The Best iPad Apps Of The Week, October 2-8, 2011

The AppAdvice iPad App Of The Week: Toca Store, $1.99 & Universal, Released October 6 Kids Will Love Toca Store - The Latest App From Toca Boca The folks behind the popular app, Toca Hair Salon app have released what could be their most extraordinary children’s app to date. The universal Toca Store arrived today in the App Store. Created by Swedish-based Toca Boca, the app lets youngsters run their own Store by allowing them to be both storekeeper and customer. The end result is simply fantastic. New Releases Mind Puzzle, Free & Universal, Released October 4 Fill Up The Grid Before Time Runs Out In Mind Puzzle Mind Puzzle by Khagesh Patel is a puzzle game with an incomplete grid of circles which all have to be filled up. The circles are either blue or orange, while the bottom are shapes made of connected circle pieces which are also colored blue or orange. You have to use the pieces along the bottom to perfectly fill up the displayed grid. To use a piece, tap it so it is brought into the foreground. Tap it again to change its orientation if necessary then drag it to where it needs to go. Updated Word Ball, $1.99 & Universal, Updated October 3 If You Like Word Games Like Boggle, Give Word Ball A Try Word Ball by Continuous Integration Inc. is similar to games like Boggle and Scramble for iOS, but with the letters in constant motion. It adds a nice twist, making it more challenging and actually pretty enjoyable. There are three gameplay modes in this word game, but, to be honest, they aren't very different. Classic mode is the regular gameplay, frenzy is faster paced, and sprint mode gives you only nine letters to work with, rather than the entire alphabet. Evri for iPad, Free, Updated October 4 Read Worldwide Topics With Evri For iPad Evri for iPad by Evri gathers current topics from around the world and delivers them in a single package. The categories include Top News, Entertainment, Sports, Business, and Technology. Selecting any of them will bring up the current topics. Select a topic, and you can swipe through a stream of related articles. There’s not much difference in viewing the articles in portrait or landscape mode, so orient your iPad however you’d like. The developers market the app as a solution for filtering through the clutter on the Web to bring up relevant articles. The articles are set against a wooden background with black banners at the top and bottom of the screen. Slam Dunk King, Free & Universal, Updated October 8 Fly High As You Aim For The Hoop In Slam Dunk King Slam Dunk King (Free) by PikPok is an arcade sports game where your only real goal is to get as many basketballs into the hoop as possible. It's how you do it that will affect your score at the end. The game has a variety of environments to play in and balls to shoot, but they have to be unlocked by earning crowns (an in-game currency) or by achieving high scores. There are three modes: Time Attack, Arcade, and Sudden Death. Initially only Time Attack is available. Other Notables Discovery Kids Sharks, $4.99, Released October 3 Hotels.com HD, Free, Updated October 3 Isle of Tune HD, $2.99, Released October 6 Jaws Revenge, $.99 & Universal, Updated October 8 Early Bird HD, Free, Updated October 4 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 tweet @bryanmwolfe. Note: Your app must have been new or updated in the last week to make the current list.