After seeing A Knight's Tale the movie, I seriously wanted to get in a time machine and go back to the Middle Ages (though I'd likely end up a lowly field peasant instead of a knight)! It would be awesome to see knights with swords clashing, gleaming armor, damsels in distress and well... jousting! Jousting has to be the coolest sport ever, am I right? Think two medieval maniacs thundering toward each other set on knocking the other into oblivion! Want some of that action today in modern times? Get the most excellent Knight Storm (Free) now!
A few weeks ago I reviewed an amazingly cool 3D golf swing analysis app for iOS called SwingTIP. Afterward, I managed to get out on the links with a friend for the first time in a long time. Not surprisingly, my scoring was pretty abysmal, so I figured I needed some help. I found two apps you may want to check out, especially if you also have been away from the game for awhile. Tiger Woods: My Swing ($4.99) will show you the spectacularly perfect swing of the master himself along with Tiger's priceless golf insights and other exclusive content.
I recently had the opportunity to speak via Skype with Iliya Yordanov, one of the founders of SilverWiz. The company is the maker of the well-regarded personal finance app, MoneyWiz, which competes with Quicken, Microsoft Money, and iBank to name a few. Yordanov is a four-time entrepreneur, and is currently focused on scaling SilverWiz.
MoneyWiz is the company's sole app, and it’s available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS. While pricey as far as iOS apps go, it's $4.99 price tag is nominal compared to Quicken and Microsoft. The app has hundreds of great reviews, all four and five stars. I asked Yordanov what his secret was!
As a formerly certified weather geek, I like to check out new weather apps. I'm usually drawn to ones with more advanced features, but occasionally I find a simple and elegant weather program I have to mention. YoWindow ($0.99) is one such app. It is not a fancy weather app, which can become cluttered with maps and trend graphs. Instead, it gives you a view of upcoming weather in a serene 2D scene you can animate (e.g. forecast conditions) as you swipe. The app also serves to relax you with realistic outside sights and sounds that match the conditions, and even indicate the season.
New apps offering a different approach to email is an exciting trend in iOS. And the apps are free! I've recently reviewed the revolutionary Mailbox (for iPhone) and Cloze (iPhone and iPad app), and now comes Incredimail, an email app for the iPad that takes a stunning new approach to visual presentation.
The annual Macworld/iWorld trade show is underway in San Francisco, and Macworld magazine already has named its Best of Show winners. They include some gotta-see gadgets for the iPad and iPhone, such as an iPad robot, an iPad case that doubles as a speaker, and a 1TB external hard drive for the iPhone and iPad.
Halloween is upon us, and so is the start of the holiday buying season. So what better time to look at the top games in one of my favorite, and most popular scary genres: Zombie Horror!!!
Wannabat for iOS: 1vs1 Multiplayer Baseball at it's best
By Peter Magers
Wannabat, a newly launched game from Vitusoft, has its bases covered. This one-on-one 3D baseball game practically oozes personality, and it won’t take a sports buff to find themselves hooked on hitting homeruns.
After months of anticipation and rumored development, Lifeproof, (arguably one of the best protective case manufacturers for iDevices) has produced, and now released, their version of the award-winning Lifeproof case, for the iPad 2 and 3rd generation models.
Called the “nüüd”, this new, completely submersible iPad case is a revolution of design and functionality. This cleverly designed case provides a high level of defense for our precious iPads, unlike anything else on the market.
Watching videos taken to the max: Roundup of MKV to MP4/M4V video converters
By Werner Ruotsalainen
UPDATE (08/20/2012): as far as the latest OS X version (10.8 Mountain Lion; ML for short) is concerned, I have some bad news.
AnyTune Pro HQ Review
By Mike Riley
The new iPad (3) for 2K(+) video playback? Definitely!
By Werner Ruotsalainen
You might have heard of 2K video. It delivers (horizontally – but not vertically, at least not in the widescreen mode!) a little bit more resolution (2048) than Full HD (1920).
Playing back high definition video from outside the iTunes store on (also) the new iPad - UPDATE: RushPlayer + demo videos
By Werner Ruotsalainen
So far, I've preferred using my high-end 17” Macbook Pro for watching full HD (1920*1080) videos as the screen is able to natively, without downsizing the picture, play back the content. With the new, high-resolution, Retina iPad, playing back even Full HD video has become much more desirable than even on a high-end Macbook Pro: far better screen quality (vastly superior IPS technology vs. TN film, even if the latter is of pretty good quality), no fan noise, no need to connect it to the wall plug (playing back even the most demanding 1080p H.264 videos at max brightness only decreases battery charge by about 18% an hour and doesn't really heat up the iPad 3), mobility, no annoying overheating etc.
Making the stock Videos application play every MP4 file possible
By Werner Ruotsalainen
I've dedicated several articles (latest one HERE) to converting videos into MP4 (M4V / MOV) files so that they can be played back by the H.264 decoder of even older-generation iDevices. In the current one, I elaborate on how how you can play the output files with the built-in, stock Videos application. This article also belong to my Multimedia article series, in which I plan to publish a “Streaming multimedia over your local Wi-Fi” in the next few days and, then, finally, the real Multimedia bible.
The All-in-one Photo Viewer Roundup (+70% price drop on the best image viewer!)
By Werner Ruotsalainen
In the last few days, I've participated in several discussion threads in the Phone Cameras / Tablets & Apps forum of DPReview. (See for example THIS, THIS and THIS). In order not to have to repeat the same facts again and again in future discussions, I've decided to dedicate a complete article to the question of using the iPad as a photo frame.
10 best free apps for using AirPlay with an Apple TV
By Jim Karpen
I have a second-generation Apple TV set-top box, and really enjoy using AirPlay to stream movies from my iPad to my 42-inch HDTV. It's fun how simple it is. If you have an iOS device and Apple TV on the same WiFi network, you simply start playing a video and tap a button that gives you the option of playing the movie on your TV instead of your iPad. If you need to go out and want to continue watching the movie, you simply toggle back to the iPad and continue watching.
TumbleOn to the best of Tumblr photo blogs!
By Nate Adcock
If you are a Tumblr fan, and looking for an app that makes it easy to follow your favorite photo blogs (or find new ones), TumbleOn might be just what you have been looking for. In similar fashion to reader apps like Pulse, TumblOn leverages the smooth side-scrolling features of the iPad touch screen to make it easy to browse your favorite feeds. The app also provides handy quick-pick services that help you drill down on the best blog content, and even reblog it on your own tumblelog site.
Get a grip on your iPad with Wrapsol's non-slip grip pad and it's made in the USA #CES
By Todd Bernhard
Inspire Pro is a painting app whose goal is to simulate painting with wet oil paint on a canvas. The app has five kinds of brushes and can simulate a dry brush which allows for a realistic paint blending effect.