Category Archives: app of the week

app of the week, iphone

Garageband – iPhone App of the Week

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Garageband – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Garageband.

GarageBand turns your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch into a collection of Touch Instruments and a full-featured recording studio — so you can make music anywhere you go. Use Multi-Touch gestures to play pianos, organs, guitars, drums, and basses. They sound and play like their counterparts, but let you do things you could never do on a real instrument. Enjoy a full range of Smart Instruments that make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note before. Plug an electric guitar into your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and play through classic amps and stompbox effects. Use the built-in microphone or a guitar to record, or capture any performance. Then mix up to eight tracks to create a song you can share.

£2.99

I have already reviewed Garageband for the iPad and was very impressed.

As with a lot of Apple apps this one looks gorgeous, great graphics and a nice interface. Of course if you have used Garageband on the Mac then there is an element of familiarity that will ensure using the App is easier than learning another one completely new. As a podcasting app, I don’t think Garageband is quite there, however it is one of the cheapest multi-track recording apps in the App Store, so you can forgive it, its foibles.

Apple have gone and made the app universal so it will now also be able to be installed on the iPhone or the iPod touch. So if you have the iPad version you can get the iPhone version for free.

Like the iPad version Apple have done a really nice job in designing an easy to use interface.

There are lots of instruments to choose from.

I was particularly impressed with the Smart Keyboard that allowed me to create some quite nice tunes without too much effort (or musical ability).

One enhancement since I last reviewed Garageband is now been able to send your project to your Mac.

Send a project to your Mac and open it in GarageBand to continue refining your song

When I first looked at the iPad version this wasn’t possible.

Again for me, as with the iPad version, the key feature I will be looking at is the Audio Recorder for recording podcasts and short audio recordings.

Recordings made on the iPhone using other apps have been of quite good quality, thinking Audioboo here.

It is a huge download in excess of 500MB so if you have an 8GB or 16GB model you may find you don’t have the space for it!

Get Garageband in the App Store.

app of the week, ipad, iphone

Tintin – iPhone and iPad App of the Week

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Tintin – iPhone and iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Tintin.

Explore the exciting world of The Adventures of Tintin in the official iPhone & iPad game of the movie! Treasure and adventure await those who seek to unravel the Secret of the Unicorn!

NEW THRILLS AT EVERY TURN
Sneak your way past guards, engage in a swordfight, pilot a plane, solve puzzles, race a camel and discover many more exciting experiences.

MEET TINTIN’S FRIENDS
Tintin can’t do this alone! He’ll need the help of his friends. You’ll take control of his dog Snowy, Captain Haddock and even the legendary Sir Francis Haddock during the great Age of Pirates.

FUN FOR EVERYONE
Players of all ages will enjoy the game. Accessible controls allow you to easily interact with the environment. With just a swipe of your finger (or a tilt of your device), you’ll be exploring the world, collecting items, and fighting off villains.

A BEAUTIFUL, 3D WORLD
Every building and character was carefully recreated in stunning 3D graphics that perfectly matches the style of the movie. See for yourself what it’s like to walk through Marlinspike Mansion, the desert, and the Karaboudjan ship.

£4.99

It’s half term (well it is where I am) this week and this week’s app is a new game based on the recently released Tintin film.

The iPad (and the iPhone) are fantastic gaming devices, when I first bought the iPad one of the reasons I bought it for myself was (at the time) I thought the main use of the iPad would be for video and casual gaming. Since then I have been very surprised by how much I use the iPad for lots of different things. I have also found it very useful for work, research, reading, writing and doing lots of other stuff (well have a look at all the apps I have reviewed).

One area where I probably have used the iPad less is in the more indepth serious game. It’s one thing to use the iPad to play a single game of Boggle or Solitaire, it’s another thing to spend a fair bit of time playing an adventure game. However there are some splendid games out there, my family really enjoyed playing Lego Harry Potter for example which I reviewed here.

Tintin is a similar indepth game that has beautiful graphics and certainly reflects the look and feel of the new Spielberg film.

So what about the gameplay? Well to be honest I haven’t played it yet, so no idea, mainly as I want to watch the film first before I play the game. When I was younger I enjoyed reading the Tintin books and have been looking forward to this film for a while now.

So purely on looks I am recommending this game, as for gameplay, well I’ll let you know once I have had a game after watching the film!

Get Tintin in the iTunes App Store.

app of the week, iphone

Optiscan – iPhone App of the Week

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Optiscan – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Optiscan.

Scan any QR code quickly and easily using your devices camera and Optiscan.

  • Create your own QR codes to share contacts, web addresses, text messages, phone numbers or locations with others.
  • Contrary to some reviews, it IS possible to create geo-location codes – use the ‘Note’ option to type (or copy/paste) the information in. This will be made easier in version 1.9.2 – due very soon!
  • Save to Photo album by holding down on the QR code image and selecting ‘Save Image’
  • Automatically scan a wide variety of QR code data formats
  • Save specific QR codes for quick sharing – perfect for sharing your business card!
  • Keep a history of QR codes created and scanned for easy recall.
  • Want to scan or generate codes in French? Japanese? No problem! Optiscan supports UTF-8, ISO-8859, and Shift-JIS.
  • Select the contact details you want to send, so the right people get the right information.
  • Found a QR code on the web? You don’t need two devices. Save the image to the photo gallery from Safari (tap and hold the image) – and Optiscan will decode them for you!
  • Optiscan runs without a network connection, and keeps your data private. Why put up with anything less?

£1.49

QR Codes do seem to be going mainstream at the moment and there are lots of people who are now embedding and using them in education.

In my own college one of the Sports Lecturers on a newsletter about College Sport put in a QR code that linked to a Flickr page with more photographs on.

The iPhone doesn’t come with a QR code reader and the older iPhones, the 3G and the 3GS, had a poor quality camera that often failed to render QR codes properly. When I had a 3GS I tried a few free QR code reader apps, but in the end after reading a review bought Optiscan.

Of course the camera in the iPhone 4 and the 4S is superior to previous cameras and as a result the newer iPhones are much better at reading QR codes.

It did the job really well, so have stuck with it since then.

It reads virtually all the QR codes I have thrown at it. I also like how it retains a history of all the QR codes I have read.

There are free QR code readers that work well on the iPhone 4 such as the QR Reader for iPhone that probably means paying for a reader isn’t necessary. However if you have the older 3GS or 3G have problems with one of the free readers then I would recommend Optiscan.

Get Optiscan in the iTunes Store.

app of the week, ipad

Virtual History, Roma & Firenze – iPad Apps of the Week

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Virtual History, Roma & Firenze – iPad Apps of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s Apps are Virtual History, Roma & Virtual History, Firenze

Firenze – Virtual History, a three-dimensional journey using your iPad through the city that invented the Renaissance. Enter this epicenter of art, invention and history and even explore in detail masterpieces like those of Dante, Leonardo and Michelangelo.


Mondadori presents a fantastic voyage to Ancient Rome, the capital of the largest empire in the ancient world, which has been reconstructed in virtual form and which you can explore in a “full-immersion” panoramic experience.

£6.99 each

I was discussing with my team the other day on whether we should be placing iPads into the libraries at the college to provide additional resources and content for learners. There have been quite a few projects and trials that have shown the value of library users having access to the iPad for research and reading. The iPads would not replace existing paper resources or online content, but would supplement and enhance. I hope to expand on these ideas in a later blog post.

As a result I have started to look at the type of content we could put on the iPad, the DK Human Body (that I covered in a previous post in this series) was an obvious one for biology or anatomy.

For arts, history and travel & tourism I found these two apps (from the same publisher) that I feel would be useful for learners on those courses. Both the apps have an “immersive” experience that allows the users to explore both these famous cities using the touch interface of the iPad.

These apps would introduce the learner to these great cities and would be a starting point before moving onto for example for travel & tourism students we might also have on the iPad, the Rough Guide to Rome. We would also place e-books onto the iPads for additional detailed and indepth content, as well as content and links from practitioners.

app of the week, ipad

DK The Human Body – iPad App of the Week

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DK The Human Body – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is DK The Human Body.

A ground-breaking look into the human body that offers highly accurate, visual and accessible information. The wonders of human anatomy are explored and explained in a way that offers hours of learning, fun and entertainment.

Designed for everyone with an interest in the subject, the Human Body app is a must-have reference. With enough detail to satisfy the demanding student, the app also offers rich illustrations and features for the casual browser. This is the perfect gift for yourself or someone who loves to learn.

£9.99

I was recently asked on Twitter how the iPad could be used for science. As well as obvious ideas about using it for data collection and web access, one idea I put forward was about using the many science based apps that are now available.

In previous posts in this series I have written about Pocket Heart, Merck PSE HD and Eureka.

Eureka is an iPad magazine on the science of sport and has a really interesting and interactive interface for accessing different aspects of sports science complete with images, video and audio.

Merck PSE covers the perodic table, though if you want an even better experience check out Elements.

Pocket Heart is a really nice app that looks at the anatomy of the heart which has won respect from many science teachers and medical practitioners.

What DK The Human Body does is cover (as you can guess from the name) the whole human body.

According to many medical practitioners and science teachers I have spoken to, this is a excellent app for any learner studying human anatomy.

As well as been an engaging interactive app, it also has the necessary detail required by relevant courses, even for medical students according to one review!

So if you are studying (or teaching) human anatomy, take a look at this app.

app of the week, iphone

Paper Camera – iPhone App of the Week

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Paper Camera – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Paper Camera.

Real time cartoon and painting effects painted on your camera video feed!! See the world through a new,original,stylish and captivating lens, have a wonder in your own home and discover how cool is now your world in cartoon!

This is the ultimate collection of cartoon/sketch/comic book/halfone/noir/neon and many other effects painted directly in your camera, no more boring post-effects, it’s all real time, you simply won’t stop wandering, wherever you are, having a look at things and cartoon-ize them!

We’ve packed this app with many stylish cartoon-style filters, so you would never get bored!

Import your existing pictures and paper-ize them, they will look absolutely stunning, we just couldn’t stop looking at them, take a another one, paper-ize it, and then looking at it, pretty much forever…

£0.69

This really nice image manipulation app creates cartoon or sketch like images from either your photographs, or applies the filter in real time so you can see what your image will look like through the live image from the camera.

You can through the interface convert live camera footage into a sketch, cartoon or pencil drawing image in real time, use the camera button to capture the image through the live filter.

Of course been able to apply the filter to photographs in your photo library is probably more useful in the creation of learning resources. However one downside of this is that browsing for images is restricted to only your whole photo library and you can’t look into individual albums. So if you have a lot of photographs on your iPhone then this could be difficult to find existing images.

Once you have created these images they are saved to the photo library, so you can then use them for handouts, presentations, on the VLE; so you enhance and enrich learning resources. This is also an ideal tool to use with comic creation apps such as Comic Life or ComicBook!

Some images work better than others, so you may not always get the image that you hope for.

Paper Camera has an advantage that it is an universal app so works on the iPad and the iPod touch as well as the iPhone.

Paper Camera costs just 69 pence and is well worth the money for the clever images you can create using it. Get Paper Camera in the App Store.

app of the week, ipad, iphone, ipod touch

ComicBook! – iPhone App of the Week

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ComicBook! – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is ComicBook!

ComicBook! is the FULL featured comic book creation app!

In only seconds, turn yourself and your friends into comic heroes or villains. Be the star in your own comic book adventures.

Realistic comic styling with a wide selection of: image filters, comic fonts, customizable captions, a library of classic comic graphics and dozens of multi-panel page layouts.

£1.49

If you downloaded Halftone recently following my review of it a few weeks ago and are now looking to do something more than just the single image in Halftone then you might want to have a look at one of the more dedicated comic creation app.

If you have an iPhone or iPod touch then I would suggest you have a look at ComicBook!

It allows you to quickly create a comic strip using existing photographs or you can take some with your built in camera. You can, after choosing a layout add those images, either from the library or take them with the camera.

Continue reading ComicBook! – iPhone App of the Week →

app of the week, ipad, iphone

Documents To Go Premium – Office Suite – iPad App of the Week

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Documents To Go Premium – Office Suite – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Documents To Go Premium – Office Suite

“DocsToGo Premium” lets you:

  • EDIT, CREATE & VIEW Word, Excel & PowerPoint files (Office 2007/2008/2010)
  • View PDF, iWork & other files
  • iPad/iPhone 4/iOS 4: Send & receive attachments using the built-in Mail app
  • Access, view, edit & sync supported files stored in Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, iDisk & SugarSync

Free desktop app (Win & Mac) with 2way file sync (WIFI required)

Download, view, edit & sync supported files from Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, iDisk & SugarSync directly in DocsToGo

£11.99

Though I am a great fan of Pages and Keynote on the iPad, there is one app that I went out and bought in addition to them, and that was Documents To Go.

It is an app for viewing, creating and editing word processing document, spreadsheets and presentations. The focus is on working with Microsoft Office files.

Now there are two versions of Documents To Go, the standard version and the premium version. The standard version is £6.99, whilst the premium version is £11.99.

The standard Documents To Go app lets you:

  • View, edit & create Word files
  • View, edit & create Excel files
  • View PowerPoint, iWork, PDF and other files
  • Synchronize files with an included desktop application.

So if your workflow is focused on Word and Excel and you are happy with moving files either by your e-mail or using iTunes, then get the standard app.

You can either get the files from your e-mail, through iTunes or use the free desktop app to sync your files (through wifi) between the iPad and your computer.

Documents To Go Premium has the same functionality as “Documents To Go” but also lets you:

  • Edit & create PowerPoint files
  • View, edit & sync files stored in Google Docs, Box.net, Dropbox, iDisk & SugarSync

It’s nice to be able to edit PowerPoint files from the iPad and save them in the native PPT format. If you have to share and collaborate on presentations then importing them into Keynote and exporting them out again isn’t really an option. Documents To Go at least for most presentations works much better.

It was the final feature that was the dealbreaker for me, I do use Google Docs a lot and at the time I bought this App this was the only way to importantly read and edit Google Docs from the iPad.

You can now of course edit Google Docs from the browser (for free) but it isn’t an entirely user friendly experience and I still use Documents To Go for editing and creating Google Docs on the iPad.

However I do use Dropbox a lot and this functionality means I can easily view and edit files from my Dropbox.

You can upgrade the standard version with an in-app purchase but this will cost you an extra fifty pence!

The app is an universal app and therefore also works on the iPhone or the iPod touch. Due to the screensize I find this less satisfactory for creating and editing, but for viewing it is very useful.

If you, and I suspect, most people reading this do, need to deal with Office documents on a daily basis and you want to do this on your iPad then Documents To Go is the ideal application for this. I have not been disappointed with the app and it makes it much easier to deal with all those documents I seem to get in my e-mail.

Get Documents To Go in the iTunes Store.

app of the week, ipad, iphone

Halftone – iPad App of the Week

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Halftone – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Halftone it is an universal app available for both iPad and iPhone.

Halftone adds an aged halftone-style printing effect to photos to give them a unique, vintage look. With 27 paper styles, nine built-in layouts, two caption styles, six different speech balloon styles, 24 stamps, and the ability to choose a font (including three embedded fonts), photos can be customized, then saved to the photo album, sent via e-mail, shared with friends on Facebook and Twitter, and printed.

£0.69

I do like this app, it is quick and easy to use and the results are pretty nice. What the app does is take one of your photographs and adds an aged vintage comic style look to it.

Continue reading Halftone – iPad App of the Week →

app of the week, ipad

Bamboo Paper – iPad App of the Week

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Bamboo Paper – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Bamboo Paper.

Enjoy the ease of your own natural handwriting as you sketch your thoughts on a neat digital paper note book.

Bamboo Paper, a seriously fun new app from Wacom, provides you with the ability to create virtual notebooks for your iPad, letting you share your ideas visually with handwritten notes, sketches or doodles. Paired with the Bamboo Stylus, it turns your iPad into the ultimate paperless communications tool for use at:

  • School – map out math and science equations, compose music, create arts and crafts projects, learn proper penmanship, write non-Western language characters (think Chinese, Japanese and Arabic)
  • Work – Communicate with charts and graphs, collaborate during brainstorming sessions, sketch a design while on the go
  • Home – jot down grocery lists, rough-out landscaping and home improvement designs, entertain kids with coloring and drawing activities at home or in the car
  • What else can the Bamboo Paper app do?
  • Quickly scan your book by browsing through thumbnail images of your pages
  • Share your ideas – send an individual page or an entire book by e-mail
  • Present your thoughts to a group – connect your iPad to a projector to show off your sketches and ideas to others at meetings and brainstorm sessions
  • Print an individual page or entire book
  • Mark important notes by bookmarking individual pages
  • Who is Bamboo Paper designed for and what are some key benefits?
  • It’s for everyone especially for creative people like you.
  • In Short it’s for: note taking, sketching, doodling, inking plus:
  • Environmentally friendly – no paper waste
  • Free flow thinking
  • Capturing thoughts and ideas
  • Mind mapping, brainstorming
  • Use the app as a journal or for travel notes
  • Using it at work for meeting minutes
  • Doing homework

Bamboo Paper is designed by Wacom, the company dedicated to creating harmony between technology and you! Millions of Bamboo users worldwide can’t be wrong!

Free

On the surface, Bamboo is a nice simple free drawing app for the iPad. Using your finger you an draw diagrams, make notes and draw doodles. You can then e-mail the page, save it as an image or if you have a compatible printer you can print the page.

Where Bamboo Paper I think will excel is if you use the Bamboo stylus. An ordinary stylus won’t work on the iPad, but a specially designed stylus will. Wacom the people behind the Bamboo Paper App have produced a Bamboo Stylus for the iPad.

Using the Bamboo Stylus further enhances numerous applications designed for the iPad by allowing users to express themselves and personalise their work. The pen brings a more accurate and precise way to take notes in meetings and classroom settings or to sketch out rough ideas while on the go. It gives creative thinkers the opportunity to be expressive and visualise their life.

The authentic and satisfying feel of the pen is achieved through subtle design elements, such as a sophisticated black and silver design with satin-textured metal body, a focus on ergonomic comfort and balanced weighting of the pen. In addition, the fine tip gives the user more detail control.

Ideal for handwriting notes, giving a personal touch when editing documents, drawing, sketching and much more, the Bamboo Stylus enriches the way in which users interact with their iPad. Users can now be even more creative, using it in the way that suits them.

Looks great, but does cost £24.99 however there are other iPad stylus out there and a quick search on Amazon brings up the Pogo Sketch Stylus for just £6.99 (+£3.99 shipping). Alas I haven’t had a chance to use either, but am tempted to buy the Pogo stylus. I think for apps such as Bamboo Paper will be great and even better for art apps such as Sketchbook Pro.

One limitation of the free version of Bamboo Paper is you only get one notebook, however you can buy twenty more notebooks as an in-app purchase for just £1.49.

Bamboo Paper is a really simple app that does very little, which is it’s real strength. If you want to draw diagrams or make notes, then Bamboo Paper is great for that. Looks like it would work even better with a stylus.

Get Bamboo Paper in the iTunes Store.