1. The Best Cooking Apps for iPad
Jacqui Cheng at Ars Technica compared 5 iPad cooking apps and picks both Basil ($1.99) and Paprika ($4.99) as her top picks. She liked Basil’s focus on collecting and storing recipes from multiple sources, then allowing you to make your own tweaks to those recipes (where most apps just show you their recipe and that’s it). Jacqui says Paprika is similar to Basil, except it’s “on steroids,” meaning it offers tons more sites to search, which can be frustrating when there are too many recipes for a single dish. Both of these apps look slick, but you gotta love Paprika’s icon.
2. The Best iPad Wireless Keyboards, by The Verge
There have been a quite a few iPad bluetooth keyboard review round-ups lately, but none as epic as this one from Ellis Hamburger at The Verge. Check out his video below. Ellis’s top choices were:
- Apple Wireless Keyboard ($70) as his overall pick, but notes that you’ll need a stand to go along with it like the Incase Origami keyboard case and stand ($30)
- Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio ($130) for its never-ending battery life
- Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard and Cover ($99) because it comes with a cover to protect the iPad’s screen
- ZAGGfolio ($99), Zagg’s third-gen iPad keyboard, which the company has refined enough to be sturdy and pleasant to use.
Video review:
3. Should You Avoid Verizon and AT&T Stores When Buying an iPhone?
There’s growing evidence that sales reps at Verizon and AT&T stores are trying to talk customers out of buying iPhones, all for the sake of a few bucks in commission on Android phones. Sebastien Page at the iDownloadBlog recounts a story where a Verizon sales rep was rude to his mother when she expressed interest in an iPhone 4S, saying it was a “boring” phone, acting annoyed when she insisted on buying it, and dropping his pen every few seconds on the counter during checkout. I guess Verizon doesn’t want her $100 a month.
4. 8 Things You May Not Know Your Apple Headphones Can Do
Chris D’Lando of TekServe has a short ‘n sweet list of things the 3-button control dongle of iPhone headphones can do, like snap photos, prompt Siri to listen, or to fast-forward several seconds during a song (I admit, I didn’t know it could do that.) Very handy.
5. How to Quickly Share Your Location Using iMessage
“Where are you?” That’s a common text message I get. Well, Allyson Kazmucha of iMore shows how easy it is to share your precise location using the Maps app on the iPhone. Just a few taps and you’ve shared.
6. Bank of America iPhone App Now Lets You Deposit Checks
Bryan Wolfe at AppAdvice points out that the Bank of America app now has the ability to deposit checks using the iPhone. Simply snap a photo using the app, and it will upload it to Bank of America and deposit it. I think all the major US banks now offer this feature in their iPhone apps. Imagine, if the iPhone becomes a credit card, and we can deposit money using the iPhone, what do we need banks for?
7. 50 Fashion Apps for iPhone & iPad
Are you a fashionista? Marie Look from AppStorm has compiled a list of 50 Fashion Apps. Since I know nothing about this topic, I’ll leave it to you to decide if the apps are any good.
8. How to Choose Between Verizon and AT&T’s Shared Data Plans
Nick Guy at iLounge takes an in-depth look at Verizon and AT&T’s new shared data plans. The shared plans let you share a pool of data each month between up to 10 iPhone/iPad devices. Guy says that Verizon has more options when it comes to data pools, but AT&T may be a better value if you (or someone you love) likes to gab on the phone a lot.
9. SPOT Connect Lets Your iPhone Connect to Satellite Internet
Going hiking in the middle of nowhere without a cell phone signal? Mel Martin of TUAW says to take along the SPOT Connect, which lets you connect your iPhone to satellites to either send an SOS to Emergency Response teams or, yes, even update Facebook, Twitter, and send text messages or short email messages–essentially, it’s not for browsing the web or making phone calls, but for short and small data communications in the middle of nowhere. Your iPhone connects to the Spot Connect via bluetooth, and an app lets you do all of the data communication stuff. The SPOT Connect hardware costs $100 (with a $50 rebate) and then another $100 for 1 year of limited satellite time.
10. Why You Should Play CrossWords for iPhone/iPad
If classic games are more your thing, Dan Moren at TechHive does a great job convincing me that Crosswords for iPhone and iPad ($9.99) is worth the premium price. Some of Crossword’s nice subtle premium features are a specialized crossword-puzzle keyboard, printing of puzzles via AirPrint, and synching between iPhone and iPad. Definitely an app for a serious crossword puzzle addict.
