and astral planes simultaneously, which should offer a breadth of tactical possibilities. Though that might not be particularly exciting for folks looking for bleeding-edge 3D shoot-em-ups on iPad, the game takes place in a a well-established high-tech dystopian world where magic and technology coexist. You can expect a ton of replay value, as the developer will also be making the level editor available for players to create and share their own adventures online. Unfortunately, there won't be any multiplayer this go-around; for that kind of thing you might be interested in Roll20, which is also wrapping up its funding soon.

As great as it is to see Shadowrun getting a proper do-over, it's sad to see new and innovative titles like République falling well behind their goals. In any case, here's the trailer, and here's the Kickstarter page if you want to pledge. $15 gets you a copy of the game, $60 gets you a shirt on top of that, and $125 gets you some really sweet dogtags loaded with the game soundtrack.

The Minecraft port for iOS has had plenty of mining in it since its launch late last year, and now it's getting infinitely more crafty with the latest update. The building sim/monster survival sandbox game with an 8-bit twist now lets you create a whole bunch of blocks to reassemble in your world as you see fit, just like the PC version. When you first drop into your Minecraft world, it's more or less a blank slate, but after gathering basic resources (and now combining them to make new types of blocks), you can build some pretty incredible things. You can even invite friends to build with you if they're in the same Wi-Fi network. Here's a full changelog for today's update:

• Crafting added
• New mobs: Cows, Chickens
• New sounds
• New inventory
• All items need to be gathered, except Shears, Bricks & Glass.
• New blocks and items: Crafting Table, Brick Slabs, Brick Stairs, Cobblestone Slab, Snow, Stick, Wooden Slab, Dandelion Yellow, Wooden Axe, Shovel, Pickaxe, Sword, Bowl, Sugar, Book, Paper & Coal
• Added bookshelves to Survival Mode (you need to craft)

I've been keeping tabs on Minecraft since it had its closed beta for PC, and it's definitely the sort of thing I could spend an unhealthy amount of time being lost in. Any heavy-duty Minecraft players out there? What's the most impressive thing you've built in the game? Bonus points for pictures.

iMore’s authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free games for your iPhone and iPod touch

Looking for even more free games for your iPhone or iPod touch? It goes without saying that the iPhone and iPod touch are a massively popular gaming platform -- and you told us they deserve more than a small mention in our top free iPhone apps post. So, we dove back into the App Store and found the very best free strategy games, free shooter games, free sports games, free casual games, free physics games, free action games, free role-playing games, and free racing games for iPhone and iPod touch!

Expect regular updates and fresh category additions down the road as well. Keep in mind that most titles listed here thrive on in-app purchases. You can absolutely play them for free, but you may get annoyed by "freemium" up-sells. Others are "lite" versions with limited content, and while they're also completely free, you'll be limited in what you can do. Still, they're a great way to test the waters and have some fun before deciding to buy (or unlock) full versions.

Without further ado, here are our favorite free games for iPhone.

• Best free strategy games for iPhone
• Best free shooter games for iPhone
• Best free sports games for iPhone
• Best free casual games for iPhone
• Best free physics games for iPhone
• Best free action games for iPhone
• Best free role-playing games for iPhone
• Best free racing games for iPhone

Best free strategy games for iPhone

Hero Academy

Hero Academy is a turn-based, multiplayer-only tactical combat game that pits cartoony armies against one another. Each side gets five actions points every turn to move their troops, kit them out with gear, cast spells and otherwise attack opposing units on the board. Each player (online, either random or a designated buddy) has one or more crystals they must defend while trying to destroy the other side's. You can also win by running your opponent out of reinforcements, as each side only gets so many of each type every game.

Hero Academy includes The Council army (humans) for free, but charges for the others, such as Dwarves, Dark Elves and The Tribe (orcs). You can also pay for fancy army-themed avatars as well as taunts to make your soldiers jeer after a turn.

• Download now

Spice Bandits

As you level up, you get upgrade points (which can also be bought with spice) to customize your play style as you see fit - cheaper turrets, faster rate of fire or more mesmerizing disco music are just a few options. Spice Bandits lets you buy spice through in-app purchases, which also eliminates ads between levels.

• Download now

Triple Town

Triple Town is a simple puzzle game where you place various kinds of greenery on a small grid so that you can line up three of a kind and have them merge into another object. For example, three patches of grass make a shrub, three shrubs make a tree, three trees make a house, and so on. Occasionally, you'll have to put down bears, which block building on squares until you're able to corral them into a confined area. You keep building until you run out of squares to build on, which actually takes awhile since the board is continually shifting with sets merging together and opening up space.

Triple Town is monetized by providing only a limited number of placements. Your move count regenerates over time, but you can pay for more turns, or simply buy unlimited turns for $3.99. The coins you earn through gameplay can also be spent on buying particular items, like bots, which can eliminate pesky bears with a single tap.

• Download now

Best free shooter games for iPhone

Gun Bros

Warbucks are a separate type of currency used to buy particularly high-end gear. You can earn them through in-app purchases, watching video ads, or converting a ton of the regular coins at the bank.

• Download now

MetalStorm: Wingman

MetalStorm: Wingman is a flight combat game with full multiplayer support, AirPlay compatibility and accelerometer and swipe controls.  As you play through the campaign mode, head-to-head multiplayer dogfight mode, or endless survival mode, you earn credits which can be used to buy various types of missiles, cannons, and new jets focusing on defense, agility, or firepower. Don't get too trigger-happy, since your ammunition is limited. If you're not into shooting down your buddies, you can also invite Game Center wingmen to play through the campaign levels co-operatively.

A lot of the hardware upgrades require you to use premium coins, which are sold in batches for $0.99 and up or earned through regular gameplay.

• Download now

Frontline Commando

Frontline Commando is an on-rails third-person shooter about a gung-ho military man left behind enemy lines. You dodge behind cover with single taps, and pop out to take aim and eliminate nonspecific middle eastern insurgents. Don't get too attached to that wall you're hiding behind though, since it can be destroyed as a firefight drags on, and grenades can quickly flush you out into the open. When you level up, new weapons are unlocked for purchase, plus you get a few bars of gold, which can be used to buy premium items. Weapon upgrades span assault weapons, sniper rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers, each with their own set of damage, clip size, reload speed, and accuracy attributes.

You can also increase survivability with medkit purchases and body armor upgrades. When things get too hot, you can buy airstrikes to clear out the immediate area. Both "war cash" and gold can be bought through in-app purchases.

• Download now

Best free sports games for iPhone

Baseball Superstars 2012

Baseball Superstars 2012 is a whimsically exaggerated baseball game with Japanese-style characters and dialog. While the game keeps tabs on minute details, such as batting averages, running speed, stamina, and confidence levels, there are some more cartoony encounters with "super players", with ridiculous anime costumes and powers. As a batter, you can control where you swing by tilting the iPhone, but don't worry, you won't actually have to swing it like a bat - just tap the screen at the right moment. Pitching is done through a series of swipes within a box. You'll encounter plenty of challenges, including injuries which require recuperation in a hospital, managing your team roster, and playing against friends online. Personally, I found this game impossibly hard when set on normal difficulty, but I'm not a sports guy. Baseball fans will love it, though. For more baseball-themed apps, check out our ballgame roundup over here.

Through in-app purchases, you can get G points, which are spent on character items, training sessions to improve your stats, or even buy levels for your batter or pitcher.

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NFL Pro 2012

NFL Pro 2012 is a full-fledged football game complete with leagues, playbooks, and extensive rosters based on real players and teams. Your players gain experience and level up as you go, letting you improve their stats in a number of areas, like run blocking, catching, awareness, and agility. Every down, you pick a play available (either offensive or defensive), and while you manually control one player, the AI handles the rest. Controls during play are dead simple, but most of your time will be spent flipping through and picking plays. Unfortunately, your selection is really limited to start, and it takes an obscene number of credits to permanently keep playbooks.

Every game you play uses up energy, which you can replenish or time or through in-app purchases. Experience points to level up your players can also be bought, along with credits to buy new playbooks, stadiums, gain access to new teams, divisions, and conferences, and extend quarter lengths.

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Real Soccer 2012

Real Soccer 2012 offers a wide variety of gameplay types in a fast-paced, realstic package. The core controls are laid out with a standard virtual joystick and sprint, pass and shoot buttons, but progresses in complexity with fancy gesture-based maneuvers. You can unlock a variety of different cups, starting with International, and working your way to Asian, African, American, and European cups, plus there's regional league play unlocked as you play and level up. Just remember that you're limited by how many matches you can play by a stamina rating, which recovers over time. Loading screens have bits of trivia, and occasionally test your own football, err, soccer knowledge with a multiple choice quiz.

Playing Real Soccer 2012 earns you coins which can be used to purchase new soccer balls that provide a variety of different bonuses, like extra XP per match. "Cash" is Real Soccer 2012's premium currency, which can be traded in for international teams, additional stamina, team stat boosts, access a few select stadiums, and even the ability to clear all yellow cards.

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Best free casual games for iPhone

Tiny Tower

Tiny Tower is a really simple social management game with 8-bit-style graphics. Your job is to populate a tower with bitizens, assign them jobs relevent to their skills, keep their respective businesses stocked, and build more floors on top of your building. Over time, your bitizens earn you money which can be spent on purchasing new stock for various types of stores, or for putting the next storey onto your tower. You'll need to ferry bitizens from the ground floor with the elevator if you'll ever want to move new people in, plus once in awhile VIPs will provide you extra bonuses, like knocking off a few hours from your restocking time.

Tiny Tower occasionally gives you Towerbucks for handling the elevator, which can be used to hurry restocking, construction, or elevator upgrades. Towerbucks can also be bought through in-app purchases.

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Draw Something

As is, Draw Something provides only a limited palette of colors, but you can buy more through in-app purchases. You can also buy bombs, which are used to offer a fresh selection of words if you're drawing, or eliminate letters to chose from if you're guessing.

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GodFinger All-Stars

GodFinger is a fun little world control game where you tend to a little planet full of villagers. By spinning around a cross-section view, you make sure they're happy and productive, and check in on them time to time to collect the gold they generate. That gold goes to upgrading their homes which can house more people, who then, in turn, produce more money. Of course, you have to tend to their needs, like providing rain and sun for the farms, as well as altars to worship you from. To accomplish all of this, you do these gesture-based miracles, but they burn up Awe points, which regenerate over time, or can be bought through the app store.

Over time, you complete missions, gain experience points, and expand the surface area of your planet. You can have a lot of fun around your world by raising and lowering the ground, decorating the planet with appropriate and flinging your hapless devotees beyond the horizon.

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Best free physics games for iPhone

Cut the Rope Free

Cut the Rope is a popular game that involves dropping a piece of candy into a hungry green creature's mouth by slicing rope with swipe gestures. While the candy's dangling and swinging, you use nearby tools such as magic hats and air puffers to avoid obstacles, like candy-devouring spiders and destructive spikes. If you can get the candy to pass through any of the three stars on the level, you gain bonus points and bragging rights, but they're strictly optional.

Though you only get 18 levels in the free version, the full version with 250 levels is only $0.99.

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Fruit Ninja Lite

Fruit Ninja is a well-known slice-and-dice game where you swipe through various kinds of fruit as they sail through the air. You get bonus points for chopping through four or more fruit at once, but you have to make sure to avoid the bombs that get tossed in every now and then. Different kinds of bonus fruit can really help out, such as the freeze banana, which slows the movement of everything the screen, making for easy targets.

In the free version, you get Classic mode in which you only get to let three fruit hit the ground, but the paid version, available for $0.99, includes a Zen mode where you cut up as much fruit as you can within a limited time frame, among other game modes.

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Angry Birds Free

The free version of Angry Birds gives you a total of 24 levels, but you'll need to drop $0.99 in order to get tons more. Keep mind that there are a lot of different free versions of Angry Birds available, including a seasonal one, a space-themed game, and one based on the Disney movie Rio. Try 'em all if you're looking for variety.

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Best free action games for iPhone

Jetpack Joyride

Jetpack Joyride is a side-scrolling evasion game with simple one-button controls and a great sense of style. You play as a rebellious bureaucrat named Barry who's tired of the work at his top-secret military lab, and decides to snag the company's experimental jetpack for a jaunt through the facilities. Holding your finger on the screen puts the gas on the jetpack, letting you elevate over obstacles such as laser security systems and incoming missiles. Along the way, you'll also be able to snag other experimental vehicles, including the Crazy Freaking Teleporter, and the Profit Bird which is powered by concentrated satire.

You earn coins based on how far you make it through, but can also pick up loose coins through the level. You even earn more through completing missions, like high-fiving the scrambling scientists on the ground floor. Those coins are spent on new jetpacks, outfits, and soon gadgets, all available through in-app purchases stored in The Stash. Of course, you can buy more coins through in-app purchases, too.

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Temple Run

Temple Run is a dead-simple platform game where you sprint through ancient ruins while being chased by displeased spirits. You turn corners, duck under obstacles, and leap over pits with swipe gestures while collecting coins along the way. There's a bit of accelerometer control, so you can snag coins in the middle or to the left or right side of corridors by tilting the iPhone, but for the most part, you're just relying on twitch reflexes. Gameplay can be extremely bite-sized, but still amply rewarding.

The coins you collect while temple-running (or in-app purchasing) can earn you power-ups like speed boosts, new unlockable characters, and even exclusive wallpapers.

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Cordy Sky

Cordy Sky is a jumping game where you're an adorable little robot trying to get from the ground of an alien planet to a docked spaceship so you can continue on your intergalactic mission. Small bouncy platforms aid your ascension, but be careful, otherwise you drop down to the bottom and have to start all over. Luckily, you have a fellow robot called Volt that can grab you if you drop too far, but only if you've collected the appropriate token while climbing skyward. Your trip is split up into five sections, the end of each being marked by a fuel cell you need to get the spaceship running again. Controls are are either through virtual buttons, tilt, or swiping.

As you go, you collect gears, which can buy one-time boosts, permanent power-ups, or vanity costumes. Of course, you can always just buy gears through in-app purchases, but you can get by perfectly well on your own. Despite the kiddy graphics, the game is actually pretty challenging at points.

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Best free role-playing games for iPhone

Six-Guns

Six-Guns is an open-world multiplayer western. You embark on missions for beleaguered commonfolk, handling the likes of bandits and supernatural nasties to bring some iotum of peace to the wild west. Combat is straightforward revolver shooting with a virtual joystick and a few buttons. You're rewarded for your deeds, of course, and can use the coin you earn to equip new weapons, fresh threads, and buy new horses to expedite your trips between towns.

In addition to being able to buy in-game currency through in-app purchases, you can also get Sheriff Stars, which access high-end gear and auto-complete missions, though you can also earn them through watching ads. You're even able to buy experience points and health boosts, if you're having trouble getting through a particular quest.

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Star Legends

Star Legends is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online sci-fi game where you partner up with fellow intergalactic travelers to take on a variety of space menaces. You build an avatar with a few basic options, like hair style and face type, then embark on quests to earn experience points, level up, gain new abilities, and earn equipment. The social element is very rich, with full support for guilds, and plenty of common spaces. Every mission you play is automatically instanced, so others people freely spawn in to help you out. Daily missions, implant crafting, and a ton of people to chat with insure you'll always have a reason to come back for more.

Platinum is the premium in-game currency, and is shared across accounts if you happen to play Pocket Legends as well. You can spend it on vanity items, like fancy jetpacks and robot pets, but you can also spend the the coins you earn through regular gameplay to keep your equipment in good repair and up-to-date.

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Zenonia 4

Zen and gold can both be bought with real cash. Zen points are used to purchase expanded inventory space and special power-boosting gems (among other things), while gold buys more mundane gear. Some kinds of armor can only be acquired through player versus player battles, but it's entirely possible to stick solely with the single-player campaign.

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Best free racing games for iPhone

Forever Drive

One of the core elements of Forever Drive is the track builder. It's pretty simple - you draw a line from one end of a square to the other, pepper some scenery along the sides, and the highlighted turns, varied elevation, stars, and extra traffic are added in automatically. You then have the option to share these tracks online, which then randomly compose the arcade mode of other players. When you play, you get fed a series of user-built tracks which you can rate up or down after you're done driving them.

There are also weekly leagues where you have a chance to win in-game currency, with which you can buy a few unlocks, but the vast majority of car bodies, variations, and paint jobs are earned by gaining experience points throughout gameplay. I was really happy with Forever Drive, and I'd go so far as to say it's one of the better games I found when hunting for the best free iPhone games out there. Definitely check it out.

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Snuggle Truck

Snuggle Truck is a simple side-scrolling racing game where you're trying to drive a bunch of stuffed animals to the zoo in a pick-up truck without having them bounce out of the back along the way. It sounds like it's for kids, but the game was originally called Smuggle Truck, where the premise was to get Mexicans to America where a better life awaited them. Obviously Apple wasn't a fan, so the developer changed it up, though the core gameplay remained the same. You tap left or right to put your foot on the gas or back up, and tilt your iPhone to make sure your truck lands evenly when sailing through the air. Like Forever Drive, there's a treasure trove of user-generated courses, all ripe for the downloading and rating. You can build your own courses, complete with power-ups, obstacles, and waypoints where new fuzzy animals are tossed at you to catch in mid-transit.

Through in-app purchases, you can drive flashier pick-up trucks, but the vast majority of content is thankfully available for free.

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GT Racing: Motor Academy Free+

Motor Academy Free is a more down-to-earth, mostly-realistic racing game. You earn coins by completing tours, special invitation events, and completing contracts. Starting off, there are a bunch of levels where you earn various licenses, which help you learn how to drive different classes of cars. Coins let you buy a variety of recognized brand-name cars, like Bugatti, BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Ford, Chevrolet, and Audi. They even kindly give you the option to rent the car for a round if you don't have enough to buy it outright. Even this racing game has some RPG mechanics in it, including quests which you complete, and leveling up to unlock new cars and courses.

Coins are earned through regular gameplay, while in-game cash is mostly bought through in-app purchases, which you can trade in for new cars.

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Your favorite free iPhone games?

Of course, there's an insane number of free iPhone games out there, and we're always looking for more. Feel free to leave a comment with your favorites, as we'll be updating this list regularly. We'll be including some of our top free real-time strategy, rhythm, word, simulation, location, and drawing games down the line.

Rene Ritchie and Leanna Lofte contributed photos for this post

Snapseed is a photo editing app for iPhone and iPad that not only offers tons of features, but is extremely easy to use. Not familiar with RGB Curves, histograms, and other professional editing tools? Not a problem! What makes Snapseed so great, is that anyone can pick it up and produce amazing results even if they aren't familiar with professional editing techniques.

Snapseed is a universal app for iPhone and iPad, but I will be sharing screenshots from the iPad version in this review. The iPhone version has the exact same features.

General layout

The layout of Snapseed is very straightforward and easy to navigate. In landscape orientation, you'll see a two-column sidebar of editing tools on the left and your photo on the right. In portrait orientation, the photos is on the top and a scrollable toolbar with your tools is on the bottom.

The editing tools are displayed as simple thumbnails with their names clearly labeled and an image that's related to the adjustment type. This is a refreshing approach as many photo editing apps use a bunch of icons who's meanings you have to memorize.

There are 13 different adjustment tools. With all of them, swiping up and down lets you chose the enhancement that you're editing and swiping left and right adjusts that chosen enhancement. This gives Snapseed a very clean UI that's free of sliders and other distractions.

Another feature of each tool's screen is the Compare button. Holding this down will show what your image looked like before applying the tool you're using. To compare with the original image, hold down the Compare button on the main screen.

Auto Correct

The first and most basic available tool in Snapseed is called Auto Correct. It consists of two enhancements: contrast correction and color correction.

Selective Adjust

Selective Adjust is a fantastic tool that lets you focus your adjustments to a specific area, called a control point, of the photo. You can add as many control points as you wish. Pinching and zooming will adjust the size of the control point and while you do so, Snapseed will show a red mask over your image so you can see exactly where the adjustments will take place.

If you look closely, you'll see that this mask is actually bigger than the circle. This is because the circle designates where the photo will receive the adjustments at full strength and where the fading will begin. Without a good fade, the images would look terrible with a focused editing region. Snapseed does a fantastic job of fading so that your image looks good.

The adjustments you can apply to each focus point are brightness, contrast, and saturation.

Tune Image

Snapseed's Tune Image tool lets you adjust the brightness, ambiance, contrast, saturation, and white balance of your photo.

Straighten & Rotate

The Straighten & Rotate editing tool let's you, well, straighten and rotate your image. You simply swipe up and down or left and right to straighten. The new cropped region will be kept straight and your image will tilt behind it. Unfortunately, you cannot fine tune the final crop by moving the image around. Sometimes there's room to shift the crop left or right, but you can't.

Crop

Snapseed comes with 7 different crop ratios -- 14 if you count landscape and portrait orientation of each ratio separately like many apps do. You can also constrain the crop to the original ratio or use free transform.

Detail

The Detail tool is where you go to adjust sharpening and structure of your photo. What's extra special about this tool, however, is that it comes with a loupe that lets you zoom in on a section of the photo so that you can get a good look at the pixels and how sharp they are.

Black & White

As expected, the Black & White section of Snapseed lets you convert your photo to a black and white image. It has six different presets: neutral, contrast, bright, dar, film, and darken sky, and five different color filters: neutral, red, orange, yellow, and green. You can also make adjustments to the brightness, contrast, and grain.

Vintage Films

The Vintage Films tool in Snapseed is basically 9 different vintage filters that you can apply to your photo as well as 5 different textures. The adjustments that can be made are brightness, saturation, texture strength, center size, and style strength. The center size adjustment is Snapseed's way of referring to the strength of the vignette.

Drama

Drama is yet another set of filters: two each for drama, bright, and dark. The adjustments that can be made are saturation and filter strength.

Grunge

The last set of filters is Grunge -- and grunge is the perfect description for them. Instead of a popup of filter options like the previous filter packs, the Grunge tool actually uses a slider to change the style. This lets you fine tune it to the exact color that you want. It also comes with 5 different grungy textures that make your photo looks like it's been through quite a beating. The other adjustments you can make are to brightness, contrast, texture strength, and saturation.

Center Focus

The Center Focus tool is similar to Selective Adjust in that you have a center point with an adjustable radius around it. The difference is that the things are you are adjust about this point are blur strength and outer and inner brightness. Snapseed also includes 6 different presets if you don't want to spend time find the perfect combination of adjustments: portrait 1, portait 2, vignette, blur, old lens, and foggy.

Organic Frames

In the Organic Frames section of Snapseed, you'll find 8 different frame styles with the ability to adjust their width and offset.

Tilt-shift

The final tool in Snapseed is Tilt-Shift. People love adding fake blur to their photos and Snapseed definitely does not disappoint in this department. In fact, since this section includes a radial (circular) blur, there is a lot of similarities between this and blurring effects you can do with the Center Focus tool. The linear tilt-shift is different though. With both types, you can adjust the transition, blur strength, brightness, saturation, and contrast.

The Good

• 13 different editing tools, most of which include many different adjustment options
• Share to email, Flickr, Facebook Twitter, printer, or "Open In" another photography app
• Compare button lets you quickly and easily see how your edits compare with the original photo
• Universal for iPhone and iPad
• Supports the new iPad's Retina display

The Bad

• Can't move the cropping region when straightening
• Blurring with Center Focus and Tilt-Shift are very similar

The Conclusion

Snapseed is a fantastic photo editor that's powerful, yet easy to use. Snapseed is best for users who want to play around with adjustments, but who don't understand (nor care to understand) how to use more advanced and professional tools. Snapseed makes it easy for anyone to beautifully and artistically edit their photos on their iPhone or iPad.

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OneReceipt is an iPhone app that gives you a very organized way of keeping track of and saving receipts. It will automatically grab emailed receipts (from, say, Amazon or iTunes) from your Gmail account and add them to your OneReciept account or you can take a photo of a physical receipt.

When you sign up for a free OneReceipt account, you get to store your receipts in the cloud and access them from the web on the OneReceipt app. This service is technically still in beta, but it's off to a great start. You will also be given an @onereceipt.com email address for you to forward receipts that were sent to a different email account than your Gmail. OneReceipt will then automatically add them to your collection of receipts. Unfortunately, Gmail is the only email service that can be synced with OnceReceipt.

The personal @onereceipt.com account is a great idea, but it still needs some work. I forwarded an iTunes receipt from my iCloud email to my personal OneReceipt account, but it's showing up in the receipt list as being "unparsed". This is strange, because the iTunes receipts that were already in my Gmail account when I performed the initial sync were parsed perfectly. So it seems that OneReceipt is just not correctly handling the quote syntax that is commonly associated with email forwards. I imagine this is something that OneReceipt can easily fix. Even though these receipts are unparsed, I can still view the forwarded email receipt with OneReceipt.

For in-person shopping, you can take a photo of your receipt and send it to OneReceipt and they'll process it for you. I tested this out with a two different receipts, but they are currently still processing. The strange thing is that even though I did this only a few hours ago, the date on my iPhone that is being shown is "yesterday", but on the web, it's "today". Just another little bug that needs to be worked out. (I'll update once the receipts finish processing).

If taking a photo of a receipt isn't an option, or you just don't like that option, you can also manually enter a receipt. The disadvantage to this method is that you are not able to add each item on your receipt. If all you care about is the total, then a manual entry works just fine, but sometimes you also need to save the prices of each individual item on the receipt. Those are the times that photos are the superior option.

After a receipt has been added to OneReceipt, you can categorize and tag it so that it's easily searchable. OneReceipt will also create spending summaries that you can view on the web that breaks down your monthly spending amounts by totals and category.

The Good

• Automatically retrieves receipts from your Gmail
• Receipts stored in the cloud and accessible from the web
• Personalized @onereceipt.com email address to forward receipts to
• Spending summaries
• Take photos of receipts and OneReceipt adds it automatically
• Manually add receipts

The Bad

• Only supports Gmail
• Not all forwarded receipts are recognized by OneReceipt
• Can't force a sync to look at past emails again

The Conclusion

Even though OneReceipt has a few kinks to work out, I'm still impressed with it. The app and service is completely free, so it's not like you've got anything to lose. Keeping track of receipts is something I'm terrible at, yet need to do for many of my jobs, but I expect to be much more organized with them now that I have OneReceipt.

Free - Download Now

To celebrate the introduction of Google's new cloud storage service, Google Drive, they're simultaneously bumping free Gmail storage to 10GB. That's right, Gmail already had one-and-a-half as much free storage as Google Drive, and now it has twice as much!

However, if you also pay for Google Drive, that gets bumped again to 25GB.

Today, we're happy to announce that we're increasing everyone's free storage in Gmail from 7.5 GB to 10 GB (and counting) to celebrate today's launch of Google Drive. The increase will take effect over the next 24 hours. We hope you all enjoy the little bump!

The disparity between free Gmail and free Google Drive is a bit perplexing. Is Google encouraging us to inefficiently store most of our content in harder to access, impossible to collaborate in Gmail rather than Google Drive, which was purpose-built for sharing and searching? Have they simply not thought this through? Or is there some plan at work that will one day make one giant pool for all our Googlestuffs?

Who knows. It's free. It's embiggened. And that's all there is to it.

Now excuse me while I go mail bomb Phil Nickinson a couple million more 10MB blobs...

Source: Gmail blog

Google Drive is big, cheap, and aims to compete with the likes of Dropbox, SkyDrive, and maybe even iCloud

Rumor it and it shall become real -- Google Drive, the long awaited, long anticipated cloud storage service from Google is finally here and it's as big and as cheap as we hoped for. Every Google user gets 5GB for free, and you can buy literally tons more -- up to 16TB (?!) if you have the cash.

Today, we’re introducing Google Drive—a place where you can create, share, collaborate, and keep all of your stuff. Whether you’re working with a friend on a joint research project, planning a wedding with your fiancé or tracking a budget with roommates, you can do it in Drive. You can upload and access all of your files, including videos, photos, Google Docs, PDFs and beyond.

The focus is on sharing, storing, and searching. Everything. Google Docs is built in so you can start creating stuff. You can install the desktop client on Windows or Mac to get a folder going.

You can get started with 5GB of storage for free—that’s enough to store the high-res photos of your trip to the Mt. Everest, scanned copies of your grandparents’ love letters or a career’s worth of business proposals, and still have space for the novel you’re working on. You can choose to upgrade to 25GB for $2.49/month, 100GB for $4.99/month or even 1TB for $49.99/month. When you upgrade to a paid account, your Gmail account storage will also expand to 25GB.

Google has updated their Android Google Docs app, turning it into an official Google Drive app. They're also "working hard" on an iPhone or iPad version but for now, if you want to access Google Drive, the web is your friend. You can find things by keyword and filter, and Drive will even OCR scanned docs to make your life easier. There's even beta image recognition baked in.

Check out more via the links below, and the watch the video for the overview.

Source: drive.google.com, Google Blog, via Android Central

After an initial release on iPad last summer, Sid Meier's classic swashbuckling game, Pirates!, has found its way to the iPhone. Just like the version built for the bigger screen, you build up a crew, customize your ship, stick a sword into anyone who tries to take it, fire cannons at competing pirates, pillage whatever's in sight, and rest up at the port once the gunpowder has settled.

Just like the iPad version, the Classic Sid Meier adventure has been optimized for multitouch on the iPhone. You can parry, counter, an dual all the scurvy dogs you come across into submission, while boarding their ships, attacking their taverns, and even raiding the Governor's mansion for bounty.

You get 27 ships that you can customize with ammo, cannons, and otherwise upgrade, and you get to go after the greatest pirate villains in history, including Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and Henry Morgan.

Pirates is a well-loved franchise, and one that has weathered the test of time nicely. It originally came out way back in 1987, made by MicroProse, who also kicked off the Civilization franchise. Remakes of Pirates on the PC and consoles have done really well, and it looks like 2K has properly optimized for mobile with fresh touch controls. I've never spent too much time playing the series myself, but I've got more than one friend who goes "ZOMG PIRATES!11!!" any time it comes up. Maybe now is the time to give it a shot.

Any swashbucklers in the house that have already pumped a lot of time into this game?

$2.99 - Download now

One of my favorite iPad photo editing apps, Photogene, has finally been updated with support for the new iPad's retina display. Photogene is a full featured photo editor that allows you to make a lot of common adjustments, add special effects, and make collages.

Presets

If you're looking for a way to quickly add an artistic look to your photo, Photogene has the following presets:

• Colors: cool, warm, crimson sunrise, improve dark photo, day into night, landscape
• B&W: simple, high contrast, extreme, light, dark, dramatic, infrared
• Vintage: noir, 20's vintage, 40's vintage, 70's vintage, lomo, cross processed, morning glory, redscale, retro, golden, old pink
• Frames: classic, classic 2, gloss, gloss 2, glow, glow 2, glow 3, drop shadow, fade-in, thin line
• Fun: oil painting, cinema, stamp, psychedelic, pencil sketch, reflection, dream, mars, icon, foggy, sunset, and purple haze.

You can also create your own presets.

Crop

Photogene comes with 6 different common crop ratios, but the really neat feature is the one that lets you create your own crop ratio. The ratio choice with a star will let you choose between 1-20 for your width and height. So if you want to crop your photo with a 5:11 ratio, you can!

Rotate

The Rotate tool is pretty self-explanatory. You can rotate in incriments of 90 degrees, flip horizontally or vertically, and straighten (or tilt) your image. Personally, I think the straightening tool would be better placed in the cropping section since using it results in a cropped image. In fact, the crop and rotate tools could actually be grouped together in the same section.

Adjustments

The Adjustment section of Photogene for iPad is where you'll find tools for clarity, brightness, colors, sharpen\denoise, histogram, RGB, and curves.

The clarity tool has a single slider.

The brightness tool has sliders for exposure, contrast, shadows, and highlights, and an auto option.

The colors tool has sliders for saturation, vibrance, color temperature, and tint.

The sharpen tool lets you adjust the sharpen amount, sharpen radius, luminance denoise, and chroma denoise.

The histogram lets you adjust the ends and middle of the histogram and also has an auto option.

In the RGB section, you can adjust the red, green, and blue offset levels.

Lastly, the curves tool will overlay the curves grid over the photo and let you adjust it how you wish.

Retouches

The Retouches section of Photogene is very extensive. It includes healing and red eye tools, masks for dodge, burn, clone, blur, grayscale (selective coloring), and effects. The included effects are dream, painting, comics, posterize, sepia, smooth, pixelate, dynamic curve, light up, cross process, redscale, and extreme B&W. When applying a mask, you can adjust the brush's size and opacity and choose to see your brush strokes by tapping contour. You can also choose to invert your mask.

Text

Photogene for iPad allows you to add various text bubbles and annotations to your photo in the Text section. The text boxes and bubbles are fully customizable with the ability to edit the color of the outline, fill, and text, add shadowing, choose fonts, and adjust the justification. You can also adjust the size and rotation of the shape.

For annotations, you can add arrow, circles, rectangles, and other shapes and adjust the color and width of the outline.

Enhance

The last section of Photogene is called Enhance. It is here that you'll be able to add vignette, tilt-shift effects, gradients, frames, filters, and more. The available filters are the same as the effects that can be painted in the Adjustments tab. The difference is that adding a filter applies the effect to the entire photo instead of just the area that you paint.

Collages

Photogene also includes a few templates for turning your photos into collages. Just select which photos you want to build into a collage and Photogene will do it automatically. It will then show you a list of other available templates. There is only 3 templates of each size (meaning 3 templates for 3 photos, 3 templates for 4 photos, etc), but you can purchase 61 new templates for $1.99.

With each collage, you can editing the outline width and color, add an inner shadow, and choose between 6 ratios. You can also add text bubbles and annotations just like you can in the Text Section of Photogene.

Go-PRO features

Everything mentioned so far in this review comes included in the $2.99 version of Photogene for iPad. It's quite a steal if you ask me. But if you're looking for even more professional tools, there is a Go-PRO version available as an in-app purchase for $7.99. This brings the following addition features: star-ratings, watermarking, FTP history, RGB curves, JPEG quality, white-balance color picker, custom localized effect, and IPTC sets and batch paste.

Star rating

When browsing through photos in your albums, holding down your finger on an image will pop up a menu that lets you rename the photo, view metadata, or export. In the metadata screen, you;ll find the general information of the photo and the Exif, IPTC, and GPS info. You can also assign 0 to 5 stars to the photo. Then you can choose to arrange your photos by star rating.

Watermarking, FTP history, JPEG quality, and IPTC sets and batches

If you have a watermark for your business, Photogene Go-PRO lets you easily add your watermark automatically when exporting. You can adjust the opacity, padding, relative size, and choose between 9 different positions. Unfortunately, this process must be done automatically and Photogene doesn't offer a large preview of what you can expect the watermark to look like on your image. If you have a light, transparent watermark (like iMore), then it's very hard to see the watermark in the tiny preview thumbnail.

I hope to see a more advanced watermarking system implemented in the future.

In addition to adding a watermark upon export, you can also setup Photogene to save FTP configurations that you've exported images to.

Photogene GO-PRO also allows you to adjust the quality of exported JPEG files.

If you store IPTC info into your photos, you'll be happy to know that with Photogene for iPad Go-PRO, you can create IPTC data sets and copy them into any photo that you wish. It's a great time saver.

RGB curves

The extra RGB curves feature of the Go-PRO Photogene package adds the options of adjusting the curves for red, green, and blue separately from the general curves.

White-balance color picker

The white-balace color picker feature of the Go-PRO add-on in Photogene for iPad is a great way to adjust the color balance of your photo. There are also sliders for color temperature and tint, but the color picker at least gets you in the correct neighborhood. To you use it, you simply hold your finger down on a neutral-colored area of the photograph.

The Good

• Packed with robust editing tools
• Includes easy to use presets and filters
• Works directly with iPad's photo library so you don't need to import photos
• Collages
• Non destructive editing
• Go-PRO in-app purchase adds even more features
• Supports the new iPad's Retina display

The Bad

• Waiting for adjustments to take place can sometimes take a long time because actions happen in real time
• Straightening tool would be more appropriately placed in the cropping section

The Conclusion

Photogene for iPad is one of the best photo editing apps on the iPad. It is full-featured with loads of editing tools ranging from basic, one-touch filters and effects, to more advanced tools like curves, histograms, and healing. And I'm not one to often discus the price of an app, but considering you can pick up Photogene for iPad for less than the cost of a fancy drink at Starbucks, I'd say it's quite a steal. Add on the Go-PRO in-app purchase, and you've got yourself an excellent photo editor.

$2.99 - Download Now

If you're planning a trip to a national park or want to learn more about one, National Parks by National Geographic is a gorgeous guide for your iPhone that offers beautiful photography and loads of information, including photo tips, park secrets, must-see attractions, and things to do.

Included with National Parks is one free guide to the national park of your choice. Additional guides can be downloaded for $0.99 or $1.99 each. Park info, camping and lodging information, maps, weather, stats, and a few photos are included with each national park without purchasing its guide. Included with each guide is photo tips, park secrets, what to see, and what to do sections as well as many addition photos. These photos will also be added to the photos section of the app.

When viewing a national park's page, you will find a photo gallery at the top that can be scrolled though. Tapping on the photo will strip away the distractions by opening it on a black background and also give more information about the photograph in a caption underneath it.

Back on the main screen national park screen, the photo gallery is overlaid with a weather icon and a stats icon. Tapping on these will pop up their respective information. The weather section shows the current conditions and a 5-day forecast. The stats section shows the number of visitors, the park size, and the local time.

The Photo Tips section of National Parks is very cool. The Yosemite guide includes 5 photos with the photographer of each photo giving information about the shot, including GPS coordinates, time of day, camera details (camera, ISO, focal length, shutter speed, aperture), and difficulty. Following this information is the photographer's write-up about the overview of the setup and a list of bullet points for getting the shot. It's extremely helpful and I suddenly have a huge urge to go to Yosemite to take photos.

The Parks Secrets section is simply a list of random fact about the national park. For example, one of the nine secrets for Yosemite is that the giant sequoia trees can live to be more than 3,000 years old.

The What To See section is a basically the same photos in the initial gallery presented as a list and location's name. Tapping the photo will, again, open it up on a black background and include a button that lets you see it on a map.

In the What To Do section of National Parks, you'll find a list of common hikes and places to visit in the park. Tapping one will provide a nice write-up of why it is something you should do.

The parks included in National Parks are Acadia, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Death Valley, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Haleakala, Hawai'i Volcanoes, Joshua Tree, Mount Rainier, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Shenanadoah, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion.

The Good

• Gorgeous UI
• Stunning photography
• Photo tips are awesome
• One free guide, each additional guide only $0.99 or $1.99
• Add attractions to your itinerary
• Works offline

The Bad

• Photo gallery and What To See sections are basically the exact same thing, just presented differently

The Conclusion

National Parks by National Geographic is a must-have app for anyone planning to visit any of the park included in the app. The guides will help you plan your trip and makes sure you don't miss any of the must-see and must-do attractions.

Free - Download Now

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include an iPad note taking app, a utility for toggling Bluetooth on your iPhone, an app for relaxation, an app for knitters, a tower defense game, an alternative to cable television, a great iPad drawing app, and an addicting iPhone puzzle game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Notability - Alli Flowers

If you want to use your iPad instead of carrying around a clipboard or pad of paper, you have quite a few choices, but Notability is right at the top of the list of available apps. Notability's latest update includes Dropbox sync, so there's not much missing.

You can write, you can type, you can add in shapes. You can change the color and size of anything you've done if you change your mind. Of course, you can import .pdf files and take notes on them - particularly useful for, well, anyone who uses .pdf's! You can import your .pdf's email attachments, Safari, other apps that take advantage of "open in," and Dropbox.

Writing is super smooth, and there are even plenty of options within the pen tips you choose. Not only is Notability one of the best in its class, at $.99 it is also the least expensive. In plain English - you can't go wrong buying Notability.

$0.99 - Download Now

BluetoothOnOff - Chris Oldroyd

This week’s pick is a little utility that came out this week. It is called Bluetooth OnOff and was somehow approved by Apple and is still available. All it does is put a Bluetooth icon on your homescreen and it then allows you to use it in two ways.

The stock way, when you click on it, a screen loads with a Bluetooth toggle switch, you can then turn Bluetooth on. If Bluetooth is already turned on then loading the app will give you the option to turn it off. The best way of using the app is to go into the apps settings and turn the OnOff switch to on. This enables you to now toggle Bluetooth On / Off from your home screen with one tap of the app icon. There is no delay or intermediate screens just a straight on/off.

This sort of feature should be standard in iOS 5 but it's not; so if you want a quick Bluetooth toggle you have to either jailbreak or pay extra for an app. This one does what it says on the tin!

$0.99 - Download Now

Serenity - Seth Clifford

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

-- Ferris Bueller

Of course, Ferris was talking about actual life, not life's quieter moments viewed through the lens of your iPhone or iPad screen. But if that's all you've got for the moment, then by all means, revel in the peace and tranquility that Serenity can offer you. It's an app by the venerable developers tap tap tap, and displays the usual level of visual polish as their other apps. It's basically a series of really pleasant, relaxing video clips that loop over and over again. You just stare at them and feel your blood pressure drop as the soft sounds wash over you.

If you're snickering and thinking this is really dumb, believe me, I get it. At first I was skeptical too. But there is something profoundly nice about watching flames just dance in front of you, or flowers swaying in a calm breeze, or a little sleeping kitty. You can set sleep timers if you want to zone out at the end of your day, and the apps support AirPlay if you'd rather let a giant version of the videos blanket your entire room. I think good headphones are probably the way to go, though, for the full experience. And since the interface has an easygoing 70s woodgrain feel, they should probably be big over-the-ear cans.

The iPhone and iPad apps are two separate versions, presumably for the reason that combined, the video clips would total about 700 MB. So keep that in mind before you purchase, but at $1.99, you'd hardly regret it if you grabbed both. Relax wherever you are, with whatever you're holding. I think Ferris can close this one out, too.

"It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

$1.99 - Download Now - iPhone

$1.99 - Download Now - iPad

Knit Handy - Jessica Moss

Knit Handy is handy! This app gives you an estimate of yarn requirements for your projects. It has many project categories from which to choose. Using this app couldn't be easier. Choose your project category, gauge, and size and you are set. Before Knit Handy became an app it was first a pamphlet called Knitter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements. I have the pamphlet and I can honestly say I like the app better. It's way more convenient to have it on my iPhone than it is to carry the pamphlet around while planning and shopping for a project. I have a knack for either forgetting to bring the pamphlet with me or losing it all together. I never lose my iPhone. I really have no issues with the app except I wish it gave a wider range of gauges to pick from.

$0.99 - Download Now

iBomber Defense Pacific - Chris Vitek

For my pick of the week, I am going with one of my standby game types - a tower defense game. Yes, there are many of them out there, but each one has it's own flavor and interesting game twists. The tower defense game iBomber Defense Pacific is a great new game that add some of it's own ideas to the tower defense genre. You have multiple upgrade options that you need to spend victory points on. You get special power ups. You even have secondary objectives (such as protecting a airplane hanger or destroying an enemy base). I have been playing the game on the iPad, and it looks great. The graphics are crisp, and on the retina display the game is beautiful. It is a universal app, but I found that after playing on the iPad, the iPhone screen is just too small to work with. If you enjoy tower defense games, iBomber Defense Pacific should definitely be on your short list of game to try.

2.99 - Download Now

Paper by FiftyThree - Gary Mazo

I have spent a good part of this week testing our various stylus pens for the iPad, iPhone or, really, any touch screen phone or tablet. The best way for me to try these all out was to use the best apps available for both writing and drawing/painting.

That brings me to Paper by FiftyThree. This week I really dove into this app and was just amazed by what I found.

Paper is a “freemium” app; it comes with one tool and all the colors, but to really take advantage of this app you need to buy more tools. You can individually purchase the color, sketch, write and outline tools for $1.99 a piece – but it makes sense to just spend the $7.99 to buy the whole “essentials” package with all the tools.

When paired with the right stylus, this is as close to actually “drawing” on your iPad as you can get. If I moved the stylus quickly – the line was thinner. If I drew a line from top to bottom and lifted up, you could see a small ink deposit at the bottom of the line – just like using a fountain pen.

I loved using the Color tool – it was sort of like using a watercolor brush. Colors actually blended when combined on screen. Once the masterpiece is completed, just pinch to reduce the image and then you can easily send it to Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter or via Email.

One function that is a killer feature in this app is the rewind tool. Just use two fingers and make a counter-clockwise motion on the screen to undo what you last did. Keep doing that to undo more. This is a great idea and avoids the need to continually use the eraser and possibly erase more than you might want to.

Have you used Paper? Do you have any of your drawings posted? Let us know in the forums!

Free, with in-app purchases - Download Now

Global Video for iPad - Rene Ritchie

I cut the cable cord months ago. We have pretty much a-la-carte cable channel selection where I live. You need to get a base package of channels, then you can get 10, 20, etc. channels a-la-carte on top of those. So it wasn't a matter of choice, it was a matter of technology. Cable still runs on a schedule. You can only watch what it's showing at the moment. Sure, PVR/DVR can let you time-shift, but that's a horrible, high maintenance, error-prone solution. The real solution is on-demand.

And that's what I'm getting with iPad (and iPhone) apps.

Global Video lets me watch most of the programs on the Global television network (a Canadian network that re-broadcasts a lot of U.S. network programming), on demand. No daytime, no primetime, no late-night windows to contend with. Just the show I want to watch, when and where I want to watch it.

To their credit, Global has also left AirPlay intact so I can, if I want, stream the video to my big screen HDTV in the living room via AirPlay and the Apple TV. (The other major Canadian network apps, CityTV and CTV shamefully disable AirPlay due to "licensing conditions" -- to which I respond, "negotiate modern licenses".)

Their in-program ads are also decent, the kind of stuff you see during regular network broadcasts. They're highly repetitive, however, which means they may not have a lot of advertisers buying in to this model yet. That's a shame. This is the near-future of content presentation and more advertisers should be getting behind it. At least if they want our attention. (And Global, and other companies doing it right, should reap the rewards.)

Global Video isn't perfect -- it hasn't updated to Retina yet, and while some new shows post almost immediately after they're broadcast over-the-air, others take a few days. But at least they seem to get it, and they're getting there.

Free - Download now

(It's Canadian only, but search the App Store for the networks in your country and you should find quite a few.)

Addidoku - Leanna Lofte

I cannot get over how addicted I am to Addidoku right now! It's a simple number puzzle game that I reviewed earlier this week that's in the same genre as Sudoku, but totally different. The goal is to group all the numbers so that one of the numbers is the sum of all the other numbers. For example, the number 3, 5, and 2 form a group because 3 plus 2 equal 5. The premise of Addidoku is very straightforward, but solving the puzzles can be quite challenging -- and it's super addicting!

Free - Download Now

Tell us your pick!

Those were our picks, iMore Nation, so now it's your turn! Tell us your pick of the week below. Give us the name of your favorite app, site, or accessory, and tell us why it made your life more productive, more informed, more entertaining, or just plain more fun. Jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

Dock is an iPhone app that acts as as screensaver of information when your iPhone is not in use. While your iPhone is docked at your desk, Dock will scroll through weather, RSS, Twitter, Facebook, Clock and Stock widgets.

Dock is a very simple and easy to use app. You can either have Dock scroll through the information in one widget (like tweets from Twitter), or you can have Dock randomly scroll through information from all the widgets you've selected. If you are interested in something that scrolls by, tapping it will give you more options. For example, you can enlarge photos, reply to tweets, "like" Facebook photos and comment on them, and more.

In Settings, you can choose to have the information scroll by every 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 seconds and mark which widgets you want active. You can also adjust the refresh rate of each widget, but unfortunately, the fastest refresh rate for Facebook and Twitter is 5 minutes. I'd like to see that reduced down to at least a minute.

My other little complaint is that Dock doesn't include a light colored theme. I have never been a fan of light-on-dark color schemes because it hurts my eyes and makes me squint (I have very sensitive eyes).

The Good

• A great way to use your iPhone when you're not really using it
• Information is displayed big and is easy to read
• Can post status to Facebook and tweets to Twitter

The Bad

• No light colored theme. Only white-on-black.
• Slow refresh rates

The Conclusion

Dock turns your iPhone into a fantastic little utility while it's docked. It runs great and displays information nice and big so that it's easy to read.

$1.99 - Download Now