148Apps Main |
- Twitpic Photo/Video Loader Review
- PhatPad Gets Phatter With 1.2 Update
- Tapper World Tour Review
- Waltzing Through Vienna Offers a Viennese Tour Guide at a Budget Price
- GarageBand For iPad Review
- Find-U helps you track down your friends and family
- Spout Review
- CarZen for iPad Helps You Find Your New Car
- iRig and Amplitube Fender for iPad Review
- Professional Quality Recording App, VocaLive, Hits App Store
| Twitpic Photo/Video Loader Review Posted: 18 Mar 2011 12:03 PM PDT  Twitpic Photo/Video Loader ReviewBy Chantelle Joy Duxbury on March 18th, 2011Our Rating:   :: EASY VIDEO TWEETINGiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Twitpic Photo/Video Loader dares to offer what many twitter clients aren’t – TwitVid uploading on the fly, and additional video service options too!
Developer: iApp Ventures LLC Price: $0.99 iPhone Integration Rating: 3 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 3.17 out of 5 stars
Twitpic Photo/Video Loader does exactly what it says on the tin. In fact, with yFrog and Plixi support, it does a bit more. While the user interface is a bit clunky (I’ve seen worse), it works just fine at doing what it’s supposed to. To begin, as with any Twitter app, you’ll need to add an account. You can add multiple videos, but not upload to multiple sites at once. Once you’re logged in, go ahead and snap a photo, take a video, or select either from your library – it will compress and upload your media swiftly. I’m not being sarcastic, it was quite quick over wifi – obviously your mileage may vary, especially if using 3G. The url will automatically be pasted into the status field; all you need to do is add your text and tweet away! Like I said earlier, the UI is a bit clunky. The status message field is entirely too small for any reasonable message to be seen – this should seriously be fixed, it’s very annoying. The only other problem I’d say is that the button to send your tweet is labelled ‘Upload’ – which can be confusing considering you’ve already ‘Uploaded’ your pic or video – so perhaps changing that to “tweet” or some-such would confuse people less.
There is the option to view your timeline from within the App, but I’m sure you already have a preferred method to read your friends’ tweets, and will likely only use this to ensure your upload was successful. I do not suggest using this as your main Twitter app; however, until the official Twitter version gets video uploading, this a good one to have. The only other drawback you might find is that this app does cost $0.99 – keep in mind there are a couple of other ‘Free’ TwitVid uploading apps out there, so given this one’s slight issues, you may want to try those out first. However, I have no doubt that Twitpic Photo/Video Upload is much more feature rich and useful, it just needs a makeover. [ Twitpic Photo/Video Loader Review is a post from 148Apps ]  TwitPic Photo/Video Loader ~ PhotoUploader for Plixi ~ YFrogUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Buy Now: $0.99 Our Rating: Released: 2010-10-01 :: Category: Social Networking :: EASY VIDEO TWEETINGRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: TwitPic Photo/Video Loader ~ PhotoUploader for Plixi ~ YFrog |
| PhatPad Gets Phatter With 1.2 Update Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:30 AM PDT
PhatWare aims to bring the note taking experience to the next level with their 1.2 update for PhatPad. Not only does it have a load of great new features, it’s also on sale for $4.99 (was $7.99) in honor of the iPad 2′s release. Document organization has been improved by way of a new filing and sorting system. PhatWare has also put a great emphasis on sharing and syncing with Dropbox support and wifi file exchange. To top it off, there’s a background playback and recording feature for audio clips. Not taking on the iPad just got a little more intuitive.  PhatPadiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Buy Now: $4.99 Released: 2010-12-15 :: Category: Productivity [ PhatPad Gets Phatter With 1.2 Update is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: PhatPad |
| Posted: 18 Mar 2011 11:04 AM PDT  Tapper World Tour ReviewBy Jennifer Allen on March 18th, 2011Our Rating: :: FRANTIC FUNiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Tapper World Tour is a revitalised re-imagining of a 1980s Arcade classic.
Developer: Warner Bros Price: $0.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0 Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4 Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Having not played the original Tapper, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Tapper World Tour. Judging the metaphorical book by its cover however, I liked the look of a cartoon-like time management game, and that’s exactly what you get. Tapper World Tour is all about serving drinks as fast as possible while collecting up the empties and all round keeping everyone happy.
Tapper World Tour offers a few tricks up its sleeves in order to mix things up. In later stages, you have to concoct new drinks for your patrons, tapping a button to switch cocktails quickly while keeping everyone else happy. There’s also the addition of an entertainment button which puts on a show and keeps your customers still for a brief time, giving you time to catch up on serving. This is useful fairly early on in the game considering the speed at which customers progress. It’s not long before this turns into a frantic race against time, or should I say, drunk customers. There are also a few simple memory-style mini games between progressions, but they’re rather weak and forgettable. A worthy mention must go to the graphics of Tapper World Tour, courtesy of animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, best known for the film An American Tail and the arcade game Dragon’s Lair. They really add some much needed character to proceedings. Excluding the weak mini games, Tapper World Tour is pretty good fun. It’s not long before it’s quite tough, but it is fairly addictive. The touch screen controls work well (there are virtual d-pad controls available but they make the game more difficult, in my opinion). With over 100 levels in all, including a series of challenging Expert levels, there’s a lot to play and like here.
[ Tapper World Tour Review is a post from 148Apps ]  Tapper World TouriPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: $0.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-03-16 :: Category: Games / Action :: FRANTIC FUNRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Tapper World Tour |
| Waltzing Through Vienna Offers a Viennese Tour Guide at a Budget Price Posted: 18 Mar 2011 10:30 AM PDT Travel apps offer a dual purpose. If you’re travelling to the chosen area, you can consult them at every turn, helping you along the way. If you’re broke, such as I am at the moment, you can stare at the pretty pictures and dream of your next holiday. Earl Steinbicker, writer of guidebooks for over 25 years, brings you his guide to Vienna in the form of Waltzing Through Vienna. Hopefully it’ll cover these two purposes rather well.
Each location comes with a full description, links to its website, opening hours and prices. Descriptions of cafes and restaurants look to be particularly useful thanks to offering rough prices and a brief description of what kind of food is served. If you don’t fancy following a set route, you can always look up individual places which is a neat touch. Plus you don’t have to worry about data charges as the app only needs an internet connection if you want to load up one of the website links. While I can’t say I’ve tested Waltzing Through Vienna in Vienna itself, it certainly looks pretty appealing. Let us know if you head off to Vienna and give this a shot. For only $2.99 it looks pretty good. [ Waltzing Through Vienna Offers a Viennese Tour Guide at a Budget Price is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: Waltzing Through Vienna |
| Posted: 18 Mar 2011 10:04 AM PDT  GarageBand For iPad ReviewBy Timothy Smith on March 18th, 2011Our Rating:  :: MUSICIAN'S FRIENDiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Apple sets the bar and doesn’t disappoint with their portable music creation app.
Developer: Apple Price: $4.99 Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.58 out of 5 stars Ever since the iPad’s introduction people have wondered why GarageBand (or any of the other iLife software for that matter) wasn’t available. Rumors of its development came and went, and budding musicians across the nation grinded their teeth in anticipation. After a while other app developers began filling the void with various instrument apps, recording apps, and even sequencers, and while some of them were quite impressive, non of them offered the ease and versatility that Apple’s flagship music creation software is known for. There wasn’t anything quite like Apple’s GarageBand available anywhere except on Apple’s own line of computers and laptops, until now. When Apple introduced their latest generation iPad they released a whole set of iLife apps, and now GarageBand is more portable than ever before. The question is, was it worth the wait?
On the surface, the GarageBand app looks like a simple virtual instrument program with a selection screen for guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and some live recording options. You can select any of these options to reveal a realistic instrument layout. Then you can start toying around with all the effects or just simply begin playing. The guitar and bass both have several variations (acoustic, clean, muted, classical, etc.), and the keyboard affords you a whole range of organs, synths, and mallets. Even the drums go above and beyond expectation with realistic virtual drum sets, a beat sequencer (with an awesome randomizer for creating drum beats on the fly), and a classic looking electronic drum pad. Overall, the instruments sound believable and the interface remained glitch free and intuitive even when I attempted to play at a frantic pace.
The one major feature that sets GarageBand apart from the competition is its use of “smart” instruments. If you select a smart instrument you can sound like a pro with little to no musical knowledge. Basically you choose which instrument you want then twist an onscreen nob to decide on a preset pattern. Tap on a note and viola; the iPad will spit out a smooth sequence of sound. You can mash record and jump from note to note and make some pretty snazzy tunes. Some people might consider it cheating, but I found the option pretty useful. If you are a beginner it’s an obvious boon, but even more seasoned musicians can use it to easily add subtle layers to their own songs. I think it was a smart move on Apple’s part to include the “smart” instrument feature because it opens the doors for newcomers, and it makes some of the harder-to-play-on-a-touchscreen instruments (I’m looking at you, Mr. Guitar) sound more convincing.
Performance wasn’t an issue during my GarageBand sessions, and this surprised me because I am still rocking the original iPad. I did notice that the app had to optimize my song before recording when I was in the six to eight track range, but I didn’t experience any crashes or major hang-ups. The app simply shows a loading bar when it needs to optimize and ten seconds later you are ready to jam again. I am sure the iPad 2 doesn’t have to optimize as often with its beastly dual core processor, but rest assured you can still fully enjoy GarageBand with an old school (read, one year old) iPad. I’ve really only scratched the surface of what this musician’s dream of an app can do, so if you have any musical inclination whatsoever, I implore you to give it a try. Apple did a great job making their portable version of GarageBand accessible for beginners, but feature rich enough for real musicians. It isn’t going to replace a real studio set-up, but it’s definitely more than a novelty. Their price point is really competitive too. As I said before there are options within GarageBand that could’ve been separate apps altogether. Check out Apple’s demo video for an in depth preview of each instrument: [ GarageBand For iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]  GarageBandiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Buy Now: $4.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-03-10 :: Category: Music :: MUSICIAN'S FRIENDRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: GarageBand |
| Find-U helps you track down your friends and family Posted: 18 Mar 2011 09:30 AM PDT Have you ever gone out and then a few hours later discovered that a friend of yours was nearby but you had no idea? Wouldn’t it have been cool to have hung out? They’ve already got an iOS device, right? Of course they have. Then maybe you both need find-U the latest social networking app from ReadMe.
Initially you might feel a little concerned about safety issues. Fortunately there’s some great looking safety features that keep everything safe such as passwording for groups as well as parental controls. It’s all pretty detailed, keeping track of everything from the speed your friend is travelling at as well as how long they’ve been there and where they were previously. How useful it is will depend on your social life, but I can certainly see this being exceptionally handy on a night out when you’re trying to track down friends. find-U is available on the App Store for $2.99 at the moment. [ Find-U helps you track down your friends and family is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: find-U |
| Posted: 18 Mar 2011 09:04 AM PDT  Spout ReviewBy Bonnie Eisenman on March 18th, 2011Our Rating: :: A NICE IDEAiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Trying to read updates on Spout is like trying to drink from a firehose. It might be exhilarating at first, but it quickly becomes painful.
Developer: collect3 Price: $0.99 Version Reviewed: 1.0 iPhone Integration Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 2.67 out of 5 stars
Let’s step back a moment. When you first start Spout, you’ll have to input your login information for the news source(s) you want Spout to have access to. It’s a simple, seamless process. After that, Spout creates a carousel of sorts of updates. By default, it scrolls through from newest to oldest, and when new updates come they’re inserted into the carousel. Spout draws the text of each update out in a lovely, dynamic word-by-word animation that looks and feels like some sort of commercial. It’s hard to describe, so I recommend watching the video. While watching this stream of updates, you can also pause and open an item with an in-app browser, or go to the settings and tweak things like theme, the order in which updates are displayed, and text speed. Again, I have to reiterate: the video is the clearest explanation for what Spout looks like. The result is fluid and lovely, and yet…I found myself disliking Spout. Part of it is the app’s focus on “passive social reading experiences”—and doesn’t that catchphrase sound bizarre? For me, reading tweets or Facebook status updates shouldn’t be passive; what’s the point if you can’t comment or reply at will? Additionally, I found the constant scrolling to be annoying. Either the text would appear too slowly, making me impatient, or it would suddenly jump or rotate, which quickly resulted in a headache. Besides, Spout wrenches the control from your hands; you’re forced to become a captive to your screen and just absorb updates as they flow by. (While you can skip back to former posts, it’s a slow process that doesn’t always work.) Another, separate complaint I have is Spout’s handling of non-text media. You can’t zoom in on images, and videos don’t seem to load, which is rather disappointing. Spout sounds like a nice idea, and I have to say, it looks gorgeous. But functionally speaking, I can’t imagine anyone wanting to read their updates this way, as the purely passive nature of Spout is frustrating at best, and headache-inducing at worst. Spout gets points for its slick looks, but I won’t be keeping it around. [ Spout Review is a post from 148Apps ]  SpoutUniversal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad Buy Now: $0.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-02-25 :: Category: Social Networking :: A NICE IDEARead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: Spout |
| CarZen for iPad Helps You Find Your New Car Posted: 18 Mar 2011 08:30 AM PDT
CarZen is an iPad-only app designed for buyers looking for a new car. The app allows you to easily search and browse through new cars on Apple’s tablet. You’re able to see every new car on the market along with every color, every option and reviews available for that vehicle. There is also a configuration tool that enables you to build and price the exact car you’re look for. You can narrow your search down to brand, body style, price ranges and several other options. The app’s developer has gone out of its way to make the process as comprehensive as a traditional online car search engine. For example, there are high-res, full-screen photos for every new car on the market. Further, CarZen features car reviews pulled from different websites, including summaries, scores and a link to each full review. You can also save your custom-built cars in the Parking Lot, allowing you to easily access them later. Finally, you’re able to contact local dealers from the app itself. Right now, CarZen only features new cars, but its developer says that a used car update is coming soon. Perhaps the best part of all this is that CarZen is available on the App Store for free.  CarZen: Research and Buy New CarsiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Buy Now: FREE Released: 2011-03-15 :: Category: Lifestyle [ CarZen for iPad Helps You Find Your New Car is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: CarZen: Research and Buy New Cars |
| iRig and Amplitube Fender for iPad Review Posted: 18 Mar 2011 08:04 AM PDT  iRig and Amplitube Fender for iPad ReviewBy Rob LeFebvre on March 18th, 2011Our Rating: :: GUITARTASTICiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Rock n Roll (and blues and jazz and pop) from your iPad with this sweet software/hardware combination.
Developer: IK Multimedia Price: $14.99 for Amplitube Fender, $39.99 for iRig Version Reviewed: 1.0.1 iPad Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars Overall Rating: 4.33 out of 5 stars Amplitube is an app from IK Multimedia that works with the iRig hardware peripheral. The iRig allows musicians to plug in their analog instrument, most typically a guitar when used with Amplitube, and then listen to the output through headphones or other audio output like speakers or PA system.
There is a single track (expandable to 8 tracks for another $15) recording solution which is good for recording quick ideas for later expansion, but it’s not going to replace GarageBand any time soon, since there are no midi or loops included. What’s really great about the non-effects/amplifier section of the app is the practice area, which grants the ability to slow down any imported music to be able to practice tricky sections of music. As a longtime user of The Amazing Slow Downer on the Mac, this is a vital bit of software to have, and to have it within the app I’m already connected to is a huge bonus. Honestly, there’s not much more to say about this app/hardware combo. It’s so easy to configure and use that I’m planning on using it on stage in the near future, as soon as I can grab an iKlip, a mic stand that lets iPad owning musicians clip their magical iOS device to the mic stand in front of them. Unfortunately, a review unit was not available at the time of this review, but it looks stellar. With a powerful enough PA system, I should be able to cut out the mess of cables and pedals that I need to drag to gigs with me, not to mention the back breaking Fender amp I drag to shows as well. Hooray for spinal health through technology! I can’t recommend this hardware and software set up enough. Not only that, but musicians can also grab the $5 more expensive Amplitube for iPad that includes the Fender effects and amps, along with a bunch of others. Or either app for the iPhone, as well. Considering that ONE decent Fender amp starts at around $800, not including pedals or the like, the pricing here is a steal.  AmpliTube Fender™ FREEiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: FREE Released: 2011-02-17 :: Category: Music [ iRig and Amplitube Fender for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]  AmpliTube Fender™ for iPadiPad Only App - Designed for the iPad Buy Now: $14.99 Our Rating: Released: 2011-02-17 :: Category: Music :: GUITARTASTICRead Our Full Review >> Apps mentioned in this post: AmpliTube Fender™ for iPad, AmpliTube Fender™ FREE |
| Professional Quality Recording App, VocaLive, Hits App Store Posted: 18 Mar 2011 06:04 AM PDT
VocaLive provides vocalists with 12 real-time professional vocal effects and the capability to record studio quality sound on their portable device. The company describes its app as an “easy to use” but “extremely powerful” tool that produces the professional results one would normally have to use expensive hardware and software to achieve. The software includes 5 vocal effects: “Pitch Fix (for tuning correction or stylized quantization FX), Choir (a 3-part harmonizer), Morph (an X-Y pitch and formant shifter that changes the tonal quality of the voice from subtle deepening to radical gender bending), De-Esser and Double (Double effect gets unlocked by registering),” according to the company. What’s more, it also features 7 Studio Effects: Reverb, Delay, Parametric EQ, Compressor, Chorus, Phazer and Envelope Filter. The individual effects can be combined into a chain of up to three and then saved as a preset. And to get you started, there are 50 presets included out of the box. VocaLive allows you to record vocals or instruments with added effects, but it also allows you to sing along with your favorite songs in your iPod collection. Using the Voice Cancel option, you can remove lyrics from songs, allowing you to provide the vocals entirely by yourself. You can also use Vocal Tools and a metronome to warm up your voice before beginning. VocaLive is now available on the iTunes App Store for $19.99. There is also a free version of the app, which doesn’t come with as many effects or presets but can be expanded. You’re able to individually purchase desired effects as you choose. While you can use the app with the built-in microphone, it also supports the iRig Mic, sold separately for $59.99.   VocaLive FREEiPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad Buy Now: FREE Released: 2011-03-10 :: Category: Music [ Professional Quality Recording App, VocaLive, Hits App Store is a post from 148Apps ] Apps mentioned in this post: VocaLive, VocaLive FREE |
Just as they say “Don’t judge a book by its cover” so they should also say “Don’t judge an app by its iTunes Reviews.” Sadly, this app has gotten some bad scores, but I’m here to set the record straight. 
I seriously think most of the complaints on the App Store were of people simply confused by the UI, although some also seemed to be having actual upload issues. I didn’t, and found no problems uploading a video: 
Anyone out on a Saturday night knows that the patrons are keen for more drinks, none more so than in Tapper World Tour. As the bartender, you’ll be constantly up against a tirade of customers constantly trying to get nearer and nearer to you. The key is to switch from bar to bar, tapping the pump at the end of each bar a few times to throw a drink their way and watch them retreat back a few steps. As well as that, empties start flying at you so you have to go between bars in order to collect them before they come crashing down to the ground. As you can imagine, things get hectic quickly.
It takes you on one of 12 DIY tours of discovery, giving you step by step instructions to ensure you get to see the full route. Essentially, it’s aiming to be a tour guide but a tour guide that you can control to an extent. Plus it’s pretty darn hard to find a tour guide willing to work for $2.99!
It enables you to locate your friends in near real time within a few meters. You can map them too and see where they’re wandering off to. You can also divide people into groups, so you can quickly glance to see where everyone is at the moment.
Spout is certainly one of the most unique ways to read updates I’ve seen. It gathers your updates from various “news” sources—Facebook, Twitter, and Google Reader—and floods your screen with one item at a time. Each new update spirals on in an animated, word-by-word display. It’s meant to be “beautiful,” and at first, it is; sitting back and watching the updates unfurl is almost mesmerizing. Unfortunately, Spout is incredibly impractical for in-depth reading or browsing of your news feeds, and after a few moments the animation gave me a headache. I’m filing this one under “pretty solutions to a problem that I don’t have.”
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