The Best New And Updated Apps Of The Week
March 11, 2012
Each week, Appadvice offers what we feel are the best apps of the past week - plus, one we felt could have been much better.
AppAdvice App Of The Week:
Day One, Updated March 8, $1.99 (Universal), Original Article
Day One, the journal app that is just so well-designed that it gained a well-deserved entry in the AppAdvice Top 10: Best Paid iPhone Apps of 2011 list, has once again been updated with new features to make journaling more convenient, not only on your iPhone but also on your iPad.
Version 1.5.5 of Day One promises bug fixes, of course, which should improve the app’s round-the-clock support for certain regional formats as well as its integration with iCloud, a feature that messed up some users’ data when it was introduced to the app a couple of months ago as an alternative to Dropbox syncing. Some minor appearance improvements, including a redesigned menu screen, boldface for titles in list view, font style options, a better-looking app icon and support for the new iPad’s Retina display, are also shipped with the update. I’m not a fan of sound effects in productivity apps, but if you’re into those, you can also expect the popping and clicking of new sounds in the new version.
Other New and Updated Apps
ABC Family, Released March 5, Free (Universal), Original article
Good news, fans of ABC Family! Now you can watch your favorite shows on the go. The new free, universal app contains a selection of episodes you can watch right on your iDevice. It contains a schedule of upcoming shows so you know when new episodes will be airing.
The following shows are included in the app: “Jane By Design,” “Make It Or Break It,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Switched At Birth,” “The Lying Game,” and “The Secret Life Of The American Teenager.”
Fast Camera, Updated March 4, Free (Universal), Original article
One of the more noteworthy photography apps available on the iPhone/iPod touch is now universal. Fast Camera lets you take up to 800 photos a minute. Best of all, for a limited time, the app is absolutely free.
Created by i4software, Fast Camera makes it easy to capture live action photos, including group photos and self-portraits in both landscape and portrait mode. Now, for the first time, the app is available on the iPad 2, where you can take up to 720 photos per minute.
AP Mobile, Updated March 5, Free (Universal), Original article
The Associated Press this week announced the release of a major redesign of its popular iOS app, AP Mobile. First released in August 2008, the free app has received numerous updates since that time, most recently in December. Now, for the first time, the app is universal and available on the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.
AP Mobile Version 5.0 includes a significantly new visual design that goes beyond the latest news headlines by introducing rich content available exclusively on the app. Two new sections in particular are most significant; Big Stories and Local News.
TouchTunes, Updated March 5, Free (iPhone), Original article
TouchTunes, a companion app to the myTouchTunes digital jukebox service, has primarily high ratings thus far in the App Store. Despite that fact, TouchTunes Interactive performed a major user interface overhaul on the iOS app and enhanced portions of the service with easier management and additional perks.
To begin, the root sections of the app have been rearranged for more convenience. The Home section is still, obviously, first, which is now followed by the Locations area, then myMusic, then Search, and ending with myWallet. If you don’t recall, myWallet was a separate button at the top-right of nearly every screen, and is now embedded into the bottom navigation bar where it should be.
WallitApp, Updated March 6, Free (iPhone), Original article
Strategically timed to coincide with Apple’s iPad Announcement, a new social app that blends augmented reality with location awareness is now available worldwide in the App Store.
The unique app, titled WallitApp, allows those at a specific location to write on a virtual wall for others to see. For example, the developers have set up walls at Yerba Buena, where the Apple event will take place, as well as multiple Apple Stores.
iMovie, Updated March 7, $4.99 (Universal), Original article
Apple also announced a major update to iMovie at today’s event. Among the new features is the ability to create movie trailers, just like on the Mac version.
While discussing the new update, Apple officials said iMovie, just like the newly announced iPhoto, has been designed to take advantage of the new iPad’s Retina quality screen.
The update will also allow users of the new iPad to shoot 1080p video, thanks to the updated camera on the tablet that features image stabilization, face detection and auto white balance.
There will be nine movie trailer templates for users to choose from in the update.
iA Writer, Updated March 8, $.99 (Universal), Original article
The new iA Writer is one of my favorite apps, ever. On my iPad, it has a permanent spot in the Dock, and I even use it daily on my MacBook Pro to write articles on AppAdvice for you guys. And now? Well, now it’s finally available on your iPhone!
I’ve been eagerly awaiting this one for a long time, and I’m really glad to see it here.
For those who unaware of iA Writer, it’s a bare-bones text editor. There are no settings to adjust, because the developers want you to focus on actually writing, nothing else. This is one of the best features that a text editor can do, in my personal opinion, and I really appreciate it.
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Biggest Disappointment Of The Week
iPhoto, Released March 7, $4.99 (Universal), Original article
The new iPhoto app by Apple is finally here for your iOS device. About time, right?
Personally, I would have preferred if this app was free and came with the iOS 5.1 update that came out yesterday, possibly replacing Photos. But I digress.
The app itself can be described as “beautiful,” if you like the whole skeuomorphic thing that Apple has been doing, like with Calendar, Address Book, Game Center, and others. In the case of iPhoto for iOS, it’s the classic photo-albums-on-shelves metaphor that Apple is going for — sea foam green glass shelves that hold your leather-bound photo albums. If you ask me, it looks a bit … tacky. But I simply hate skeuomorphism with a passion.
That’s all folks, until next week!
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The Best New and Updated Apps Of The Week is published each weekend at AppAdvice.com.
Attention developers: If you would like your app to be considered for one of our “Best Of” lists, please let me know by sending a tweet @bryanmwolfe. Note: Your app must have been new or updated in the last week to make the current list.
