Calculator
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App demo: BistroMath
if(typeof AOLVP_cfg==='undefined')AOLVP_cfg=[];AOLVP_cfg.push({id:'AOLVP_us_115551290001','codever':0.1,'autoload':false,'autoplay':false,'playerid':'61371447001','videoid':'115551290001','publisherid':1612833736,'playertype':'pageload','width':480,'height':270,'videotitle':'TUAW','bgcolor':''}); It's a tip calculator, check-splitter all-in-one app... and yes, there are a bunch of 'em on the store. Check out the demo to see if BistroMath combines the power you need with ease of use you're comfortable with. Ultimately, that's the differentiator in these calculator apps: usability. If you can't quickly split a bill, or split a bill fairly (say some guy ordered a bottle of champagne just for himself), then the calculator isn't for you. BistroMath seems to do this and more quite easily, so if you're in the market for such a calculator -- and yes, some people use these quite often -- check it out for iPhone or iPad for US$2.99. Try not to confuse it with the other Bistromath, which is not in the App Store.
Tapbots releases Calcbot, Macheist makes it cheap
taptaptap, Tapbots, and Macheist have released a very well-designed calculator app for the iPhone and iPad called Calcbot -- it's available for 99 cents right now on the App Store. I would say that I don't know why we need another calculator app on the store, but this one's designed by Tapbots, so it's basically a clinic in UI design for the iPhone: clean and beautiful Retina Display-enabled buttons, gorgeous animations, a swipe-to-access extra set of functions, and the ability to go back and look at past calculations and even email them off. Basically, this is a calculator app you want to take a look at, even if you already have a calculator app. Plus, Macheist is sweetening the deal as usual -- that 99 cent price is for a limited time only, and if you do pick up the app, you can spread the word about Calcbot on Facebook and pick up a free copy of the Socialite social networking app for Mac, which will allow you to manage all of your various social personalities all just one place. That's a $29 value right there, so you're basically making $28 on the deal -- excellent offering.
Ask Engadget: what's the best graphing calculator for under $200?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Brian, who just can't help but think about the dreaded back-to-school season already. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "Hello Engadget. I'm currently scouting a calculator for school. What's the best calculator to buy for around $200 dollars?" We're going to guess this guy's majoring in poetry, but those blasted math courses that "they" make everyone take is driving this need. It's funny to think how slowly graphing calculators have evolved (and how prices have fallen at an even more lethargic pace), but there's just got to be something better out in 2010 than the tried-and-true TI-83. Right? Let the man know in comments below.
TUAW's Daily App: Space Invaders Business Cards
The Taito Corporation is the Japanese developer that owns the Space Invaders franchise, and they have done something pretty crazy with the App Store. They've released a series of completely free, Space Invaders-branded apps, most of which have nothing to do with the game at all. There's the Space Invaders Timer, the Space Invaders Calculator, and even the Space Invaders Flashlight. It's pretty bizarre, although all of the apps are free, so it's probably not worth questioning -- if you're a Space Invaders fan and wish your normal utility apps had a little pixelated alien feel, you've hit the jackpot. The real winner, though, is the Space Invaders Business Card app. This is a free app that lets you create a virtual business card, that you can even trade across with friends on other phones via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, traded cards only go to the business card album inside the app (unlike Bump, for example, it won't go into your main Contacts app), but once they're in there, you can call out and email directly from the app itself. Especially considering, again, that the app is free, it's a fun little utility that might come in handy, especially if more and more people use it. No idea why Taito has gone nuts creating these little utilities, but free's free, download away.
Friday giveaway: Get your calculator back on with Digits for iPad
If you divvy up the universe of iPad hands-on coverage over the past month, there's a reasonable midline with "Here's all I was able to do with it" on one side, and "Here are the things it doesn't do, isn't that ludicrous?" on the other. Michael Gartenberg's post at Slashgear about a two-week road experiment with just his iPad falls in the first bucket, and Kate Bevan's What's Wrong With the iPad? at the Guardian's web site clearly goes in the second. Among Bevan's several pain points with her iPad, she focuses on the absence of a few core apps that helped make the iPhone experience complete: Clock, Voice Memos, Weather, and Calculator. While not all of them have full-featured third party replacements (the Apple-only backgrounding rule in OS 3.2 means that other alarm clocks don't allow you to switch apps and still get your wakeup call), there's certainly ample coverage on Calculator. In particular, Shift's Digits provides a fullscreen, history-tape enabled, email capable, snazzy calculator that should address most number-crunching needs. Digits is a whopping 99 cents in the US store, but we've got ten promo codes to give away to US readers (sorry, rest of world, promo codes are country-specific) -- just leave a comment below to enter, telling us your favorite 'replacement' app for the ones Apple forgot to put on the first-generation iPad. Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older. To enter leave a comment on this post with your suggested 'replacement' app. The comment must be left before Sunday May 16 at 12:00pm noon, Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. 10 winners will be selected in a random drawing. Prize: One promo code for Digits for iPad (ARV US$0.99) Complete rules here.
TI-Nspire graphing calculator gets a new touchpad, nerds swoon world o'er
Texas Instruments has been making graphing calculators for twenty years now, and things look pretty much the same as they were in that bygone era of Amy Grant and C&C Music Factory. The company's latest, TI-Nspire with Touchpad, features -- you guessed it! -- a touchpad above the keypad for scrollin' around, as well as a letterpad (apparently they had to forgo QWERTY to make this compliant with tests like SAT and ACT). And, like its precursors, it comes with a snap-in TI-84 Plus keypad so your old dog won't have to learn any keystrokes. Available now from your fave e-tailer, look to pay around $140.
iPhone 4.0 OS Screen shots: custom wallpaper, folders, multitasking, and more!
And they keep coming in! TUAW reader Tom has sent us screen shots showing iPhone OS 4.0's ability to support custom wallpaper (and the new dock style), an open and closed Apps folder containing four apps, multitasking, and a new Calculator icon. Check out all the screen shots in the gallery below! %Gallery-90080%
iPad apps: utilities you need
Utilities are the vegetables of the software world -- not fun, rarely pretty, but gosh darnit, they're good for you. Whether they're checking that your new TV has been mounted square on the wall, crunching your numbers, getting you up in the morning, or keeping track of your mad ramblings in the middle of the night, these little bundles of binary joy can save your job (or your marriage) every time an iPad game almost destroys it. We've taken a close look at a few of the utilities available to iPad owners in the first volley of native, high-resolution apps for the platform and come away with a few winners -- and even better, some of these suckers come at absolutely no cost to you. Follow the break for the full rundown -- and don't forget to check the rest of our app roundups after you're done!
First Look: It's About Time brings widgets to the iPad with mini apps
Several years ago at Macworld Expo, I had the pleasure of meeting Saied Ghaffari, CEO of a small company called It's About Time Products, LLC. The company had created a training app which ran on the Mac and provided new iPhone users a chance to learn more about their devices, iTunes, and synchronization with the Mac. This application, called It's About Time: Learn the iPhone 3G, was followed by another training application called It's About Time: Learn the Switch. Learn the Switch was created to help Windows users make the migration to Mac OS X. This app begat Parallels Desktop Switch to Mac Editon ($US99.00), which seamlessly combines the switcher training and a copy of Parallels Desktop. In all cases, the apps use a similar interface, with video of Saied telling you how to get started and then describing how to perform various actions on the iPhone or Mac. Saied is an engaging instructor, providing clear and understandable training to the user from his small window on your Mac. Well, with the iPad looming on the horizon, It's About Time started thinking about what kind of products to produce for the new platform. I talked with Saied Ghaffari yesterday about the new product from It's About Time, called mini apps, and how it will provide iPad users with an answer to one of the three most frequently requested features: multitasking. Read on for more information about mini apps.
iPhone icons in felt keychain form
Unfortunately these guys are already sold out (though maybe there'll be more soon), but I'm still posting them here just to gaze on their awesomeness -- Etsy user Rabbitrampage put together these six iPhone icon keychains (well, five iPhone and one Finder) out of felt, thread, and fiber fill. I think they look great, though it would be nice to have even more custom icons available. I guess if you want a special icon keychain made of your own app (ahem), you'll have to make it yourself. This same Etsy user also enjoys wrapping your iPhone in felt recreations of old retro items like Game Boys and even a VHS tape. I've already got a case on my iPhone, but if I didn't have one yet, I'd definitely pick up one of these. [via iPhone Savior]
Considering parenthood? There's an app for that
In just a few days, a UK couple will welcome their "iPhone baby." After three years of unsuccessful attempts at pregnancy, the couple downloaded an unnamed fertility calculator app. The mother-to-be, who wishes to remain anonymous, entered her temperature and other information daily. The app then did the necessary calculations to determine when she'd be most fertile. Just two months later, the couple had a little one on the way. Since the Telegraph story doesn't name the app the couple used, we've gathered a few with similar functionality: Fertility and Pregnancy Calculator [iTunes link] Much like the app in the story, this one will help a woman determine when she's most fertile. After that, she can use it to track Jr.'s development. Free. iFertility [iTunes link] iFertility helps women track their Basal Body Temperature and adds an option to share logs with her doctor either via the app or email. $1.99 Fertility Foods [iTunes link] This ebook for the iPhone and iPod touch by Dr. Jeremy Groll presents a diet-based method of increasing ovulation and getting pregnant. Dr. Groll is an OB/GYN specializing in the treatment of infertile couples. This book is an Iceburg Reader book, which are very well done. $15.99 A Barry White album wouldn't hurt, either. As a parent of toddlers, I get much use out of Pocket God [iTunes link], which my 6-year-old loves, PicPosterous [iTunes link] for uploading snapshots to a family gallery and Pickin' Time [iTunes link], which both the 6-year-old and 5-year-old love. We even used Ambiance [iTunes link] for my son when we left his white noise machine at home while on vacation. Last week an iPhone app helped save a life, and this week it helped create one. The tablet better have some REAL magic up its sleeve in order to top that.
Soulver brings a calculator scratchpad to your iPhone
Acqualia's Soulver, a very cool "calculator scratchpad" (which we've covered before), has come to the iPhone [iTunes link]. Both versions allow you to enter expressions in regular mathematical form, or a more "natural language" form. It keeps a running total in the sidebar, and you can reference (and edit) previous lines. Of course, it can run basic functions like sin, cos, and tan, but you can also use "English" functions such as "$29.99 - 35%" to get sale prices, markups, calculate tax, etc.. As a handy touch, Soulver (both iPhone and desktop versions) also allows you to save your work in files for later reference/editing. Soulver has always been a great alternative to standard calculator programs, and the iPhone version is -- in many cases -- a full replacement for the built-in calculator. Check out the iPhone version ($2.99US) on the App Store, and the desktop version ($19.95US) at the Acqualia site. [via Minimalmac]
Off the screen and onto your desk: Mac OS X Calculator app done in atoms, not bits
The creative minds at Mintpass have taken applications we're all pretty familiar with and brought us ideas that make the TUAW bloggers drool. Recently, they created Mint Calculator #4; a concept that pulls the calculators from both the Mac OS and Windows out of the screen and places them on your desk -- as real, physical desk accessories. The picture to the right is a mockup of the Mac OS calculator application, made into a real life calculator with mashable buttons and the typical aluminum style of Apple products. The creator says that the Apple product would cost more to manufacture than its Windows counterpart because of the aluminum it would need. I'm tempted to reference the "Apple tax" (which I truly believe doesn't exist, so I'll just leave it alone). The Mac OS calculator definitely looks nicer than the Windows version -- which looks more like a toy than a usable product -- but from a design standpoint that shouldn't come as a surprise. In fairness, the Windows calculator is based on the XP version and not the snazzier Windows 7 accessory.
Clever iPhone app prevents calculator pR0n
A tweet earlier today pointed me to an iPhone calculator app that really got me laughing, as well as taking me on a trip down memory lane.When I was in high school, calculators were expensive (US$200 for a six-function calculator with memory, for example) and just starting to make it into the hands of students. In those more naive times, anything that could be construed as even mildly suggestive got a lot of chuckles. One of the more amusing pastimes was to perform certain calculations that would come up with a result like 5318008 or 3104558 which, when the calculator was turned upside down, would spell a "dirty word."Well, TLA Systems wants to make sure that its PCalc RPN [iTunes Link, US$9.99] and free PCalc Lite [iTunes Link] calculator apps for iPhone are used only for good purposes, so they've built in a special smut filter that will block these words when the calculator is turned upside down by displaying the word "CENSORED." Their blog entry is very tongue-in-cheek, asserting that they developed the filter to avoid getting a 17+ rating in the App Store. Personally, I think TLA Systems developer James Thomson is just brilliant at getting blogs to write about his products. Well done, James!Tip of the Tweet to @timhaines
TI joins HP, creates official business calculator port for iPhone
Calculators were the original handheld computers, but unlike the whole PDA fad, they've had amazing staying power through their 40-year history -- to this day, buttoned-up dudes crunching numbers at wooden desks have HP 12Cs next to them not for the kitschy retro street cred, but because they're functional, familiar, and do exactly what they're expected to do. Thing is, even purpose-suited perfection can only carry a product for so many years; eventually, raw technology and a new generation of users with different expectations are going to conspire to tear down the status quo. HP was the first giant to recognize that it might be a good idea to have virtual versions of its products available for a more modern medium, porting the 12C and 15C to the iPhone; now, TI -- HP's archrival in the calculator business for decades -- is doing the same by offering its BAII Plus as a $14.99 download from the App Store. That's exactly the same price as the 12C, so come on, you HP and TI diehards -- duke it out and tell us which brand makes the better adding machine once and for all, won't you?
TUAW Tip: Option-clicking the green button
When iTunes 9 changed the behavior of the green "maximize" button to shrink the player to the mini player, I adapted quickly. Option-clicking is pretty easy to do since the option key (unlike control) is on both sides of my laptops' keyboards. But I forgot that option-clicking the green button on windows in OS X does other things too. For many applications, simply option-clicking the green button will "maximize" all the open windows of that application. Of course, maximize behaves differently in some applications. For example, option-clicking the green button in Safari makes all the open pages taller, but not wider. That's by design in Safari, and I rather like it. If you come from Windows, however, you'll be mortified that the window does not occupy the entire screen. In Firefox, it does indeed maximize to fill the screen. It's a matter of preference, but the key point: option-click will max all open windows of that application. Some are "smarter" than others. As our last trick, try option-clicking the green button Calculator. It toggles between the expanded, scientific calculator to the programmer's calculator to regular calculator. Neat!
FinalPrice shopping app released
For those of you who still frequent brick and mortar stores, Jimmi Rehman has released the new FinalPrice 1.0 shopping app for the iPhone/iPod Touch at 99 cents. It requires 3.0 software to run.This app is a useful one-trick-pony. If you find a sale, the idea is to have your iPhone figure out how much something will cost after the item is discounted and after adding your local tax.The calculations are solid but I had some trouble with the interface. Tapping the info button didn't work well at first. I had to tap it a number of times using various amounts of pressure for it to be recognized. The other buttons are not as unresponsive, but it still takes a number of taps for any of them to be recognized. The info screen tells you to enter the original price and then tap the check mark to the right. When you do, the full amount gets displayed on the top green window. Next, enter the sales tax and click the check box to the left. After a few tries, when the click was accepted, a picker with discount percentages in five percent increments is displayed and you can choose the discount percent. Lastly, click on the 'What's the Final Price' button and your calculated price is displayed in the top window. This is a very useful app and for those who like to peruse shopping malls, which doesn't include me, I can see a good deal of value here. Along with the Amazon app, (previously reviewed) you'll be carrying a nice toolbox to check prices and find out if you are getting a deal or not. I just wish the buttons were more responsive. What apps do you take shopping? As an iPhone newbie I would like to know, and I'm sure so would many of our readers looking for another way to simplify their shopping trips.
Behold: the illuminated calculator / mouse pad / USB hub
Sure, you may have seen plenty of calculators / mousepads / USB hubs in your day. But how about a calculator / mousepad / USB hub that lights up? Didn't think so. Head on past the break for a glimpse of that magic, and hit up the link below to get one of your own for just $17.99.[Via Engadget Chinese]
You've got Mario in my DSi calculator app
So, you've got $2 burning a hole in your pocket and you want to calculate money you only wish you had? Well DSi users, you're in luck with a nifty calculator. But, the convenience doesn't end there. The application utilizes sound effects and visuals from Super Mario Bros. If you think about it, it's a really smart idea! For years we've been joking that the DS prints money, but now the DSi can count it, too. Oh, technology ... where would we be without you? Check out a video of the application in action after the break.
Da-Lite's online Projection Screen Calculator makes the decision for you
Baffled when trying to choose what size screen to install in your home theater? Let Da-Lite help. The outfit has just made live its web-based Screen Calculator, which guides individuals through an "easy and clear process for selecting the right projection screen." Users will be able to determine the optimal screen size by "selecting the appropriate format the projection will be shown in, choosing the screen type and lastly picking the correct material or surface." Just don't be shocked if you suddenly start craving a Da-Lite screen when it's all said and done.
