App-a-Week — Evernote Peek + Evernote WP7

My app this week is a very clever use of the smart cover from one of my favourite companies ‘Evernote’. Evernote Peek works exclusively with the iPad 2 and smart cover in a question and answer style.

The app ships with some built in questions and answers with more to be downloaded. You simply lift the first flap of the smart cover to see the question and then lift the second to see the answer. Each time you lock your iPad a new question is revealed. Questions vary from Sushi to Music.

I think the real power in this application is as a study aid as Evernote Peek can download your Evernote notebooks displaying the header as the question and the answer as the first few lines of your note. Whilst this doesn’t working well for every note you could perhaps make your own notebook in the style of Evernote peek.

I highly recommend this app for any iPad 2 users that also have a smart cover, which I’m guessing is quite a few. Evernote Peek is available in the iOS app store for free.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/evernote-peek/id442151267?mt=8

I also want to mention that finally Evernote has released an amazing Windows Phone 7 app that really is one of the best mobile apps they have made. The app allows you to read existing notes stored in the cloud as well as new ones. Evernote for WP7 follows the standard UI design you can expect from all apps on the platform.

Just search Evernote in the marketplace to download for free.

App-a-Week — Downcast

With upcoming announcements from major companies like Apple, Microsoft and Nintendo I would imagine a lot of people will be receiving news and opinions through podcasts. Podcasts can be either video or audio that is downloaded or subscribed to via services like Zune and iTunes. An issue with subscribing through desktop applications is that a sync is required to get the latest podcast in your subscription. Downcast for iPhone/iPad aims to fix these issues by letting you subscribe on the go.

Downcast has a record of almost every podcast out there from major providers like TWiT, CNET and BBC as well as per category such as Arts or Education. Just like in iTunes you can subscribe to the podcast but instead of it automatically taking up space you can choose to stream or download them. Currently on the apple devices the only way to stream is to select individual episodes in the store and these don’t instantly show up in your feed either. Podcasts update immediately when you start the app and are shown in the unplayed section of the app.

Downcast however is much more than just a feed of podcasts as there is a lot of customisation available. Examples of the more advanced features : playlists, episode action, volume adjustment, skip 15 seconds – 2 minutes, speed up, sleep timer, sharing and much more. There is actually so much you can do with this app that it takes a little while to fully understand it and that is the only issue I have with this app.

This is my primary application for podcasts now, no longer do I subscribe in iTunes and then sync. Instead I know load up Downcast and stream all of my podcasts whilst sorting using playlists. If you are addicted to podcasts like I am then I highly suggest you switch your content management over to this app.

Downcast is available for iPhone & iPad as a universal app for only $1.99/£1.19.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/downcast/id393858566?mt=8

App-a-Week — Appysnap

Appysnap is a great new application for any iOS device with a camera and internet connection. The idea is to snap photos based on challenges which are updated throughout the day, these can be snap a photo of a street sign or of your friends. The photos can then be shown on Facebook or Twitter.

The challenges which vary in difficulty have to be completed within a certain time from an hour to days. This app really depends on you to be out and about every day and available. Some weirder challenges are find three pairs of shoes, I’m not too sure how you would do this in the middle of the countryside. There is no option to postpone challenges either.

I suspect this app will grow over time and allow you to set location and offer relevant challenges. I think some time limits are also unrealistic. This app is fun though as some people may never use their camera. However if like me you only have an iPad some challenges would be very embarrassing to take.

Appysnap is available in the iOS app store for free and requires a Twitter or Facebook login to create a profile.

Link : http://itunes.com/apps/appysnap

App-a-Week — Glympse

I discovered this application after listening to the TWiT network as many of the contributors use this application if they are going to be late or need to see where each of the hosts are. Glympse is a location based application that allows the user to contiously send their GPS location to a select group or with one person.

Some people may not entirely like the idea of sending location but personally I feel this is a good controlled way compared to services like Google Lattitude which can send out publicly. Everything is under your control in Glympse such as duration, sender and the destination.

The app initially starts with some instructions and you can then start your first Glympse. You then select your recipients either by hand or from your contacts list using email (if you have an iPhone you can text). You then set the duration which you can control from 5 minutes to 4 hours depending on how late you maybe or if your on a long trip. Finally you can send a message and send off your Glympse. The Glympse can then be viewed by someone in the app or on the web.

Glympse is obviously an app that requires GPS and an active internet connection and works in the background. It maybe worth thinking before you use this app if you also plan on doing a lot more with your device whilst travelling. I noticed my battery decrease by around 10% for a 1 hour journey whilst not using the iPad.

I highly recommend Glympse and it is available for free as a universal app in the iOS app store and on Android.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/glympse-location-sharing-made/id330316698?mt=8

App-a-Week — Miso

It’s been a slow week on the App Store this week so I wanted to blog about one of my favourite social apps, Miso. Miso is a social network that works the same as Foursquare allowing you to check in to TV shows and movies, you can check in, comment, share and see others watching at same time. The app is similar to Get Glue however I feel has an easier UI and is focused solely on video content. I personally have used the iPad app however this is entirely cross platform with their being clients for all major platforms.

On launch you see the trending TV shows and movies with artwork so you can instantly see what is popular right now. Tapping on one of the shows brings you to the show page where you can check in, see other peoples thoughts and follow the show which allows you to easily find the show next time you enter the app. There is also a search if the show you are watching isn’t trending, there is often duplicates in here but users quickly flag these so you check in to the correct show every time.

The app isn’t as fun when you aren’t interacting with other users on the app, debating opinions of episodes and commenting on your friends latest show. You can find friends that are linked to Twitter and Facebook, this then follows them on their Miso account. The Miso account is a little confusing as this service really could run by just having a Twitter or Facebook login. You can also see the shows you check in to most on your profile and see if these shows earned you badges. You can choose who you want to share the show with. If your friends on Facebook aren’t fans of 30 Rock but your Twitter followers are then you can select to only share with these people or you can just choose not to share with any social networks.

Miso is available for free in basically every app store, marketplace and on the web.

Link to universal iOS version : http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/miso-social-tv/id352823603?mt=8

App-a-Week – Inspiration Set for Pages (iPad)

I had previously owned this set from Jumsoft for the Mac and over the years it has helped me to create some amazing looking documents using templates provided in the Inspiration Set. Finally this set comes to the iPad version of Pages via an app.

The set includes 50 amazing templates spread across brochures, newsletters, posters, envelopes and more in A4 size either landscape or portrait depending on your choice. Due to limitations with Apple you have to open the app first then import these into Pages which is a little disappointing but not the developers fault.

I needed to create a document this week for university so thought what better time to try out this set. It took a while to find the perfect choice as there isn’t an easy way to preview all pages of templates like brochure. I then set to work in Pages where you can edit any element in the template. I occasionally found I was touching the background image which is quite easy in Pages, a few other issues such as resizing but replacing images was just a tap and replace which was simple. I was able to create a professional high quality piece of work by just modifying the template slightly and entering in my own text.

If your interested in using Pages more or if your just starting out with your iPad and want to see the power of Pages, I recommend this set to you. I hope Jumsoft decide to move to their Mac Keynote themes to the iPad next to provide even more high quality templates.

This set is available on the iOS app store for the low price of $1.99/£1.19 which really is a bargain, there is also a Mac app store version with similar extended themes for $19.99/£11.99.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inspiration-set-for-ipad/id429731762?mt=8

App-a-Week – Friended + Bonus: Final Hours of Portal 2

Friended for Facebook

This week I finally found what I consider the best Facebook app for iPad which offers the full functionality of Facebook optimised for the large resolution touch screen. Mark Zuckerburg may not consider the iPad to be mobile but many others do, I’ve watched many Facebook apps climb up the top 10 and promptly back down. Apps such as Friendly and Facely just appear to offer an upscaled mobile version which users could achieve by going to the mobile site on the iPad, I’d rather use the website in Safari.

If your interested in this app you of course know the capabilities of Facebook, live feed, statuses, links, photos, chat, notifications, messages and groups. All of these are included you can instantly post a status, link or photo and Friended will upload it. The app also offers a much better version of chat than the others which simply link to the extended website.

The user interface is the best part of this app as I said not just being an upscaled mobile version but showing you recent photos and friends alongside the live feed and chat. Notifications, messages, friend requests and search are all within reach in the top bar and show popovers so you never leave the main screen. A few minor issues is clicking a photo doesn’t immediately go full screen and this version doesn’t support places. I don’t personally use places I prefer foursquare but for those that need this functionality will have to wait for an update.

There really isn’t much else to say about this application, it does as it says and has a nice UI wrapped around Facebook. I think this app proves Zuckerburg wrong and hopefully Facebook can eventually recognise the iPad so we finally have an official version. Friended is available in two versions, free (ad-supported) and paid 59p/99c (no ads). My recommendation is to try the free version for a week as your default Facebook client then buy if you like it.

Link (Free) : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/friended-free-for-facebook/id419109460?mt=8

Link (Paid) : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/friended-for-facebook/id418446347?mt=8

Bonus App – Final Hours of Portal 2

I couldn’t not mention this app but didn’t want to make it the main app-a-week as some may not be interested. Unless you’ve been living under a rock this week you will know that Portal 2 was released on Tuesday/Thursday depending on console. One of the most anticipated sequels this year however Valve didn’t get to this point easily, this is where this app steps in.

The Final Hours of Portal 2 follows Valve’s origins including most of the team as well as the creation of Portal 1 and 2 right up to the ‘Final Hour’ when they submitted it to Microsoft for approval. The styling of the app is just like a magazine, I believe it’s using the same template as other apps like Time and Project. There is a lot of interactivity including sound, panoramas, videos, internet polls and YouTube videos. It isn’t interactivity for the sake of it either like most other apps but it actually enhances the story and allows you an inside look at Valve including never before seen prototypes of games.

The entire story spread across 12 sections (3 to 4 hours reading and watching) is written by Geoff Keighley and really captures the Valve culture quoting occasional interviews over the past five years. My only slight issue with it is a small spoiler in one of the chapters that unless you at Chapter 5 of Portal 2 you will want to avoid. If you are a fan of Valve or Portal you really need this app and for the price of only £1.19/$1.99 its a bargain.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-final-hours-of-portal-2/id432031492?mt=8

App a Week – Showyou

There has been many social video apps released recently even being featured on the podcast iPad today as their theme. I’ve found that Showyou is the best of the bunch and the one I’ve came back to all week since it’s release Tuesday.

Showyou has been hailed as Flipboard for videos and to an extent it is, in some ways however it’s not. The basic layout of the app is a grid, that you can scroll in either direction with more popular videos shown larger than the less popular. Once you connect to Facebook and Twitter the grid becomes a lot more personal but it also includes selected content chosen at Showyou HQ.

There’s an emphasis on sharing in the app which can get confusing as these videos come from different places. If they come from Facebook a ‘thank’ is also a reply that is sent out to Facebook. If the video came from twitter a reply is a reply and thanking will tweet out to the person which really is spamming timelines. If I share a video in app I can share on Showyou which basically is your twitter friends who have the app or I can share out but this only provides a link so you have to comment. To get a video into the app it needs to be shared by email which again is confusing but Apple isn’t exactly going to add a share to Showyou button in their YouTube app.

All videos in Showyou are H.264 which means that their is no flash content, obviously as this is not supported but I’ve seen videos from both YouTube, Vimeo and Facebook proving that the lack of flash and videos is almost non existent. Showyou have also enabled AirPlay which is very useful when you want to see the latest video in the grid on the TV. There is another view for videos that shows recent videos shared by friends pulled directly from Twitter and Facebook which is a much better way to view these rather than trying to find them in feeds and walls.

I really like Showyou, it is the best social video app but it doesn’t have good competition with others like Squrl just being confusing. Once they solve the sharing issue this will be a top app to have on any iPad or iPhone.

Showyou is available for free on the iOS app store universally for iPhone and iPad.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/showyou/id422698201?mt=8&ls=1

App a Week – Grades 2

My app this week is a sequel to a popular app that is perfect for students called Grades. Grades 2 let’s you calculate your estimated or overall grade for a specific module or subject. I found the first Grades slightly confusing to work out but the new one has really been cleaned up in terms of usability, plus it’s now free with ads or in app purchase without.

The first step in Grades is to enter your subjects and modules which is an easy process with quirky tutorials guiding you through. Entering in the weighting of the module for the overall year allows Grades to figure out the grade you need to reach the target you set. You can also enter a due date for the project but I feel that this is better handled in a separate app like iStudiez.

Grades 2 also has a GPA calculator which I couldn’t test as I’m not an American student however I presume this works well based on the rest of the app. I have two portfolio pieces left for uni work so was very easily able to see the estimated grade I would get and the marks I need to look towards getting. I just wish that Grades 2 has been out at the start of the school year, however I will definitely use this more in Year 2.

I highly recommend this app at it’s new price and with the new UI and it’s a must for all students. It unfortunately isn’t available for iPad but the iPhone version works fairly well and I’ve heard there is some demand for an iPad version so perhaps that will come in a future update.

Grades 2 is available free in the iOS app store.

Link : http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/grades-2/id427900301?mt=8&ls=1&ref=nf

App a Week – Zapd

I’ve been playing a lot of games on the iPad this week such as Hop, Contract Killer and N.O.V.A 2 which I definitely recommend. I want to keep my blogs about apps though and found a really good app for creating basic webpages called Zapd.

The main purpose of Zapd is to create static webpages that include images, text and links. Images are taken using the camera or from the photo library, any type of basic text and links can also be added. There isn’t any other content to add and no HTML to deal with making this a great app for the average consumer rather than a web developer.

The app comes with a great selection of themes that are very well designed and sometimes relevant to the season such as the spring theme. There are around 20 themes to choose from so anyone can find one to suit them. Once you’ve uploaded your content you can then share a custom link conveniently via Twitter, Facebook or by email to friends and family.

The site literally takes around a minute to make and upload which is pretty incredible. You can also edit the page after to add more photos, which would be a much quicker way to create an image gallery rather than a blog. One unfortunate thing is that the page created is static with no interactivity. I believe it just creates an image with your chosen layout, the layout however does adjust for the type of device it’s used on such as iPad, iPhone and desktops.

There is no iPad version of this app yet, but expect it to come soon enough. Zapd is available in the iOS app store for free.

Link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zapd/id426955081?mt=8&ls=1