Category Archives: iPad Apps and Games

Night Stand HD Review

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Night Stand HD Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Spoonjuice
Price: $1.99
Version: 1.5

Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Features Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars
Integration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Night Stand HD is a customizable clock and alarm, focusing on a minimalist design that presents time and weather. There are eight different clocks to get you started: Analog, a custom-coloured analog time presenter; Binary, an advanced clock that presents the time in binary style; Classic LED; Flip; LCD, which is also colour customizable; Milk; World Clock, providing six different clocks in analog format; and Nixie. All clocks can be used in both portrait and landscape mode.

Although most of the themes present the same style of data, the styling and colour schemes are sufficiently different to warrant using them. For colour customizable themes, the choice is not limited to block colours, but rather an entire pallet. This is presented with a scroller, allowing you to choose the colour that most suits your taste.

All clocks present the time (in one format or another), weather in a specific city and can work as an alarm clock. The alarm features an optionally-enabled snooze button, at time periods of 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes. There are a number of in-built sounds which, in my opinion, are not particularly suitable or pleasant as an alarm clock with the exception of ‘Spring.’ You can, however, choose songs from the iPod application to ease you into your day a bit more smoothly. There’s also the reverse of an alarm – music to put you to sleep (or to listen to while you sleep) – which will turn the app off at a customizable time of 5, 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes after you close the settings menu. Global clock settings provide you with options to show seconds, the day of the week, when the week starts and whether or not you prefer 24-hour time. Night Stand HD also includes abuilt in stop watch with a futuristic but clean design.

Overall, I’m impressed with what Night Stand HD offers. However, I’d like to see a bit more from this application – like choosing colours by HEX code, the ability to display the date, and having colours that change throughout the day. Not all clocks are colour customizable when, in my opinion, they should be. Given the fact that this application is most likely going to be used at night, it was also surprising to see no brightness option. Most surprisingly, there is no quick way to have an alarm that repeats itself each day of the week – you have to manually add an alarm for Monday through to Sunday, and only then can each alarm repeat itself. Oddly, my evening alarms had their time presented in morning format (eg 0649 for 1849).

Nonetheless, Night Stand HD makes the iPad functional and useful even when you aren’t using it. It’s good to look at, easy to use, minimalist in its design and great for what it does.

[ Night Stand HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Social for the iPad Review

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Social for the iPad Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Christian Arild Strommen
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.2.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad

iPad Integration Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.97 out of 5 stars

There is one great thing about Safari on the iPad for Facebook users – the main website actually works very well on the iPad, without much need for a separate app. Well, if you’re mostly just a lurker who only posts the occasional thing, Facebook via Safari works great. If you’re the type who needs to upload photos, hide or delete posts, or if you need more organization of the features in your Facebook user experience, Social for the iPad is here for you.

Social for the iPad is largely just a wrapper for the Facebook website in app form. All the information appears in similar layout to the website, the only main difference being a different font and some larger buttons. One of the issues remedied by the app is that the main website’s hover over buttons don’t work on iOS Safari devices, so these buttons are now persistent, meaning you can delete your own posts, or hide posts from your main news feed. Tired of seeing your sister constantly post about her Mafia zombies’ crops and can’t wait to get back to a computer to hide them? Fret no longer, good sir or madam.

Social for the iPad does a great job making the Facebook experience on the iPad more complete. It doesn’t alter the experience of using the web site, it only supplements it and gives you handy options to view your messages, notifications, and to make a group of your favorite people to quickly access. As well, when you add someone to your favorites, a prompt comes up with a button that confirms you’ve added them to your favorites, with a button that says “Yay!” to close the box. I appreciate little interface touches like this.

Social for the iPad being largely a wrapper has its problems – often times when you want to pull up something like a profile, a blank page will pop up, and you have to refresh. An issue with the main news feeds not appearing on devices on iOS 3.2.0 was fixed in a recent update, but pages not appearing properly still occurs. Also, this app largely only exists due to the deficiencies of not just Mobile Safari, but Facebook as well: they haven’t updated their web application for iPad compatibility, either. If at least one of these issues gets addressed, and I’m betting on the latter happening first, then Social for the iPad might struggle to have any reason to exist at all.

But until then, the Facebookers of the world need a way to properly use Facebook on their iPad and Social for the iPad goes a long way towards making that experience far more tolerable for the moment. While it needs some work on the technical backend, this is a good choice for iPad Facebook users who need to access a wider set of Facebook features.

[ Social for the iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Aarde Web Browser Review

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Aarde Web Browser Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: NicheVision Labs
Price: $1.99
Version: 1.3

Design Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Features Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Integration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Aarde, developed by NicheVision Labs, is a third-party web browser built for the iPad – aiming to minimize the gap between desktop and mobile by offering a number of features not seen in Safari’s iPad browser. These features include: AdBlock, a tool to block advertisements from appearing on screen (which has the side effect of also loading pages faster); private browsing; tabbed browsing; customizable brightness like in the iBooks application; notepad; in-page search (coming to Safari in iOS 4.2); font resizing and the ability to view the source code of the website in hand. For a full list of features, see here or view the screenshots attached below.

Certainly, most of these features already exist on desktop clients. Yet Safari for iPad is lacking in all of the above, providing a focus solely on websites at hand, rather than customization and development. Indeed, with the newly launched Safari Extensions Gallery, one would like to hope that Apple are beginning to branch out into third-party offerings and that such features may soon be available for iPad. Until then, Aarde fills the gap between desktop and mobile browsing with its intuitive browser and selection of tools. On a similar note, the application features “Desktop Browser Rendering” – a tool that tricks websites into thinking that you are browsing the website from a desktop browser, thus avoiding low-bandwidth and low-feature mobile versions of websites.

Most of the features and settings are accessible through a one-tap master settings options, found to the left of the tabs. With such features in one place it makes it easy to find what you’re looking for, something that a number of other applications fall short on by offering numerous, complex settings pages.

Where the application advances in features, I do feel it fails in design. The heavy stroke and lack of iPad integration – in the sense that all buttons and designs are completely to different from what typical apps offer – makes it feel like it was built first and then ported over to iPad, giving it a less professional feel. However, I can see where the developers are coming from – many of these features do not exist elsewhere on Apple applications, thus requiring a new design. The application’s biggest drawback, which is a result of Apple’s platform rather than the developers of Aarde Web Browser, is its lack of primary choice. Whenever you click on links in other applications, if it doesn’t have a web browser built in, it will load Safari. So much of the iPad is integrated with Safari that it just isn’t practical to use two browsers to do one thing. For obvious reasons, it seems unlikely that Apple will ever offer the users to branch away from Safari. In addition, unlike Safari, Aarde has no web caching feature, meaning all tabs will have to reload manually upon startup.

Nonetheless, there are some compelling features in Aarde that make it a worthy adversary to Safari for iPad. If within the extended list of features you find just one or two that are of use to you, Aarde could very well be a worthwhile purchase. At $1.99, it certainly has its price right.

[ Aarde Web Browser Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Miriel the Magical Merchant HD Review

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Miriel the Magical Merchant HD Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: 10 Tons
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0

iPad Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.33 out of 5 stars

A sign of a good Game App is one that prevents you from writing a review about it, as you’re too busy playing it to get around to write it up. Miriel the Magical Merchant HD is just such an App. For fans of Time Management Games (like Diner Dash or Cake Mania), this is a goldmine. While obviously people who are not a fan of this style of gameplay will automatically steer clear, finding a decent Time Management game can be difficult sometimes. Developers really need to know the balance of the game, and lucky for us, 10 Tons does a great job with Miriel.

The game starts out with a sort of Story Mode, about how Miriel’s father mysteriously left, and she’s working at the store to save up to go to Magic School (or something along those lines). The object of the game is to serve your customers in a timely manner. This begins quite simply as you only have a few items for sale that can be requested. The games difficultly level slowly increases with ‘baked items’ (where you have to combine two or more ingredients in the oven) that take 2x or even 3x the amount of time to prepare. Your goal is to serve as many customers as you can, as quickly as you can, to reach your daily (or Master) goal for money each day.

Nearly every new day offers a unique challenge or reward. Sometimes you’ll get a new item for sale, or sometimes you’ll get a new customer type. At the end of each week you move on to another town and get the chance to upgrade your equipment by playing a matching mini-game. A nice feature of this App is that you can go and play the mini-game on your own at any point if you want to from the main menu. There are fun little features like The Haste Machine (which speeds up your cooking, and movements) which you can use by collecting gold wings, by serving customers quickly.

As you progress, the items get more and more difficult, and you get more and more items. While you frantically run around stocking, baking and serving, you’ll have a blast. The only feature I would add is the ability to quit or restart mid-level (as sometimes you simply get too far behind) and the ability to re-play a level of your choice.

As addicted as I was to Cake Mania, I think that Miriel has taken the cake (no pun intended) as my new favorite game of this style. The art work is stunning, and playing on my iPad is a breeze compared to PC or DS gameplay. This game is a bargain at this price point, and I highly, highly recommend it.

[ Miriel the Magical Merchant HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]


All-In Yoga HD for iPad Review

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All-In Yoga HD for iPad Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: ARAWELLA CORPORATION
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad

iPad Integration Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-use Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.33 out of 5 stars

The iPad is quickly establishing itself as more than a simple media consumption device — more than just a viewing/listening device for movies, books and music. Some developers are beginning to see the potential for the iPad as an actual teaching device, one that can interact and grow with students as they develop skills. All-In Yoga HD is part of this new vanguard of apps. It is not without a few minor issues, but it does show how the iPad can improve on the standard book or even video approach for teaching a skill.

Opening the All-In Yoga app presents users with a small, simple number of options. You can look at the pose base, a composite encyclopedia of all available yoga poses in the app, or the “My Programs” section, which allows you to choose from several ready-made yoga routines (ranging from beginners to advance/guru) or design your own based upon your own needs. Once you have selected or created a program, you can save it and run it at any time.

When you start a yoga program, you have the option of having pose instructions spoken, playing background music (currently limited to in-app music – no integration with your iTunes library at this point) and even having pose videos play in some cases. Each pose is timed and will automatically proceed to the next after the assigned time passes.

Once you have completed a yoga routine/program, the calendar on the home screen marks the date of your yoga, the time you spent in the routine, and which routine you worked through. This is a handy feature for anyone wishing to track their development as a yoga student and a great inclusion in the app.

If there is one nit to pick with All-In Yoga HD (and, thankfully, there seems to be only this one), it’s that it is severely gender-biased towards women. Everything, from the app icon to the background screens in-app, is pink with flowers everywhere. The poses are all performed by women, though, strangely, the audio instructions are spoken by a man. I’m not proposing that the developer have a male version and a female version – just a more gender neutral app. I’m sure there are many men (myself included) who practice yoga and would like to feel included in an app as strong and useful as this.

All-In Yoga HD is an impressive app for anyone interested in beginning a yoga routine or growing further as a yoga student. Gender bias aside, it is a fantastic app, and one that shows the potential of the iPad as a teaching/learning device.

[ All-In Yoga HD for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Terminology for iPad Review

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Terminology for iPad Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Agile Tortoise
Price: $1.99
Version: 1.2

Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Features Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Integration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.67 out of 5 stars

Based on the Princeton University WordNet project, Terminology is an all-in-one dictionary and thesaurus application for the iPad. The application isn’t universal, meaning if you bought the iPhone version you won’t be able to use the native iPad edition.

Using Terminology is simple, so much so that you don’t even need to finish typing a word. For example, when typing “derivative” all I had to do was type “deri” and it brought up a short enough list that allowed me to select the word that I was looking for. However, in contrast, the application fails to pick up on typing mistakes, offering no “Did you mean?” feature. For frequent mis-spellers this could pose a problem that the likes of Dictionary.com automatically recognize.

The application’s design suits the iPad, providing a thin vertical column for all settings, similar to Reeder for iPad. Such settings include show/hide the search bar, star items and view recent history. A settings button reveals the ability to filter profane words. The light theme has been smartly designed to appear both professional and welcoming, without fear of experiencing any blandness.

The main area of the screen is taken up by the word definitions themselves. If a word has multiple definitions, each are provided, along with synonyms and antonyms of the word itself. There’s also a handy thesaurus filtration feature, telling you what words are more and less relevant to the word in question. Terminology provides a rolling history, meaning there’s no dead space on screen.

Lastly, there are options to view the word that you’ve entered in Wikipedia, Wictionary, Google and Wolfram|Alpha. All of this is done through a built-in browser, particularly handy for iPad users given the fact that multitasking isn’t due until November. The browser itself is cleanly designed.

Overall, Terminology is a succinct application, providing an easy way to view a complex dictionary. But for those who don’t need features like rolling history and more/less relevant words, Dictionary.com will probably do. But for those who are interested in more features, $1.99 isn’t breaking the bank.

[ Terminology for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]


iMindMap Mobile HD Review

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iMindMap Mobile HD Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: Think Buzan
Price: $32.99
Version: 1.0

Design Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Features Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Value Rating: 2.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.94 out of 5 stars

One of the many appealing aspects of the iPad is that it isn’t just limited to excelling in one area – like games or entertainment – but in many areas like news, utilities and productivity, thanks to the hard work and determination of developers around the globe. ThinkBuzan, a long-time established developer of mind-mapping tools, brings its latest creation to the App Store in an attempt to show just how powerful yet easy the iPad is when it comes to productivity and thought-gathering.

The first thing that struck me about iMindMap Mobile HD was just how similar the directory design looks in comparison to Apple’s iWork for iPad suite. The result is that the integration to the iPad appears strong. The application looks like it was built especially for the iPad, making use of its exclusive features and designs.

iMindMap does things a little differently than its rivals. Rather than generic text to begin the mind map, you set a central image in which the title of your mind map is enclosed. There are three categories to choose from – Objects, Abstract and General – providing a total of 42 images. As a minimalist I would have preferred a text-only option, which is lacking, but a number of the images are non-intrusive and work well.

A mind map is created with the help and co-ordination of two colours. A red circle signifies that you can draw a new branch, and once that branch is built a blue circle then appears, which allows you to amend and adjust the settings of that particular branch. Such settings include: editing the text of a branch, adjusting whether the branch is collapsed, and adding an icon / URL / note to the branch. The collapsable branch feature is particularly useful, allowing you to focus attention on particular branches. The menu bar along the top provides a quick way to edit the title of a branch, add a picture and to change its colour (40 different types, if you’re wondering). Disappointingly, given the image integration, you can’t add your own pictures from the iPad’s photo library. There’s also a button to automatically sort and organize your mind map, so that everything is aligned correctly and smoothly, which adds significantly to the overall feel of your creation.

Once you’ve watched the getting started video (also available below), iMindMap is very easy to use. There’s not much to learn and what is to be learned can be picked up quickly. A focus has been placed on actual usage of the mind map rather than how pretty it looks, meaning precedence is given to your work. Mind maps can also shared, through exporting as an image or PDF, sent by e-mail. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support DropBox or exporting in other formats like a number of its alternatives do. A mind map can also be presented through a specially designed Presentation Mode, visible in the video below, that works through a VGA connection to the iPad.

The application is certainly more expensive than its rivals. This is certainly the only mind mapping application that I’m aware of that features a presentation mode, which perhaps justifies its cost to some users. For others, a cheaper alternative may be all that’s needed.

[ iMindMap Mobile HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]


Sudoku 2 Pro HD for iPad Review

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Sudoku 2 Pro HD for iPad Review is a post from: Best Iphone Apps Review Website

Developer: FINGER ARTS
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

There are a LOT of sudoku games out there in the ether of the app store. Some are decent, some are okay, and some make you wish for the paper and pencil variety. A small number are very good, and fewer still are what I would call spectacular. Sudoku 2 Pro HD is an awkward name for what is hands down the best sudoku game I’ve played on the iPad.

Every aspect of Sudoku 2 Pro HD is well thought-out and executed, from the graphical and audio flourishes to the spot-on controls. Developer Finger Arts really deserves a commendation for taking what could have been another run-of-the-mill puzzle game and transforming it into a smooth and elegant experience.

The beauty of Sudoku 2 Pro HD is that it both enhances the core gameplay of solving sudoku puzzles while also staying out of the way – keeping clutter and needless interference out of the interface. There is no “story mode” here or cutesy characters distracting you. What remains is a very slick sudoku experience. Again, and I can’t say this enough, it’s the best I’ve played yet.

Enhancements are subtle, but well worth noting. Finger Arts has implemented a point system in the game that rewards accuracy as well as speed, and all scores are posted to OpenFeint leaderboards (if you so desire). Small graphical touches like numbers that spin when you complete a line or a nine-number grid have an amazing positive reinforcement effect that will keep you coming back for more. Add to that the crisp, unobtrusive sound effects whenever you place letters and you begin to see how immersive a sudoku game can be. And no, I’ve never thought of a sudoku video game as immersive before. I suppose there’s a first for everything.

The bottom line is, if you enjoy sudoku, you owe it to yourself to give Sudoku 2 Pro HD a try. if you’re like me, you’ll soon discover that most other versions of the game pale in comparison.

[ Sudoku 2 Pro HD for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]