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

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

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

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

Apple has just announced its line up for the annual iTunes Festival. The event which first started in 2007 has been hugely popular as all of the tickets are given away free of charge. The live concerts all take place at London’s The Roundhouse and it all kicks off on September 1^st and goes on until September 30^th.

Every year since 2007, the iTunes Festival has been bringing you a full month of spectacular live music. Many of the world’s biggest stars and the brightest newcomers have graced the festival stage, and this year’s brilliant line-up includes jack White, One Direction, Norah Jones and more. It will all take place in September 2012 at one of the UK’s best live music venues-the Roundhouse in London.

If you can't make the live shows, you can enjoy all the action live on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch via the iTunes Festival app, as well as on your Mac or PC. The iOS app even supports AirPlay; enabling you to stream the action straight to your Apple TV. Unfortunately, it looks like being exclusively for UK based users as the app is only available in the UK App Store.

Free - Download Now

Source: iTunes Festival

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

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

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

Time Warner Cable and Viacom have finally come to an agreement and ended the dispute that has been ongoing for over a year. It started back in April last year when TWCable TV started to receive cease and desist orders from various TV networks over its TWCable TV app. Viacom was the most vocal and it led to TW Cable having to remove lots of channels from the app. Time Warner Cable filed a request for declaratory judgement and a year later appear to have resolved the dispute. We have heard very little since then but subscribers have still missed out on the channels that were removed.

Viacom and Time Warner Cable have agreed to resolve their pending litigations.  All of Viacom’s programming will now be available to Time Warner Cable subscribers for in-home viewing via internet protocol-enabled devices such as iPads and Time Warner Cable will continue to carry Viacom’s Country Music Television (CMT) programming.  In reaching the settlement agreement, Time Warner Cable and Viacom were also able to resolve other unrelated business matters to their mutual satisfaction.  Neither side is conceding its original legal position or will have further comment.

Source: Viacom Blog

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

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.

Free - Download Now

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!

Free - Download Now

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

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

Earlier today a beta version of iCloud.com accidentally leaked 2 new web apps, Notes and Reminders, presumably coming to iCloud web-portal. These apps make perfect sense to be on iCloud.com, as they already sync over iCloud across iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad devices, and Apple has added them as apps to the upcoming OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.

The Reminders and Notes web apps weren't functional, nor was the login, and Apple quickly pulled the beta content offline. In other words, we weren't supposed to see this yet.

If we were to guess, WWDC 2012 would be the logical place for Apple to debut new iCloud features. That's where Steve Jobs debuted iCloud itself last year, and now more than ever the WWDC keynote is Apple's biggest software and services stage.

Unfortunately, there's no sign of Photo Stream yet, which would be nice given the impending loss of MobileMe galleries. Nor is there any sign of iTunes in the Cloud or iTunes Match online access yet.

That's when it will start to become really interesting.

Source: Steve Troughton-Smith

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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.

$4.99 - Download Now

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

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

Apple is pushing the benefits of using an iPhone in business with the launch of a new webpage on its site. The new page is simply titled "iPhone at Work" and it runs through a reasonably extensive lists of business orientated apps and features.

Stay on top of your business and accomplish everyday work tasks in a whole new way. With iPhone and amazing apps that get you the information you need at a  moment’s notice, your work day is anything but ordinary.

It appears that more and more businesses are looking to integrate the iPhone into their IT infrastructures. Apple wants to ensure that it has the information available to IT professionals when they need to make the big decisions!

Source: Apple

Addidoku is new puzzle game that has some similarities to Sudoku, but is also very different. In each level, you are presented with a several numbers set in a broken up grid. The goal is to group the numbers so that they add up according to the rules of the game. Each number can only be in one group and each puzzle has only one solution.

So what exactly are these rules? Well, in each group of numbers, all of the numbers (except for the biggest number) must add up to the biggest number. For example, the numbers 3, 2, 6, 1, form a group because the sum of 3, 2, and 1 is 6. You can also pair numbers, like two 5's, because 5 equals 5. The numbers 4, 3, 5 do not form a valid group because 4 plus 3 does not equal 5.

Only numbers that are adjacent to each other can form a group. This means that if a number is diagonal to your group or separated from your group by a space, it cannot be added to your group.

That's it! The rules are simple, but the levels are challenging. Even though they're challenging, they're completely doable which makes the game extremely addicting. Because each level can be completed in a reasonable amount of time, you are always willing to play "just one more".

The Good

• Challenging
• Addictive
• 60 puzzles for free
• 140 additional puzzles available as in-app purchase

The Bad

• None

The Conclusion

Addidoku is such a fun and addicting puzzle game! The object is both familiar and unique at the same time. It's also challenging -- something I find essential in a good puzzle game. It took a lot of self control to pry my hands off my iPhone to write this review.

Now excuse me while I play "just one more level" of Addidoku.

Free - Download Now

The Bible is the most read book in the world, and tiny Bibles with microscopic text have always been popular because of their portability. But, now, today, thanks to ultra-portable devices like the iPhone and iPad with their awesome Retina displays, and apps like Olive Tree's BibleReader, the Bible is more portable and easier to read than ever.

If you search for Bible in the App Store, you will be flooded with an overwhelming amount of app choices, from good to bad to just plain different. There are so many that it's almost impossible to figure out which one to get. So I went on the hunt for the perfect Bible app. It had to gorgeously rendered, packed with features, highly customizable, and run perfectly smooth. And I kept coming back to Olive Tree's BibleReader for iPhone and iPad.

Olive Tree BibleReader is a universal app for the iPhone and iPad, but I will be using screenshots of the iPad for this review. The iPhone version has the exact same features as the iPad version.

The integrated in-app store

Included in all of the Olive Tree Bible apps is an integrated store where you can buy more books including other version of the Bible, commentary, reference materials, devotionals, and more.

All books that you purchase will be synced to your Olive Tree account so that you can download them to another device at no additional cost or re-download them if you accidentally delete them or need to restore your iPhone or iPad.

Split screen UI

One of the really neat features of BibleReader is that you can split your screen into two panels. If you're using BibleReader in portrait, the screen will split horizontally, and when in landscape, it will split vertically. In each panel, you can have any of the books you have in your Olive Tree Library.

Here's a few different situations that one may find the split screen to be useful:

• While at church, your pastor has one main passage that he's covering, but also references other verses. You can use one panel for the main passage, and the other to browse to the other verses.
• You want to compare two different versions of the Bible side-by-side -- basically converting BibleReader into a parallel Bible.
• You want to read another book, like a devotional, while having your Bible open to reference at the same time. Or maybe the Bible is the main book you want open, and you want to have easy access to a reference book.

If you don't want the split screen, you can simply slide the one you don't want off the the screen. This is also nice in case you want the split screen, but not the entire time. You can keep your secondary book open in the second panel, but keep it hidden until the moments you need it.

You also have control of where on the screen you want the split to take place -- it doesn't have to be directly down the middle.

Navigation

It's no secret that Bibles are huge and that people don't typically read them from front to back like other books. Often times, someone is looking for a specific book, chapter, or even verse in the giant book, so having a good navigational system is extremely important for a Bible app -- and Olive Tree has nailed it with BibleReader.

The "Go To" button at the upper-left of the screen is how you navigate to a specific section of the Bible. Tapping it will pop up a menu that lists all the books of the Bible in chronological order. You can also pull it down to discover a search field that allows you to type in the verse. It does recognize abbreviations, so, for example, "1 Cor 13:4" will take you to 1 Corinthians 13:4. You can also choose to see the books of the Bible displayed as a grid with their abbreviations.

Another trait that most Bible's have are superscripts that reference other relevant verses. In a printed version, you would check the bottom of the page to check the reference, then flip to the verse. With BibleReader, you simply tap the superscript and a list of all the verses associated with the nearby superscripts will appear. Tapping on one of the verse references will navigate to that verse right inside of the popup. It's very cool. You can then either read it in the popup, or choose to have it opened in the main or split window.

Highlights, underlines, and notes

People love marking up their Bible with highlighters, underlinings, and notes -- BibleReader lets you do all these things.

To select a verse, you simply tap on the verse number. Or if you want more or less than one verse, tap your finger on a word to select it, then drag the handles to extend your selection. You then see a popup of choices: copy, highlight, note, bookmark, or share. These choices are pretty self explanatory.

Highlights in BibleReader are so much cooler than with physical highlighters. You can choose for your highlights to have a traditional look, or you can customize the intensity, color, and highlighter style. For underlining, you can have the underline look like it was made with either a thin highlighter or with a pen. You can do this every time you add a highlight, or you can create your favorite looks and save them for quick access.

When you create a note, a little note icon will be placed in front of your selection as an indicator of there being a note present. Tapping the icon will popup the note.

Customizations

One of the great features of Olive Tree's BibleReader is that its look is very customizable. The default look is very traditional and easy to read, but if you want to change the font type, size, color, or background, you can. Want the words of Jesus to be in something fun like pink or green? Not a problem!

You can set different customizations for each of the three different window types: main screen, split screen, and popup.

Which version?

Olive Tree has many different Bible versions available in the App Store and making a decision on which one to buy can be a big overwhelming if you don't know which version you want, or if you're interested in more than one version. The good news is that since each app allows you to sync your Olive Tree library, it ultimately doesn't matter which one you choose.

If you are only interested in a specific version, I recommend just buying that one as it will be the quickest way to get it on your iPhone or iPad.

The most confusing part of the available apps is that it isn't clear what the difference is between the free Bible+ version and $0.99 BibleReader version. BibleReader includes the ASV, KJV, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, and Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown Commentary. Bible+ comes with ASV and KJV and the Matthew Henry’s concise commentary is available for free in the integrated store. The Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown Commentary is also available, but not free. So, to sum it up, the main difference is that BibleReader comes with The Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown Commentary.

The other difference is, of course, what it will be named on your Home screen. For example, since I purchased NIV BibleReader, the icon on my Home screen is called NIV BR.

The fact that there are so many apps is confusing and overwhelming. If you're at a loss, I recommend just downloading the free version and browsing the in-app store for what you want to purchase.

The Good

• Content is stored locally to your iPhone or iPad, so an internet connection is not required
• Highly customizable
• Lots of highlighter and underlining options
• Two pane UI is very convenient.
• Keep notes and customizations synced between devices
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Too many apps to choose from. Would be less confusing for users if there was only one app.

The Conclusion

Olive Tree's BibleReader is a fantastic Bible for your iPhone and iPad. The Bible has always been one of those books that I wanted to continue to read in print because of how much marking-up I like to do and I always thought it felt more personal. Since discovering BibleReader, it's the only Bible I ever read. I even bring my iPad to church and make notes and highlights into the app while my pastor gives his sermon. And not to brag or anything, but I can also navigate to verses faster than anyone else with BibleReader on my iPad.

Bible+, Free - Download Now

BibleReader, $0.99 - Download Now

NIV BibleReader, $9.99 - Download Now

All Olive Tree Bible Apps - App Store dev page

Panes is an iPad app that lets you easily multitask between Twitter, Facebook, RSS, the web, and more. All of your widgets can be found at the bottom of the screen, like a dock, so that the one you want to switch too is literally just a tap away.

The widgets included with Panes are Twitter, RSS, Facebook, weather, web, YouTube, tasks, notes, units converter, calculator, stopwatch, calendar, Google reader, Read It Later (now Pocket), stocks, clock, and Simple Note.

The UI is very basic and easy to use. Along the bottom of the screen is your dock of widgets, similar to the dock of apps on a Mac. What's great about Panes, is that I actually don't have much to say about it. It does exactly what you expect. Panes doesn't run perfectly smooth, but still pretty good. Some of the widgets, like Stocks, could include a little more information, but since the idea behind Panes is to multitask, you probably don't want want all the features of every service included in it. If you need more functionality, you can just hop over to a dedicated app for that and give it your undivided attention.

Although Panes does what it claims, and does it well, I'm not that compelled to use it. I guess I just don't find it too difficult to bring up the multitasking bar by double tapping the home button and switching to the app I need, or better yet, just swiping with four fingers to my most recently used app. This is my personal opinion, however, and I understand how others may be very excited about Panes and its implementation of widgets.

The Good

• Widgets for Twitter, RSS, Facebook, weather, web, YouTube, tasks, notes, units converter, calculator, stopwatch, calendar, Google reader, Read It Later (now Pocket), stocks, clock, and Simple Note
• Switching between widgets is very fast

The Bad

• Boring UI
• Scrolling isn't perfectly smooth

The Conclusion

If you've been desiring an app that lets you multitask between different services and task that you regularly do on your iPad, Panes does a great job.

Addenda

Panes comes from the legendary webOS developer, Inglorious Apps, and was built using the now open source webOS framework, Enyo. While Apple, unfortunately, has very strict rules as to how widget systems can be implemented on iOS, it's fantastic to see webOS developers and webOS style apps live on after HP's disastrous and, frankly, disgraceful handling of so elegant and innovative a platform.

The Easter Egg

Because of these strict rules by Apple, the developer behind Inglorious app was not able to release the real, original version of Panes into the App Store, so he included an Easter Egg that transforms Panes into the app that it was supposed to be that he's named the Developer's Cut. With the Developer's Cut version of Panes, you can have multiple widgets shown at once. Suddenly, the UI becomes much less boring! The name "Panes" also makes a lot more sense.

To unlock the Developer's Cut, all you have to do is email Inglorious Apps, and the dev will reply with directions on activating it. You can do this from directly within Panes.

$3.99 - Download Now

If you haven't had a chance to play PvZ, you should check it out; it's a goofy, but very tactical and fast-paced game. Basically, you get a wide variety of plants to protect your home from various fronts of zombie attack. The zombies come in waves, and have different gear to get around your defenses, like pole vaults to get over the first plant it bumps into, or screen doors to provide some extra protection. PopCap had a bunch of the zombies running around PAX East 2012 dancing and giving away iPads, which reminded me just how much I loved the franchise. Check out the video below.

$6.99 - Download Plants vs. Zombies HD

$2.99 - Download Plants vs. Zombies

If you've been on the hunt for an app to replace Apple's Clock app, Timegg for iPhone is a beautiful choice. It features a very stylish, easy to use UI and allows you to set up to 8 custom alarms, 8 custom timers (with intervals), due date reminders, and interval reminders.

When you first open Timegg, the interface is overlaid with help on how to use the app. It's very informative and is easily accessible for future reference.

At the top of the screen, you'll see the settings for the currently selected timer or alarm. Below that, you'll see a big dial with all the cost alarms, timers, or reminders inside. In each corner, you'll see an icon that represents each of the alarm types: Reminder, Alarm, Timer, and D-Day. You can also swipe along the top to switch between categories, if you prefer. In the center of the dial is a giant ON/OFF button that lets you enable/disable the currently selected alarm. If an alarm is set to off, holding your finger down on the circle associated with it will pop up options to edit or delete the alarm.

The alarm in Timegg can be customized to go off on any combination of days of the week. For example, I have one alarm for Monday-Thursday, one for Friday, and a third one for Saturday and Sunday. With each alarm, you can also choose if you want to have the ability to hit snooze. You may want to turn snooze off for alarm that are not intended to wake you up.

The sound options include with Timegg are nothing amazing. Most of them are really annoying. I prefer to wake up to something that doesn't want to make me throw my iPhone against the wall, but Timegg doesn't provide many such options. The makers of Timegg must really like animal sounds, because out of 16 provided sounds, 6 of them are of birds, cows, dogs, and ducks. As far as I'm concerned, all 6 of these sounds are worthless. Every alarm is also required to have a sound. There isn't a vibrate-only option.

The timer options in Timegg are very nice. You can set up to 8 presets for the things you time often. For example, I have one timer created and labeled for coffee, and another for laundry. With each timer, you can give it a label and also set an interval timer. For example, you can set an timer to go off in 1 hour, followed by 4 more timers every 10 minutes.

Timegg uses the term "D-Day" to refer to due date alarms, so don't confuse this with the Invasion of Normandy during WWII. A D-Day alarm is simply an alarm that reminds you of an important date (like your anniversary) one, seven or fifteen days before it arrives. Unfortunately, you can only set one alert for each D-Day.

Reminders in Timegg are actually rather disappointing. The reason is because you can't set a reminder for a specific time or day. The way that reminders work is that you set it up to remind you about something in intervals of 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month. The countdown will start as soon as you set the reminder. You're better off using Apple's Reminders app, instead.

The Good

• Stylish
• Set up to 8 alarms
• Preset up to 8 timers
• Set alarms for important dates 15 days, a week, or a day in advance
• Can disable/enable snooze for each individual alarm

The Bad

• Reminders must be set as a countdown. Reminders in general could us a lot of work.
• Not a wide variety of alarm sounds
• Sound effects (navigational) are audible even when iPhone is on silent
• Alarm, due date, timer, or reminder must be set to OFF in order to edit or delete
• Every alarm must have a sound. No vibrate-only option.

The Conclusion

Timegg is a great iPhone app for setting alarms and timers. The UI is gorgeous and very easy to use. Unfortunately, the reminders are essentially useless and have less features than Apple's Reminders app. Due date options are also very limited. But if you're looking for great alarm and timer settings that are better than Apple's Clock app, Timegg does a satisfactory job at just a buck.

I should also mention that Timegg must be running in the background in order to work. So if you want to rely on Timegg to wake you up in the morning, double check that it's running. If you have to turn off your iPhone for any reason (including resets), you must re-open Timegg. This is a condition of the iOS SDK and is out of the developers' control.

$0.99 - Download Now

Apple has approved an app called Bluetooth OnOff that simply allows you to turn your Bluetooth connection on and off from your home screen. Apple hasn’t previously permitted any apps that connect and interact to stock settings until now; so this is an interesting development.

Did it take too many steps just to turn on/off bluetooth? You can now turn on/off just by launching this app. Just in a second, you can activate or deactivate Bluetooth.

The app is extremely simple to use, once installed you have an icon on your home screen. If 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.

Shortcuts similar to this were very popular when iOS 5 was initially launched. You could use Safari Bookmarklets to add various on/off settings to your home screen. This type of interaction was broken by Apple with the release of iOS 5.1.

It is very interesting that this app is now available but we don’t know if it is a mistake by Apple. It may be pulled at any minute or it could be a sign that Apple is prepared to allow apps that make its users life easier. Let’s be honest, turning systems settings on and off should not be anywhere near as tedious as it is now.

I hope that Apple finally addresses this problem with iOS 6. In the meantime let’s see if this app stays in the App Store. Maybe we will start to see more approved apps that allow us to toggle Wi-Fi and other system settings too.

$0.99 – Download Now

Everything you need to know about re-downloading apps, games, iBooks, music, TV shows, and movies from the iTunes Store and iCloud

iTunes in the Cloud lets you access content you've bought from Apple's iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore, re-download it to your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, and to iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, and stream your music, movies, and TV shows to your Apple TV.

• How to set up iTunes in the Cloud automatic downloads
• How to enable automatic iTunes in the Cloud downloads over 3G/4G on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
• How to enable automatic Newsstand issue downloads on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad
• How to change the iTunes account associated with your iTunes in the Cloud device
• How to de-authorize an iTunes in the Cloud device

How to set up iTunes in the Cloud automatic downloads

iTunes in the Cloud let's you automatically download any App Store apps, iBookstore iBooks, and iTunes music you buy. For example, if you buy a game on your iPhone, it can automatically download onto your iPad. If you buy a song on iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, it can automatically download onto your iPod touch.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap Store near the bottom.
3. Toggle Music, Apps, and Books to On
4. Enter your iTunes password to authorize.

An iTunes account can only have 10 devices enabled for iTunes in the Cloud at the same time. Devices include iPhones, iPod touches, iPads, as well as Mac and Windows PCs, and Apple TVs. If you reach 10, you can't add an additional devices until you remove one first. (See below.)

How to enable automatic iTunes in the Cloud downloads over 3G/4G on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

If you're not concerned about your cellular data cap or any potential overage charges, you can choose to have iTunes in the Cloud automatic downloads happen even when you're off Wi-Fi and on 3G or 4G.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap Store near the bottom.
3. Toggle Use Cellular Data to On.

If you do choose to allow 3G/4G downloads, there's still a maximum file size limit of 50MB. Any content bigger than that can only be downloaded over Wi-Fi.

How to enable automatic Newsstand issue downloads on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad

If you subscribe to any magazines or newspapers in Newsstand, you can choose to have new issues download automatically to your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad when they become available.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap Store near the bottom.
3. Toggle any magazine or newspaper apps listed at the bottom to On.

Newsstand content downloads will only happen while on Wi-Fi.

How to change the iTunes account associated with your iTunes in the Cloud device

If you have multiple iTunes accounts, for example a personal and a family account, or a family and a business account, or accounts in more than one regional iTunes store, you can change which account is associated with your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap Store near the bottom.
3. Tap the email address of the Apple ID currently logged into the App Store (at the bottom of the screen).
4. Tap Sign Out.
5. Tap Sign In.
6. Tap Use Existing Apple ID.
7. Enter the email address and password for the iTunes account you want to switch to.

To guard against unfair use or illegal distribution (for example, to stop friends from swapping accounts to get free access to each other's content), you can only change iTunes in the Cloud accounts once every 90 days.

How to de-authorize an iTunes in the Cloud device

If you reach your 10 device limit for iTunes in the Cloud and need to remove a device, or if you simply lose, sell, or upgrade a device and want it off you account, you can remove it via the iTunes desktop on Mac or Windows.

1. Launch iTunes on Mac or Windows.
2. Click your iTunes email address at the top right. (If you're not already logged in, click Log In.)
3. Enter your iTunes email address and/or iTunes password.
4. Click on Manage Devices, middle right.
5. Click on Remove for any iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad you no longer wish associated with iTunes on the Cloud on your account.

How to re-download apps and games with iCloud

For a long time now, The App Store has let you re-download paid apps and games without having to pay for them again. Now, however, this functionality is officially part of iCloud and iTunes in the Cloud. It means if you downloaded an app or game a long time ago, on a different device, or simply deleted it because you stopped using it for a while, you can go back and download it again, free of additional charge.

If you know the name of the app you want to re-download:

1. Launch the App Store app.
2. Tap the Search tab (iPhone and iPod touch only) or into the Search box (iPad).
3. Enter the name of the app you want to re-download.
4. Tap the Search button on the keyboard.
5. When the search results show up, find the app and tap the Install button.

Note: If you see a price button (e.g. $0.99) instead of an Install button, it means you'll be charged for the download. Make sure you're on the proper iTunes account, and that you've really bought the app previously before re-downloading.

If you don't know the name of the app and need to find it:

1. Launch the App Store app.
2. Tap on the Purchased tab tab (iPad), or Updates tab and then tap Purchased (iPhone and iPod touch).
3. Tap Not on the iPad/iPhone to see a list of apps not currently on your device.
4. Scroll through the list to find the app you're looking for.
5. Tap the iCloud download button to re-download the app to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.
6. Enter your iTunes password, if requested, to confirm.

Your app will now download to the Home screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

How to re-download iBooks with iCloud

Just like App Store apps, you can easily re-download iBookstore iBooks to your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

1. Launch the iBooks app.
2. Tap on the Store button in the top left corner.
3. Tap on the Purchased tab along the bottom navigation menu.
4. Scroll through the list to find the book you're looking for.
5. Tap on the iCloud download button to re-download the book to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.
6. Enter your iTunes password, if requested, to confirm.

Your book will download to your iBooks bookshelf.

How to re-download iTunes music, movies, & TV shows with iCloud

Re-downloading music, movies, and TV shows is a little more complicated than re-downloading apps simply because licensing restrictions don't allow it in all areas (yet). Music is currently available in many regions. TV shows are only available in Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. Movie re-downloads are only available in the U.S.

Here's a current listing of which types of content are available for re-downloading and in which area.

• iTunes in the Cloud availability by country

If iTunes re-downloads are available in you region, you can safely restore your content to your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC without being charged again.

1. Launch the iTunes app.
2. Tap on the Purchased tab along the bottom of the navigation menu.
3. Tap the View button at the top left to choose between movies, music, or TV shows (options vary by region, not all may be present).
4. Tap Not on this iPhone/iPod/iPad.
5. Scroll through the list to find the content you're looking for.
6. Tap on the iCloud download button to re-download the content to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.
7. Enter your iTunes password, if requested, to confirm.

Your content will download to your Music or Video app.

How to get more help with iCloud

If you still need help with re-downloading apps, games, iBooks, music, TV shows, or music to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, or any other iCloud feature, head on over to our iCloud Forum and ask away!

• How to set up, back up, restore, and update using iCloud
• How to set up and use iCloud mail, contacts, and calendars
• How to set up and use iTunes Match
• How to set up and use Photo Stream
• How to set up and use Documents in the Cloud
• How to set up and use Find my iPhone
• How to set up and use Find my Friends

Ally Kazmucha, Chris Oldroyd, and Gary Mazo contributed major sections of this guide.

Put all the articles, videos, and pictures that you can't get to now, right into your Pocket so you can enjoy them later

The service formerly known as Read It Later has been updated with a new look, a new name, and a new price -- it's called Pocket, and it's free! With Pocket, you can save articles, photos, videos, and just about anything you encounter on the web and social networks for offline viewing at your leisure and convenience, on your iPhone, iPad, or other devices.

The new layout on the iPad has a collage-sytle interface that gives spotlight to the images associated with the articles you save. It's very pretty and especially nice for users who plan to save a lot of images (from, say, Flickr) to their Pocket account. But this layout comes at the expense of informational density. Images take up more space than words, after all. So, Pocket also has a list view. This list view also displays small thumbnail images with each item, but it's a lot more condense than the other view. It's also the only view available on the iPhone. Personally, I really like seeing the images, but I'm sure there are users that would prefer a concise, text-only list -- which is not available.

You can sort your saved items in Pocket by articles, videos, or images, and you can also choose to allow Pocket to decided the best view to download for each item. In Article View, all the ads and sidebars of the original website are stripped away, leaving just the content of the article. It looks very nice.

If the saved item is not an article, Pocket will display the content in its original web view. Unfortunately, not all website articles are correctly being registered as articles by Pocket and default to Web View.

When viewing an article, there are options to adjust the font size and type, screen brightness, and toggle night time reading mode. Unfortunately, there are only two fonts to toggle at this time.

The Good

• Beautiful design
• New layout displays images and short excerpts of saved items
• Condensed list view with thumbnails available
• Sort by articles, videos, images, or all items
• Adjust font size
• Night reading mode
• Supported by hundreds of apps

The Bad

• Only two fonts
• There isn't a simple list view without images available
• Doesn't always recognize articles as articles

The Conclusion

Pocket is a great way to save content from the web for viewing at a later time. The interface is both functional and pretty while still being extremely simple to use. It is also already supported by hundreds of apps (most of which still refer to the service as "Read It Later", but that should change quickly). Now that it's free, there's no reason to at least give it a try!

Free - Download Now

UK TV network Channel Five's The Gadget Show aired a 360 degree promo video for its new series which starts next week. The promo which aired last night was the first of its kind ever to be shown. To benefit from the complete experience, users had to watch live TV with an accompanying iOS app running on an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The app ran in time with the live TV stream and enabled you to look around the studio using the inbuilt gyroscope; giving 360 degree views in real time of the studio.

At 9pm on 16th April 2012, Channel 5 will make television history by bringing you the world’s first 360 degree promo for the new series of The Gadget Show: World Tour. Jason Bradbury and Pollyanna Woodward are off on an international gadget-filled expedition to seek out and play with the greatest tech the globe has to offer.

Source: The Gadget Show, YouTube

SpellTower for iPhone and iPad is a fun word game that adds a fun twist to the classic word search game. Instead of being limited to spelling words vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, you can choose your letters in any direction.

Specifically, if the next letter in your word is in one of the 8 surrounding letters, then it's fair game. Perhaps an easier way to explain it is -- any word that is able to be spelled by sliding over each letter, in order, without lifting your finger, is playable in SpellTower.

There are other little rules for scoring and clearing rows, but SpellTower does an excellent job of explaining them in the tutorial.

SpellTower has 5 different game modes. Tower Mode the most relaxing and pressure-free. You are simply given 150 letters and it's your goal to spell as many words as you can.

Puzzle Mode reminds me of Tetris. Each time you make a word, a new row is added and your goal is to prevent any of the columns from reaching the top.

If a letter has a small letter in its tile, the number represents the shortest length your word must be in order to use that letter. In Ex Puzzle Mode, there are a lot more of these letters than in Puzzle Mode.

Rush Mode has the same overall objective as the Puzzle Modes, except that instead of adding rows every time you make a word, SpellTower adds a new row after a set amount of time. This is by no means a leisurely game mode!

The Good

• Fun
• 4 levels of difficulty
• Challenging
• Includes helpful tutorial
• Multiplayer over bluetooth
• Night mode

The Bad

• No online multiplayer

The Conclusion

SpellTower is a very fun game. I've always had a slight aversion to word games, because I'm typically very terrible at them, but I actually really enjoy playing this one. SpellTower is the best word game I've ever played.

$1.99 - Download Now

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

Looking for great free 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. 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 iPhone and iPod touch 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 iPhone or iPod touch 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 below. And hey, since they're free, you can download them all!

(Also, be sure to check out our best free games for iPhone rundown for even more great free iPhone apps!)

iMore app

What better way than to keep up-to-date with all the latest free iPhone app and game news than with iMore's own, absolutely free iPhone app! Not only that, you'll also get breaking news, helpful how-tos, app and accessory reviews, instant access to our podcasts, and more! This is the very best way to enjoy the best of iMore right on your iPhone!

• Download Now

Best free social networking apps for iPhone

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

Pinterest

Pinterest is the new, rapidly growing, free social network that lets 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

More free social networking apps

• Best free social networking apps for iPhone

Best free IM and communications apps for iPhone

Skype

The free Skype app for iPhone lets you make free audio and video calls and exchange text chats from your iPhone 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

imo instant messenger

imo is a great, free iPhone 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

GroupMe

GroupMe is an excellent free group messaging app for iPhone that communicates over both data and SMS. GroupMe perfect for coordinating big events with friends that aren't all using smartphones. GroupMe generates a phone number which collects and forwards free messages to those authorized to be a part of the group. Those that do will be able to take advantage of a few extra features, like location and picture sharing.

• Download Now

Best free educational apps for iPhone

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

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

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

Best free entertainment apps for iPhone

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 iPhone 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 iPhone 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 iPhone 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 iPhone

Paypal

Love it or hate it, Paypal is the internet's default currency and the free Paypal for iPhone app is the best way to manage your Paypal account on the go. Whether you're sending or requesting money, checking your balance or reviewing your past transactions, or looking for a local retailer who takes PayPal, it's right here, right when you want.

• Download Now

Bloomberg

Bloomberg for iPhone 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 iPhone 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 iPhone 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

Best free games for iPhone

For dozens of additional free iPhone games, check out our best free iPhone games special feature!

Angry Birds Free

The free Angry Birds app lets you play one of the most popular games in the world right on your iPhone -- 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 iPhone 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 iPhone 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

More free games

• best free games for iPhone

Best free health and fitness apps for iPhone

RunKeeper

The free RunKeeper for iPhone app uses your iPhone's built in GPS technology to track your running, walking, cycling and other exercise activities. RunKeeper also syncs up to its own web portal where you can view your history and stats in more detail. Integration with Facebook and Twitter means you can even show off your fitness prowess to your friends!

• Download Now

WebMD

WebMD is a reputable and accurate online source for medical facts and advice, and with the free WebMD iPhone 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

Fooducate

The free Fooducate for iPhone app contains a wealth of information and user reviews about many of the foods we consume on a daily basis. Fooducate stresses the importance of eating foods that are good for your body as a whole. Sure, a calorie is a calorie, but if you give your body calories from better quality foods, you get the benefits of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that artificially processed foods with lots of additives, high fructose corn syrup, and other “empty” calories just can’t match.

• Download Now

Best free kids apps for iPhone

PBS KIDS Video

The free PBS KIDS Video app brings all your child's favorite shows right to the iPhone or iPod touch. 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

Curious George at the Zoo

If your child is interested in animals, then Curious George at the Zoo is a great free iPhone app to educate and entertain them. Explore an interactive 3D zoo, learn about and interact with the animals, watch videos and play games, all on the iPhone or iPod touch.

• Download now

ABC Letter Tracing

The free ABC Letter Tracing app for iPhone is perfect for pre-schoolers just learning to write. It has both upper and lowercase letters, along with helpful voice-overs and illustrations of items that begin with each letter.

• Download now

Best free music apps for iPhone

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 iPhone, 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 iPhone? Don't fret! With the free Slacker Radio iPhone app you can stream radio to your iPhone 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 iPhone 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 iPhone.

• Download now

Best free navigation and location apps for iPhone

Waze social GPS & traffic

The free Waze app for iPhone 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 crowdsourced 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

Foursquare

Foursquare is free app for iPhone that lets you check into the places you go, and see which friends are there now, or may have been there in the past. It's a great way to keep track of trips and photos of the places you've visited, and a fun way to earn badges and share and receive recommendations for where to go next.

• Download Now

Poynt

Poynt is a free location-based search app for iPhone with dedicated channels to a variety of different kinds of content. What makes it better than just a Google Maps search is that each experience is very closely tailored, so searching for a movie will immediately bring up options to buy tickets from your phone or view a trailer, while restaurant listings will include reviews and the option to reserve a table.

• Download Now

Best free news apps for iPhone

Flipboard

The free Flipboard for iPhone 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 iPhone 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 iPhone. 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 iPhone

Instagram

Instagram isn't just a free iPhone app, it's one of the most popular social photo sharing networks on the planet. It features a large selection of vintage, hip, and fun filters as well as the ability to add the tilt-shift effect to your photos. You can also follow friends and photographers, "like" photos, and leave comments on them. (If you're looking for more great iPhoneographers to share with, check out our Instragram name swap thread!)

• 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 iPhone, 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

Camera Awesome

If you're looking for a free app that offers more than the built-in iOS Camera app, look no further than Camera Awesome. This fantastic free iPhone app not only gives you a lot of powerful editing tools and filters, but it also gives more control while taking photos as well by allowing you to select separate points for focus and exposure.

• Download Now

Best free productivity apps for iPhone

Adobe Reader

With the free Adobe Reader app for iPhone, you can have all your PDFs in your pocket. 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 iPhone. 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 iPhone 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 iPhone 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 iPhone

iBooks

iBooks is Apple's free ebook and PDF reading app for iPhone. 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, off Readability support so that you can add articles directly from those apps.

• Download Now

Kindle

The free Kindle App for iPhone 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.

Best free shopping apps for iPhone

Apple Store

The free Apple Store app not only lets you shop Apple's online store from the comfort of your iPhone, but it actually lets you purchase accessories via your iPhone, iTunes account, and EasyPay at the Apple retail store. You can also make an appointment at the Genius Bar an automatically check in when you arrive.

• Download now

Etsy

Etsy for iPhone is a free app that gives you access to 11 million items from some of the internets most eclectic, most astonishing artisans and craftspeople. You can browse, you can buy, and if you're a seller, you can manage your Etsy account right from your iPhone.

• Download now

RedLaser

With the free RedLaser app your iPhone transforms into a powerful barcode and QR code scanner. If you see an item at the store, simply scan it and get instant results from Google, TheFind, eBay, Milo, American Express, and many more. It's one of the easiest ways to compare real-world prices online -- and it's free!

• Download now

Best free sports apps for iPhone

ESPN ScoreCenter

ESPN ScoreCenter is a free iPhone app 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 iPhone.

• Download Now

MLB.com At Bat

Although it has premium options, the free or “lite” version of MLB at Bat for iPhone 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

NBA Game Time is sort of like MLB.com At Bat – but for basketball. During games, you can follow along practically play by play, seeing who is on the court at every moment and who is scoring plays. 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, right from the free iPhone app!

• Download Now

Best free travel apps for iPhone

Yelp

If you're searching for a place to eat, shop, drink, relax and play, the free Yelp for iPhone 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 iPhone, 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 iPhone, 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 iPhone, 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 iPhone

Find my iPhone

The free Find my iPhone app by Apple will help you locate your iPhone in the unfortunate event that you misplace it or it gets stolen. You can track your iPhone from another iOS device or from the iCloud website. You can also send a message and alert to your iPhone to help you find it or to provide contact information in the even that someone found your iPhone. If you're concerned about the security of your data, you can remotely lock your iPhone or even wipe it with the free Find my iPhone app.

• Download Now

Remote

Apple's free Remote app lets you control your iTunes or Apple TV right from your iPhone over your local Wi-Fi network. Browse or search your iTunes library or Apple TV content, choose songs, TV shows, or movies to listen to or watch, and control playback, skipping, and more.

• Download now

The Weather Channel

Apple's built-in weather app is great and all, but sometimes you're looking for more information about the weather than this app can provide. The Weather Channel app is a great alternative. 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 iPhone apps?

Did we miss any of your favorite free iPhone and iPod touch apps? If so, head on over to our iPhone apps and games forum and add yours to the favorite free iPhone apps list! We'll be updating this post often, so your pick could be next!

Rene Ritchie, Ally Kazmucha, Gary Mazo, and Simon Sage contributed to this article

Babies equal photos. It's really just that simple. Nothing sells more camera gear or generates more images than a newborn baby. Whether it's yours, your family's, or your friend's, the moment a newborn baby appears our fingers fly to the shutter. Babies are the celebrities of our lives and we all want the best possible photos of them we can get. Now you may seen especially dreamy photos of babies in galleries or on the web and wished you could capture similar images of the baby in your life. Well, you can! All you need is your iPhone, the right tools, and the proper techniques!

Before we jump in, I should mention that the best age to get the types of images you'll see in this article is between 5 and 14 days old. This is when a newborn baby is most sleepy, flexible, and tolerant of being touched when sleeping.

Note: Every newborn image used in this article was taken with an iPhone and edited with iPhoto for iPhone and iPad. There will be a follow up article on how to edit newborn photos with iPhoto.

Get the right tools: Beanbag, blankets, heat, light, white noise

First things first, let's talk about what tools you need to get great images. The most important element is light. You could make things work without anything else, but light is a requirement. My favorite source of light is simply a window. Avoid direct sunlight, however. If sunlight is shining through the window, you may want to wait until a different time of day.

Most of the images of newborns taken by professional photographers are of sleeping, naked babies curled up in adorable little poses. So the question on your mind is probably "how?" The first trick is heat.

The general rule of thumb is to dress newborns in 1-2 more layers than yourself, so stripping down your newborn for a photo shoot may make you feel a little uneasy -- as it should. If you do want those naked baby photos, you're going to need to crank up the heat. And when I say crank up the heat, I'm talking 75-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Personally, I typically have parents turn up their heater to 75 degrees and I bring along a space heater that I have pointing towards the baby at all times. (Don't put the heat too close!).

Ok, now that you have a warm newborn, where do you put him? I recommend a beanbag. Many photographers use huge, expensive beanbags for newborns, but you can get by just fine with a cheap-y from Target. The trick is to make sure the beanbag isn't too soft. You can either buy extra beanbag filler, or simply tie up the excess material with a hair-tie. You need the beanbag to be nice and firm.

Combine your beanbag with a big blanket, and you've got yourself a little studio. Place the blanket on the beanbag and use the excess as your back drop. You can either find some furniture, like chairs, to drape the blanket over, or you can have some hold it up for you.

In the image above, the blankets are clamped onto a professional backdrop stand. This is by no means a necessary tool. Also notice, that in the image above, there's a couple blankets layered on top of each other. This makes it quick and easy to switch between your backdrops.

Now, sometimes heat and a comfy beanbag is not enough to keep a newborn asleep. The secret ingredient may be white noise. I use an app called White Noise Lite to produce loud, calming noise. More often than not, this app does the trick and keeps the babies in a nice slumber.

The Lite version of White Noise will not run in the background, so if there isn't another iPhone around, you may want to look into the full version, as it will let you use your camera while emitting audio from the app.

• White Noise Lite - Download Now
• White Noise, $1.99 - Download Now

Lastly, you need to patient. You are at the mercy of the baby when it comes to newborn photography and you need to embrace that fact and be patient. Do not rush the process. Make sure the baby is completely asleep before attempting to put him or her in any poses. If that means rocking the newborn in your arms and singing lullabies for an hour, then so be it.

(Pro tip: wait until the baby is sound asleep and on the beanbag before taking off the diaper. It lessens your chance of being peed or pooped on. It doesn't guarantee anything, though. If you want naked baby shots, be prepared for pee and poop.)

Don't photograph up the baby's nose

The most common thing to photograph on a baby is, of course, his or her face. This comes as a given, so by all means, snap away at that adorable face, just make sure you're not shooting up the baby's nose. The dark (and usually red), unattractive nostrils will end up dominating the shot.

Add some tilt

When we were little kids, our parents taught us to hold the camera strait when taking a photo, but with newborns, tilting the camera adds a great impact. Just make sure the baby's head is composed higher than his or her body. You don't want it to look like the baby is falling down hill! The image above demonstrates tilt nicely, as does the photo in the section before this one.

Use props

When a baby is naked, introducing props like beanies and headbands can have an adorable impact on your photos. Wrapping the newborn up nice and tight in a blanket is also commonly done, and if the baby isn't happy about being naked, this is a great alternative.

If you're looking for the types of beanies, headbands and wraps that professional photographers use, check out ETSY. You can often times find adorable stuff at a great price.

Objects that emphasize the small size of the newborn are also great. For example, I've seen wedding rings around tiny toes or an itty bitty hand grasping Daddy's finger.

Don't forget the details

Speaking of the tininess of a newborn, don't forget to capture those tiny details! The iPhone does a great job at macro photography, so don't be afraid to get up close and take images of little hands, feet, toes, ears, nose, and lips.

When taking these close up photos, don't forget about what's happening in the background. If you're able to have other parts of the baby out of focus in a different area of the photograph, it gives more of an "aww"-factor to your image. For example, in the photo above, I used the rule of thirds when composing the feet and made sure the baby's head and face was still in the frame to the left.

Leave the complex poses to the professionals

If you head to Google or Flickr for inspiration on newborn poses, you will discover photos of very complex (and beautiful) poses with babies holding up their head in their hands, hanging from trees, and resting their heads over the edges of baskets. Do not, I repeat, do not attempt these types of photos.

The secret to these images is that advanced software, like Photoshop, is used to compose multiple images into one photograph. The safety of the newborn always comes first. Do not hang your baby from a tree branch. Do not make your baby support his own head. Do not have someone hold your baby up over their head. Do not pose a baby on a guitar. Do not put a newborn in danger.

Now go get some beautiful photos of that precious baby!

Now what are you waiting for? That precious newborn of yours is only going to get older, so go get those beautiful photos! When you're done, share them with us in the iMore photography forum! (Please do not share images of another person's child without their permission).

(Huge thanks to Baby Kannon for being such an amazingly adorable model for this post. And thank you to his parents for giving me permission to use his modeling skills).

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 apps a beautiful iPad weather app, apps for sports and politics, a fun camera app, an app filled with inspirations, a puzzle game, a music app, and an alternative to Instagram.

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

Living Earth HD - Seth Clifford

It's been a crazy week, so I'm going simple with my pick - simple and beautiful. Leanna reviewed a weather app called Living Earth recently and after reading her post, my need to see just how great this app really was took over immediately and I downloaded it. You might find a weather app that does more or has more geeky weather options for meteorology nerds, but with the possible exception of Weather HD, I've yet to see a weather app this cool.

It's a universal binary, so you get apps for both your phone and your iPad. The app has a nice forecast view as well as a cool alarm clock feature, but the interactive globe that loads live cloud and sunlight information from real-time satellite data is my favorite part. Sometimes just marveling at nature is all I've got the energy for.

You can read Leanna's review for all the gritty details, of which there are plenty. I'm just going to sit and spin the Earth and hypnotize myself for a while...

$1.99 - Download Now

FCB Mobile - Chris Oldroyd

This week’s pic is all about the beautiful game and the team that play's it in the most beautiful way. My first love is my local football team Newcastle United. My second love belongs well and truly with the most famous football club in the world FC Barcelona.

Barcelona play the game the way it should be played, one touch passing, instant control but most importantly they play it offensively with open attacking football that is an absolute joy to watch week in and week out. Anyway back to the app, I have a great app on my iPhone that keeps me up to date with all the goings on at Camp Nou and its caled FCB Mobile.

FCB Mobile is the official app for FC Barcelona and includes all the latest news, match previews, reviews, player profiles, audio, video and much much more. If you are a fan of Barcelona you need this app.

$0.99 - Download Now

Contact Congress - Gary Mazo

For years, I have been preaching to my kids (as they one by one turn 18) that one of the great things about this country is that we all do get a say; that voting is both a privilege and an obligation. I also try to impart that even if the candidate we want doesn’t get elected – we all have an obligation to still be part of the process and let them know how we feel about important issues.

Now, this is always easier said than done. Fortunately, there are some great apps to make being part of the process easier and more fun. I use Contact Congress by airship Software.

When you start up Contact Congress, it asks to either use your location or for you to input your home zip and then it finds your Senators and your Representative in Congress. Their political party is indicated by a little elephant or donkey and their picture and name is displayed in a tab.

Touch the tab with their name on it and you immediately have links to follow him/her on Twitter, go to his/her official Facebook page, Call Their Office or send them an email. It couldn’t be easier or more convenient. Because of this app, I follow all three of my elected officials on Twitter and I have fired off a few emails and even made a phone call or two along the way when something is important to me.

And there is a very fun opportunity for an in-app purchase; you can, for $.99 “Dress up Congress” by purchasing Google eyes or Horns to put on the images of the elected officials. I actually think this is sort of demeaning and takes away from the app, but I understand the need to try to “monetize” the app some how.

All in all, this perhaps the easiest way to stay involved in our political process, and, as I tell my kids, to become part of the solution.

Have you used Contact Congress? Do you use other apps to stay politically active and involved? Sound off in the iMore forum thread.

Free - Download Now

Videoscope - Alli Flowers

Back when I had my iPhone 3GS, I found a nifty little app that let me use the iPhone camera like a kaleidoscope. KaleidoVid cased to function when Apple released iOS 4, and the dev never updated it. I was disappointed, because although it wasn't a great productivity app, it kept me entertained for hours.

While browsing through the App store recently, I discovered several new kaleidoscope type apps, and one of them had much of the same functionality as that original app. Videoscope allows you to turn your iPhone camera into a kaleidoscope. You can increase or decrease the number of prisms by pinching the screen, and once you see the kaleidoscopic view you like, you can capture that view to your camera roll to use as wallpaper.

Videoscope has a feature that I recommend you not use if you've been drinking heavily or are on medication - it leverages the video camera of your iPhone and allows you to video the complete moving spectrum of the kaleidoscope. I shot some video through Videoscope while riding in the car the other night, and the results are breathtaking - and triply!

Videoscope also offers some alternate "scopes" including Pinscreen, Impressionist, and Brickbreaker. The Brckbreaker mode is particularly cool because you get to "break the bricks" by tapping on them and watching them fall away.

You are not limited to the rear camera with Videoscope. You can aim the front camera at yourself and become the Pinscreen image, or you can choose a picture from your photo library to turn into some awesome abstract art.

$0.99 - Download Now

Quotes! - Chris Parsons

Lots of people look for inspiration and motivation in different ways and one way that I enjoy is by reading quotes from others. Luckily, there is a beautiful iOS app available that offers plenty of quotes no matter what the topic may be. The app carries an obvious name, just simply -- Quotes. Love, Happiness, Motivation, Inspiration. All are covered in quotes with the ability to share and save your favourites all from within the app itself. It does cost $.99 but it's beautifully simple and enjoyable if you're into reading quotes from others.

$0.99 - Download Now

Lawnmower Challenge - Simon Sage

This week I tried out Lawnmower Challenge, a simple puzzle game launched by a Boston indie developer at PAX East 2012. The premise is simple enough: cut all the grass in the level in as few moves as possible. Things get complicated when you throw in rocks, reeds, tall grass that you can't walk through, mud you can't mow through, locked gates that require keys, and impassable rocks.

It's not fancy, but with 144 levels, you definitely won't be left wanting for a challenge.

$1.99 - Download Now

Spotify for iPhone - Ally Kazmucha

I've long been looking for a way to free up some physical space on my iOS devices. While streaming services are great, what about times where you don't want to eat up your data plan? I've found Spotify to be a great compromise. I've found most streaming services to be rather lacking or they don't let you choose want you want to listen to. Neither is the case with Spotify. You can search through millions of tracks, create your own custom playlists, and listen in seconds.

With a premium account for $9.99/month you can stream music as well as download it to your device for offline use so you aren't eating away at precious data. The free version is ad-supported and allows you to stream online, the unlimited version for $4.99 will allow you to stream with the iPhone or Android app in addition to removing ads. The premium version is the only subscription that adds offline mode. I've found that I can stream when I'm at home and just choose offline mode for the playlists I want to listen to while traveling or not near wifi. I'm saving tons of space on my iPhone by using the service.

Spotify comes with a full trial for 48 hours. Check it out and see what you think.

Free - Download Now

Tadaa - Leanna Lofte

With all the threatening on Twitter and comments to leave Instagram after Facebook acquired it, I went on a hunt for a decent alternative to Instagram. My favorite one so far is tadaa.

tadaa has a lot of what Instagram offers -- only more. It's a social network where other members can like and add comments to photos. There's a photo feed for all the friends you follow, as well as feeds for popular photos and new members.

What I really like about tadaa is that it has a lot of built-in editing tools in addition to filters. You can crop, adjust brightness, contrast, and saturation, add a tilt-shift effect, and when adding a filter, you can adjust how strong the affect appears on your photo. You also aren't restricted to square crops.

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!

Infinity Blade 2 for iPhone and iPad has been updated with a new content pack called ClashMobs that lets you complete challenges in Infinity Blade 2 with your Facebook friends. Interestingly, even your Facebook friends who don't play Infinity Blade 2 can help you complete your challenges by "liking" your posts.

After connecting Infinity Blade 2 to your Facebook account, you will have a set of new challenges called ClashMobs to choose from. Each challenge will need help from your friends, but the good news is that even though these challenges are scheduled, you don't have to play with your friends at the exact same time. For example, a ClashMob may only require 30 seconds from each participant, but each player can contribute during any time between Monday and Wednesday.

To get your friends to contribute to your ClashMobs, you simply post to your Facebook page with Infinity Blade 2. Most challenges only require a few friends or offer better rewards for more participants, but some challenges may need the help of as many as 500,000 players. With some ClashMob's, your non-Infinity Blade 2 playing friends can also help you out by liking your post. For example, each like received may inflict damage on the boss you're fighting.

Now, that last part sounds cool and all, but I'm willing to bet that most of these likes will be coming from Infinity Blade 2 players since Facebook users who don't play Infinity Blade 2 will likely be hiding all posts by Infinity Blade 2 from their Facebook feed (I sure will be).

For Infinity Blade 2 players who don't use Facebook or are put off by the idea of posting Infinity Blade ClashMobs to their wall, they can simply choose to ignore ClashMobs all together. Or they can participate in ClashMobs posted by their friends without a trace of their activity on Facebook. Infinity Blade 2 will not force players to post to Facebook.

So who's excited about ClashMobs? I'm sure you're looking for more Infinity Blade 2 Facebook friends, so head on over to the iMore forums and share your Facebook page with other Infinity Blade 2 players!

$4.99 - Download Now

Speed 2 for iPad is a new iPad app that converts your iPad into a speedometer while you drive. It features a gorgeous UI that integrates with Google Maps and will make you want to install your iPad directly into your dash.

Speed 2 has 4 main elements: the maps which take up the top third of the screen, and the compass, speedometer, and odometer in the bottom third of the screen. This area is like your dash. On the speedometer, you'll see a red marker that can be moved around. If you exceed the speed marked, the app will emit an alarm sound to alert that you're going too fast.

If you swipe your finger up the dash, it will slide up to reveal some options. Under the compass, you can select true or magnetic north. Under the speedometer, you can select an analog or digital display and enable/disable the speed limiter. Lastly, from this menu you can reset the trip or total of your odometer and select if you want to allow the app to track in the background.

Speed 2 require GPS as this is how it determines how fast you are traveling, so it's only compatible with 3G and LTE iPads. You also must have your 3G or LTE enabled in order for Speed 2 to work. This also means that Speed's performance is dependent on the strength of your connection. On Verizon LTE, Speed 2 worked perfectly for me.

The Good

• Gorgeous UI
• Slide-up panel is very convenient. It's nice to not have to navigate to a separate menu
• True North or Magnetic North
• Analog or digital
• Alarm will sound when you exceed a specified speed
• Tracks in the background
• Includes trip odometer
• Tap the speedometer to switch between miles, kilometers, and knots

The Bad

• Cannot insert addresses and map out directions

The Conclusion

Combined with an iPad car mount, Speed 2 will be a great speedometer for your car. The UI is gorgeous and being able to view Google Maps at the same time is awesome. It's a shame that you can't retrieve directions to a destination, but Speed 2 can pair nicely with a turn-by-turn navigation app running in the background.

Now excuse me while I hunt for the best iPad car mount...

$2.99 - Download Now

One of the advantages of having a camera on your iPhone and iPad is that you can you use it with great apps like Scanner Pro that let you take photos of documents to "scan" them and store as PDFs. The result looks just as if you used a physical scanner to do the job.

To use Scanner Pro, you simply take a photo of the document you wish to scan, or upload a photo that you took at an early time from your Camera Roll. After you take the photo, Scanner Pro will automatically detect the edges and put a box around it. If it needs adjusting, you can simply drag the edges and corners to where they should be. In my experience, the detection has been very good. Even when I intentionally did a terrible job at taking the photo, Scanner Pro found a way to make it work.

Even though I took a terrible photo, Scanner Pro did a great job detecting the edges and produced a "good enough" result.

Scannner Pro also allows you to choose the document size before accepting the scan. Choosing an accurate paper size and border for your page is important for having the best looking scanned document for your result.

Tapping Done will bring you into the next stage of the scanning process. This is where you can decide if the document will be in color, black and white, or simply look just like the photo. You can also adjust the brightness and contrast to make sure the final documents looks good. Tapping Done at this stage will finish the scan.

After you've scanned your documents, you can share them to Dropbox, Evernote, or GoogleDocs. Scanner Pro also includes the "Open in" button so that you can open you scanned documents in any other apps that support PDFs.

The Good

• Easy way to scan documents on the go
• Does a fantastic job
• Auto edge detection is pretty accurate
• Set page size
• Support for multi-pate documents
• Option for password protection
• Sync with Dropbox, Evernote, and GoogleDocs
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Edges can't go off the screen, so make sure your document is completely visible in your photo

The Conclusion

Scanner Pro does a great job at scanning documents into electronic form. It's a perfect solution for people who don't have access to scanner or for those time they're away from their scanner. I'm beginning to think I didn't need to purchase that all-in-one printer I bought last month.

$6.99 - Download Now

Adobe Reader for iPad has recieved a great update and now allows users to fill out PDF forms, and mark them up with sticky notes, freehand annotating, highlighting, underline, and strikethroughs.

When viewing a PDF with Adobe Reader, you can tap the screen to bring up the toolbar at the top of the screen. This includes buttons for selecting the page turning style (continuous or single page), sharing options, text search, and annotation.

The annotation button replaces the toolbar with a new one that includes buttons to add notes, highlights, strikethroughs, underlines, signatures, and freehand drawing. For highlighting, striking, and underlining, you simply have to drag your finger across the text, and Adobe Reader will automatically add the markup as if it had been done with a word processor.

The freehand drawing isn't anything amazing, but it works find. The strokes aren't amazing, but they also aren't terrible. The biggest disappointment is that there isn't a zoom tool for smaller writing and there isn't an undo button.

When adding a signature, Adobe Reader will pop up a screen for you to sign. You'll want to make your signature nice and big so that it looks good. Once you're done signing, you can adjust the thickness before entering it into the document. Adobe Reader will keep your signature saved so that you can quickly and easily add it to another document (or the same document) in the future.

If you tap on a signature or handwritten annotation, options to change the color, thickness, and opacity will pop up. You can also drag them around, adjust the size, or delete them from your document.

Filling out forms is as simple as tapping the fillable field. The keyboard will slide up, allowing you to type into the field.

The Good

• Great tutorial PDF included
• Easily mark up PDF content with sticky notes, the freehand drawing tool or the highlight, strikethrough, and underline tools
• Add comments anywhere in your PDF file with sticky notes
• Fill out PDF forms
• Use Ink Signature tool to add signature or send PDF files to others for electronic signing using Adobe EchoSign

The Bad

• No zoom-in tool for handwriting
• Can't undo

The Conclusion

There are better PDF annotation apps out there, but most of them come at a price. If you're looking for a free solution, Adobe Reader will get the job done.

Free - Download Now

After the big news that Facebook acquired Instagram, some users rushed to delete their Instagram accounts because they were unhappy about the deal and don't trust Facebook with their photos. But where are these users to go? I set out on a hunt for a good alternative to Instagram for these users and found picplz.

Like Instagram, picplz is a social photo sharing app that includes several filters that can be applied to your photos. You can follow your friends from Facebook and Twitter, "like" photos, and leave comments.

One of the things I like about picplz is that you are not restricted to square crops. In fact, picplz includes a slew of editing tools, including cropping. Additionally, you can rotate, add memes, draw, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and colors, add text, repair redeye and blemishes, whiten teeth, blur, sharpen and flip. There are 9 different filters to choose from, either with or without a frame. picplz displays them as 18 different filters though, instead of just have an option to trigger the frame on and off for each filter. This is annoying and gives you the false impression of having more filters to choose from than you do.

The Interesting tab in picplz is similar to Instagram's Popular tab and displays the photos as thumbnails. Tapping on an image will display a larger version of the photo with the caption above it. The font size of the caption is rather large, and with long captions, it's not very visually appealing. Underneath the photo, you'll see the buttons to "like" the photo and add it to a collection. If you keep scrolling, you can leave a comment at the end of the list of usernames have liked the photo. As you can imagine, sometimes this list can get rather long.

When you're ready to share your photo, in addition to the picplz network, you can share your photos to Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous, Foursquare, and Dropbox and check-in to Foursquare.

Another thing I really like about picplz, is that when someone clicks on your link from a computer, the browser window that it opens in allows picplz users to "like" and leave comments on your photo without having to use the app.

The Good

• Lots of editing tools
• 9 filters
• Can include location with photo uploads
• Can create collections
• My Network, Interesting, and Activity tabs
• Check into Foursquare

The Bad

• Captions have too large of font
• List of "likes" has the potential of being very long and annoying to scroll through
• Cannot select a photo from camera mode. You must instead navigate to your Camera Roll from the more tab. It's unintuitive.
• Filters aren't clearly labeled unless selected

The Conclusion

picplz is not Instagram. It's not as good as Instagram. But it has great potential as an Instagram alternative. In fact, it has some features about it that are better than Instagram. The UI needs a little work, but it's still a great app, and if you're an ex-Instagram user who is not happy with their deal with Facebook, you should give picplz a try.

Free - Download Now

Apple chose not to include clock, voice recording, weather, calculator, and stock apps, but luckily the App Store has great alternatives for each one!

When Steve Jobs introduced the very first iPad, one of his big statements was that the 75 million iPhone users in the world already knew how to use it. Well, many of those users were suprised to discover that four of the built-in apps that they had grown to love on their iPhone were missing on their iPad. Namely, Clock, Voice Memos, Weather, Calculator and Stocks. Rumor has it Apple didn't think those apps would scale to look good on the bigger iPad screen. Fortunately, many great developers have filled that void and proven that, not only can these apps look good on the iPad. They can look great.

In fact, there are so many great apps in these categories that it can be overwhelming. That's where we come in. We took all the top Clock, Voice Memos, Weather, Calculator, scrutinized them, and tested them some more and named a single app in each category as the best of its kind. So without further adieu, here they are!

Best clock app -- Night Stand for iPad

Night Stand for is a gorgeous clock app for the iPad the supports the new iPad's Retina Display. In the background of your flip-style clock, you can have a slideshow of included movies/animations or photos, or you can have it play through your own photos.

As for the alarm clock, you can add as many alarms as you need with custom interval times and wake up to your own music or one of the included sounds. There is also a large range of intervals for that precious snooze button.

But that's not all, Night Stand includes widgets for Twitter, Facebook, RSS, and weather, so that you don't even need to leave the app after it wakes you up to check up on all the social networks and news -- something you normally do before rolling out of bed anyway.

• Night Stand for iPad review

$2.99 - Download Now

Best voice recording app -- Audio Memos

If you're looking for a Voice Recorder for your iPad that offer great quality and professional features, look no further than Audio Memos. It in three different versions: a free one that does only the basics, a $0.99 version that does a little bit more with optional extensions available as in-app purchases, and a Pro version that includes all the extensions available in the $0.99 version. So whether you're looking for something basic, middle of the road, or full-featured, Audio Memos has got you covered.

• Audio Memos review

Free - Download Now

$1.99 - Download Now

$9.99 - Download Now

Best weather app - Living Earth HD

Living Earth HD is a gorgeous way to check the weather. It features an interactive earth in the background that can be rotated and zoomed in and out of with your fingers. You can also tap a button that keep the earth slowly rotated on its axis, and as it spins, you see which part of the earth is currently being hit by the sun.

Regarding weather, Living Earth HD will give you 10-day forecasts that are broken down into 2-hour intervals as well as show you sunrise/sunset times. There is also an option to have the current cloud formations overlaid on the earth, so that you can get an idea of any clouds that might be heading your way.

In addition to weather, Living Earth HD also include an alarm clock that allows you to wake up to your own music and set custom repeat intervals. It only supports one alarm setting at a time, however.

Living Earth HD may not be as fully-featured as some other weather apps, but it provides the information that most people want -- and does it beautifully.

• Living Earth HD review

$1.99 - Download Now

Best calculator app - Calcbot

Calcbot is a great scientific calculator for the iPhone and iPad. It features nice, large keys and a SwipePad that switches between the basic operations (including numbers) and scientific functions. It also keep track of all your calculations on a tape where you can copy and paste into a new calculation. Another nice feature is that it keeps a live history of what you type, so that you never get lost with where you are in your calculation.

• Calcbot for iPhone and iPad review

$1.99 - Download Now

Best stock app - Bloomberg for iPad

Whether you need to casually monitor stocks on your iPad or just find the urge to check out financial news, Bloomberg provides the best of both worlds combined with an easy to use interface. I've found that some of the applications in the App Store are quite hard to navigate and may be confusing for many users to figure out. Sometimes too many charts and graphs can be overwhelming. Bloomberg gives you what you want to know right up front.

If you're more interested in world and financial news than you are stocks, Bloomberg doubles up as a great resource for such information. It ties news and the stock market together in a fluid way that users will appreciate.

• Bloomberg for iPad review

Free - Download Now

The Calculator app is one of those iPhone apps that didn't make it's way onto the iPad. It's a shame, because a lot of people, including students, travelers, and home book keepers would get a lot of use out of it. The most popular type of calculator is a scientific calculator -- it can do more than the basic operations (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing), but isn't as different in approach as an RPN (reverse Polish notation) or as advanced as a graphing calculator or CAS (computer algebra system). So which iPad app is the best scientific calculator? Calcbot by Tapbots.

One of the great features of Calcbot is that it has large buttons, making it very easy to make entries. In portrait mode, the calculator takes up the whole screen. Along the top is the output screen of the calculator. Under that, you'll find the positive/negative, parentheses, and EE buttons. These are the elements that remain static.

The area of the calculator that contains all the numbers and operations is scrollable. Swiping to the left will reveal all the scientific functions. The up-arrow button on the scientific page will replace the trigonometic functions with their inverses, and the logarithm and exponential functions that are base e change to base 2. Visually, these are all the buttons that are light blue in color.

As you press buttons on the calculator, their symbols will appear in small, light blue letters at the bottom of the calculator's screen. This is extremely helpful for keeping track of which button you've pressed last. The tracking will reset every time you press enter, when it then gets transferred to the tape.

To see the tape, rotate your iPad to landscape. The calculator will become slightly smaller and the tape will slide in from the right. The tape keeps track of all your calculations, including all the buttons that were pressed to get the results. Holding your finger down on an entry pops up a menu to either Use Result, Use Expression, Copy, Send as Email, or Delete. Using the result or expression will automatically add your choice into the calculator. You can also paste into the screen of the calculator or into another app.

The Good

• Large buttons
• Keeps track of buttons pressed
• Beautiful UI
• Landscape orientation reveals the tape
• Every button emits a subtle sound -- true to Tapbots style (can be disabled)
• Option to round for currency
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Must sacrifice having all the buttons on one screen for the larger buttons

The Conclusion

Calcbot by Tapbots has been my favorite calculator on both the iPhone and iPad for quite some time. It does what I need and does it well. Unfortunately for students, Calcbot likely will not be able to replace a physical calculator because most teachers will not allow the use of iPads during exams.

$1.99 - Download Now

I want to watch something on TV but I can't. PVR. Boom. I can watch it when I want. I want to read something on the web but I can't. Read later. Boom. I can read it when I want. I have an idea but am in no position to leverage it at the moment... Go to anyone of a dozen note-taking or mind mapping or sketching apps that are generally far too feature-filled and cumbersome to get into, out of, and triage things in just exactly the way you need to triage them. This is still a problem that needs better solving.

Enter Drafts for iPhone by Agile Tortoise, which aims to be a staging ground for singular thoughts, an incubator for moments of insight, a way to capture ephemera. It's a new riff on old jazz. I used Birdhouse for this type of thing for a long time, then switched to Simplenote, then a variety of Dropbox-enabled text editors. Now I often use Siri to quickly add items to an "Ideas" list in Reminders. But Drafts makes a compelling (use) case.

Drafts is no easier to get stuff into than any of my previous solutions, and is actually slightly more difficult than Reminders thanks to Apple not yet providing a mechanism for Siri to inject content into App Store apps (though you can certainly use Dictation once you manually tap into Drafts and the appropriate or new draft). However, it's quite a bit more powerful to get stuff out of.

Open Drafts and start typing. It shows you the word count and letter count, and at the touch of the page icon, shows you a list of previous drafts.

At a touch of the Action button, anything in the current draft can be tweeted using any account already set up on your iPhone, or sent to some of the Twitter apps installed on your iPhone (Twitter and Tweetbot show up for me, Twitterrific and Twitterlator Neue do not), or it can be emailed or copied to the clipboard. It also supports John Gruber's Markdown syntax, and can preview it or convert it to HTML and email it or copy the converted text to the clipboard.

With the tap of an action button, drafts can work wonders like sharing to Twitter, emailing, and converting from Markdown to HTML

Granted, when all I want to do is jot down an idea, plain text is king, but having Markdown built-in is a nice bonus. So is having both a character and word counter visible.

You can choose between several themes including the default light brown, a darker sepia, a grayscale variant, and an inverse night variant. You also have a bakers dozen of fonts to chose from, in small, medium, and large sizes. It's the usual suspects, but that doesn't make them any less welcome.

Drafts comes with 4 themes and a selection of 13 fonts so you can craft your environment as meticulously as your ideas.

Drafts isn't perfect. While the user experience is excellent the user interface could stand another round or two of polish. There's an oddness to the weighting and alignment of elements in the tool bar, and the contrast of the texture behind it. The Markdown icons, challenging as they may be, suffer from an awkward text overlay. And the app icon itself could do a much better job conveying just how well thought out an app this is.

There's no iCloud and no sync yet, so outside of sharing via the action items detailed above, Drafts is a silo unto itself. There's also no hint as to whether or not Draft's actions will be extensible via URL scheme, the way Launch Center's are. It would be great to be able to send Draft text to other editors, note-takers, task-managers, etc.

The good

• Easy in, easy out.
• Powerful action options.
• Markdown support.

The bad

• No sync options
• Actions not extensible

The conclusion

Drafts is fast and crisp and solid where it counts. There's no sync or extensibility yet but Markdown and excellent sharing actions make it a powerful idea pad for thoughts you don't have a chance to collect right now. Just jot them down in Drafts and they're time-shifted for you to collect later.

$0.99 - Download now

Every week the editors at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This weeks selections includes a music app, a couple baseball apps, a photo app, an app for DIY-ers, an app for Canadian hockey followers, and more.

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

TuneIn Radio Pro - Seth Clifford

I'm a big fan of internet radio, and have been for a long time. I've tried so many different radio streaming apps throughout my tenure as a smartphone user, going all the way back to my Windows Mobile days. I first got into it with my Treo 700wx (ah, memories) and have been hooked ever since. There are a wide variety of apps in the App Store that let you stream seemingly innumerable radio stations from around the world, but the best one I've found is TuneIn Radio, specifically the Pro version. It's an App Store favorite that I've been aware of for a while, but only now am I rediscovering how great it is.

First off, it's a universal app - big win there. Second, it allows you to not only stream internet stations, but can use your location to provide access to local radio as well. Lastly (and most importantly for me), you can create a TuneIn account, save your favorites and sync them between the web and your devices. I can't tell you how great this is, because one of the biggest headaches I faced when trying different radio apps was always searching for and re-adding all the stations I like to listen to over and over again. This makes things so easy, it's beautiful.

The app is nicely designed, with tons of options. You can browse stations (over 50,000) based on location, genre, language, and a few other criteria, or you can just search on an artist or song that you like and get results more tailored to what you're looking for. It's a cool feature that I have yet to fully enjoy as I've just been listening to my handful of stations that I usually do. The nice thing about the Pro version of the app is that you can also record stations and set timed recordings for yourself, which is helpful if you always want to make sure you've got what you want, when you want it. I use recordings as a kind of audio bookmark, to follow up and research artists later if I hear something I like. Finally, one of the coolest features of the app is Car Mode, in which the app interface changes to large, easy-to-hit button targets. So simple, and what a nice touch.

If you're not sure if the app is your cup of tea, grab the free version and give it a spin. If you're anything like me, you've read this far and it hasn't even crossed your mind. The Pro version is a buck, and well worth every cent.

$0.99 - Download Now

NFL '11 - Alli Flowers

It's not exactly football season, but that doesn't mean football is not on the minds of true football fans. And just because the app's name is NFL 11, doesn't mean it ended in 2011. It is keeping us up to date on all things NFL right into the 2012 season, with all the news and gossip that you'd want. (Not that my poor heart can bear any more news or gossip.)

A recent update gave us a tab titled Free Agency. Here, you can track who's available, who's interested, and who's likely going somewhere. It even includes a great glossary of the types of free agency. I must confess, I had no idea there were more than two. I'm ashamed of myself! You can click on many of the players listed, and get all their stats.

Another feature available now is the Combine news. Lists of players, their schools, and their stats. This is a great lead up to the draft. We may have a while until the season starts, but NFL 11 is right there with us!

Free - Download Now]

PicFrame - Chris Oldroyd

This week’s pic has been inspired by the amazing Leanna Lofte series on iPhone photography. If you haven’t read any of these fantastic articles yet, get onto it now! They are awesome!

Anyway, back to my pic, PicFrame is a very simple yet powerful universal app that provides you with a huge selection of picture frames. You simple insert your pictures from your camera roll into the frames and you can show off your photos in style. The app has over sixty different frames to choose from and it is so easy to use.

Once you have created your masterpiece, you can save it in your camera roll, print it, share to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr or simply email it to friends or family. A lovely app and one that I am using all the time!

$0.99 - Download Now

MLB.com At Bat - Gary Mazo

Yesterday I did a feature on all the ways baseball fans can use their iPhone/iPad to follow America’s pastime – Major League Baseball.

This was opening week for MLB, which meant that I started using one app more than just about any other– MLB.com At Bat. Each year at this time, I pay for my subscription and enjoy following each and every game of the season (at least those in which the Red Sox are playing!)

MLB.com At Bat is free for the “Lite” version – but if you are a real baseball fan, pay the $14.99 for the full season pass.

The options in this app are amazing. I can follow every pitch of every game. I get this very cool visual of the batter and can see the pitches (in real time) wiz by his head. I can look at the plays of the game or the box score at the same time on the right hand side of the screen and follow the scores from other games at the top of the screen.

I can find out the stats of every player - seeing their baseball card with last season’s info and how they are doing this year.

When you pay the subscription fee, you can follow pitch by pitch, see in game video highlights and post game videos. You can also listen to every game live via the radio broadcasts from each of the teams playing. So, while I usually listen to the local Boston station, if the Red Sox are playing the Yankees and one of our guys hits a grand slam, I like to turn to the NY station and listen to them cry.

As the season progresses, and the playoffs get close, I like having the ability to follow other division rivals and even catch their games on Red Sox travel days.

All in all, this is one of my absolute favorite apps for my iPad and iPhone. This year it is a universal app – which is amazing. Last year I paid the $14.95 for each device – this year I just pay once and log in and restore my purchases on my other iOS devices.

Do you use the MLB.com At Bat app or do you have another favorite app for following you team? – Just jump to this forum thread to share your thoughts.

Free - Download Now

CBC Hockey Night In Canada - Bla1ze

With the Stanley Cup playoffs soon-to-be underway it's time to start loading up on apps that help you keep track of all the games happening. Even if you're not a hockey fan you can still follow along with the CBC Hockey Night in Canada app, fan or not it's a basic app that will help you keep up-to-date on scores and schedules plus, it has news and video features built-in. Yes, there is much more feature rich applications available in the iTunes App Store but this one will certainly fill basic needs for free.

Free - Download Now

Sid Meier’s Pirates! – Chris Vitek

Sid Meier’s Pirates game is one that has been out for a while, and is based on a PC game of the same name. I was just looking through some old game lists, however, and I decided to give it a shot. It turns out to be a fun, RPG style game that took up much more time than I anticipated. Basically…you are a pirate. Between attacking other ships, forging alliances, plundering, and trying to woo the women (as any pirate scoundrel may want to do) you try to build up you gold, crew, and collection of ships to become the terror of the sea! It makes good use of the iPad controls, using motion controls (for things like dancing and fighting), and piloting your ship around through tapping the screen. You can complete quests and tasks, attack enemies, or just engage in barter and sale to try to build your gold hoard. While the graphics are a little dates, it is an engaging game that I sat and played for about 2 hours before I realized how long I was playing.

$4.99 – Download Now

Snapguide for iPhone - iMuggle

I recently reviewed Snapguide for iPhone and I have to say I've been addicted to it ever since. While I haven't had time to upload any guides yet, I've enjoyed weeding through other user's guides and I've found a lot of cool projects that I'd like to try myself. Not only tech projects but home projects and recipes that I probably never would have found out about without the help of Snapguide.

I'm really surprised an application like this hadn't been thought of before now. It really is ingenious. While it reminds me somewhat of the idea behind Pinterest, it seems to take it one step further and provides us with an outlet to express creativity in a whole new way and share it with the world. Every type of project from creating your own iPod dock to making Easter Egg pops, to how to fix other home gadgets can be found on Snapguide. I can see it becoming one of my most used apps as I've always had a strong interest for DIY projects and finding new ways to occupy my free time.

If you haven't checked it out already, make sure you do.

Free - Download Now

Official iMore for iPhone app - llofte

In case you missed the news, the official iMore app has hit the App Store! It's gorgeous and the perfect way to keep up with iMore news on your iPhone. So make sure to pick it up if you haven't already! Trust me -- it's way cool.

Free - Download now

Marvel - Rene Ritchie

The Marvel Comics app for iPhone and iPad -- made my comiXology who also make the awesome multi-publisher Comics as well as the DC, Image, and other apps -- has once again been updated and now offers sharing via Twitter, Facebook, and email, but more interestingly -- Infinite Comics.

Up until now the Marvel app has featured fairly straight forward ports of the traditional print comics, though an optional, guided, panel view took some advantage of the digital medium. Infinite Comics attempts to be an even more authentically digital experience. It's not animation and it's not motion comics. There are transitions but not actions, staged dialog but no spoken words.

I'm not sure if Infinite Comics are the next step in the evolution of sequential art or just an experiment, but I like that Marvel is experimenting and trying to evolve. It took them a while to turn their big ship towards the mobile technology, but now that ship seems to have engines on full.

If you want to try it out, grab the Marvel app and buy the $3.99 Avengers vs. X-Men debut issue. (Yeah, pricing is still an issue they're trying hard not to address, but this is about the format, not the business model.)

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!

Bloomberg for iPad is a great way for casual traders and investors to interact with their stocks and stay up to date with the news they care about the most.

The App Store is chock full of applications to help investors and traders manage their portfolios directly from their iPad. While some applications provide a wealth of information and are geared towards brokers and users with extensive portfolios, most users just don't need a $100 application to check in on their stocks. I've found Bloomberg for iPad to be a good compromise between usability and information overload.

Whether you need to casually monitor stocks on your iPad or just find the urge to check out financial news, Bloomberg provides the best of both worlds combined with an easy to use interface. I've found that some of the applications in the App Store are quite hard to navigate and may be confusing for many users to figure out. Sometimes too many charts and graphs can be overwhelming. Bloomberg gives you what you want to know right up front.

Navigation

The main page of Bloomberg for iPad provides a quick overview of news, currencies, stocks, and equity indices.

Upon first launching Bloomberg for iPad, you'll be presented with a home page that shows top news stories, some stock information, and a menu along the bottom that allows you to delve deeper into different categories of information.

This is where you can go to customize your experience. Say you don't have bonds but own stocks. You can choose the stocks section and add stocks you own to the app. You'll then see that information populate in the home screen. The real time tickers will continuously update for you on the home page as long as you've got an active internet connection.

Stock info

Tap into any stock you'd like to view more information about its position in text and graphical format. You can also read more information about that company.

You can tap into any news story or stock directly from the main page. Tapping into a stock will present you with a large well laid-out graph showing a 1 year overview of that stock's position. You'll also be given some general summary information along the bottom about that particular stock and the company itself. On the right hand side you'll see some broken down time period graphs. You can tap these to enlarge them further.

Supported exchanges

Bloomberg supports many different exchanges and allows you to view overall postion for each one.

Bloomberg provides information for all major stock exchanges and several smaller exchanges. Some of the most popular ones supported are -

• Dow Jones
• NASDAQ
• S&P 500
• BE 500
• FTSE 100
• TSX

There are many more supported exchanges too. You can also view futures for all exchanges as well. Tapping into any exchange will provide you the same history information that tapping into an individual stock would provide.

Stocks

Add any stocks you'd like to monitor and they'll aggregate into the My Stocks page. You can also enter your position and price to view a summary of your position on each exchange via the My Stocks Summary feature.

Bloomberg allows you to customize your own stocks within the application. Just tap the My Stocks icon from the main page. Tapping the edit button in the upper right hand corner brings up a list of stocks you've added. You can add stocks as well as put in your position and price.

The term position in this instance means the quantity of securities you own. For example, if you own 200 shares of Apple stock, 200 would be your postion. Then you would input the price you paid per share. For in depth investors who trade regularly, they may need a more powerful tool that breaks out information better.

On the main My Stocks page you can tap the bottom My Stock Summary tab to bring up a summary of your current position given the information you input. It will break it out by exchange and give you an overall position. It will show you an overview of how many securities you own, the net change, overall change, what your securities are currently valued at, and your total profit and loss.

Currency Exchange

View currency exchange rates live and set your native currency by dragging it into the top position under the edit menu.

Bloomberg supports and updates live currency values within the app as well. You can set your default currency and it will then show you how your native dollar compares to monetary amounts around the rest of the world. To do so, just drag your home currency to the top of the list when in edit mode. This information will also populate within the main page as well for a quick view.

Just like stocks and other sections of the app, you can edit the currency order. Just move them up and down with the vertical stacked bars.

News

The built-in news section provides up to date world and financial news that you can edit and customize to view what interests you the most.

While the main page shows top news, you can also tap into the news category and view a breakdown of news by section. This is also customizable. Tapping the edit button in the top right will let you move the sections you care about most towards the top and the ones you don't really have an interest in towards the bottom. This makes it a bit easier to find stories you want to read.

The Good

• For a free app, Bloomberg provides enough information for most users
• Provides lots of customization options so you can make the app your own
• Stock summary is a nice way to quickly view overall position if you hold securities
• Graphs are easy to read and follow
• Summarized information provides a nice overview that may help potential investors make an informed decision about what direction a company is heading and whether it's a good time to invest

The Bad

• Users with extensive portfolios will probably need more information than what Bloomberg provides
• The ability to hide news sections you don't care for would be a nice addition instead of just having to move them to the bottom of the feed

The Conclusion

Bloomberg for iPad is a great way for casual traders and investors to interact with their stocks and stay up to date with the news they care about the most. While it may not be perfect for everyone, it provides a wealth of information that will suit mainstream users just fine.

If you're more interested in world and financial news than you are stocks, Bloomberg doubles up as a great resource for such information. It ties news and the stock market together in a fluid way that users will appreciate.

Free - Download Now

Figure is a great new app that puts music creation into the hands of everyone, even non-musicians. It has a very unique interface that's easy to use and makes creating music a lot of fun. You slide your finger around a pad to play bass and lead, and tap columns to play the drums.

What makes Figure so great for non-musicians is that you will always be in the correct key and play to the beat. You get to be creative with the pitch and tones, but Figure will always make sure that your choices are "correct" musically.

For base and lead, you can choose from many different rhythm styles and timing, specify the range of notes you want the pad to represent, and select how many steps you want in an octive. Switching into landscape will remove all the distractions of the controls and give you more room to move your finger precisely where you want it on the pad.

For drums, you get to play kick, snare, hats, and cowbell and choose how many of each are played in a measure if you hold your finger down.

Hitting record will let you layer the three different instrument types and it will automatically loop your song. You can make adjustments in real time so that you're fully away of how your changes affect your song. The types of changes you can do include the tempo and key. You can also add pump so that your song sounds like club music.

This is an app that you need to see in action, so make sure you check out the video below!

The Good

• Puts music making in the hands of everyone, even non-musicians
• Musicians will still enjoy it
• Landscape mode lets you focus on your pattern
• Always in key and on beat
• Bass & lead parts use Reason’s Thor synthesizer
• Drums powered by Reason’s Kong drum machine

The Bad

• Can't save music
• Can't share music

The Conclusion

Figure is a really fun and surprisingly addicting app. Creating music has never been so easy, and it's a great way for non-musicians to get a feel for creating music and beats.

$0.99 - Download Now

If you've been looking for a way to keep your Twitter timeline synced between your iPhone and iPad, you'll be happy to know that Tweetbot has been updated with the ability to do just that with the help of iCloud sync.

Before, many users were using the service called Tweet Marker that aided in keeping your Twitter timeline synced between different devices and clients. What it couldn't do, was sync the read status of direct messages. With iCloud sync, you can read a DM in Tweetbot for iPad, and when you switch to Tweetbot on your iPhone, that DM will already be marked as read there as well. You no longer have to "mark all as read" when switching devices!

In addition to your timeline and direct messages, iCloud sync in Tweetbot will also keep your mute filters synced across devices.

Some other improvements include thumbnail previews for YouTube and iTunes links, and the ability to pinch to close an image on the iPad.

Now, if only there was Tweetbot for Mac...

$2.99 for iPhone - Download Now

$2.99 for iPad - Download Now

The classic PC game Max Payne is set to arrive on the iOS platform next week, April 12^th to be exact. Rockstar has announced that it will have the original version of Max Payne ready for iOS next week and it will be called Max Payne Mobile.

Max Payne is a third-person shooter in which the player assumes the role of its titular character, Max Payne. Almost all the gameplay involves bullet time-based gun-fights and levels are generally straightforward, occasionally incorporating platforming and puzzle-solving elements. The game's storyline is advanced by the player following Max's internal monologue as the character determines what his next steps should be. Several of the game's levels involve surrealistic nightmares and drug-related hallucinations of Payne.

Source: The Verge, Wikipedia

I'm not going to lie, settling on one single app to label as "the best" weather app for iPad wasn't easy. On one hand I had a collection of feature-packed apps that provided every little detail about the weather, including videos and interactive forecasts. On the other hand, I had a group of apps that didn't necessarily have as many features, but were beautiful, easy to use, and fit the needs of most people. After reminding myself that I was looking for best, not most feature-filled, it was easy for me to give Living Earth HD for iPad the title.

Living earth HD is a simple yet gorgeous weather app. In the background, you'll see the earth. If you wish, you can have it spin slowly around its axis with the tap of the button. You can also pinch to zoom in and out of the globe and swipe to rotate it. As the earth rotates, you'll discover that Living Earth shades the half of the earth that is not currently being hit by sun. You can also center the globe on your current location.

As the earth rotates, you'll see which part of it is currently being hit by the sun.

In the upper righthand corner, you'll see an icon that represents the current conditions and the current temperature, the high and low for the day, and sunset and sunrise times. If you tap this area of the screen, a new section will pop up below it and give you some more details about the weather, and a 10 day forecast.

The info at the top of this section includes the humidity percentage and wind speed. Tapping any of the days in the 10-day forecast Will break down the forecast into 2-hour intervals.

Living earth will break down the 10 day forecast into 2-hour intervals.

In the upper righthand corner you'll find the time and date. Tapping it will make it bigger.

In the bottom right corner, you'll see the name of the city you are currently viewing information about. Tapping on the name will pop up a list of big cities in the world that you can switch to. This list is customizable.

In the lower lefthand corner, you'll find five, dimly lit buttons: location, settings, camera, rotation, and alarm. The settings will be where you go to choose units of measure and toggles for live clouds, sunrise times, bright night clouds, gestures and more.

The camera button is essentially a way to share a screenshot of your current screen with Facebook, Twitter, or your Camera Roll.

The alarm clock is what makes Living Earth more than just a weather app. You can also use it to wake you up in the morning! Even though it's not Living Earth's primary function, it is still a great alarm clock. You can have set up custom interval times (much like Apple's Clock app for iPhone), choose between 7 different piano and harp sounds, or even wake up to your own music. The snooze intervals are between 2-30 minutes. The only really disadvantage to this alarm clock, is that you can not set up multiple alarm. Just one.

The Good

• Gorgeous
• 10 day forecast with 2-hour interval breakdowns
• Alarm clock
• Interactive earth
• Fahrenheit and Celsius

The Bad

• Can only set one alarm

The Conclusion

Living Earth HD for iPad is a stunning weather and clock app for the iPad. It may not have be jam packed with ever feature imaginable, but it does its intended job both flawlessly and beautifully.

$1.99 - Download Now

The bases are loaded, the pitchers are on the mounds, and Major League Baseball season has begun! So now it's time to take me -- and my iPhone -- out to the ballgame!

Ok, the season officially opened the other day, but the Red Sox play their first game today so that makes it the real opening day. Thankfully, baseball fans are never far away from the action if they have their trusty iPad or iPhone by their side. There are apps for watching baseball, scoring baseball, finding food at the ballpark, playing casual games, and managing the ever-important fantasy baseball team.

Here are the home runs...

Following the game

As I write this, the season has just started and the Red Sox and Tigers are scoreless after the top of the second inning. I know this, because today, and most days during the season I have one of my all time favorite apps fired up – MLB.com At Bat.

MLB.com At Bat

MLB.com At Bat 2012 gives you an amazing amount of options for following the game

MLB.com At Bat is free for the “Lite” version – but if you are a real baseball fan, pony up the $14.95  for the full season pass available as an in-app purchase. The information in this app is really staggering. I can follow every pitch of every game. I get this very cool visual of the batter and can see the pitches (in real time) wiz by his head. I can look at the plays of the game or the box score at the same time on the right hand side of the screen and follow the scores from other games at the top of the screen. Throw in video highlights, MLB TV (if you are a subscriber) and free game-day audio and this is the ultimate baseball app.

Free - Download Now

If I am not using MLB.com At Bat, I am usually using Safari loaded on www.redsox.com. I am told that each major league team has their own web site that is formatted beautifully for the iPhone or iPad, but why would anyone go anywhere else?

Local networks

Most local markets have a sports app similar to the NESN app in Boston

Most cable providers have an app for following local sports teams. In New England we have NESN – the New England Sports Network which has a free app for following local teams.

Free - Download Now

At the Ballpark

Order food, buy ticket or check out the ballparks from every MLB team

MLB.com has a new app out this year called At the Ballpark.  When you fire up this app, you can then choose your local ballpark or any of the Major League ballparks and start exploring.  You can see the ballpark map, get directions, look at schedules of events and even order food and drinks if the ballpark supports it.

Free - Download Now

Managing your Fantasy Baseball team

Fantasy Baseball may not be as popular as Fantasy Football, but it is still popular and important to many baseball fans.  The original fantasy baseball provider was Yahoo and Yahoo sports is still the most popular fantasy baseball service.

Yahoo Fantasy Baseball '12

Manage your fantasy baseball teams from the Yahoo Fantasy Baseball app

Fortunately, there is a free Yahoo Fantasy Baseball 12 app that allows you to login, adjust your teams and manage the full fantasy baseball experience.

Free - Download Now

ESPN Fantasy Baseball 2012

The other huge Fantasy Baseball site is ESPN. Like Yahoo, ESPN has its own Fantasy Baseball app as well.

Free - Download Now

It is hard to say which of these is better – it really comes down to which leagues you participate in and who hosts them.

Playing a quick baseball game

This is where iOS seems to strike out –- there are not many real quality baseball games to play on iOS at this point. Hopefully with more powerful devices like the iPhone 4S and the new iPad, we get more in-depth games soon!

Baseball Superstars 2012

Baseball Superstars is "cartoony" but fun

Probably the most popular baseball game for iOS is Baseball Superstars 2012 from Gemevil. This has a definite Asian/anime feel to it. Gameplay reminds me of my old Atari, but people seem to love it.

Free - Download Now

Chevy Baseball

There is lots of product placement, but Chevy Baseball is a fun game

New this year is Chevy Baseball from Small Planet Digital. This game is sponsored by Chevy, so it has adds and lots of product placement. The game was developed by Freeverse and the graphics are pretty good. The home team is the Camaros and the visiting team the Silverados, but aside from that, it was fun.

Free - Download Now

Homerun Battle 2

Knock it out of the park with Homerun Battle 2

For a quick game to play, I like Homerun Battle 2 from Com2US.  The goal of this game is very simple – just hit home runs. You can play in Arcade or Matchup modes and occasionally you are asked to try to hit the ball in a specific spot – but basically, you try to hit the ball out of the park. It is simple, quick and fun and uses the accelerometer to guide where to swing.

$0.99 - Download Now

Whether you want to follow the Red Sox (or perhaps, some other team) or catch the latest news, score a game at the ballpark or play a casual arcade game – it is a great time to be a baseball fan. There are options for literally countless hours of fun and action on your iOS device.

Download an app or two, follow your favorite team and enjoy springtime with America’s favorite pastime.

Game time!

Let us know how you follow baseball on your iOS device – just jump to this forum thread to share your thoughts.

If you just bought a new iPad and have searched in vain for the built-in Apple Voice Memos app, here’s some bad news — there isn’t one. Apple chose not to include it on the iPad. Luckily for us, however, App Store developers are here to fill that void. In fact, the developers of Audio Memos for iPhone and iPad know exactly how to do it right.

Multiple versions

There are three different version of Audio Memos, a free version that offers not much more than the ability to record a basic memo, a $0.99 version that give a couple more features and the ability to buy extensions as in-app purchases, and a Pro, $9.99 version that includes all the available extensions.

This chart compares the features of the three versions available and also lists the price of each extension.

Notice that if you choose to purchase all the extensions of the $0.99 version, you get all the features of the Pro version, but ultimately pay $1 more for it. So think carefully about whether or not you're going to want all the extensions or not before making a purchase.

With that said, the $0.99 version does allow you to try all the extensions for free for 15 days. So if you're not sure if you want them all, you can think of it as a $1 trial.

Since a lot of the commonly desired extensions are only $0.99 (like trimming and markers), grabbing a few of them still keeps the price of the app at an acceptable amount. It can potentially get rather expensive, though.

Recording audio

The Pro version of Audio Memos and the $0.99 Voice Activation extension gives you have three different options for recording your audio. You can do it by simply pressing a button to start and end your recording (the option that comes free), set a threshold, that when reached, will start your recording, or set a timer for when you want the recording to begin and end.

There are three different quality levels to choose from: 11025 Hz, 22050 Hz and 44100 Hz. You can also adjust the volume of the audio, but be careful with this as it can easily sound very distorted. In my experience, as long as you're near your iPad or using a headset, you shouldn't have a problem with the audio level.

If you want to use a bluetooth mic for your recordings, there's an option that lets you do so.

Trimming audio

Available in the Pro version or as a $0.99 extension, you can trim the beginning and end of your recordings. Doing so is very easy to do and is similar to trimming videos with the Camera and Photos apps. Simply drag the handles at the ends of the clip to the desired location. As you do, the time location will pop up. You can also slide the whole clip around which is great for those times you need a clip that is an exact length.

You can also lower the quality of the clip to reduce the files size and choose to save as .wav or .aac. The saving can be done as a new file or as a replacement for the clip you've edited.

Inserting markers

The ability to insert and navigate between markers is available in the Pro version or as a $0.99 extension. It provides four additional buttons to jump between markers, add a new marker, and select a marker from a list. Markers can be added either during the recording or after and a description can be associated with each one. For another $0.99 you can insert photos as well. (The pictures extension is available as a standalone that works like a marker without a description, but the markers extension is required to easy navigate between markers).

The Good

• Free version available that does the basics
• Great UI
• Good quality
• Potential of being fully feature-packed
• Having extensions available as in-app purchases can potentially save you money if you only want a few of them
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The Bad

• Doesn't support the new iPad's Retina display. Yet.
• A bit pricey once you start adding up all the extensions.
• "All extensions" in-app purchase should not be $9.99. It should be $8.99 so that the total cost of the app and extension is the same as if you purchased the pro version.
• Should have more features included in each extension. For example, the markers and photos extensions should be grouped as one extension. Multiple selection and Voice activation shouldn't even be extensions - they should be included in the $0.99 version.
• Doesn't support the new iPad's Retina display, yet

The Conclusion

Although I'm rather annoyed with how many of the features of Audio Memos come at an additional cost, I cant deny how well the app is made. If you're looking for a powerful voice recorder for your iPad, Audio Memos will not disappoint -- often times great software comes at a price.

Free - Download Now

$1.99 - Download Now

$9.99 - Download Now

Have you recently purchased your first DSLR and feel a bit overwhelmed with all the various settings? CameraSim for iPad will help you overcome your fear of venturing away from the auto mode of your camera by visually explaining how different controls affect your images. CameraSim essentially lets you simulate taking the same photo over and over again, but with different settings, and instantly shows you what you could expect the photo to look like.

At the top of the app's main screen, you'll find your viewfinder, and in it you see a little girl swaying back and forth holding a pinwheel that's being spun by the wind. At the bottom of the viewfinder, you'll see a light meter and your current settings, just as you would in your DSLR's viewfinder. The bottom half of the screen gives you access to all your virtual camera settings and the shutter release button.

The settings that CameraSim let you adjust are lighting, distance, focal length, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. You can also simulate being in Aperture or Shutter Priority modes, or go fully manual. There is also a switch to toggle using a tripod or not.

In Aperture priority, you will have control over all of the settings except for shutter speed. The reason it's called Aperture priority, is because the main element that you control is the aperture. The camera will then choose the best shutter speed based off the aperture that you want to use. Similarly, Shutter Priority mode gives you control over everything except for aperture. In manual mode, you have full control over all settings. Your DSLR also has all three of these modes and they're typically labeled as A, S, and M.

If the tripod is turned off, then in addition to the motion of the girl and pinwheel, you will also have to consider motion of the person holding the camera -- you. When turned on, you don't have to think about that element and only need to consider the girl and her pinwheel.

I will not give you a lesson on how all the different settings actually end up affecting the image, except for mentioning that, visually, your settings will determine how much of your photo is in focus and if you are able to freeze the motion of the girl and/or her pinwheel. When you take a photo, CameraSim will show you what your photo would look like with the settings you chose and give you feedback. If it's great, it will say so, and if could use a little work, CameraSim will give you some pointers for improving your shot.

I think CameraSim has done a great job of accurately demonstrating how different settings will impact your photos. My only complaint is that the lighting slider isn't very realistic. It accurately affects how you must adjust your settings for different lighting conditions, but the image doesn't change with the lighting conditions. Even when set to "dim indoors", there a blast of sunlight hitting the side of the little girl's face.

Other than that, however, CameraSim is a fantastic tool for learning how the different settings of your DSLR will impact your images. I just wish there was more than one scene to choose from. The photo of the girl is great because you can really get a feel for blurring your background and freezing motion, but I'd like to see at least one scene for each of the 6 lighting options.

The Good

• Great way to learn how different settings affect the final image
• Accurately represents the results you'd expect from a DSLR
• Help screen is very helpful

The Bad

• Only one photo
• Lighting slider isn't realistic
• Doesn't keep a log of settings you've tried
• Does not support the new iPad's Retina display, yet

The Conclusion

I think this is a fabulous app for beginner DSLR users who want to learn how to use their camera. The instant feedback and tips are quite helpful. I'd venture to say it's even a must-have app for beginning photographers who are confused about settings and uncomfortable using their camera in anything but auto mode.

$1.99 - Download Now

Easter Sunday is less than a week away, which means it's time to start coloring some eggs! Egg Dyeing 101 from Martha Stewart Living for iPhone will help you create the most beautiful eggs on the block.

Egg Dying 101 is organized into 4 tabs: Home, Gallery, Basics, and Favorites. The home tab is basically worthless -- it's just a photo (albeit, a beautiful photo) that says "Egg Dying" over it. The information button is also on this page, but that could've easily been put somewhere else.

The Gallery tab is where the fun starts. It's here that you'll find 20 different categories of 101 egg designs with step by step directions and sometimes video on how to achieve the look. The categories include basic dipping techniques, various masking techniques, embossing, embellishing, and even creating egg creatures. For each egg creature, Egg Dyeing 101 includes a template that can be printed with AirPrint or emailed. Each of the egg designs can also be emailed.

The basics tab is where you'll learn, well, the basics for egg coloring. This tab is broken down into 5 categories: Basic Recipe & Color Wheel, Egg Glossary, Blowing Out an Egg, Drying Pin-Board, and Sources.

The Basic Recipe & Color Wheel section includes three charts for light, dark, and neon hue colors. Each chart includes 12 colors, the number of drops of dye needed for each color, and the number of minutes you need to let the egg soak to achieve the desired color.

Blowing an egg is a technique for removing the contents of an egg so that you can save your creations for the years to come. This section of the app teaches you how to do it and includes a video.

The best way to dry your eggs in on a pin-board, so the Drying Pin-Board section is where you go to learn how to make one.

My only real complaint is that Egg Dyeing 101 is not universal for the iPhone and iPad. I'd rather have my iPad setup as a reference while coloring eggs than my iPhone. It's also easier to share the iPad's larger screen with the family.

The Good

• Gorgeous photos
• Clear instructions
• Well done videos
• 101 different egg designs
• Lots of dye recipes for every color in the light, dark, and neon hues categories

The Bad

• Home tab is pointless
• Not available for iPad

The Conclusion

My daughter is still a little too young to take part in the whole egg coloring experience, so I wasn't planning to color eggs this year, but Egg Dyeing 101 from Martha Stewart Living for iPhone is making me seriously reconsider that decision.

$0.99 - Download Now

The iMore for iPhone app is here and while thousands upon thousands of you have downloaded it already, we wanted to take a moment to show it off, and show off some great features you might have missed!

iMore for iPhone was meticulously crafted to provide the absolute best reading and listening experience possible for our community. We specifically chose to focus on doing a few things really well at first, so that we had a solid foundation on which to add more and better things later. I think we accomplished that and the way I can tell is simple -- the iMore app is the only way I read iMore on my iPhone now (and a lot of you have told us the very same thing.)

If you haven't already, go ahead and download iMore for iPhone now. I'll wait. It's totally FREE and, if I do say so myself, totally awesome.

Once you're done, check out the video above for a quick guided tour from yours truly.

You'll see how to browse articles and categories, and how to re-order tabs so you get what you want, where you want, when you want it. You'll see the podcatcher, which gives you access to not only iPhone & iPad live but all the Mobile Nations shows, including Iterate and ZEN and TECH, Android Central and CrackBerry.com, and much more. And you'll see how to send us YOUR tips, so if you come across breaking news, you can instantly let us know all about it.

We want you to get the most out of your iMore experience and this app. And we want you to share your thoughts -- what you love, what you hate, and what you want to see in the upcoming version 2. (Yes, the universal iPad version!) Once you've had a chance to use iMore for iPad, leave a comment in our official iMore for iPad feature request thread and let us know what else you want to see!

Free - Download now

Sparrow for iPhone, the replacement mail app that shames Google's half-assed Gmail for iOS app and gives Apple's built-in Mail app a run for its money has been updated to version 1.1 and it brings a lot of great stuff... though sadly still no push. Now, when you tap on a hyperlink in Sparrow for iPhone, you will not be taken out of the app and into Safari, but, instead, a nice built-in WebView will slide in. When you're done looking at the website, your mail is just a tap away. Some of the other new features of Sparrow 1.1 include the ability to Send & Archive and to show/hide the dock badge for specific accounts. What's notability missing from Sparrow's update is push notifications.

However, the folks at Sparrow promise the feature is coming. They believe that Apple will change their position on the matter. We believe Apple won't -- Sparrow was misusing the VoIP API and Apple would (and arguably should) offer a new, specific multitasking API for persistent internet apps. Either way, Sparrow has a backup plan.

Thanks to your amazing support, we feel confident that Apple might revise its position on the Push API. We’ll submit a first version of Sparrow 1.2 including it. This might delay Sparrow 1.2 validation but we’re already working with some partners to include Push in future versions of Sparrow without needing Apple clearance.

Push is coming. With or without Apple.

So in the meantime, you can enjoy the new features of Sparrow, just without push. Personally, I've been using Sparrow when I have a moment to just sit back and browse through my email. Apple's mail app is still my main client, but only because Sparrow doesn't support push notifications, yet. Once Push becomes available for Sparrow, it's very likely that it'll take the place of Apple's mail app on my dock. It's a great mail app.

$2.99 - Download Now

Source: Sparrow

If you just bought a new iPad and have searched in vain for the built-in Apple Clock app, here's some bad news -- there isn't one. Apple just doesn't think the Clock app looks good on the big screen. Luckily for us, however, App Store developers don't share that belief. In fact, the developers of Night Stand for iPad show just exactly how to do it right.

Main screen

Night Stand for iPad is so much more than a basic alarm clock. In addition to the time on the main, rather gorgeous, display, you can also see the date and current weather conditions. There are also four widgets that can be enabled at the bottom of the screen for Twitter, Facebook, RSS, and Weather.

Behind the main clock, Night Stand for iPad will play through your defined slideshow. It comes preinstalled with beautiful videos and has more available for purchase. Each movie series is $0.99, or you can buy all four series for $1.99. If you prefer a slideshow of still images, Night Stand for iPad also includes 3 beautiful images with more available for purchase. You can also have a slideshow of your own images if you prefer. The interval times for your slideshows can be anywhere from 1-60 minutes.

Sliding your finger up and down the main screen will adjust the screen brightness and flicking left and right will hide and show the clock display.

Widgets

The Twitter and Facebook widgets let you view recent posts and status updates from their respective social networks. Tapping one of the posts will popup a built-in browser and displays how that post looks on the web. If you want to reply, like, or comment, you'll need to login to the social network in that browser. To the left of each of the widgets, you'll find the button that lets you tweet or post to Facebook.

The RSS widget is tied to Google Reeder and displays recent posts from your feed. Tapping on a post will also slide up the article in a nice, stripped-down, easy to read view. To view the article in safari, tap "Full Article".

The weather widget displays a 10 day forecast of the weather. Include with each day is the general weather (partly cloudy, clear, light rain, etc), the low and high tempertures, wind speed, and times for sunset and sunrise.

Alarm Clock

The alarm clock lets you add multiple alarms seth with custom repetitions, similar to the iPhone's alarm clock. Night Stand for iPad includes 9 alarm sounds, many of which are actually very load, alarming, and annoying. I mean, seriously, who wants to wake up every morning to the sound of a smoke alarm going off? (Immediately after typing that sentence, my husband piped up that he loves the annoying sounds for an alarm, so apparently some people do like them). Many people actually prefer waking up to music, so Night Stand allows you to add music stored on your iPad to wake up to. However, if you want to wake up to music, you have to make sure Night Stand is actually running on your iPad overnight. Otherwise, Night Stand will send a notification to wake you up instead.

In the alarm settings menu, you'll find the options to shuffle your selected music, the duration of snooze, and if you want the alarm sound or music that you chose to fade in over time, so as to not startle you awake. The durations range between 6 seconds to 30 minutes.

Sleep Timer

In addition to serving the purpose of waking you up in the morning, Night Stand for iPad also has a sleep timer so that you can listen to music while you fall asleep. The interval times range from 5 minutes to 23 hours and 55 minutes. Wow.

The Good

• Gorgeous
• Include Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds
• Ability to tweet and post to Facebook
• Included movies and images are beautiful
• Inclusion of weather is very convenient
• Can wake up to own music
• Can have slideshows of personal images
• Supports Fahrenheit, Celsius, miles and kilometers
• Includes alarm clock and sleep timer
• Multiple alarms
• Can make the main clock small and position in the upper right or left corner

The Bad

• Not enough alarm clock sounds. Should have more subtle ones.
• The popup for Twitter posts isn't scaled properly. You have to scroll right to see the entire tweet.

The Conclusion

Night Stand is a gorgeous alarm clock for your iPad. I love how it isn't just a clock, but a host for all the things I like to check before rolling out of bed. I used to use my iPhone as my alarm clock, but with the discovery of Night Stand, my iPad will be playing that roll from now on instead.

$2.99 - Download Now

Kaleidoscope Camera is an iPhone app that will turn your iPhone's camera into a machine that transforms your environment into a geometric work of art. We usually only think of using the iPhone's camera for taking photos and recording video, so it's cool to find another fun use for it.

Kaleidoscope Camera is actually a very basic app. All of the UI elements appear on a single screen. When you open the app, the camera is immediately put to work and the geometric video immediately starts. In the corner, you'll see a little box that shows what your camera is actually looking at with a white triangle spinning inside of it. This area inside the triangle is the area that Kaleidoscope Camera is actually using to produce the image. Tapping the main view will toggle preview on and off and tapping the preview will switch between the rear and front-facing cameras.

If you were using a physical kaleidoscope, you would spin it around while holding it up to your eye to watch the shapes spin and change. To mimic this effect with Kaleidoscope Camera, you simply use your finger to "spin" the camera. You have control of the speed and the zoom.

On the bottom of the screen, you'll see the four different modes and a camera button. Tapping the camera will capture a still shot of what you currently see on the screen and pop up a menu to save to your Camera Roll or to send to Facebook, Twitter, or email.

I was very impressed that even at night with only one light on in my living room, Kaleidoscope Camera was still able to produce great results.

The Good

• Four different modes
• Interactive
• Sharing to Facebook and Twitter

The Bad

• None

The Conclusion

Kaleidoscope Camera reminds me the days of being a kid and running around playing with a cheap $1 kaleidoscope -- only it's better.

$1.99 - Download Now

LockScreen Lab is an iPhone app that lets you design custom Lock screens that can include important information like a calendar, contact info, to-do list, and your blood type. This is great for people who have a passcode setup on their iPhone, or if you just want to make it easy for someone to contact you when they find your iPhone.

There are four different types of objects you can add to your design: contact information, to-do list, calendar, and text box. For all objects you can adjust the color and opacity.

For contact information, there are 4 different styles to choose from -- two horizontal ones (one with one line, another with two), one that's a corner banner, and the fourth is actually a way to display your blood type and looks like a red liquid drop.

Text boxes allow you to adjust the font size, alignment and opacity. The todo lists are kind of neat, but you have no control over their size. There are 4 different looks for your lists: check boxes (that can be checked/unchecked), bullets, stars, dashes, and Apple symbols.

Lastly, there a four different calendars to add to your lock screen backdrop: two vertical ones and two horizontal ones.

One thing I noticed about the objects is that you cannot adjust their size. For example, in my Lock screen, I have my email address on the bottom and a calendar on the left. They are both designed to be full length/width, so the banner with my email address overlaps with calendar making it so I can't see one of the days. I'm a little OCD with stuff like this, so the overlap is drying me nuts.

The Good

• Easy to use
• Includes great little objects
• Customization for colors and opacity
• Access to Photo albums

The Bad

• Can't adjust the size of objects

The Conclusion

LockScreen Lab is great app for creating custom wallpapers for your Lock screen. I had never considered including information like my blood type and an emergency contact, before, but since I have my iPhone setup with a passcode lock, I'm going to always make sure I include this information from now on. LockScreen lab makes this easy to do.

$1.99 - 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 a unique photography app, a solution for reading sheet music on the iPad, an alternative to iBooks, an awesome flying game, a web app alternative for a popular native iPhone application, a new way to view your Instagram feed, and the best way to get comic books onto your iPad.

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

Paper Camera -- Alli

This is another one of those apps that's available on both Android and iOS. Of course, it has a few more options for iOS right now, but that could change at any time in the continual game of cat and mouse between iOS and Android.

Paper Camera gives you new views of your world. View it in pastels, black and white, or as a cartoon. The filter above is called Comic Boom, and makes everything look hand drawn. There are bunches of filters, and half the fun is just looking at things through the different filters.

One of the really nice things with Paper Camera is that you're not limited to taking new photos through the Paper Camera filters. You can put a filter on an existing photo from your album.

I should mention the big feature that the iOS version has that Android hasn't caught up with yet - you can shoot video through these filters on iOS. Sweet, eh?

$0.99 - Download Now

GoodReader -- Gary Mazo

I find that I use my iPad more and more in ways I would not imagined just a couple of years ago. One of my favorite uses of my iPad is as a repository for all my sheet music.

I am an avid piano player and have amassed literally thousands of pieces of sheet music over the years. Most was in loose-leaf format or in old piano books from when I was younger and lots was through digital music delivery or scans of music I had borrowed from friends.

I needed a way to get it all in one place and the iPad was going to be that place. Enter GoodReader from Good.iWare.

GoodReader is an app that supports PDF files, all Office files, iWord files, web archives and high-resolution images. Files are transferred either via iTunes document transfer or (and this is my favorite way to do it) via wireless transfer. Just touch the wireless transfer button and it finds your computer (if you are on the same Wi-Fi network) and you use the computer as a server. Select a file on your computer and – like magic – it shows up on GoodReader.

Once in the app, I can adjust the sort order, annotate PDF files (which is great for music) change the orientation, layout, jump around, search and more. I just swipe to the left to advance pages - which is so nice in a long piece of music – and can even pinch to zoom in on hard to read sections.

The only downside to GoodReader is that when I go to visit friends with pianos in their homes and they say “too bad we didn’t ask you to bring music with you” I can no longer say “that is too bad” if I have my iPad around!

Are you using GoodReader? Do you have other ways of viewing sheet music on your iPad? Join in the discussion in the forums!

$4.99 - Download Now

Kindle for iPad -- iMuggle

My new iPad has really gotten me more interested in reading on it than any other device has. The iPhone is just too small and I've always had some type of vendetta against eBooks. That's starting to change and I've been enjoying sitting back with my iPad and reading.

The Kindle and iBooks apps are both great for reading. I've found myself using the Kindle app a lot more often for some reason. I think I just prefer the interface. It's easy to use and since it was updated to support the new iPad's retina display, it's better than ever.

I still find myself using iBooks for PDFs but switching over to the Kindle app to read actual books. I like the idea of being able to read Kindle books on multiple devices on more than one platform. If I ever decided to purchase another type of device, I'd most likely be able to use my books on that device too.

If you haven't checked out the Kindle app or what they have available for purchase, I'd highly recommend it.

Free - Download Now

Air Wings -- Bla1ze

Looking for a pretty awesome flying game? Air Wings is where it's at. The concept is to fly around gathering up coins and weaponry to use against other players as it is a multiplayer game. You have multiple planes you can choose from to purchase, it offers in game voice chat with 6 multiplayer levels to play through. In addition to all that, it was recently updated with new graphics for the new iPad as well, so it looks great. Air Wings is available for free in the iTunes store with in-app purchases starting at $.99 -- I make this clear because you'll want to grab at least one additional airplane pack in order to really get into the game.

Free - Download Now

SoundBest Player -- SimonSage

A non-game iOS app caught my eye for a change this week. Rather, it caught my ear. SoundBest Player is a sharp, simple music player that mostly replicates the native music player in both layout and function, with one significant difference: within it is built a custom equalizer. When you first start up the app, it takes you through a short hearing test, and builds a a custom listening profile which changes the way your songs sound. You can save multiple custom profiles, and turn the equalizer off and on very easily. There are also presets for different genres of music, but aside from that, you have access to your usual library of playlists and songs sorted by album, artist, or by individual track. There's full compatibility with playback control from the dock, lock screen, and headphones with in-line hardware.

SoundBest just came out this week, but there are a few alternatives already available that I haven't tried out, like EQ 10 and Equalizer; the latter actually looks pretty good. It's hard to describe the difference between music played through SoundBest versus the vanilla music app, but if you've ever played around with the equalizer in iTunes on your Mac, you'll know what to expect.

$2.99 - Download Now

The YouTube Web App -- JorjLim

As a frequent vlogger, Youtube is my second home; and the built in Youtube app, is quite frankly, rubbish! It lacks simple functionality, like autocomplete, and replying to comments, it doesn’t offer any functionality that a video creator would want, like editing video info or checking channel stats and its really slow!

An alternative is the Youtube web app, and if offers all the functionality that the native app is missing, and so much more.

As a viewer, you get all the standard functionality of ‘liking’ and ‘disliking’, adding to favourites and commenting. The search even has autocomplete! You can also reply to other comments directly, share on more social networks like Facebook and Google+, and you can select to play the video in high quality or low quality regardless if you’re on 3G or Wifi.

As a content creator, you can view, and respond to your mail, edit video details and remove videos on the go.

One of the greatest features that I found in the web app, is the leanback remote. You can connect the iPhone to the youtube leanback experience, and ‘airplay’ your Youtube videos and playlists to your TV or computer without the need for an AppleTV.

I’ve switched totally from the native app to the web app, and I have never looked back!

Gramory -- llofte

I love Instagram, but the native Instagram app isn't exactly awesome. The scrollable timeline is cool and all, but sometimes I'm forced to scroll through a lot of "meh" photos that I'm not particularly interested in. I love Gramory because it lets me see 20 photos at once as thumbnails so that I can pick and choose which ones I want to see bigger. It also has a very nice multi-plane UI.

The other feature that a lot users like is that you can filter photos by trends -- something that the official Instagram app doesn't allow.

Free - Download Now

Comics - Rene Ritchie

Comics was the best way to buy new comic books for iPhone and iPad, and now that the new iPad is out with it's killer Retina display, Comics has updated to take advantage of it. Comics hasn't just updated their own user interface, mind you, they've launched CMX-HD, a new format to best show off the content as well. What's more, since Comics' developer, ComiXology also makes the official Marvel, DC, Image, and other apps, all of them benefit from the new technology. Win. Win. Win. (You get the idea.)

And yeah, this stuff looks fantastic on the new iPad.

FREE - Download

• Marvel version
• DC version

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!

The extremely popular social photo sharing service Instagram now has a very serious competitor to it's own app -- it's called Gramory. Gramory offers a superb way to browse through Instagram photos. One of the huge features that is not present in Instagram's official app is the ability to browse by trends.

Gramory has a very nice, multi-panel UI. The left panel is where you'll be able to choose how to filter the photos that you're browsing though. You can look through your own photos or feed, the popular photos, photos that you've liked, or even see what tags are trending and browse through those images. Regardless of which view you choose, you'll see them all presented as thumbnails. This is awesome because it lets you see 20 photos at once on a single page so that you can select which ones you'd like to see larger.

When viewing a photo, you'll see a large version of the photo as well as all the comments that have been made on that photo. If you pull the screen down, you'll see the hidden icons that let you share the photo to Twitter, Facebook, Messages, or Mail. You can also like the photo or leave a comment. If you tap the little thumbnail icon in the upper righthand corner, a right panel will slide out that displays thumbnails of that user's Instagram photos.

Despite how awesome Gramory is, it's still not a replacement for the official Instagram app. It doesn't allow you to post photos, nor can you see a nice list of recent comments and likes made to your photos.

The Good

• Multi-plane UI
• Browse photos by "me", popular, feed, liked, or trends
• Search users and tags
• Thumbnail view

The Bad

• Cannot post photos to Instagram
• Cannot view a list of recent comments and likes made to your photos

The Conclusion

If you're a big Instagram user, you must start using Gramory. It's offers a new and better way to browse photos posted to Instgram.

Free - Download Now

Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe is a gorgeous educational and reference app that takes you on a tour of the universe with Professor Brian Cox -- a particle physicist, Royal Society research fellow, and professor at the University of Manchester. You may also know him as the science broadcaster and presenter of the highly popular BBC2 series Wonders of the Solar System.

When you first launch the app, you're presented with a brief, informative tutorial on how to use the app, then placed in the middle of the universe, out in space. You can pinch and zoom and scroll around to explore different galaxies, planets, stars and nebulas -- all of which is stunning to look at and in motion -- or you can select where you wish to go from the menu at the top of the screen. The included topics are sub atomic, atomic, Solar System, stars, Milky Way, galaxies, and universe.

As you hover over the Solar System, you can watch the planets orbit sun.

When you choose a topic to explore, the chapters will appear in a scrollable menu at the bottom of the screen. As you scroll through the chapters, the screen will zoom into the area of interest. To dive into a chapter, you just drag it up into the middle of the screen. The chapter will not become full width. Instead, it appears as a column in the center of the screen so that you can still see the universe behind it. I really like this -- it gives you the sense of floating out in space while reading.

As you scroll through the chapter, you'll encounter images, infographics, photography, and videos. When you do, the media will automatically resize to full screen so that you can really enjoy it and get engaged. When you're done viewing the media, just simply continue scrolling and the app will size it back down and smoothly continue on with the chapter.

Chapters appear as a column in the center of the screen. They're interesting to read and include a lot of media.

Brian Cox is the presenter in the videos, and I must say, he's awesome. Every video I've watched has made me feel like I'm watching a TV show on the Discovery Channel. They are so well done that it actually makes me want to watch and learn more. As I read through the chapters and watch the videos, I become more thirsty for knowledge of the universe and Solar System.

When you reach the end of a chapter, just continue to scroll, as if pushing the chapter off the screen, and you'll jump right back into space so that you can move on to the next chapter.

I'm not sure if I've ever been able to confidently say that an app was perfect before, but Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe is. It's perfect.

The Good

• Gorgeous
• 200 interactive articles
• 2.5 hrs worth of video
• Hundreds of infographics, photographs, and images
• Over 50 3D models
• Brian Cox is awesome

The Bad

• None

The Conclusion

Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe is literally one of the best iPad apps I've ever encountered. It's a phenomenal educational tool that has the perfect mix of video, images, text, and hands-on interaction.

I rarely comment on the price of an app, but this one should be going for at least $10, so the $6.99 promotional price is quite a steal.

$6.99 - Download Now