AppAdvice App Of The Week For May 11, 2012

Every week, our staff will handpick an app from the past seven days that we believe is a must-download for your iPhone or iPad. These apps will always be from various categories, but they are chosen because our own staff members love it and have been using them daily. So here are this week’s picks! Enjoy!

Before all of the various photo sharing apps, Twitpic was the best way to share your photos on Twitter. Even though there are plenty of apps available for photo sharing, it’s still nice to see Twitpic come into the game with their own native iPhone app.

To use Twitpic, all you have to do is log in to your existing Twitter account (via iOS 5 integration or manually). Once that’s completed, you’re able to immediately start viewing and uploading photos.

You can view photos from your Twitter friends, although these will be restricted to Twitpic photos only, so no Instagram or Gifture images, unfortunately. You can even view the popular Twitpics, if you’re looking for something interesting.

To upload your own photos, just tap on the camera button. You can snap a new photo or import from your Photo Library. The nice thing about Twitpic, when compared to something like Instagram, is the fact that there are more editing options. You can crop, rotate, or adjust the brightness of the selected image. Of course, there are also filters to apply, which are provided from Avairy, a popular photo editor.

The only negative thing about Twitpic is the fact that you can only view other Twitpic images, and not everything that shows up in your Twitter timeline. The images that you upload are only sent to Twitter as well, and are not saved locally on your Camera Roll. However, if you just want to do a quick upload to share with your followers, then this app is great for that.

The app is free, so it doesn’t hurt to give it a try, especially if you are already using Twitpic to share images on Twitter.

Check out our original review here.

If you’re a fan of Japanese manga and anime, then this one is for you. Manga Rock 2 is a new reading app for manga, and you can access thousands of titles for free. Currently, the free version gives you access to the full library of titles, though you will be limited to one download at a time. An in-app purchase of $0.99 (for a limited time, normal price will be $3.99) will allow you to download more than one title at a time.

Manga Rock 2 currently has over 10,000 titles through the MangaReader, MangaFox and MangaEden catalogs. However, it is important to note that some of the more popular titles, such as “Naruto,” “One Piece,” and “Death Note” are not available in Manga Rock 2, though these are actually available on the sites.

Users are able to read all titles when they are connected to a Wi-Fi network, but once a title is downloaded, you can read it offline. Once an issue is completed, it will change color in the list so that you know you’ve already gone through it. New issues will be indicated with a marker, so you’re always on top of your manga reading.

The free app is a great way to get your manga fix, so make sure to check it out if you’re into this stuff.

Check out our original review here.

Are you ready to ditch your bank? Simple is a new startup is looking to change the way you bank (in the U.S.), and the only tools that are required will be a Simple Visa debit card and your iPhone [for depositing checks]. Additionally, you will be able to set up direct deposit, earn interest, pay bills, transfer money, and have access to over 40,000 no-fee ATMs across the country.

The new banking service is currently available to a limited amount of people, and you will have to request an invitation to get in. Judging from their Twitter account, batches of invites will be sent out beginning in late spring/early summer (depending on how long ago you requested an invite — people began requesting invites in 2010).

Despite most people not being able to get in, the iOS app was just released this week. Put simply (see what I did there?), it’s one of the most beautiful apps I’ve seen. It also has features that other banking apps don’t have, such as the Safe-to-Spend Balance, which lets you see how much money you can safely spend at the moment. You can even keep memos on your transactions, edit details, search, and much more.

The app is definitely worth checking out now, and make sure you request your invite ASAP if you want to ditch your brick and mortar bank. Once I get my hands on an invite, be sure to stay tuned for a full review from me here on AppAdvice!

For video coverage of these apps in action, make sure to check out the Robin’s AppAdvice Daily below!

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