The Best iPad Apps Of The Week

The AppAdvice iPad App Of The Week: Addictive Synth, $5.99, Released July 24 Addictive Synth Brings Huge Features And Crystal Presets To The iPad Addictive Synth by VirSyn offers a mountain of synth potential on the iPad. It has never been easier to create your own wicked loops and synth productions, and with the amount of customization the app has to offer, your creative potential will never again be stifled by a lack of tweaking options. Addictive Synth is a slick virtual keyboard and synthesizer interface for the iPad, bringing professional grade music production to your device’s screen. As a synth, the app boasts a huge list of features: Six dynamic wavetable oscillators per voice, continuous morphing between double oscillator sets, live editing of filters, hefty modulation customization, a control matrix that allows real time editing of up to five parameters, and 128 factory sound presets. New Releases Hills of Glory: WWII Premium HD, $3.99, Released July 26 Hills Of Glory: WWII Premium HD Brings Heaps Of Revisionist, Defense-Based Shooting Hills of Glory: WWII Premium HD by Bulkypix brings a cartoony, castle defense based perspective to World War II that’s both exciting, hilarious, and wickedly immersive. The game can be a bit dull at times (did real troops have to grind for experience?) but is worth every penny for fans of the genre. Like "Army of Darkness Defense HD," or the massively popular "Plants vs. Zombies" series, Hills of Glory: WWII HD has you defending your home base from wave after wave of enemy soldiers. To defeat baddies, you’ll need to tap them on-screen, nullifying their assault with various weapons at your command. The Smurfs Movie Storybook – Children’s Book, $2.99 & Universal, Released July 26 Join Papa Smurf, Smurfette And Crew On Their NY Adventure With The Latest From iStoryTime The Smurfs will be hitting the big screen this Friday, but you and your kids won't have to wait until the end of the week to join Papa Smurf, Smurfette and crew on their New York adventure thanks to the latest release from iStoryTime.

“We’re very excited to bring some of the most beloved little blue characters in history to the iOS platform,” said Graham Farrar, co-founder of iStoryTime. “The Smurfs are a favorite of my family, as they have been for generations, and we’re sure parents and their children will enjoy the new storybook app.”

Sylvester’s Band, $4.99 & Universal, Released July 27 Universal Sylvester's Band Arrives For Kids Of All Ages Sylvester’s Band is a delightful and brilliant new interactive book that just arrived for the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad. The book tells the story of how Henry the raccoon volunteers to find Sylvester the owl’s missing band members before a big party in Firefly Forest. Created by Uncle Handsalt, Sylvester's Band combines 35 beautifully illustrated pages with amazing sound. It helps children, 2 and up, learn about different musical instruments as they are encouraged to explore each page by touching the world and characters on the screen. Ultimate Sharks, $4.99, Released July 27 First Look: Ultimate Sharks First launched in 1996, Discovery Channel’s Shark Week is one of television’s most anticipated yearly events. Now, the team at Discovery has released Ultimate Sharks, a new interactive book exclusively for the iPad. Ultimate Sharks (473 MB) examines the ten deadliest sharks on the planet include the Great White, Hammerhead, and Tiger Shark. In addition to offering summary information about each shark, the app includes a fantastic feature called 3D Interactive that lets you control the sharks with your fingertip to make them swim, hunt, and attack. Gesundheit! HD, $1.99, Released July 28 Arcade-Puzzler Gesundheit! Offers Some Amazing Visuals Gesundheit! and Gesundheit! HD have already hit the NZ App Store and should be available on the U.S. App Store later tonight. The game is an arcade-style puzzler played from a top-down perspective. The game is being brought to you by Konami and the developers at Revolutionary Concepts. You take the role of a pig with allergies who needs to help fellow villagers escape the wrath of monsters. His village was destroyed and he has to make his way to safety along with the villagers through a variety of levels. Skyfire VideoQ™ (Universal), $1.99 & Universal, Released July 28 Skyfire Launches New App - Skyfire VideoQ™: View Flash Videos You Discover In Safari For iOS Skyfire has recently released a new, universal iOS application that allows users to watch Flash videos they encounter in Safari for iOS. The application, Skyfire VideoQ™, is currently available to download in the App Store for $1.99. While Skyfire's other application - Skyfire Web Browser - is an iOS browser that converts Flash content over to HTML5, Skyfire VideoQ allows users to browse the Web in Safari for iOS, and send Flash videos to the application via the "Mail Link to this Page" option. The URL is emailed to users' video "queue," and can be played once Skyfire VideoQ™ is launched. TableTop, $4.99, Released July 28 TableTop Audio Mixer Arrives For iPad Musicians will absolutely love the new TableTop app for iPad, arriving today in the App Store. Created by Retronyms, Tabletop is the first app built for iPad featuring audio devices that users can mix and match. With fifteen available devices, including instruments, effects, mixers, and controllers. Users can build complex musical compositions from scratch or expand one of the existing ten demo songs or six templates. Best of all, users can expand their studio at any time, buying only the gear they need from a growing catalog. U.S. News Weekly for the iPad, Free, Released July 28 U.S. News & World Report Weekly Arrives On The iPad U.S. News Weekly for the iPad is now available in the App Store. Best of all, you can tryout one issue of the publication for absolutely free. First published in 1933 as United States News, U.S. News & World Report until recently served alongside Time and Newsweek as one of the nation’s top weekly news magazines. However, beginning in January, it became an Internet-only publication known and is known today as U.S. News Weekly. For $.99 per month, users can access the iPad version of U.S. News Weekly through an in-app purchase. For $19.95/year, you’ll also have access to the publication’s desktop edition as well. Updates Syfy for iPad, Free, Updated July 26 Syfy For iPad Brings Channel And Show Information To The Big Screen Syfy for iPad by NBC Universal, Inc. brings a wealth of information about the network’s programs to the iPad, including photos, videos, in-depth schedules, and links to various Syfy memorabilia. The app is a gorgeous utility for diehard fans of the science fiction powerhouse, and serves as the perfect compliment to an evening of geeky entertainment. Syfy for iPad isn’t perfect, but it’s smooth interface and trove of factoids is guaranteed to satisfy the nerd in you. Ustream, Free & Universal, Updated July 26 Ustream Offers Free Streaming Of Live & Recorded Content Via Your iPad Ustream has arrived for the iPad. Originally available only on the iPhone/iPod touch, the free app is now universal. It makes it easy to watch and stream content, and interact with audiences all over the world. Created by the folks at Ustream.tv website, the app allows you to watch live and recorded content 24/7. Plus, iPad 2 buyers can stream their own content directly from the iDevice; both live and recorded. Videos are organized by categories and include News, Sports, and Gaming, just to name a few. NOOK for iPad, Free, Updated July 29 NOOK For iPad App Now Offering Magazine And Newspaper Subscriptions Barnes & Noble has just updated its free NOOK for iPad app, which now lets customers read full-color, interactive magazines and newspapers. In total, 175 titles are available as the new option launches. Already offered via its NOOK Color device, Barnes & Noble’s magazine service allows readers to purchase titles via subscription and as single copies. Best of all, each title comes with a 14-day trial. Zinio Magazine Newsstand & Reader, Free & Universal, Updated July 29 Zinio Gets An Update, Adds In-App Purchasing And Article Previews The popular iPad application, Zinio Magazine Newsstand & Reader, has recently received an update. Now, users of the application can purchase magazines in-app and enjoy article previews. Furthermore, the app has received significant performance improvements, meaning it's now faster and more stable than ever before. The Best iPad Apps Of The Week is published each weekend; a companion piece, The Best iPhone Apps Of The Week, is published separately. Attention developers: If you would like your app to be considered for one of our “Best Of” lists, please me know by sending me a treat @bryanmwolfe. Note: Your app must have been new or updated in the last week to make the current list.