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Daily iPad App: Build a Train
Build a Train is a train simulation application for young children from one to six-years old. I happen to have a few kids at home and tested it out initially with my four-year-old. The Build a Train game is optimized for children. It has large buttons, bouncy background music and bright, colorful graphics. The child begins the game by choosing their train, cars and map before entering the track. There's a variety of trains that you can build and ten different maps. Five of the maps are available at the start and the other five can be unlocked by earning points within the game. Additional bonus content like helicopters can also be unlocked. Points are earned just by playing the game and within ten minutes, my daughter had enough points to buy a new map. After you pick your train and map, the game opens to the track and the train is pushed to the track. The train is put in motion with an on/off switch and the speed is controlled by a slider on the side of the track. The speed adjustments are perfect. The child can make the train go really slow or super-fast which is the speed my daughter prefers. Each track has several switches that the child can tap and change the direction of the train. Besides your standard circle, some of the switches direct the train off the screen or into a tunnel. My daughter squealed with delight when her train disappeared off the screen and re-appeared on the other side. To amuse your child, there's also a train whistle and a bell on the side that the child can tap whenever they want. The only problem I encountered is demand for the game. My six-year old couldn't help but touch the screen when his little sister was playing the game. When I turned it over to him, he was equally enthusiastic about playing the game, but disappointed he didn't have his own profile. Even my two-year old enjoyed tapping away at the game, though he had no idea what he was doing. He just liked the sounds and the movement of the trains. After watching my children play the game over the course of a few days, I can honestly say that Build a Train is an entertaining app for younger children. It would be great for car rides or anytime you want to entertain your children with an imaginative game instead of a movie. The Build a Train app is available for both the iPad and the iPhone. The gameplay is the same, but the iPad version is better for younger children as the large size of the screen makes it easy to tap the controls. Build a Train only costs $1.99 which is very reasonable for a child-friendly game of this caliber.
Daily iPad App: Machinarium
Machinarium is a charming game with an arresting and engaging art style; it debuted on the Mac and PC platforms a couple years ago. It's very similar to the point-and-click adventure games that saw much popularity in the late 80s to early 90s. You must guide a robot character through a rusted, run-down cityscape populated entirely with robotic characters and cybernetic animal life, solving puzzles along the way in order to advance the story. The art style and music, both of which are among the best I've seen in any game from any genre, combine with an eccentric storytelling method (told entirely without words) to deliver a unique and unforgettable experience. Machinarium was incredibly fun (and challenging) when I played it on the Mac last year, and at the time I thought to myself that the game would be a perfect fit for the iPad. Fortunately, Amanita Design thought the same thing, and Machinarium is now available for the iPad 2. I specifically mention the iPad 2 for a reason; that's the only iOS device that has enough horsepower to run Machinarium. Playing through Machinarium on the iPad 2, you might wonder why a 2D adventure game like this will only run on Apple's most powerful iOS device while heavy-duty 3D games like Infinity Blade or Rage will run on the original iPad and iPhone 4 just fine. As it turns out, Machinarium was originally built entirely in Flash for desktop platforms, and it's been ported to the iPad 2 via Adobe AIR. This enabled the developers to deliver mostly the same experience as the desktop version, but it also meant that the iPad 2 was the only device able to run the game to their satisfaction. "The memory limitations of iPad 1 (which are somewhere around 115 MB RAM per app) are just quite challenging," the developers said in response to complaints about the app not being available for the original iPad. "You have to have it running around 80-90 to keep it stable and the app has tons of timeline animations, the sources are 1 GB, all compiled into one single SWF file + some assets. The app was originally made for PC and upgraded for tablet devices. When you start creating tablet apps from scratch it's a whole different story. The game is now made with 'no compromises' compared to the desktop version and that keeps it unique." Having played all the way through Machinarium on both the Mac and iPad 2, I'll say that the iPad version does come fairly close to the developer's "no compromises" claim. I compared screens from the iPad version and Mac version side by side. Apart from minor differences in some UI elements and a lack of multi-layer, faux-3D "foreground" elements on the iPad version (something I didn't even notice on the Mac version until comparing them), Machinarium on iPad 2 is in nearly every respect identical to the desktop version. The game's art style is a perfect fit for the iPad, and you'll almost certainly find yourself entirely absorbed into the game as you hold it in your hands. However, while Machinarium on the iPad 2 runs very well and delivers an experience that's definitely worth the price tag, the app does demonstrate a few of the perils associated with porting Flash-based games onto a touchscreen device. Machinarium's Flash-based desktop iteration consumes around 70 percent of CPU resources on my MacBook Pro, a device with approximately 4.5 times the overall computing power of my iPad 2, so it's no surprise that only Apple's most powerful mobile hardware can handle the game even after porting it. Porting the game into a more iOS-friendly format made it so Machinarium could run (and run well, without a hint of lag) on the iPad 2. However, the game is still very demanding on battery life; my iPad lost over a third of its charge after two hours of play, about the same amount of battery charge a turbo-3D game like Infinity Blade would consume. Perhaps more frustrating is some interface elements for Machinarium's desktop version have been lost in translation on the touchpad interface -- another common caveat about porting Flash games to iOS. Controls in the desktop version of Machinarium were largely context-based; hovering the mouse pointer over certain areas of the screen would give users clues about what elements they could interact with and how they could interact with them. That context-sensitive interface is almost entirely gone from the iPad version of Machinarium, meaning that at some points the only way to progress is by tapping blindly on the screen and hoping something happens. Additionally, the game can sometimes be confused about which action you're trying to take. One particularly frustrating example of this was on a screen where you have a choice between pushing a crate or climbing on top of it. Several times in a row the game thought I wanted to push the crate instead of climbing on it, and each time this resulted in a solid minute of animation from pushing the crate to the next screen over and back again. On the Mac version, with its context-sensitive and mouse-based controls, this was never an issue. As another example of how the desktop interface was somewhat lost in translation on the iPad, the game's built-in hint system relies on a minigame that was easy enough on a Mac with keyboard controls, but the same controls on a touchscreen made it frustratingly difficult. None of these issues are knocks against Machinarium itself or its developers, but rather something to keep in mind when playing (or developing) any game that wasn't initially designed with a touchscreen interface in mind. One more thing worth noting: while the art style may make it seem as though the game would be perfect for younger children, unless your kids are packing some serious brainpower it's likely they'll become frustrated by the game's challenging and sometimes elliptical puzzles. Heck, the same goes for adults; if you don't find yourself hurling four-letter words at the game during at least one of Machinarium's many puzzles, then submit your application to Mensa right now, brainiac. Those complaints aside, Machinarium on the iPad 2 is definitely worth your time and your five dollars, especially if you never played the Mac version. Though the interface isn't a perfect translation to the iPad, the game's art, music, and charming story are each worth the price of admission on their own. When they're put together, five bucks feels like a bargain. Don't just take my word for it; as of this writing, Machinarium is the top-selling iPad app.
Daily iPad App: PlayTime Theater
Every parent who has taken a long car trip or flight with offspring in tow knows that the difference between a pleasant journey and a stressful, tiring marathon may come down to one key factor: can you keep the kids entertained (and fed) through it? If so, everyone's happier. This task is dramatically easier in the age of the iPad than it was before, but it's still not easy to find apps that appeal to kids of different ages and interests. The margin between a good children's app and a great one may be narrow, but when you see kids on a long trip getting engaged with an app for solid stretches -- without flipping back to cartoons, without taking Angry Birds/Peggle/Call of Atlantis breaks, and with a high degree of creativity and enthusiasm -- chances are you're dealing with a great app. The $2.99 PlayTime Theater doesn't have a high degree of visual polish, and its interface can be somewhat quirky and confusing; nevertheless, I think it's one of the most impressive kids' apps for the platform that I've seen in a long time. The concept of PlayTime Theater is simple, and that's what makes it so effective. The app presents a castle 'set,' complete with drawbridge, catapult and other necessities. You can populate the set with virtual puppets (knights, princesses, dragons, the entire medieval menagerie), assign them props, change their costumes and looks (including custom faces built from your photo library), and position them where you want. Once your backstage preparations are complete, you start the show. Switching into Record mode and clicking the big red button allows you to populate one of twelve show slots with a two-minute puppet show that you control. Move the characters around the stage as you (and your kid sister) give voice to each role; tap the puppets to activate their props, use the other controls to play sound effects or music, and more. Once the play is done, you can watch it with the voices and sounds perfectly synchronized to the action. Like I said, it's a simple idea, and there's nothing fancy about the visuals, but I've rarely seen an app that so completely captured the attention of my 10-year-old and six-year-old daughters in a matter of moments. I didn't even introduce it to them -- they found it, and they were off. You might have to clarify the button functions for younger kids the first time through, but they will be composing epic shows in no time. It's not just fun for the younger set, either; the friend who introduced me to the app says he uses it to create mini-epics by animating snippets of business conference calls. The app thoughtfully includes a link to the developer's YouTube channel with demo videos and sample recordings; these do help clarify the interface. You can read more about the app at the PlayTime Theater website, where it's noted that future versions will offer more backgrounds and additional varied characters. If your kids enjoy creative play and storytelling, you can't go wrong with PlayTime Theater. There is no bigger bargain to be had on the App Store than trading $3 for hours of peaceful traveling children who will be eager to show you their seatback masterpieces. Hat tip to Myke L.
Daily iPad App: Monster Coloring Book
Monster Coloring Book is so adorable that I had a hard time putting it down long enough to write a review. It's an iPad coloring book that has a series of monsters you can "color" using your finger as a brush or tapping to fill an area. If you find that the iMarker/Crayola ColorStudio HD combo is a bit too costly, this is Monster Coloring Book is a much cheaper alternative without the stylus. There's quite a few options that can be chosen including different colors, brushes, stickers and patterns. You can change the size on the brushes to make sure you keep inside the lines. You can share your creation in a gallery on the app, email, print or export it. You can listen to music while you or your child (come on, we know you'll use this too) color, including some classical tracks to introduce new composers. The free app comes with one brush and the option to purchase more with an in-game currency called Monsterbucks. You start off with 1,000 Monsterbucks in the free game, so you can add on a couple of brushes or purchase an extra monster or two before you're prompted to buy more. Also, performing some activities will net you a few extra Monsterbucks. All of the starter monsters are free, so there's plenty to experiment with before deciding if you want to purchase more. There are 150 pages in all that can be acquired. There are a couple of caveats. When you try to purchase Monsterbucks in the app, it doesn't let you know how many real-life dollars the purchase is. As seen from the fiasco over the Smurfs Village app, this could potentially cause a problem. However, if you want full access to all the features without dealing with the in-game currency, get $1.99 paid app. All of the app content is unlocked, so it's much cheaper than purchasing in-game currency. The tools work well, except I have a difficult time rotating some of the stickers using the 2-finger rotating gesture. A cheat sheet pops up when you use stickers so it's easy for new users to figure out how to reshape and rotate them. Monster Coloring Book is definitely an app to have on your iPad for kids of all ages -- and the adults who still have the desire to try to color inside the lines.
Daily iPad App: Solar Walk
Want to tour the Solar System? Solar Walk is a just-updated universal iOS app that allows you to do just that. The new version has support for 3D, so you get some rather stunning renditions of planets and satellites that are more realistic than what's available in a 2D presentation. I reviewed the app in 2010 and found it to be very educational. Solar Walk would be very nice for teachers, who could plug it into external monitors in the classroom. As near as I can tell, the app doesn't support the high end 3D method that uses shutter glasses or polarizing filters, but instead uses the tried and true red/blue anaglyphic glasses that became popular in the fifties. They are cheap, and easily available from suppliers like Amazon. Note: A late email from the developer says you can use the app with a 3D TV although it is not noted in the app help. Here's how to do it if you have a 3D TV.: 1. Connect your iPad with an HDMI adapter to the 3d TV 2. Switch on 3D function in Solar Walk Menu. 3. There will appear a question what type of 3D you want to use anaglyph glasses or 3D TV. Choose 3D TV. 4. On you 3D TV screen there will appear two pictures on a screen. 5. Switch 3D mode on a TV. 6. Put on 3D glasses and enjoy. You can also see the 3D images just fine on the iPad. Solar Walk includes very detailed graphics and information about our solar system, and this new version adds some movies (in 2D) on tides, circles of latitude, and the zodiacal constellations. My favorite 3D view was of Saturn and its moons. With 3D glasses on, the planets and artificial satellites come alive. It was interesting to watch things like the Hubble Space Telescope in its proper real time position slowly gliding over the earth far below. You can navigate to any view that you like, using finger gestures, and you can zoom in and out as well. There is an option to listen to music while you use the app, but I found the music forgettable and distracting. Screen captures are supported and background stars are rendered in their proper positions. Solar Walk is very educational, but as before, the textual information is still a bit thin. I always found myself wanting to read more. Perhaps some links to NASA or Wikipedia would be in order. Still, the new features are worthwhile and the app is a reasonable US$2.99. This app was created by the team that made the much praised Star Walk app. This app is of equal quality and the graphics are sharp and very attractive. There are some (2D) screen shots in the gallery below. %Gallery-132539%
Daily iPad App: EDGE Extended
One of my new favorite games for the iPad is EDGE Extended. In it users control a color-fluctuating cube by continuously tumbling it backwards and forwards, left and right. The goal is to get the cube across a platform of raised buttresses, moving tiles, traps, and enigmatic mazes to the other side where it transports off to the next level. If the concept of the game sounds simple that's because it is, but what makes this game stand out is its art direction, physics, and ingenuity. EDGE Extended offers beautifully simple controls. There is no virtual joystick or pad. Just place your finger anywhere on the screen and drag to tumble the cube in any direction. The game is designed as an homage to the simplistic-looking arcade games of the 80s. But the simplicity is deceiving, because the developers obviously put a lot of subtle detail into it. As the cube tumbles over, you really get a "feel" every time its flat surface plops to the ground. Its 8-bit score and sound effects compliment the game's 44 levels without getting annoying. And its puzzles, levels, and traps are varying enough so you don't get the feeling of "I've played this level before." EDGE Extended is my new addiction. And for US$0.99, I think it's going to become many peoples' addictions. Best of all, for that $0.99 you get a universal game that plays on both the iPad and iPhone.
Daily iPad App: Highlights
Today's daily iPad app is Highlights, an app that lets you find new and interesting places around you based on crowd sourced recommendations from check-in services Gowalla and Foursquare. The app works by scanning Gowalla and Foursquare reviews and then processing them through Highlights' ranking systems. The results are then presented to you on an interactive Google Map. By default the app works by using your current location, but you can enter almost any address on the globe to get recommendations. This is especially handy for when you're planning a trip to another city. Highlights also features a "recommend in this area button." When tapped you'll see a list of the top spots in your currently viewed area divided into categories like culture, religion, arts, education, entertainment, food, hotels, nightlife, great days out, and more. As with other apps that spotlight cool areas around you, Highlights lets you narrow your search by category. It also offers basic translation of reviews into some other languages -- a nice feature for international travelers. Also besides the ability to search and browse places around you Highlights offers a planner feature that allows you to save those places to an itinerary. It even offers you pre-made itineraries via Gowalla Trips. Highlights' user interface is clean and easily navigable with large icons representing the categories of discovered venues. The app is also universal, so it runs on both the iPad and iPhone. The only immediate improvement the app needs is the ability to convert kilometers into miles. Though the metric system is far superior and easier to use, many in America may be put off by only having distances measured in kilometers. Highlights has found a permanent spot on my iPad and iPhone home screen. It's available in the App Store for US$0.99.
Daily iPad app: Converse
A few weeks ago I wrote about tips while traveling with your iPad. Today I want to tell you about an app that might be useful for those traveling to other countries where they don't speak the native language. Or, it might be useful once it gets fleshed out a little more. The idea behind Converse is great. It's an app which allows you to IM a foreign speaker face to face using a split-screen dual keyboard layout. Each user can select their language and type messages to the other. Those messages are then displayed on the receiver's side of the iPad app, translated into their native tongue. As I said, the idea is a good one, but the app as it is right now is somewhat limiting. For example users can only choose from seven languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Dutch. But what's more frustrating is that the translations are almost word for word and don't take syntax into account. That means your translated message might read like a two year old wrote it. Furthermore, the iPad app requires an Internet connection to work, which means if you're standing on the side of the road in Porto desperately trying to find where the next train to Lisbon is, Converse is going to be no help in asking your question to someone who doesn't speak the language. Another issue: Converse has no way of entering numbers, which are universal, so you have to spell them out and that takes more time to type (and due to the lack of syntax can add to some confusion). I write about this app because I think if the developer flushes out some bugs, works on syntax, and integrating dictionaries into it so it doesn't require an Internet connection, it'll be a good one to have while traveling. Also, if the dev can find out a way to make it an iPhone app that would be great, though admittedly it might be hard to fit two keyboards on an iPhone's screen at the same time and remain usable. Converse is US$4.99 in the App Store.
Daily iPad App: Pocket Garage HD
Pocket Garage HD is one of those apps that's best suited for the iPhone, but the HD version looks pretty sweet on an iPad. This is the first auto maintenance app I've taken a look at in quite a while since Gas Buddy is a mainstay on my iPhone, but Pocket Garage on the iPad is pretty nice and has many of the same features that Gas Cubby does, but with a nicer interface. The UI features a large odometer with three buttons beneath. This lets you record odometer readings, servicing, fuel and repair. The settings toggle between miles and kilometers, as well as gallons and liters, and record a wide range of currencies, making this useful if you're out of the U.S. You can keep track of fuel economy, service reminders, repair logs, view an array of charts, fill in basic vehicle information and more. You also can put in your vehicle identification number, license plate number, etc., but no pass code so be cautious when putting in this information. I tried the free version of Pocket Garage HD and was pleased with it. If you're keeping track of just one vehicle, this is the way to go. There is a US$4.99 pro version that allows tracking of more than one vehicle, but other differences between the free and paid versions aren't made clear through iTunes or through the developer's site, which returns a 404 error. There also does not seem to be a way to sync between the iPhone and iPad versions, which lessens the usability somewhat. You'll have to export from one app to the other constantly to keep them both in sync. If you want to keep an auto record at home, Pocket Garage HD is good for the iPad. If you've got an iPhone and want to update as you go, you'll need to grab the separate Pocket Garage for the iPhone. Going pro on the iPhone would be another $1.99.
Daily iPad App: 7notes handwriting recognizer lets you take notes with one finger
7notes is a note-taking/handwriting recognition app for the iPad. It costs US$8.99; there is also a $4.99 iPhone version, along with feature-limited free versions. I spent several hours using the iPad paid version (7notes Premium) and found it did an excellent job of recognizing both my cursive words and individual letters, all done with my finger on the iPad screen. Handwriting recognition is not a trivial task, and 7notes has a very smart recognition engine. The app also has a predictive engine which worked quite well, figuring out my scrawl and giving me some words that matched the context of what I was writing. When there is more than one guess, you just tap the word you want. As you write, you can also add freehand graphics, with some choice of color and thickness of the stroke. I was able to easily add arrows and other simple symbols or diagrams. You can convert your words to recognized text at any time, on a word by word basis, or full sentences or an entire document at one time. The app allows you to write in 2 or 3 column format. You can save your document or send to email, or export to Evernote or Dropbox; you can save as a PDF, or if you are equipped, you can print directly to a local printer. When I tried printing everything worked as expected, and the graphics appeared within my text just where I wanted them. The app allows you to bring up an on-screen keyboard at any time if your words aren't being recognized, but in point of fact, I did not have to use it. In a way, 7note fulfills the promise of the Newton from back in the 1990s, only 7note works better and has a lot of formatting options the Newton never had. When I first started to use the app, nothing worked, but I pretty quickly learned to adjust my fingers to the screen and then recognition got very good. The app has a lot of icons on screen that aren't always readily obvious in purpose, but I quickly learned them; built-in help is available at any time. You can try a free version of the app to get an idea if it will work for you. It won't convert your handwriting to text, but it will give you a good introduction. I did not try the iPhone version, and the smaller screen might be more of a challenge. 7note works with a stylus, and that might be a preferred method of input. 7note provides a support page where you can get questions answered, and read what other users are saying about the app. If you are a note-taker and just can't get excited about the software keyboard on iOS devices, 7note may be for you. Remember that it will take some time to get used to writing with it, and you'll need to learn the purpose of the on-screen icons. You can see some screen shots in the gallery below. %Gallery-131597%
Daily iPad App: iClassics
Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics, both part of the Universal Music Group, rolled out iClassics last week, a classical music discovery app that spotlights their catalog. If you love the genre, it's definitely an app to check out. The core of iClassics is a drag-and-drop tagging feature that lets you select among criteria such as instrument, genre, mood, period, composer and more to provide recommendations. When a tag is selected, recommendations appear beneath the tag box. Choosing an album brings up previews of each track akin to iTunes. If you want to buy, the app redirects you to iTunes for the purchase. You can share albums with Facebook and Twitter and add them to your favorites. iClassics also streams music from the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca Classics catalog, and I've actually left the app running on my iPad while I do other tasks because I enjoy the music. However, it is on a loop and eventually repeats itself after a couple of hours. There's an interactive timeline showing composers and giving brief biographies around them. iClassics is an attractive app with nice extras, and it's a good way to try some new music without having to navigate the bowels of iTunes. If I'm in the mood to try some new classical pieces, I'll most likely turn to iClassics for suggestions first. But, it's disappointing that the previews are limited to 30 seconds. Not all the albums have every track available for preview like the iTunes version does, so if you're interested in an album, I suggest hopping to iTunes and listening to the longer previews there. I'd love to see an app like this as the front-end for NPR Music (which is currently available for the iPhone) or the Library of Congress' National Jukebox, which launched a few months ago with more than 10,000 recordings from between 1901 and 1925 from the Victor Talking Machine Company. iClassics is a free download from the App Store.
Daily iPad App: Elements 2
Elements is one of many text editors available in the App Store. It supports Dropbox, Markdown and TextExpander which makes it popular among iOS users. It's available for the iPhone, iPod touch and the iPad, but the iPad version really shines as a text editor. Version 2 was just released and adds several notable features for editing and exporting documents. The iPad version uses the entire screen and the large onscreen keyboard, which makes it easy to create a text document or markdown file from scratch or edit an existing one on the fly. I don't have a Bluetooth keyboard and was unable to test this functionality in the latest version of the app. All documents can be uploaded to your Dropbox account and synced across devices. Even when you are offline, the file changes will be saved and uploaded when you connect. Elements uploads files to a default /Dropbox/Elements/ folder and you still can't change that location. Variety is the spice of life and Elements has a bunch of export options that let you save your file as an HTML or PDF document. You can export the document to Tumblr, Facebook, Dropbox, Evernote, iTunes, and email. The editor UI has also been tweaked with a new dealt font of Museo Sans, a new Markdown preview view and appearance settings that are now available from the within the app. Elements 2 also removed the ability to change the background color setting, a change that users of the earlier version may find annoying. Elements is a very capable text editor for the writer or coder that uses their iPad regularly. It's a universal app available for US$4.99 from the App Store.
Daily iPad App: Pocket Zoo HD
Parents and educators looking for a fun way to teach the young ones about zoo animals -- and have a bit of fun in the process -- now have an iPad app that fits both criteria. Pocket Zoo HD (US$3.99) gives kids of all ages a chance to learn more about some of the animals they might find in zoos (or the wild) and even see the creatures in real time through embedded webcam video. Launching Pocket Zoo HD takes you to a "zoo map" that looks remarkably similar to one of those that you'd find at a top-tier location like the San Diego Zoo. It has the animals grouped by biome on the map -- Australian critters like the platypus and Tasmanian devil occupy one area, sea creatures are in an "aquarium" in the center of the map, and so on. Tapping on the image of an animal displays informative text about the animal under a detailed photo, and tapping on the photo plays a high-quality recording of a sound that the animal makes. %Gallery-131036% In many cases, there are short videos associated with the animal as well. These videos are all from YouTube, so in some cases the soundtrack can be a bit annoying, but it's fun to see zoo animals in action as seen by the video cameras or smartphones of people at the zoo. The best feature, though, is new -- the ability to watch many of the animals in real time through zoo webcams. Not every animal has a webcam feed, and for those who do, the feed can be shut down from time to time to give the animal some "private time." While the animals are online, it's a lot of fun to watch their behavior in action. The live cams feature a camera button for taking stills of what's going on, as well as email and Twitter buttons for sharing the action with friends. Pocket Zoo HD is a perfect example of an app that can be both fun and educational, and the addition of the webcam feeds makes it even more of an enticing way for anyone to learn more about the animals we share the planet with. The developer, Tiny Hearts, also donates 1% of all proceeds to animal conservation, so you can help preserve wildlife while enjoying the app.
Daily iPad App: Storyist for iPad
I know what you're probably thinking: "Steve's blogging about a writing tool and it's not even NaNoWriMo time yet!" As true as that may be, there's a version of the powerful Storyist writing app now available for iPad, and I just had to write about it whether or not November is near. Storyist for iPad (US$9.99) isn't as robust as the $59 Mac version, but I found that the app is perfect for my creative writing. If you're a novelist, a script writer, or just someone who wants to hammer out your own creative thoughts, Storyist for iPad is going to make your day. Launching Storyist on your iPad brings up a My Projects page. To aid new users in the process of figuring out the app, Storyist includes a Getting Started document consisting of a 21-page guide, novel and screenplay example files, and a handful of images included in the examples. Like its desktop sibling, Storyist for iPad provides a powerful outliner and an "index card" feature for organizing your thoughts. There's an amazing amount of control over line indentation and paragraph and line spacing, and a full palette of fonts to choose from. Images can either be inserted into your document from the project folder or from your photo library. The editor supports rich text, comments, footers, headers and style sheets. For manuscripts and screenplays, the text is automatically formatted into the generally accepted formats for submission. When working on a manuscript project, special pages for plot, character and setting descriptions are created for authors to reference when they've forgotten the details. The app syncs with Dropbox with a tap, and the files are compatible with Storyist for Mac. Other import and export formats include RTF, Plain Text, and Final Draft v8. Since many writers would gag at the thought of having to crank out a novel or screenplay on a virtual keyboard, the app works seamlessly with Bluetooth wireless keyboards. For doing updates to manuscripts and screenplays on the run, I can't think of a better writing tool, and for ten bucks Storyist for iPad is a bargain.
Daily iPad App: Extra Innings Mobile Instructor
Extra Innings Mobile Instructor is a training app to help you analyze a baseball swing or pitch. It records or imports video and provides you with a set of tools to mock-up the video as you critique the player's movement. You can also use the app to submit the video clip to an expert who'll professionally analyze your swing or pitch. To use the app you'll need a baseball swing recorded using an iOS device (iPhone, iPad 2) or imported from your video library. If you're a coach, you'll have ample opportunity to take video of your team. The video recording feature has a nice focus box that helps you line up the player to get the perfect shot for the analysis. Once the video clip has been added to the Extra Innings, it only takes a few clicks to send the video to EI for analysis by a baseball professional. Each analysis is available as an in-app purchase that costs $15. If you want to analyze the video yourself, you can launch the editing feature and mark up the video using a built-in set of tools. You can add shapes, draw freehand with a pencil tool, add text notes and even record audio. You can add these overlays to the entire video or apply them to specific sections. When you are done with your analysis, you can export the video and email it off to the recipient. The app supports folders so you organize your videos by player, team, and more. The Extra Innings app is a must have for any parent whose children play baseball or a coach of a team. It's great for little league all the way through high school. Colleges can also use it, but if you're playing at that level, you likely have high-speed cameras and other advanced tools for analysis. Extra Innings Mobile Instructor is available for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 4.2 or later. It's priced at a very reasonable $4.99.
Daily iPad App: News360 2.0
I liked News360 when a reviewed it last April. It uses several sources for stories, and it was interesting to see the different takes on any single event. Of course News360 was also an excellent news discovery tool, scanning thousands of news sources to keep me up to date. One of the issues with News360 is you had no control over the sources. The app was basically static, and you got what you got. That's all changed in version 2 of this free app, released today. In a move toward personalization, News360 lets you input your Facebook, Twitter, Evernote and Google Reader accounts to seed the app with what news you are following and generate a unique mix of news that fits your interest. It's a good idea, and seems to work well. The more information it has about your reading habits, the better the presentation will be. The downside of all this is that it requires you having these accounts. No Facebook or Twitter account, for example, no personalized news. I think it's a mistake to go that direction. Many people are getting tired of some social media, especially Facebook because of privacy issues. I would have much preferred a GUI that lets me enter my interests or keywords. Going even deeper, the app could monitor what stories I look at and learn a lot about what I like that way. That's what my favorite news discovery tool Zite does, and Pulse News and Flipboard allow you to link to social media like Facebook but don't require it. The developers say that in an upcoming version, the social media links will no longer be required, and that's a positive step. This new version sports another excellent feature. Users can sync with news360.com and get their custom news without needing your iPad. Nice for office workers or others who want the benefits of the app and don't have or don't always carry an iPad. The app has some nice customization features. You can look at what's called an interest graph and edit it, so if it is bringing in things you don't want, you can whisk them away with a few clicks. The app also automatically provides links for more information, and, with your permission, it can use your location to get local news. I do like News360. It offers some fresh ideas for news aggregation, and the personalization is most welcome. I just wish it wasn't forcing me to to be on Facebook or some other system to find out what news I like. You don't have to personalize the app, and if you don't this version will work just like the older version, without user control of what you see. News360 is also available on the iPhone, but that version won't get personalization until Fall. %Gallery-130368%
Daily iPad App: NASA Visualization Explorer
The NASA Visualization app is your window into the world of NASA research. The app presents the latest NASA research news in an easy-to-digest format. Each article is written for the lay person and amateur scientist with images and video to complement the writing. Topics range from space-based exploration to climate change, another popular area of NASA research. The app itself is pleasantly arranged and can be viewed in either portrait or landscape mode. Each article has a captivating headline image pulled from NASA's impressive photography library. Articles can be viewed by selecting from an index or browsing the headlines individually. Navigation among articles is a bit awkward if you use the arrows,but you can always use the more familiar swiping gestures. The arrows are large and easy to tap, once you get used to them, though. The content is great. The articles are scientific enough to keep the amateur scientist interested, yet basic enough for the average person to understand. They are also topical and not obscure; you get to read about glaciers and solar flares! New articles appear every 2-3 days and a badge tells you how many new articles are available to read. Articles also include extra images and even video clips. The video supports Airplay so you can watch the clips on the big screen if you own an Apple TV. The NASA Visualization app also lets you share content via Facebook, Twitter, or email. You can copy the article's URL and even read it using Mobile Safari. The NASA Visualization app is a must-have for the NASA fan or science buff looking for something to read in their spare time. The app is available for the iPad only and requires iOS 4.3 or later. You can download it for free from the App Store.
TUAW's Daily iPad App: Diptic
It's nice to revisit an app that was updated and check out some of the new features. We first looked at Diptic about a year ago and liked it quite a bit. The app takes your photos and lets you arrange them in pre-selected frames. You can chose from different layouts including a top and bottom split, a three-way split and more. While the basic controls for image and layout editing have stayed the same, Diptic has added support for the import of photos from Facebook or Flickr and the export of your work to the same online services. It also supports exporting to Posterous so you can share your creations on your blog. The import from Flickr and Facebook is easy. You login to the service and authorize Diptic to connect to your account. After you authorize the app once, you can add and remove images without logging in again. The same applies to the export option. One or two clicks to export and your framed photos are sent to Facebook or Flickr, your choice. You can also add in a title, caption and/or tags before you upload. When you upload to Posterous, Diptic lets you add a title, body and tags. You can also toggle auto post on/off so you can decide to post right away or save the post in drafts for review later. The export feature works great. In a click or two, my framed photo was on my blog. If you have Posterous connected to Twitter or Facebook, your photo will be shared with those beyond your blog. Diptic is available for US$1.99 from iTunes. A 99-cent in-app purchase can be used to buy more layouts. It's a universal app that works on the iPhone and the iPad.
TUAW's Daily iPad App: Wreck This App
Wreck This App is a creative iPad app based on the book series by Keri Smith. The app takes the fun of doodling and creative expression and brings it to your daily life. The black-and-white interface is child-like and simple, which adds to the allure of the app. Wreck This App is arranged in pages and each page has a difference activity. Some require you to perform simple tasks like draw fat and skinny lines, while others instruct you to draw pictures of more complex objects. And it's more than doodles, as sometimes the activities, like the one to document something boring or fill in a page when you are angry, make you think about what you are doing. You have a set of standard drawing and writing tools at the bottom page and you can import images from your camera roll to include in your doodles. You don't have to move sequentially through the app, you are free to jump from page to page and can complete each activity as you see fit. When you are done with an activity, you can share it on Facebook, Flickr or via email. You can even save it your photo roll. Wreck This App is highly recommended. It has a pleasing interface and is whimsical and fun. In my humble opinion, it's a great way to pass time, far better than playing Angry Birds or Plants vs. Zombies. Wreck this App is a universal app and is available for $4.99 in the iTunes App store. %Gallery-129873%
TUAW's Daily iPad App: Pocket RPG
Crescent Moon Games made the excellent Aralon for iOS in the past, and that was a full-fledged RPG, featuring a whole world to explore and lots of gear to collect and quests to complete. Now, the company's gone back to the fantasy well to deliver another hack-and-slash style RPG game, though this one is a little simpler (and a little more focused on just the dungeons). Pocket RPG is exactly what it sounds like: A colorful dungeon-crawler with three classes, a fun and slick style and some great dual-stick gameplay. If there's an issue with this one, it's probably that things are a little too simple. Each level is its own contained world, which means you're leveling up what's basically a separate character in each. Gameplay itself is pretty mindless, too -- there are a few special encounters to break things up, but you're pretty much just using a few different abilities over and over against the enemy hordes. Still, Pocket RPG is plenty of fun, and the game's being updated steadily with new features (not to mention that it comes with full Game Center integration, and it looks particularly great on the iPad). Right now, the title's on sale for just US $4.99, and if you enjoy plumbing through dungeons of all kinds (and come on, who doesn't?), it's an excellent experience.
