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Alright Already Apple, I'll Try Google's YouTube App! October 22, 2012 
When Apple gathered up Google's clothes, shoes, toothbrush, Maps, and YouTube app and kicked them off the Cupertino campus with its big iOS 6 boot, I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't as if I spent hours each day with the old YouTube app anyway. But then I started missing YouTube and the old-school brown TV app icon. The app was simple, clean and uncluttered.
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Passbook Is a Better Idea Than a Product October 16, 2012 
Passbook isn't so much an app by itself as a container for other apps' data, such as tickets, gift cards and coupons. The idea is brilliant: Take all of those loyalty and gift cards that clutter up your wallet and put them on your phone. Sprinkle in a little bit of location-based razzle-dazzle that brings up the card you need when you get to the store, and you've got yourself a pretty neat e-wallet.
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iPhone 5 Camera Is a Rapid-Fire Wonder October 15, 2012 
When I'm interested in serious, wall-hanging photos, I turn to a large digital SLR camera with a big lens. Smartphone cameras, no matter how many megapixels of information they can store, always have teeny tiny lenses that don't collect and record light as well as dedicated cameras. The smartphone, however -- like the iPhone 5 -- has one huge advantage: I almost always have it with me.
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Bad Piggies Indulges a Little Creative Nastiness October 09, 2012 
The ever-popular Angry Birds franchise has spawned a spinoff, known as Bad Piggies. In this adventure, rather than playing the part of the birds who are trying to thwart the pigs' kidnap attempts, the player is cast in the role of builder of piggy transports. The app is accompanied by the familiar upbeat music and cheerful wacky sound effects Angry Birds fans already know and love.
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Apple's EarPods Are Fantastic if You're in a Nice Quiet Spot October 08, 2012 
All the new iPhone 5 owners now have Apple's new iconic white EarPods -- the earbud headphones that ship with the new iPhone 5 and iPod touch. There are millions of previous iPhone and iPod owners, however, who might be ready to trade in their old beat-up set of earphones or upgrade. The question is, should the new EarPods be your next iOS device headphones? Tough question, it turns out.
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A Week With the iPhone 5: A Familiar Alien October 01, 2012 
The most challenging thing about the iPhone 5 is how it feels in your hand -- it's light. Sure, it's just 20 percent lighter than the iPhone 4S, but it's also smaller and bigger at the same time -- 18 percent thinner with 12 percent less overall volume, despite having a longer screen. All of this comes together in a look and feel that starts off feeling like something alien yet it looks familiar.
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Ease Into 5K Is a Powerful Running Coach in Your Pocket September 25, 2012 
Most of the fitness apps out there for iOS have three basic functions: They track your performance, integrate with your playlists to give you some music to listen to, and offer the ability to share what you've done on Facebook or Twitter. Ease Into 5K adds another layer to that formula: a ready-made training plan that builds from a relatively easy workout up to the target distance of 5 kilometers, or roughly 3 miles.
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Update to iOS 6? Sure, but Temper Your Expectations September 24, 2012 
The astounding thing about the Apple ecosystem of iOS devices for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod is that its users can upgrade relatively easily -- and do -- to the latest and greatest version of Apple's mobile operating system. The upside is that even users on older hardware can get in on some of the new iOS love. The downside? Sometimes that love is mostly just a friendly hug.
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iScape: A Fun Way to Try a New Look for Your Yard September 18, 2012 
One of my favorite boredom killers is to plan out a new yard for my house. Every couple of weeks, I build a picture in my head of what my improved yard will look like: Lush green grass, maybe a nice shady tree with a bench under it, or perhaps a peeing cherub water feature.
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The Best Baby Monitor App Isn't Just for Babies September 17, 2012 
This Friday I know right where I'll be: waiting in my home office for my iPhone 5 to show up at my door. The problem? I might not hear the delivery driver knock knock knocking on my door. The last time I ordered a big product directly from Apple -- I think it was my iPad -- I was happily working away in my office. Maybe I was on the phone.
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'Bastion' Blends Monster-Smashing Fun With Great Color Commentary September 04, 2012 
The action role-playing game "Bastion" has been around on the Xbox 360, PC, Mac and a few other places for a while now, but I failed to notice or care until I stumbled upon it in the App Store on my iPad 2. It has fighting action, so that's good. I'm a sucker for hammers, pistols and bows. It has a lush and vivid landscape. Fantastic. And yet none of this sparked me to download and buy.
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Gesture App Flutter Flickers With Potential August 27, 2012 
I like to listen to music occasionally while I work, but I also end up pausing songs often -- there are phone calls to take, to make, and sometimes writing particular paragraphs requires all the brain power I have available. I usually just hit the Play/Pause button at the top of my Mac keyboard.
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Mint for OS X Provides Eagle-Eye Scrutiny for Personal Finances August 20, 2012 
Back in the days of coin and cash, you could see your money. You could hold in your hands, put it in your wallet, and hang onto it. When it was time to spend it, you could feel about how much was leaving you in exchange for something else. Was the transaction worth it? Maybe, maybe not.
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BofA Mobile Deposits: Better Late and Great Than Never August 14, 2012 
Bank of America's iPhone app is about as old as the iOS App Store itself. If I recall correctly, it was one of the very first pieces of Apple-sanctioned third-party software offered up for what was at the time called "iPhone OS." And back then, that BofA app did just about all you'd expect a mobile app to do -- check your balance, transfer funds, keep a good lid on security, etc.
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Burner Is a Handy Way to Grab a Throwaway Phone Number August 13, 2012 
Burner phones are not just for criminals. They're also not just for guys who are caught in Jack Bauer or Jason Bourne situations where misguided law enforcement wants to catch them as much as the bad guys. No, a burner phone can be handy for nearly everyone, it turns out, and it even can be used for things that have nothing to do with nighttime nefarious activities.
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AirPlay Mirroring Looks Great if Your Network Is Pretty Enough August 07, 2012 
OS X Mountain Lion is crawling with tweaks, new functions and improvements, but for the most part, they're minor adjustments that smooth out the general user experience. One new feature that does stand out, though, is AirPlay mirroring. It can be used to wirelessly connect your Mac with a television. Set it up correctly, and that TV is showing whatever is on your Mac's screen.
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The Wildest Thing About Amazon's iPad App Is That Apple Lets It Exist August 06, 2012 
A plain-Jane video-playing app just hit the iOS App Store: Amazon's Instant Video iPad app. While it doesn't do much more than let you browse and play videos, it could be the most important app to come to Apple this summer. Hyperbole? Maybe, but hang on. Amazon Instant Video extends your iPad to an ecosystem that competes with Apple, and at the same time may signal a shift in Apple strategy.
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NOAA Hi-Def Radar Gives You the Straight Scoop July 31, 2012 
To me, the coolest things about an app aren't so much about the design or buttons or swiping, but how and why you would actually use the app -- the experiences that the app actually enables. NOAA Hi-Def Radar fits right in with me because it's all about showing what's going on in the world of weather all around you.
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'TheEndApp': When the World Ends, the Fun Starts July 23, 2012 
I'm definitely not an iOS gamer, but I do look for a good diversion every now and then. My latest: "TheEndApp." The premise: The world as we know it comes to an end and you've got to run around an urban wasteland collecting duct tape as you go. Why? Presumably duct tape can fix anything.
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Tehula Finds Friends Without Fuss but Flirts With Disaster July 16, 2012 
Tehula is brand new in the Apple App Store, and I've got to say, I haven't been so excited about an app in a long time. Faithful readers will likely recognize that I prefer simple apps that do one basic thing really well instead of bloated jack-of-all trade apps. And what does Tehula do? It locates your friends on a map.
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