The original handwriting app, Penultimate, is better than ever with its recent update that brings support for Dropbox and Evernote. You can send your notes directly to Dropbox or Evernote and setup Penultimate to automatically backup to Dropbox so that all your notes are always available in the cloud.

• Serious Dropbox integration: Send notebooks and pages directly to your Dropbox, or enable automatic backup to be sure you always have a copy of your notes in the cloud. Open Penultimate files from your Dropbox.
• Evernote support. Evernote’s handwriting recognition is a great fit for Penultimate users. You can send notebooks and notes to your account for searching there later. Very simple signup in the app if you want to give it a spin.
• Open new workflows by “Open”ing your notebooks and pages in other apps on iPad.
• Copied images can be pasted into Penultimate, and copied ink can be pasted into other apps.
• Now available in Chinese (simplified) and Korean.
• As always, many other improvements and updates.

Penultimate is available on the iPad and on sale for $0.99.

• App Store link

Have an app you’d love to see featured on iMore? Email us at iosapps@imore.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

TiPb takes a look at the top 5 best iPhone and iPad apps to help you succeed with your New Year’s resolutions in fitness, finances, organization, dieting, and kicking a bad habit.

2012 is the year you’re going lose weight, get in shape, get your finances in order, quit smoking, and organize your life – and your iPhone and iPad apps are going to help you with your success! There are a plethora of apps out there to choose from, however, so we’ve gathered up a few of our favorites to help you with your New Year’s resolutions.

Weightbot

This Tapbots gem is an oldie, but a goodie. With Weightbot, you can set your weight goal, record your weight, view your BMI, and see your progress on a beautiful graph. The UI is gorgeous and true to Tapbots style and makes use of nice sounds and clicks as you navigate through the app. Tracking your weight is always a chore, but Weightbot will at least turn the actual act of entering your weight a pleasure. Whether you’re happy with with the numbers you’re entering or not – well, that’s up to you.

• $1.99 – App Store link

See also:

• P90X: $4.99 for iPhone – App Store link
• Nike Training Club: Free for iPhone – App Store link

SilverWiz Money

Money – you both love it and hate it. You love getting it; you love spending it, but you hate when it runs dry. This is the year to get your finances in order by setting budgets, tracking your spending, and make smart spending choices. SilverWiz Money is a great app to help in your endeavor.

With SilverWiz, you can see the status of all your accounts (checking, savings, credit cards, cash, etc) and log all of your expenses and credits. Set up reminders to get your bills paid on their due dates, and schedule automatic deposits and transfers. My favorite feature of SilverWiz Money, however, is that it can sync across multiple devices. So, if you share accounts with your spouse, you can both log your spending on your own device, but it updates on all devices. There is also an iPad version, so when it’s time to analyze your reports, you can kick back and use the larger screen.

• $0.99 for iPhone – App Store link
• $4.99 for iPad – App Store link

See also:

• Bills ~ On your table: $3.99 for iPhone – App Store link
• iXpenseIt: $1.99 for iPhone – App Store link

Evernote

Organization – something we all vow to get better at every year. Evernote is here to help. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your Mac or Windows desktop. You can also mark specific notes as favorites and text within notes is searchable. Available an an in-app purchase, the Premium Features allow you to add, sync, access, and share files (PDF, Word, Excel, PPT, and more). Get organized, today!

• Free – App Store link

See also:

• Day One (Journal/Diary): $1.99 for iPhone and iPad – App Store link
• Todo:
  • $4.99 for iPhone – App Store link
  • $4.99 for iPad – App Store link

Weight Watchers Mobile

I’m convinced that the Calendar was intentionally created so that the New Year immediately followed a slew of Holidays that make us eat too much food, drink too much booze, and make us fat. If we didn’t have the New Year to motivate us to loose the 20 pounds we gained in less than 2 months, we’d have an even bigger obesity problem. We’ve already taken a look at an app to track our weight loss, but we’re not going to be happy with those numbers without some action – the most effective being a diet change.

Weight Watchers Mobile will provide you with the latest recipes, health news, exercise info, and more. It’s also compatible with Weight Watcher’s PointsPlus program so that you can keep track while on the go. A subscription to Weight Watchers Online will give you over 31,000 food options, meals and recipes and let you see your daily remaining PointsPlus values with notifications.

• Free – App Store link

See also:

• Lose It! Free for iPhone – App Store link
• Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List: Free for iPhone and iPad – App Store link

My Stop Smoking Coach with Allen Carr

Smoking is bad – you know this, but every attempt to quit has ended with you giving up. But this year, you’ll have My Stop Smoking Coach with Allen Carr in your pocket to aid you in your success. The quitting process is never exciting, but this app will add a little fun to your journey with 14 innovative games designed to help you remove all illusions created by the nicotine addiction. It’s not all fun an games, though; your personal coach will give you personalized advices and tips to help you kick your bad habit once and for all.

• $2.99 – App Store link

See also:

• Quitter: Free for iPhone – App Store link
• LIVESTRONG MyQuit Coach: Free for iPhone – App Store link

Your favorite New Year’s Resolution apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 best New Year’s resolution apps for iPhone and iPad. Be sure to check out our other Top 5 picks, our Picks of the Week, and iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!

Given that I spread my device usage across many different platforms such as iOS, Android and yes, even BlackBerry — I find I have a few standard apps that I like to use. There is of course an exception when it comes to iOS, because I’m not overly fond of the native Twitter client on any OS but for the most part — my most used apps all revolve around productivity for me and getting things done when I really need to. Read on for my selections

Tweetbot

As mentioned, I have a real distaste for Twitter for iPhone — especially after their most recent update. With that in mind, for Tweeting on the go I make use of Tweetbot. The layout is perfect for me, and it’s nice and fast in comparison to other Twitter clients out there. I find with most Twitter clients, something is always missing. Be it push notifications, an image host or some other feature but with Tweetbot — it has everything I need, all wrapped up in a gorgeous UI.

• $2.99 – App Store link

Evernote

I am a dreadfully forgetful person, and to make matters worse — I’m fully aware that I am that way. So, in an effort to better keep myself organized and remember things I use Evernote. I’ll send links, notes, images and even the occasional voice note reminder to myself. For all of these reasons, Evernote is among my top used apps — if not, my most used app aside from Tweetbot.

• Free – App Store link

Dropbox

A lot of my life depends on the cloud, I store pics, documents, videos and music there. I’m a bit of a nut when it comes to having things backed up, given the amount of personal items I’ve lost over the years thanks to hard drive failures, SD Card failures and just hardware failures in general.

Backing things up to Dropbox has become a habit for me now, and having the comfort of being able to grab files from there when I need them is important. Also note the pattern here again — Dropbox has a client for just about any platform be it iOS, Android and most importantly, my desktop.

• Free – App Store link

Rdio

While there is plenty of music services out there to choose from on, being Canadian makes it difficult to find one that offers plenty of choice when it comes to music selection since big media still has their heads in the sand when it comes to licensing agreements.

For a lot of folks, Slacker is a great option but for me — it’s Rdio. The service does cost me $9.99 / mnth but it also allows me to stream and store for offline use music with no limits across all my devices. That includes iOS, Android and even on my desktop. No brainer for me, and a must have.

• Free / Requires Subscription – App Store Link

Tumblr

I’m pretty much a internet junkie, I spend a lot of time on the internet digging up random things. As such, I come across a lot of weird things and using Tumblr helps me keep track of things I come across but not only that, it allows me to share those things with others as well.

Plus, I’m not huge Facebook fan but keeping a ‘timeline’ of current events is something I like to do, and often times I’ll go back and look at the random things I have posted to Tumblr and remember those times. The Tumblr app for iOS is nice and simple and the service itself gives me an outlet — as I learn on Zen and Tech, it’s good to have an outlet for such things.

• Free – App Store link

Evernote has released the popular photo drawing application, Skitch, for the iPad. With Skitch, you can annotate your photos and screenshots with shapes, arrows, sketches and text.

I have always been a huge fan of Skitch and I’m so excited to see it on the iPad. I often use Skitch for Mac to edit screenshots for tips that I post here on TiPb, but now I’ll save some time using my iPad, instead. The best part? It’s free!

• Free – App Store link

Use shapes, arrows, sketches and text annotation to get your point across fast. Mark up photos, screenshots, maps, and webpages then share them with anyone you like.

Skitch lets you:

• Annotate: Add arrows, shapes and text to existing images
• Create: Draw something new
• Edit: Reposition, recolor and remove your annotations at will
• Share: Send your sketches and annotations over Twitter, Facebook and email
• Present: Show your work in real time via AirPlay on Apple TV
• Remember: Save everything to Evernote for later

Use Skitch to:

• Sketch and share
• Point out objects and locations in a photo
• Brainstorm design ideas with your team
• Identify a point of interest on a map
• Annotate a screenshot of your awesome high score
• Have fun!

Skitch is available on the iPad for Free.

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Evernote, one of the most popular note-taking apps for the iPhone and iPad, has been updated to version 4.1.7 and now includes options to allow users to share notes with friends.

• Improved stability
• Addressed some sync errors
• Users can share notebooks and manage the sharing members of notebooks on both iPhone and iPad.
• Easier access to offline-notebooks (Premium only)

I use Evernote for pretty much everything, from simple note-taking to helping me remember wishful purchases and more.

• Free – iPhone App Store Link

• Free – iPad App Store Link

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Evernote has release two new apps today: Evernote Food and Evernote Hello.

Evernote Food is a food diary. You can takes photos of each part of your meal, take notes about each food item, and keep track of them by meal. Want to share your delicious food with your friends? No problem! It’s a breeze to share with Twitter and Facebook.

Evernote Hello is an app for keeping track of people you’ve met – a replacement for business cards. When you meet someone, hand them your phone and have them fill out their information and snap a pic. After your meeting, add some notes regarding your encounter.

• Evernote Food, free – App Store link

• Evernote Hello, free – App Store link

Evernote Food

Just in time for the holidays! Evernote Food lets you capture, share and relive your memorable meals. Whether you’re eating at home, at a restaurant, or embarking on a culinary adventure, use Evernote Food to remember all of your delicious experiences.

• Remember the food and meals you love.
• Snap and organize photos of your food, setting and fellow diners.
• Add a title, your location, tags, captions and additional notes about the experience.
• Share meals with family and friends on Twitter and Facebook, or via old fashioned email.
• See related content from your Evernote account right inside the Evernote Food app.
• Browse through pictures of your recent meals.
• Automatically sync to your Evernote account, where you can access your meal notes from any computer or mobile device.

Evernote Hello

Whether you’re meeting someone for the first time, trying to remember a person’s name, or recalling important aspects of a previous encounter, Evernote Hello is here to help. Here’s how:

• See the faces of everyone you have met in a beautiful mosaic layout
• View a history of all the encounters you’ve had with individuals
• Remember all aspects of your meetings: location, notes, photos, and faces
• Connect Evernote Hello to your Evernote account to see all your related notes

Evernote Food and Evernote Hello are available for on the iPhone for free.

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Evernote, the popular note-taking, productivity apps, received a huge update today. It includes rich text styles, numerous interface improvements, and much more.

It’s not specifically in the release notes, but @ichadman points out that one of those UI improvements is three-finger swiping between screens. Very cool!

Evernote turns the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad into an extension of your brain, helping you remember anything and everything that happens in your life. From notes to ideas to snapshots to recordings, put it all into Evernote and watch as it instantly synchronizes from your iPhone to your Mac or Windows desktop. See why millions of people worldwide use Evernote:

• Create text, photo and audio notes
• Auto-synchronize your notes to your Mac, PC, and Web
• Magically makes text within snapshots searchable
• Mark notes as “Favorite” for quick access
• All notes include geo-location information for mapping and search
• Premium Feature: File Synchronization – add, sync, access, and share files (PDF, Word, Excel, PPT, and more) among the different versions of Evernote you use

Update includes:

• Add rich text styles, lists and links to notes (iOS 4.2 and above)
• Edit existing notes containing simple styles (iOS 4.2 and above)
• Redesigned New Note and Edit Note screens on iPhone
• Access Shared Notebooks
• Tap an image in a note to launch a slideshow
• Premium users can lock Evernote with a passcode
• Search within individual notes
• Redesigned iPad look and feel
• iPad: Pinch and zoom into the note list
• iPad: Support for multi-selection of notes for easy sharing and deletion
• Numerous interface improvements and bug fixes

Evernote is available on the iPhone and iPad for Free.

[App Store link]

Have an app you’d love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we’ll take a look.

Task management apps for iPhone are released into the App Store on almost a daily basis. My iPhone is not only a device I enjoy using in my personal time, it’s instrumental in the way I conduct business and keep myself organized.

Between running my own business, contracting for a few companies, and writing for TiPb, it sometimes becomes a task to remember where I need to be or what I need to be doing. I have yet to find an app that combines all the tools I need but the mix of apps I use do a pretty good job of keeping me sane. Follow along for my top picks and to let us know what yours are as well!

Wunderlist

There are several list and task apps on the App Store and I’ve been through several of them. I recently found Wunderlist and fell in love. Not only is it dead simple and have a beautiful interface, it also allows you to share your lists with others who use the service. Myself and my partners have a shared task list for our business. If I add an event or a meeting, it automatically syncs to their iPhones and iPads as well. Wunderlist also supports push notifications. And the best part? It’s free!

[Free - iTunes Link]

Evernote

I’ve also tried several note taking apps but Evernote still remains my favorite. It’s dead simple to use and has a gorgeous interface. I use it frequently while in meetings or for jotting down notes when I’m consulting with a client. I can e-mail my notes to the people that need them before I even step foot out of the meeting.

Evernote also allows you to add tags and different notebooks. I have tags for home, my business, travel, and everything in between. I don’t have to weed through dates and all my notes if I don’t want to. I can filter all my notes by only the tags I want to see at that exact moment. Evernote is also free but does have a paid subscription if you’d like more monthly storage space. I use Evernote quite frequently and have never ran over my free monthly allotment.

[Free - iTunes Link]

Also check out:

• Top 5 notes apps for iPhone

Due

Due is rather new to the App Store and has quickly earned a spot on the first page of my home screen. I have a bad habit of dismissing reminders and then forgetting that they went off. Due solves this problem for me. I can set repeat reminders and even if I dismiss the push notification, the app will continuously bug me at the intervals I defined until I open the app and actually mark the entry as done.

The overall interface is extremely slick and setting notifications couldn’t be easier. Some task management apps are a pain when entering tasks, but not Due. Heck, you don’t even have to set a reminder title if you don’t want to. You can also tweaks the settings to what you use most commonly. I typically set reminders for about 2 hours later so I have that as my default time. If I need to, I can change that. You can also set repeats and push the reminders back by minutes, hours, or even days in one quick tap.

[$4.99 - iTunes Link]

Droplr

There are many times that I want to share an image or a file with multiple people. This is where droplr has really come in handy. I can upload an image via the app and then e-mail the shortened link to as many people as I’d like. I can also tweet it or copy the link within the app as well. I especially love that they have a free Mac client as well. The iPhone and Mac version will also sync back and forth with each other. This is very convenient for when I’m taking pictures or screenshots on my iPhone that I need on my Mac. I don’t have to e-mail them to myself any longer. I can simply upload them via droplr and pick them up in droplr on my Mac.

[$3.99 - iTunes Link]

ToDo by Appigo

Although Wunderlist is now my daily task management app, ToDo by Appigo will never lose its spot on my iPhone. While it may not be as easy to use, it’s an extremely powerful task management app. I use it now for detailed projects that have separate deadlines and that have to be done in parts. If we are working on a web design project, I may want to set different completion dates on a project timeline. This is where ToDo really shines. I can organize a project in any way I like. I can mark individual parts of a project done and set reminders on the other parts.

ToDo is worth every penny if you need a very detail oriented task app. They’ve also just announced a Mac version with sync as well. So if that’s what you’ve been looking for, look no further.

[$4.99 - iTunes Link]

Your top task apps?

Although, there are the top five task management apps that fit my lifestyle, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t other great ones floating around out there. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites, leave them in the comments below!

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• Flow for iPhone: Keep your personal and professional life organized in one place – create, delegate, and discuss tasks. [Free, with Flow account - iTunes link]

• Shazam: New friends feature: see what your friends are tagging – listen to previews of their tags, buy the track, watch videos and more! [Free - iTunes link]

• Evernote: Create snapshot notes using the iPad 2 cameras, and on the iPhone, add titles, dates and location to images. [Free - iTunes link]

• Atomic Web Browser: Update added search suggestions to full screen search. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

Evernote, the remember-everything productivity and note taking app that has been rocking the App Store since 2008, received a major overhaul for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad today. The 4.0 update brings a number of additions including a new homescreen with a more efficient snippet view, better note browsing, and more.

If you haven’t used Evernote yet we highly suggest giving it a try. There are so many ways of using Evernote to help get things done and improve your productivity that it would just be silly not to!

Hit the jump for a full rundown with a video of what’s new, and let us know how it’s working for you in the comments!

iTunes Link

What’s New in Version 4.0 Our biggest iPhone and iPod Touch interface update ever

New ways to see your notes – Snippet view: Intelligent note list view shows you more useful content – Image view: Browse all the image contained in your notes – Attachment view: Browse through files attached to your notes

Creating notes is faster and easier – Attach multiple images and recordings to a single note – Record 90 minutes long audio notes – Add text and snapshots to a note while recording – View and modify location data

Find your notes – View notes in specific notebooks – Find notes by tag – New Search screen with quick access to Saved Searches

Major speed improvements and bug fixes.

Stacks, shared notebooks and a major iPad update coming…

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

This week, we have chosen apps that will help us keep our new year’s resolutions. To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Alli’s Pick: WorldMate Gold

Stranded in NJ between Christmas and New Years, my New Year’s resolution is to never travel without WorldMate. It kept me far more informed as to gate changes and flight cancellations than my airline did, and was way more helpful in finding alternate flights, and hotel arrangements.

If you travel, WorldMate is a must. It is jampacked with essential travel aids. Email your itinerary from the airline or travel agent to your WorldMate account, and all your terminal/gate/connection details are at your fingertips. You can book a hotel right from inside the app, find out the weather at your destination or current location, calculate tips, convert currency, or book a limo. It even tells you who lives near your trip, so if you get stranded you know who to call for help. WorldMate – don’t leave home without it!

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Ally’s Pick: Evernote

If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to become more organized, Evernote is a must. I’ve been using Evernote for almost 2 years in conjunction with ToDo by Appigo. I’ve managed to stay organized and on top of things whether it’s work, development timelines, or simple things like groceries and shopping. While programs like ToDo can be used for projects and time sensitive affairs, Evernote is by far my favorite tool for free form note taking and remembering everyday things.

Evernote also has Mac and PC software you can use as well. We now keep all grocery lists and home tasks in Evernote. I use it to save pics of bar codes when I’m price shopping as well. I have over 50 tags in Evernote and I can filter my notes by tag. Chad and I are hardcore supporters of Evernote for a reason. It’s simplistic, powerful, and syncs seamlessly across many platforms.

Evernote is free but you have the option to add additional monthly storage for an additional fee as well. I’ve always done just fine with the free version.

[Free - iTunes Link]

Andrew’s pick: Weightbot

Weighbot is the perfect daily weight tracker for those looking to lose a few extra pounds for their New Years resolution! The design of the app is superb, with input mechanisms that come natural to the user and a top-notch UI scheme — something you’d expect from Tapbots, the team behind Weighbot and other iOS releases like Convertbot and Pastebot. If you’ve ever used other Tapbots apps, you’ll feel right at home when using Weightbot.

With Weightbot you can do cool things like check your BMI as you enter your weight on a daily basis or view your weight history on a graph by rotating your iPhone, and there are a ton of options. What I love best about Weightbot is the backup/restore system they have in place, where If you ever need to restore your iPhone or iPod Touch and don’t restore from a backup in iTunes, there’s no need to worry about losing any of your history. So if you’re trying to shed a few pounds for the new year — or even a few inches — then Weightbot is the app to help you achieve your goal. Go grab it now!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Brian’s pick: Bills ~ On Your Table

Bills ~ On Your Table is the perfect app to get your finances on the right track and keep track of all your bills for 2011. It supports all 170 currencies, supports auto payments, and has a lock to protect your information along with many other features. It is perfect for bills such as car payments, mortgages, credit cards and many more types of bills. It will help you keep track of what is due and when so you won’t miss a payment and it will help keep your credit and finances in tact!

[$3.99 - iTunes Link]

Chris O’s pick: RunKeeper Pro

At the start of every New Year, I always have “Get Fit”, top of my list of resolutions! This year I mean it and thankfully there is an app for that. RunKeeper Pro is a great app that will let you log all your running efforts and many other activities too. It is automated by utilizing your iPhone’s inbuilt GPS. The app also allows you to upload your run data to an online service where you can view your run routes and all the statistics that you could ever need. With this app I can set some goals and start my fitness resolution off on the right track in 2011. Even better, the app is free until the end of January 2011, it is usually $9.99.

[Free - iTunes-Link]

Chris V’s pick: Lose It!

Lose It! is a nice weight loss/diet tracking app that has a nice set of robust features. A nice database of foods (both restaurants and name brand food) along with a tool for inputing your own foods is included. Exercise tracking allows you to keep track of additional caloric burning. One really nice feature is that you can join up with friends to share you weight loss progress and status, since dieting and losing weight is always easier when you are doing it with someone.

Other features include a weekly log, options for choosing specific nutrients to track, adjusting your goals, even putting on recipes and creating dropping lists based on your diet choices. The app makes it just about as easy as possible – now I just need to get off my lazy ass and do it myself!

[Free - iTunes link]

Leanna’s pick: Baby Geek

One of my resolutions for the new year is to be more organized, which means it’s time to start keeping better track of my daughter’s health habits. Baby Geek will help me do just that.

Baby Geek is a universal iPhone and iPad application that helps parents keep track of when their children eat, sleep, and get their diaper changed. You can also record the weight, height, and head circumference measurements of your child and view progress charts as well as see what percentiles your baby falls into. In addition, Baby Geek has a check off list of developmental milestones and much more.

There is no way I’m disciplined enough to keep track of all this with pen and paper, but with the help of Baby Geek, my daughter’s pediatrician may finally not be a little disappointed in me at her next appointment.

Rene’s pick: Todo

I’m remarkably disorganized for someone who’s life demands so much organization. Maybe it’s a form of rebellion, maybe it’s a cry for help, maybe it’s just my desire to impose chaos on the world around me, but my usual method for getting things done is to wait for crisis than do whatever is screaming loudest for whomever is screaming loudest. But my brain is getting softer, time is going faster, and things that need doing just won’t stop needing being done. Enter Todo.

There are lots of task management apps for iPhone and iPad and I’ve tried — and neglected to use — almost all of them. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses but most of the top ones provide all the key functionality you’ll need. My resolution is to pick one and use it. Right now Appigo’s Todo is on sale for $0.99. In a world of $10-$30 task managers, that’s a steal. (Really, I feel like I need to put a few extra bucks in an envelop and mail it to them!)

If you want to better manage your time and tasks in 2011, check it Todo.

[$0.99 on sale - iTunes link]

Your pick?

You’re part of the team as well, so jump into the comments and let us know which apps will help you keep your new year’s resolutions!

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

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

Alli’s Pick: Evernote

You may have noticed that I recommend Evernote a lot in the forums. That’s because I use Evernote. A lot.

Evernote is multiplatform, so not only can you use it on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, but your Mac, your pc, your Android device, or even your Pre. One little note goes everywhere you go, regardless of hardware or geographical location.

Type a note, scribble a note on your screen, record an audio note, or attach a photo. (From your desktop, you can even add documents.) You can email your notes right from the iPhone app and share with your friends or colleagues.

Searching is a dream, and you can tag your notes to your heart’s content. Of course, Evernote is free, so you have nothing to lose – everything to gain!

[Free - iTunes link]

Ally’s pick: Cut the rope

The latest update to Cut The Rope adds not only a new box but new challenges to the already fun game. You’ll now have anti-gravity and a few new obstacles to navigate through.

The first few boxes were relatively easy to breeze through but Cosmic proves a bit more challenging. I’m currently working my way through and 3-starring all the levels in Cosmic Box. I’m about 3/4 of the way through and can’t wait for even more boxes to pop up in an update.

[$0.99 - iTunes Link]

Andrew’s pick: NPR News

If you’re a fan of NPR radio like I am, then you’re going to love the NPR News app for iPhone. Not only can you do things like read NPR news articles and share interesting articles on Facebook and Twitter, but you can dive in even deeper to discover NPR hourly news programming in streaming audio format with playlist support. Want to get a 20 minute recap of today’s news? Set up a personalized news playlist with selected news broadcasts to help you get up to speed.

What I love about this app is the live radio stream wherever you are. There’s a fairly long stretch during my daily commute where I have little to no reception of the local NPR station. I just whip out my iPhone, launch NPR News and I have a crystal clear broadcast to hook into my car stereo. You can also download clips from popular NPR podcasts like Car Talk, Morning Addition and All Things Considered. So, what are you waiting for? Go grab it now!

[Free - iTunes link]

Brian’s picks: Slice It!

Slice It! Is a great puzzle/brain game for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that makes you slice different shapes into equal ratio or surface area. There are 140+ stages in the game and as you move up in stages you will encounter even tougher challenges. Each level gives you a maximum of 5 stars and you even get ribbons if you can manage to slice the shape perfectly. If you get stuck on a certain level you can even ask for a hint to help you on the road to success. Slice It! also incorporates Game Center achievements so you can keep track of all your successes. The app also utilizes the iPhone 4 retina display and is universal for all devices so you only need to purchase it once! The game is currently only $0.99 in the App Store and provides for hours of fun and challenges.

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Farbod’s pick: TuneIn

The best radio app on the app store, TuneIn, allows you to search and listen to over 40,000 local radio stations. You can even pause, rewind, and record live radio just like a DVR. The newest version of the app also includes multitask support and AirPlay. There is no need for an FM radio on your iPhone with TuneIn Radio!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

George’s pick: Sleep Cycle Alarm

Sleep Cycle Alarm is a unique alarm clock, that not only wakes you up, but monitors your sleep patterns as well.

It uses the iPhone’s accelerometer to monitor your sleep pattern so that it can wake you up when you’re in a light sleeping state, using either one of its 8 unique alarms, a default “beeping” alarm, or any song in your iPod Library. If that fails, your iPhone vibrates, to wake you.

It presents your sleep in a graph for you to review in the morning, and calculates your nightly sleep time and your average sleep, which you can then post to Facebook or email to a friend.

For only 99c/59p, even if you don’t see the need for it, its worth a look at anyway.

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Leanna’s pick: Penultimate

Penultimate really is the ultimate note taking application for the iPad. Many people on Twitter have been seeking math help me from lately, and Penultimate is perfect for that. I can write it up on Penultimate, screenshot it, and quickly tweet it back. If desired, I can even email it.

I think what makes Penultimate stand out for me is how it makes your pen strokes look nice – they don’t have a fixed width. It reminds me of using a super nice gel pen and improves the look of my handwriting (which needs all the help it can get).

If you want to use your iPad to take handwritten notes, check out Penultimate!

[$3.99 -iTunes link]

Rene’s pick: Infinity Blade

I’m going to delete Infinity Blade. I swear to the lords of kobol. Not since Angry Birds has a game made me lose this much sleep. And I need sleep, though obviously not as much as I need to move through a lavishly rendered, gorgeously designed Unreal 3D environment and fight my way past seemingly endless baddies until my blood line gets strong enough to take out the biggest baddie of them all.

Sure Infinity Blade is on rails. Sure you’re basically repeating the same game over and over again, gaining more power, spells, armor, and swords as you go. But as I’m wearing my adamtine helmet, frying suckers with my Odin ring, and carving them up on my way to though those amazing vistas and visuals — I don’t care. It’s simple without being simplistic. And it’s a ton of fun.

What’s more, Infinity Blade is a universal app so you can buy it once and play it on all your iOS devices. I’ll echo Jeremy’s gripe that it would be nice if progress synced between the iPad and iPhone version so we could just pick up either one and keep playing, but overall it’s also the most amazing graphics I’ve seen on iPhone and iPad to date and that’s saying a lot.

[$5.99 - iTunes link]

Your pick?

You’re part of the team as well, so jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

As many of you may know, I am one of the productivity geeks here at TiPb. I am always looking to use tools to help me be more productive and save time. I have used most of the major task management platforms available for iPhone and iPad, but I have secretly longed to do it in Evernote.

There are many ways use GTD and Evernote and a quick Google search will usher many results. However, I have adopted and tweaked Jeff Kirvin’s GTD concept in Evernote. Let me explain how it works. Getting Things Done (GTD) is a methodology for complete task management. Evernote is suited well for this as it has folders, tags and custom searches; this is my setup.

First, I only use one notebook, that’s right, only one. I use the ingenious title of “My Notebook” for its title. From here I start to add tasks, articles, whatever- things I need to get done, into my the folder. From there I have an “All” tags category with literally hundreds of sub tags for just about anything I can think of from “Humor” to “Science Fiction”. Once I place a note in my notebook, I tag it with as many tags as I feel it needs. Next I determine if the note is actionable; if it is, do I need to do anything with it? If the answer is no, I don’t do anything and save the note making it instantly searchable later if I need it. If the answer yes, then I give it a Context. A Context is typically labeled with an “@” (ampersand) and can mean different things, but I equate it to location or state of mind. For example, I use @Home, @Computer to indicate a place to do something. I have contexts like @Internet, @Read and @Evernote that I use to tell me I need to read or write something, but that could really be anywhere. I typically assign the @Evernote or @Read context for schoolwork or articles I send to Evernote that I want to read later or for writing a blog post (like this one).

After I have assigned the context tag, I save the note. If you work on Projects, you can create those too (as a tag) and assign notes as appropriate. However, I use a method similar to Jeff in a sense that I borrow the methodology of the AutoFocus system by Mark Forester and simply pick what I feel is appropriate at the time. If something is date-sensitive, I will add a date to the title so I see the date first, then the action name. Others may add these items to their calendar.

Now at this point you are probably saying to yourself, “That’s great Chad, but how do I find something in this big bucket of notes?” Ah, that is where the power of Evernote comes alive.

You see, the secret with Evernote is the Custom Search. You can enter search criteria and Evernote will return the result. So, let’s go back and look at my action of @Evernote, Blog Post for GTD. When I complete this task, I add a !Complete tag to the note and remove the”@” context. This will allow me to see that is completed while removing the fact it is an action item. In Evernote there is number that appears next to the context. I use this number to determine the volume of actions I have in any given context. So, by removing the context from a completed note, I am able to keep the number limited to only items I need to get done while having the !Compelte tag allows me to track what I have done.

So If I want to create a search from completed tasks, that is east I use: tag:!Completed -tag:@. This will display every note that is done but that does not include a”@” context. If I want to see how many tasks I have compelted in the last week, I can use this: tag:!Completed -tag:@, created:week-1. This works really well. I use different variables of this logic to architect my Evernote custom searches to only display what I need. For example, if I want to find notes that I haven’t tagged (sometimes they slip through!) I created an “!Inbox” search. This criteria is simply -tag:. This tells Evernote to show me everything that doesn’t have a tag. I also use an !Active Tasks search to show me all actionable tasks with an “@” context. This search looks like this: tag:@. Since I don’t really use dates for my tasks, I also need a way to mark a task as something I want to do today. For this, I use !Today tag and create a custom search like this: tag:@* tag:!Today. The other benefit of these searches is that they sync from platform to platform. Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Web, it appears everywhere. Also, you may be wondering why I am placing an exclamation (!) point in front of my custom searches. Evernote sorts searches, tags and folders by name so adding interesting characters such as an @, !, # and . elevate them to the top of the alphabetical list.

So far I am enjoying this system; its seems to be working well. Sometimes I feel tempted to go back to using OmniFocus or ToDo, but I am about two weeks in and I have little adjustments here and there for the custom searches trying to really nail what I need for retrieval. One of the other main benefits of using Evernote for GTD is that you can email items directly into Evernote. For example, you have some work emails you need to follow up on or some emails with useful attachments. You can send that email with attachments to Evernote for reference or action (attachments beyond images, audio, ink and PDFs require an Evernote Premium account, but it is totally worth it).

If you are looking to learn more about the system I have described, here is Jeff’ Kirvin’s original post as well as links to David Allen for GTD and Mark Forester for the AutoFocus system.

Evernote for iPhone and iPad is available in the App Store. [iTunes link]

How does a high school student use his iPhone to get the job done and what iPhone apps help get him through his day? TiPb’s iPhone at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPhone life. Here’s michaelchang516′s answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending him a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPhone Forum and share your story now!

I’m a high school student going into my Junior year in September in Taiwan. I’m also the president of our grade and also a leader at the local youth group. So I use my iPhone along with my Mac to do the tasks I have, and also have fun at the same time.

I’ll take you through my day starting in the morning. I use Apple’s default Clock application as my alarm. Then as soon as I wake up, I check Omnifocus to see what needs to be done during the day. This is because throughout the day when a student or teacher would tell me such and such needs to be done, I would quickly jot it down in the inbox of Omnifocus. Then when I arrive home from school, I would take about 10 minutes to organize all the tasks and give it a context, project, start time, due time…etc. All the organizing is done in Omnifocus on the mac and I have syncing set up between my iPhone and mac through MobileMe. After I figure out what I need to do, I will go do them. After that, if I have any free time, I will check Facebook and Twitter on my iPhone with the official Facebook and Twitter apps. Throughout the day, I will also jot in the inbox of Omnifocus if I will have a test coming up or if I have homework due.

I use the Mail app a lot because that’s the primary way our teachers contact us and that’s also how the class officers discuss meetings times. I also use Calendar because I’m quite busy and I need to make sure I don’t miss any classes or meetings. The way I enter my events into Calendar is not directly through the Calendar app, I feel like this is slow because I have to be constantly going in and out of pages. I use an app called QuickCal Mobile to quickly enter my events. This app is very smart and it will read your everyday language and turn it into a calendar event. For example, I would type “Officer meeting tomorrow at noon for 45 minutes in the student office” then it would automatically add an event that’s tomorrow from 12:00-12:45 at the location “student office”.

Evernote is also a big part of how I take notes and write down questions I need to have with me. Again, this syncs with my mac so I can, for instance, have my research information with me when I go discuss our project my partner. But recently I’ve started to use Awesome Note instead of Evernote because the interface is a lot cleaner and prettier and also the notes can be stored offline. Awesome Note also syncs with Evernote servers, so it’s a great addition. For taking notes, if it is a quick note, I don’t ever go into Awesome Note or Evernote to start writing a new note. I use an app called FastEver. This app is very simple and all it does is let you write a quick note and then you can quit the app. Then it will sync and send it up to Evernote servers because this app has task completion written in.

Throughout the day I need to use the browser to look up various things. Most people would use Safari all the time but I’ve discovered a really nice browser called Atomic Web Browser and it really does take browsing on the iPhone to the next level. For making long distance calls, I use Skype. Sometimes I will need to chat with a classmate about homework or projects and I use Beejive IM. This app is absolutely the best IM app in the App Store. It’s really well designed and, most importantly, it’s really fast and snappy overall.

On days when we have class meetings and we’re running a powerpoint, I use the Keynote Remote app on my iPhone to control the slides so I can be on stage and advance slides at the same time.

At last, when I’m home and I’m bored, I play Veggie Samurai (a similar game to Fruit Ninja but tons more fun). Recently, I’ve discovered an app named Pulse News; it basically lets me read all the news I want in one app and in a beautiful interface.

As you can see, throughout my day, I use many fabulous iPhone apps for my school life. I would be completing a lot less if I didn’t have my iPhone.

Any other high school students use their iPhone to stay organized for school? If so, which apps help you the most?

How does an IT Administrator use his iPad to get the job done and what iPad apps help get him through his day? TiPb’s iPad at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPad life. Here’s MstrWebmastr’s answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending him a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPad Forum and share your story now!

I’m an IT Administrator for a local Church in San Jose, CA. Being an IT administrator for a church, the job is quite wide with my responsibilities. I manage the computers, network & servers, as well as fix problems when they arise, and do A/V tech here and there.

Before the iPad, I was always having to ask people to move so I could use Remote Desktop on their systems to remote in and look at settings on the servers to figure out what the problem is. Now with the iPad, I keep the servers in Mocha RDP’s app for quick access to the servers, or to my Desktop when I’m away from my desk. the iPad works for about 80% of what I need when I’m working on a system, but for that other 20%, having my Windows 7 Desktop so easily accessible is a Godsend.

Other than servers, with everything I have to do, I use Calendar to sync with our Exchange server so that I have one central calendar for managing my time effectively & Evernote for syncing my notes from meetings & projects across my Desktop, iPhone & iPad. I use Mail to keep up-to-date with my e-mail inbox to keep in communication with co-workers & vendors. I constantly use Safari to look up information on errors people have, without having to move them out of the way to use their browser to perform the same task.

With the Tech side of things, I use my iTeleport to control our sound system so that I can mix practice sitting in the middle of the room and setup snapshots which allows me to set starting points for my mix from what it sounded like in the middle of the room. I must admit that though iTeleport is an expensive app, the fact that I bought it a year ago for my iPhone & they made it a universal binary which worked on my iPad made me very happy, as iTeleport was the only VNC app I could find which would let me control our sliders. Not only did it work, but unlike most remote connection apps, iTeleport works like a giant trackpad overlaid on top of the screen, so mousing is a lot easier than trying to hunt & peck. When I’m prepping to run a show, I use Planning Center Online’s app to show me the order of service for the weekend, or to play songs for the band that need to hear what the MP3 sounded like. When I’m running our video production booth, I use BroadcastPix’s iPixPad to remotely activate pre-programmed presets on the board, which is wonderful since I can always have the memories close at hand even if I’m using the hardware board for something else (like camera control).

Overall, I bought the iPad hoping I could use it all day to remote into the servers, and maybe to control the soundboard. In fact what I found was so much more. It’s totally revolutionized how I do my job – more so than my iPhone – just because of it’s larger screen. I would highly recommend the iPad for any systems administrators who constantly have to wander yet still have access to the servers.

What about you? Are you an IT Administrator? If so, which apps help you get your job done?

How does a law enforcement officer use his iPhone to get the job done and what iPhone apps help get him through his day? TiPb’s iPhone at work contest aims to bring you just such slices of the iPhone life. Here’s trooperoutlaw’s answer and as a small token of thanks we’re sending him a $20 iTunes gift certificate. If you want to see your name up on the TiPb home page and get a gift certificate all your own, head on over to the TiPb iPhone Forum and share your story now!

I am in law enforcement and I use my iPhone everyday for work.

I use the iPhone’s email app for my agency’s email. It works great and helps me stay up to date on my agency email when accessing a computer isn’t possible.

Evernote is great for courtroom testimony. I use it to quickly access case notes I have saved, as well as accessing case law I have saved into my Evernote. It is also great for taking a snapshot of a subpoena or business card and having it searchable after you sync. Other than email and calendar, Evernote is my most used app.

Spanish for Police app is amazing and has proven to be beneficial to me in my job. When talking to a spanish speaking people, it is almost impossible to communicate without this app. (for me at least).

I use iPhone’s calendar app for all my scheduling. I think it is perfect for my uses. It does everything I want it to as well as keeping in sync with my Macbook Pro. I mostly use it to keep track of my appointments and court dates.

iOwn is a great inventory app that is helpful. I use it to keep up with items and serial #’s of both personal and agency owned equipment. Unfortunately, it has been pulled from the app store due to some type of trademark infringement from what I can tell.

Errands is a great app for keeping up with certain tasks that need to be done. I use it to keep track of certain citations I want to keep track of and see the disposition after adjudication. I like it because it puts the little number icon on the app so it is easy to see how may tasks that are left to complete.

The iPhone is a very useful tool in law enforcement. However, not many of my fellow officers use them (at least in my area). A lot of the officers are carrying more rugged type phones.

Do you also work in law enforcement? If so, what apps do you use to while on the job?

We let you know a couple days ago there were a few apps that had already been updated via the App Store to support iOS4. Since then we’ve seen a few more roll out.  Some developers have really taken advantage of the new APIs in iOS4.  Others seem to just be adding compatibility at this point.  Let’s hope a lot of them are working on substantial updates.  Hit the jump for some more iOS4 compatible apps!

Evernote

Evernote (version 3.3.5) is one of the first I’ve seen to implement quite a few 4.0 APIs.  Not only does it come complete with fast app switching integration, but your notes will also be able to sync in the background.  This will be extremely useful for users who like to upload pictures.  I’m always doing this when I’m comparing prices.  I’ll take pictures of SKUs from different stores and tag them accordingly which allows me to flip through later and compare which ones are cheaper and which ones have rebates attached, etc.  Much easier than writing a note with all that information.  The down side to that has always been pictures take a bit to sync with the Evernote servers at times and keeping the app open the entire time was somewhat of a pain. Thanks Evernote! (Read more about Evernote and iOS4 here.) [iTunes link]

LinkedIn

For now, it looks like LinkedIn has added support for fast app switching, but I don’t see much more than that at this point.  I’d love to see the LinkedIn app get a lot more intuitive than it is.  Hopefully they’ll be adding more support in future updates.  If you caught anything I didn’t on this one, let us know in the comments! [iTunes link]

Windows Messenger

Not only is this one new to the App Store, it came out of the gate with iOS4 integration built-in.  It also supports alerts for Hotmail as well, so you’ll get notifications in-app when you receive new e-mails via your Hotmail account.  And again, if you see anything worth noting, let us know! [iTunes link]

Pandora

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one. This update just hit the app store a few short hours ago. Pandora background streaming was demonstrated at WWDC 2010 and lots of users were excited to be able to allow Pandora to finally run in the background. This feature has been available for other mobile platforms for quite a while. [iTunes link]

Loopt

Loopt is another company that’s taken advantage of additional APIs available behind iOS4. Fast app switching, PNS alerts, and grid based navigation are a few of the features the new version of Loopt offers. [iTunes link]

WordPress

One of the most popular blogging engines on the planet comes out on release iOS release day claiming Retina Display support? Even if they’re just scaling text and UI elements, good on them. [iTunes link]

Know of any other iOS 4 compatible, feature-empowered apps that we may have missed? Drop them in comments and we’ll include them in the next round up.

I am a huge fan of Evernote [Free- iTunes Link]. I knew they were working on an iPad version of their software, but I had no idea what to expect. Needless to say I am pleased with their design decisions and love the completely new layout for iPad.

Evernote for iPad gives you several new and fun ways to view and organize your notes. First, you can view them by thumbnail or details. I think thumbnails work best with pictures. I tend to have more text notes, so details works best for me. It gives me the name, etc. of the note at hand.

I love the way Evernote organizes notebooks and tags; the notes appear stacked on each other just like the Photos album. You can’t pinch to peek and open (though that would be cool) instead you simply tap to open the notebook or tags you want. You can also sort by name or by count. There is now a separate area of view notes by place too, you can even use location services to find notes by your current location. Take audio and picture notes? Now you can do both in one note on the iPad app. This is a very nice addition.

If you are an existing Evernote user, you are in luck — the app is universal. Download it once and use it on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Gallery and video after the break!

YouTube link

Today’s TiPb Top 5 is directed towards our iPhone and iPod touch wielding readers who love to take notes/memos on the go. Just like our other TiPb’s top 5 must-have posts, all of these applications are available in the App Store. For the full run down, follow us after the break!

Notes

Okay, all the applications are available in the App Store but this one — Apple’s Notes is built-in and comes pre-installed on every iPhone and iPod touch. And it’s not bad. Harkening back to the old PalmOS Memo app, you can add a note, start typing, hit Home, and the Note is automagically (and persistently) saved. That’s right, no explicit user action is needed — not even to name it as Notes just pulls the first line and uses that as the name. You can add new notes, edit old notes, and delete what you no longer need. You can also sync Notes via iTunes now (though not via MobileMe… get on that, Apple!)

Set up to look like a yellow, legal-esque note pad, the only drawback is the almost universally panned use of the Marker Felt font. If you can stand that, it’s simple but it’s free and you don’t even have to download it. For some users, that’s all they’ll ever need. For me, it’s perfect to jot down a hotel room, phone number, parking space, or anything else I want to remember and keep with me.

Simplenote (and Notational Velocity + DropBox)

Simplenote [Free - iTunes link] came to our attention via Daring Fireball‘s John Gruber and has stayed there thanks to the Notational Velocity awesomeness highlighted by 43Folders‘ Merlin Mann.

Simplenote by itself is just as the name implies, quick, clean, and highly usable. Instead of tethered iTunes sync over USB, Simplenote offers secure wireless sync to the cloud (their WebApp). You can keep using it free with fairly unobtrusive adds, or for $8.99 a year (less than $1 a month) you can go “premium” which removes the ads and gives you auto backup (versioning), create by email, an RSS feed, unlimited API use, and some cherries on top like early access to future features.

If you’re a note ninja, however, combining Simplenotes with Notational Velocity could dang-near blow your mind. Notational Velocity is a desktop client that offers modeless operation (search is your gateway), incremental search (start typing, it starts filtering), and keyboard-optimized operation. DropBox can store the data/files so you can enjoy not only iPhone to desktop, but cross-desktop sync as well. Getting things done indeed!

This is pretty much the nuclear option when it comes to note-oriented productivity, and the scaling from just Simplenote to the cross-platform sync solution is impressive. If you’re the high-order geek and notes are where your life lives, this combo can be hard to beat.

PhatNotes

PhatNotes [$9.99 - iTunes link] is a big, bold drought of note taking. On the surface, it’s covered in icons and colors. Under the hood you can organize “thousands” of notes in folders and groups. It also supports handwriting recognition so you can scribble your note on the screen and Phatnotes will OCR it and turn it into editable text. (A process which works pretty well (and yes, internet, it does OCR and print curse words without any censorship).

You can sync PhatNotes for iPhone with the PhatNotes for Windows desktop client (no Mac client… yet?). Given the price tag, PhatNotes will most likely appeal to hardcore on-device users who want to do as much as possible on their mobile, especially if they already use PhatNotes on the PC and see the sync as a bonus.

For those who like the handwriting recognition but don’t want the higher price and fuller organizational features, the same developer offers WritePad [$1.99 - iTunes link]

Appigo Notebook

Appigo’s Notebook [$4.99 - iTunes link] earns a spot immediately simply by virtue of its integration with the excellent Appigo Todo, but proves its own worth with clever offline/online note sync handling, password protection for secure notes, Toodledo.com sync, and TextExpander [$4.99 - iTunes link] support.

The user interface is simply gorgeous and the workflow is quick and easy. Notebook isn’t free but it’s not premium priced, it’s not bound to the desktop or the cloud, and if you’re invested in Toodledo, TextExpander, and/or Appigo Todo… well, you likely have it already! If you don’t, and you want a flexible yet elegant note-taking solution, give it a look.

Evernote

We’re not just including Evernote [Free - iTunes link] so that Chad (and Leo Laporte) don’t smack us around for not including, though that’s certainly a plus. Evernote is literally — and iconically — the big elephant in the note-space. Unlike the apps above, Evernote isn’t primarily focused on traditional, text-based note taking. It puts pictures and voice right up front alongside text. What’s more, it will make text included in your photos searchable (though it won’t OCR that text and make it editable — please ad?)

You can sync Evernote for iPhone with Evernote for Windows or Mac, or for other mobile devices running Android or BlackBerry OS. If the free functionality isn’t enough for you, you can “go premium” for $5 a month or $45 a year. Premium gets you 500MB of monthly upload bandwidth, support for Office docs, PDF, and videos, share and collaborate with other premium users, and SSL encryption.

Evernote is a great choice for people who want to include a wider range of material and basically scrapbook their notes as they go. It’s also especially handy for cross-platform users with different desktop and mobile platforms. If you’re not already using a different cloud-based or desktop solution, Evernote is something to check out.

Conclusion

iPhone and iPod touch users are fortunate to enjoy a wide range of high quality note apps, everything from the built-in to tons of App Store downloads (we barely scratched the surface here!), from free to premium, from cloud-based to desktop-bound. Which one is best for you will depend on what, if anything, you’re already using and what functionality matters most to you.

If we didn’t mention your favorite, or if you have any ninja or pro tips to share to take our iPhone note-taking to the next level, let us know in the comments!

Evernote let us know that their huge, elephant-sized update, Evernote 3.2 [Free - iTunes link] for iPhone and iPod touch snuck into the App Store just before the holidays and brought with it new, note-worthy goodness:

• Zippy-ness all around, from launching to searching, syncing, making new notes, reading old ones. Just. Faster.

• Offline is the new online, as you can create, view, and search notes cached locally on your device. (Premium users can download any or all notebooks to their iPhone or iPod touch for utter availability).

• Convert Rich Text to Plain text for editing.

If you’re big Evernote user and you try out the update, let us know how it works for you!

Every week a few of us from team TiPb, bloggers and forum crew alike, will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone (or iPod touch) related, they’re fair game.

So who’s on deck this week and what are our picks? Find out after the break!

Chris’ Pick: AppShopper.com

just want to give a mention to the website www.appshopper.com. I love the ability to look at apps, price history, see other apps by the developer, etc. I really like the price history guide, because I can tell how much of a sale an app really may be having! It a great way to peruse apps other than using the App Store app. [web link]

James’ Pick: Evernote

One app lacking features is the stock note app. Evernote is a great replacement that contains more features then you could shake an iPhone at. The ability to capture text, picture and voice notes, Evernote is a free app that syncs your notes with Evernotes web service. The web service contains a free and premium service, along with a native Mac or PC program and web clipping browser addons. The perfect compliment that forgetful people like myself can use on a daily basis to remember everything. [Free - iTunes link]

Jeremy’s Pick: TwitterFon

TwitterFon has taken over my #1 Twitter iPhone application from Tweetie. It has to be the most under rated Twitter app currently available. Its straight forward, had a clean UI, and it displays number badges for mentions, messages, etc. Best yet, it’s free! [Free - iTunes link]

Leanna’s Pick: Air Mouse Pro

This application turns your iPhone into an “air mouse” or track pad. Air Mouse Pro uses the accelerometer to control the movement of the mouse on your computer. It also allows you to use your iPhone as a keyboard to type directly to your Mac or PC. Want common controls to your web browser or media player? Air Mouse Pro knows when you’re using such an application and shows the appropriate keys for that program. I personally love using Air Mouse Pro when I want to relax on the couch and browse the internet with my MacBook on the coffee table. [ $5.99 - iTunes link]

Matt’s Pick: Pocket Tanks Deluxe

Pocket Tanks Deluxe has been around for some time now as a PC & Mac game but now it is available on iPhone! Pocket Tanks Deluxe is a 2D tank artillery game. This isn’t just a port of an old game, the controls & interface have been completely re-done. The game finally follows it’s name – you can really take Pocket Tanks in your pocket! It is similar to iShoot, but it has better graphics, more weapons, & more colors; it has single (you vs. CPU) & dual-play as well as target practice sessions. If you are a fan of iShoot, this game will not let you down! [$4.99 - iTunes link]

Rene’s Pick: SpinRite

I’ve got a ton of media for my iPhone — music, movies, tv shows, podcasts, etc. I store it on a hard drive. Hard drives get errors. This is a fact of life. Enter SpinRite. Whenever I buy a new hard drive, especially a massive one meant for storage, I run SpinRite to map out bad sectors and to make sure, if it fails, it fails right away when I can still exchange it. I also run SpinRite every 4-6 months for maintenance. Of course, it’s true value is saving hard drives that have already failed (platter gouges not withstanding), and more often than not, it’s saved my data when nothing else has. It might seem pricy, but what price can you put on your priceless data? [$89.00 - web link]

Your Pick?

You’re part of team TiPb too, so what’s your pick? What app was your absolute fav last week? Let us — and everyone — know in the comments!