Best iPad apps of 2011 Like owners of iPhones and Androids, users of iPads faced a surge of new apps last year, to the point where it was easy to miss great ones. Here's my list of 10 favorites from 2011, along with a few runners-up. Note: as with 2010's Top 10, seasonal sensations like MLB.com's At Bat aren't included, nor are games, which I'll cover separately online. ZITE (free) This is the closest thing to the perfect magazine. SNAPSEED ($5) Apple anointed this photo app as its iPad app of the year, and there's little question that it's one of the best. THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR. TOONTASTIC (free) A great storytelling app for adults and children, Toontastic takes much of the work out of an often-daunting task. JAMIE'S RECIPES (free) Last year was a good one for cooking-related iPad apps. GARAGEBAND ($5) This app is good on the iPhone and even better on the iPad. LIVING EARTH HD WORLD CLOCK AND WEATHER ($1). DJAY ($20) Got a hidden scratch master inside of you?
10 iPad Apps Everyone Should Have My Must-have iPad list has changed over the years, in part because how I use my iPad has changed. The biggest shift came in the last six months, when I went from carrying the iPad 3 to making the iPad mini my primary tablet. The iPad 3 stays at home, and it is still the better device for movies, Web browsing, and reading digital magazines. The iPad mini goes wherever I do, however; from the commute in on the PATH train, to my morning news meeting, to lunch, the iPad mini is always within reach. This new use case is pretty common and it requires rethinking what is—and is not—an Essential iPad App. Apple also makes it pretty easy to see what is most popular, but does anyone really need three different versions of Angry Birds? Before I continue, I should say that this is my personal list. I had just a couple of requirements for this list. Before we get to the new winners, I want to spend a few moments looking at who gets cut this round.
Air Display app for iPad brings Retina-level resolution to Macs | Apple Talk Avatron Software has just added a way for users see their Mac desktops at "retina-like" resolution -- via the new iPad. Avatron Software's app Air Display allows users to "extend" their Mac desktops to an iPad, essentially turning the tablet into a second monitor. An update to the app now offers an option to enable HiDPI mode, a setting tucked away in Apple's Mac OS that renders the user interface at four times normal resolution (twice the resolution in each dimension). That's well-suited for Apple's new iPad, which as luck would have it features four times the number of pixels as the iPad 1 and 2, and a higher pixel density than any panel found on Apple's desktop or notebook computers. At least for now, that is. Speculation around HiDPI has swirled for months, in no small part to its growing presence in builds of OS X. In the meantime, the $9.99 app offers a hack-free way to enable the feature and utilize it on the newest iPad's display.
50 Must-Have Educational Apps It’s time for holiday road trips and you know what that means: driving, flying, cranky kids, and… teaching opportunities! What’s that, you say? Well, there is so much downtime during the holidays where kids and adults spend hours just passing the time… why not try out some new apps on your phone? Many of these apps were found by The Teaching Palette, be sure to check out their fantastic site for more helpful resources! From learning the ABCs to doodling, there’s plenty of terrific apps out there that will pass the time but also educate. *Most of the links below are to the iTunes store which will open another window and/or iTunes. Great Apps For Kids (And Adults) Alphabet Animals Perfect for your talented toddler, this game is packed with colorful animations, animal sounds, and tons of tips for learning their letters. WordSearch Kids Kids search and highlight vocabulary words by tapping the first and last letters. Mad Libs Just as goofy and fun as your remember. SmackTalk Annoying?
Bento (for iPad) Review & Rating Keeping your business and personal life in order can prove a true challenge, but FileMaker's Bento 4 for iPad aims to solve the problem. The $9.99 organizational iPad app makes it simple for anyone—even novices—to create attractive databases in just minutes, thanks to 40 retina display-ready pre-designed templates, a flexible editing system, and a clean, intuitive interface. Bento 4 for iPad can be used as a standalone iPad app, or in conjunction with the $49 Bento 4 for Mac OS X. Bento for iPad is far more accessible for the average user than FileMaker's business-centric FileMaker Go ($39.99, 4 stars) thanks to an attractive, intuitive UI, and the ability to create new database entries. And new features, such as voice recording, makes Bento (one of our 100 Best iPad Apps) even better. Interface and NavigationLaunching Bento takes you to a dark menu screen that features 25 attractive template icons you can use to get started.
Apple ditches Google Maps for OpenStreetMaps in iPhoto for iOS If you downloaded iPhoto for iOS after Apple released it a couple of days ago, you may have realized something was slightly different about the maps used for things like viewing the location of a photo taken. Some speculated Apple finally ditched Google Maps so it can stop relying on a competitor. It turns out that theory was true and OpenStreetMap confirms Apple has switched to its wiki map for use in iPhoto. The OpenStreetMap Foundation was just as surprised as the rest of us, but confirmed the news on its blog: The desktop version of iPhoto, and indeed all of Apple’s iOS apps until now, use Google Maps. The new iPhoto for iOS, however, uses Apple’s own map tiles – made from OpenStreetMap data (outside the US). Though the OS X version of iPhoto along with Apple’s other iOS apps still use Google Maps as pointed out, the change in iPhoto for iOS signals the beginning of a shift; the end of Apple’s dependence on Google for map services. [via WebMonkey] About The Author George Tinari
Top 200 best iPad apps 2012 If you've got yourself an iPad Air or new iPad mini, you'll want to start downloading the best iPad apps straight away. And if you already have an iPad 4 or older iPad, you might want to update it with some new apps. It's the apps that really set iOS apart from other platforms - there are far more apps available on the App Store for the iPad than any other tablet. So which which ones are worth your cash? And which are the best free apps? Luckily for you we've tested thousands of the best iPad apps so that you don't have to. So read on for our best-in-class apps for each major category, followed by some more specific lists of the best free and paid for apps and games. Best iPad apps: Books App name: KindleDeveloper: AmazonPrice: FreeLink: Get from iTunes The best library of literature to choose from, cross platform support via Whispersync, a great choice of fonts and ways to read… Kindle is the most comprehensive reading app out there, and an essential download. Best iPad apps: Business
The New iPad Is More Hotter Than The iPad 2 | iPad Apps Review Online News — By Alfred Smith on March 22, 2012 at 4:21 PM As the CNET reports, here are a few reasons for the new iPad getting hotter. The Display: Which has two times the LEDs, as the brightness increases the heat also increases.It Needs More Power: As it has a more efficient screen it needs more transistors which in turn needs more power.Apple Still uses the the traditional LCD technology which is less power efficient.Above all of these the new processor is the biggest source of heat.To power all these the battery has to generate enough power, which in turn makes the batter warm. Thus the new iPad is more hotter than the iPad 2. Tags: The New iPad, The New iPad Is Hotter Best Google Reader App for iPad and iPhone | Matt Hopkins | @1MattHopkins Posted by Matt Hopkins on Apr 26, 2011 in Gadgets | 8 comments UPDATE: I have moved to a new app since writing this post. Details on my new best Google Reader app here. I am a very heavy Google Reader user and am currently subscribed to over 600 feeds/blogs. I used several of the major reader apps – there are many – before I discovered NewsRack (iTunes link). The interface is simple and easy to use. First – forget about the “news rack” screen – where the feeds appear as newspapers; I don’t like cover flow in iTunes and I don’t like it here either.. completely useless. The app works well in both Portrait mode and Landscape mode. Note also that I always select “Hide Read Feeds” (its at the bottom of the Feeds list) – I see no point in staring at a bunch of empty folders. You can select one folder at a time – if you want to prioritise your reading. The portrait mode allows you to read the items in your feed in full screen. This is simple and effective.
App aims to spare whales from ships in Atlantic — Business BOSTON — Even at a sturdy 70 tons, the North Atlantic right whale is no match for the huge ships that cross its path carrying cargo, passengers and the threat of lethal collisions. Now, a new app for the iPad or iPhone aims to help mariners avoid the rare whales so they don’t strike them. The Whale Alert app takes information from underwater microphones to locate the whales in real time, which helps ships in New England waters avoid the species’ estimated 550 remaining whales. The app also uses the GPS feature on iPads or iPhones to alert mariners if they’re entering areas where right whales were spotted, or are known to frequent, along their migratory route from Florida to Maine. Those zones have mandatory or voluntary speed restrictions. Preventing even one fatal ship strike can have a lasting effect on the right whale population. The North Atlantic right whale was hunted to near extinction in the late 18th century and has struggled since.
Apps Activate: A New App Directory Guide and Look at MailChimp, Vision Critical Surveys and RSS Last week HootSuite integrated a new wave of App Directory tools into the dashboard – MailChimp, Vision Critical Surveys, Chime.in, Identi.ca, and a new RSS Reader join the all-star roster of tools, integrations and extensions in the ever-growing HootSuite App Directory, which also includes YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr and more. To help new users get acquainted with the App Directory or as a refresher for those already familiar, we’ve put together an App Directory Guide – free to download! We’ll also take a closer look at the Vision Critical Surveys app for HootSuite and MailChimp app for HootSuite, plus some info on the RSS Reader app. A Closer Look Vision Critical Surveys The Vision Critical Surveys app for HootSuite provides direct access to Vision Critical Surveys, an intuitive web-based survey tool that allows users to create highly engaging surveys. Andrew Reid, Founder and CEO of Vision Critical, on the integration: RSS Reader For the uninitiated… What exactly is RSS? Get Your Guide
New iPad App – HotSwap Makes Sharing The iPad More Fun With the economy the way it is, families want to make the most of what they have and not spend money needlessly. These days, every family member wants their very own iPad, with their favorite settings, bookmarks and apps ready to go. It becomes quite easy to justify shelling out for that second iPad. Skyfire, the popular app with over 13M users and ranked as the #1 iPad utility app by Apple in 2011, aims to bridge those needs for families with their new iPad app HotSwap. The new iPad app HotSwap allows up to four users to create a profile on a single iPad, set and save their browsing preferences, bookmarks, as well as email and social media logins. Son wants to use the iPad after dad? Passing one iPad around an entire family can be frustrating, as everyone likely logs in to check their email and social networks without logging back out, and many folks will leave tabs open or clutter up the browser history with sites you could care less about.