Author: Alan

1. Walmart Has the Best Prepaid Carrier for the iPhone

If you’re looking for the cheapest wireless carrier for the iPhone, John Brownlee over at Cult of Mac supplies some straight talk about Straight Talk, a prepaid wireless carrier from Walmart. Pay $45 a month for unlimited data, talk, and text messages. That’s half of what I pay at AT&T. But that ain’t all. Straight Talk uses AT&T and T-Mobile’s network, so there is excellent coverage. And, it uses AT&T’s HSPA+ network, so it’s on the fastest 3G out there. And, no two-year contracts. And, there are 3 downsides: no MMS messages (but sending images over iMessage still works), no visual voicemail, and you must provide your own unlocked GSM iPhone.

2. The New TiVo Stream Will Let You Download TiVo Recordings to Your iPad/iPhone (Video Hands-on)

The Wall Street journal’s Katherine Boehret takes a hands-on look at the TiVO Stream ($130), which, I must say, looks awesome and very powerful for TiVO users even if it’s a bit expensive. The killer feature of the Stream is that you can download all your TiVO recordings to the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch and take them to watch on the go. You can also stream and watch your recordings on up to four iOS devices at a time, essentially turning your iPhone/iPad into another TV in your house, albeit a small one (hmm, maybe this functionality is part of what Apple is thinking for the rumored Apple TV set?). The bad news for the Stream is that you need to have a TiVO Premiere DVR and the $15 per month TiVo service. All those costs add up, but hey, spend it while ya got it. Available September 6.

Video review of the TiVo Stream:

3. Review: Origami Workstation for iPad

Jeff Richardson at iPhone JD recommends the Origami Workstation ($30), a popular traveling kyeboard case/stand for the iPad. The Origami is designed for use with the Apple Wireless keyboard, and it can be folded—like origami!—into a stand for the iPad. Because the Apple Wireless Keyboard is the #1 recommended keyboard for the iPad, the Origami makes for a nice accessory to…a nice accessory. Wait, now our accessories have accessories?! What a world.

4. Review: Ecoute Puts Apple’s Music App to Shame

Christine Chan of AppAdvice says Ecoute ($2.99) is so much more beautiful and pleasant to use than the iPhone’s default music app that Apple should be enraged with jealousy. I just wish the developers could have come up with a better name than Ecoute. Blehck.

5. It’s A Snap to Unsubscribe From iPad Magazines

One of the advantages of subscribing to magazines through iTunes is that it is incredibly easy to then unsubscribe. No phone calls! Patrick Jordan of iPad Insight shows you step by step how to cancel those iPad magazine subscriptions in the iPad’s settings. Not having to speak to another human being is always a plus.

6. The iPad Is the Cheapest Way to Get Your College Textbooks?

Buster Heine at Cult of Mac crunches the numbers and estimates you can save $163.88 per college semester by renting eTextBooks on the iPad and $355.13 per semester by buying them versus going the old paper-textbook route. That not only pays for the iPad itself over time but saves thousands more. Heine acknowledges that not every college textbook is available on the iPad, however, but a surprising number are.

7. Review: Bastion for iPad Gets 5-Stars From Touch Arcade

Bastion ($4.99) is likely to end up on a lot of Best iPad Games of 2012 lists. Eric Ford at Touch Arcade gives the game 5 stars and says it “nails every facet” of game design, with even the music being incredibly good. The one drawback is the virtual touchscreen controls—the curse of every console-to-iOS port.

8. List of Apps On Sale for Labor Day

AppleNApps has a good list of apps on sale this Labor Day weekend. Usually I throw together a list, but I’m too lazy this time around.

9. iPad Apps That Work With Microsoft Office

The good folks at iPadInsight put together a useful list of iPad apps that work with Microsoft Office docs. The list includes, of course, Apple’s own suite of iPad office apps, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. You’re still using Microsoft Word though? Ew, you’re gross, don’t touch me.

10. Review: Shazam Vs SoundHound

Christine Chan over at AppAdvice compared two apps that can identify music via the iPhone’s microphone: Shazam ($6.99, free) and SoundHound ($6.99, free). She picks Shazam as the winner because it works quickly and accurately. She does note, however, that with Soundhound, you can hum a song into the app, and it will recognize it.

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.