Category: iPhone Apps

Weekly iPad/iPhone App Provides Sales Circulars for All the Major Stores

One of the reasons people still buy a Sunday newspaper is for the huge pile of weekly store circulars that come with it. Weekly for iPad (and iPhone) by Twicular gives you access to those circulars for over 100,000 stores with no need to toss them out when you’re finished. It’s a pretty sweet app that can save a lot of hassle.

I’ve been trying it out that past few weeks, and can report that Weekly had the updated weekly circulars for every store located near me, even my grocery store. Kohl’s, Target, K-Mart, Home Depot, Jewel (my grocery), etc, were all there. Another thing that impressed me is that app sometimes had multiple circulars that appeared in different local newspapers for the same week, but which had different info and formatting. The circulars also downloaded fairly quickly.

You can zoom in and out of the ads. The image resolution is fine for reading, but of course, the more you zoom in the blurrier they get (the text is still readable though). If you want to clarify the information for a product, you can tap on it and a pop-up will appear providing more data. It’s clear that the developers are working with a service that scans the circulars and adds info for the pop-ups.

The other great feature is that the app lets you use GPS to locate all the stores near you, so you don’t have to enter in an address, etc. You can save products as a shopping list and then email that shopping list to yourself to remember what to buy in the stores.

My only complaint about Weekly is that it doesn’t save the ads for offline viewing (although you can save specific items in the ads for offline viewing). But for the ads themselves, you have to download them each time you want to view them. Hopefully they’ll add offline viewing as a feature in the future.

As mentioned, they support over 100,000 stores, but here’s a list of a few stores from the app description: Macy’s, JCPenney, Best Buy, Sears, Kohl’s, Jo-Ann Stores, Dillard’s, Old Navy, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, Pet Smart, Sports Authority, Staples, Aaron’s, Lowe’s, ACE Hardware, True Value Hardware, Home Depot, GNC, Wal-Mart, Target, CVS/pharmacy, Walgreens, Family Dollar, RadioShack, Save-A-Lot, Kmart, RiteAid, Aldi, Office Depot, Michaels, SAFEWAY, OfficeMax, Albertson’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Big 5 Sporting Goods etc.

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iPhone and iPad Apps That Stream Free Movies and TV Shows

There’s a growing trend of people who are canceling cable TV and instead going with free over-the-air “antenna” TV. Maybe that’s why there is also a growing number of iOS apps that provide free full movies and TV shows in the App Store. Check out a list of some of the better ones below.

Crackle

Crackle is probably the premiere app when it comes to the quality of free movies and tv shows it provides. All movies and shows are free and uncut, although you do have to watch the occassional commercial. But hey, the content is free! The content changes every once in a while, but here’s a sample of what’s available right now:

  • Talladega Nights.
  • Panic Room.
  • Starship Troopers.
  • Resident Evil.
  • Baby Boy.
  • Deuce Bigalow: Eruopean Gigaloo.
  • Seinfeld.
  • And hundreds more.

Crackle is a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

Popcornflix

Popcornflix specializes in free movies. Hundreds of free movies, in fact. The service has some good gems in there, but there’s also some straight-to-DVD stuff. Here’s a sample of what’s available on the service right now:

  • Descent
  • Easy
  • Biggie and Tupac
  • Dead Tone
  • Lymelife
  • Battle in Seattle
  • American Affair
  • And hundreds more.

Popcornflix is a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

NBC

The NBC app offers full episodes of a limited number of shows. Besides full episodes, the app offers NBC’s schedule, games, and other stuff, but really, we only care about the free TV. Currently available content looks like this:

  • America’s Got Talent
  • Tonight Show with Jay Leno
  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  • Days of Our Lives
  • Love in the Wild
  • Saving Hope

NBC is a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

The CW Network

The CW Network iPad app screenshot

The CW Network provides you free full-length episodes, and there’s a lot of content in the app. You get the 5 latest episodes of everyone primetime show on the CW. Way to go C dub. The app streams shows like the Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl, 90210, Hart of Dixie, America’s Next Top Model, and more.

PBS

The PBS app (iPhone, iPad) makes a lot of PBS’s best content available for streaming for free. The only problem I have with the app is it’s hard to find all the full-length content (you have to dig too deep into the app to find it). Here’s a sample of what’s currently available:

  • Frontline
  • NOVA
  • Nature
  • Antiques Roadshow
  • PBS Newshour
  • Zen (Masterpiece Theater)
  • And more.

NBC Nightly News

NBC Nightly News offers full episodes of, what else, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams (and others). You can also watch individual news segments and skip what doesn’t interest you. I use this one a lot if I need to catch up on the news.

NBC Nightly News is a universal app for iPhone and iPad.

Bloomberg TV+ for iPad

Bloomberg TV+ is a rare app in that it lets you watch the live broadcast of Bloomberg TV, a financial news network like CNBC. You can also access Bloomberg shows on-demand, like:

  • Bloomberg Rewind
  • Risk Takers
  • Bloomberg West
  • and more.

Bloomberg TV+ is iPad only.

WATCH Disney Channel

WATCH Disney Channel is one of those apps that requires you to log in to your cable provider (Comcast) to get the full content, but the app does offer several free full episodes of some of your favorite Disney Channel shows without signing in. There’s enough free content to keep your kids quiet for a few hours anyways. The available content rotates, but currently available are:

  • Jessie
  • Austin & Ally
  • Good Luck Charlie
  • Phineas and Ferb
  • Fish Hooks
  • Shake It Up

WATCH Disney Channel is a universal app for iPhone and iPad. There are also similar apps for Disney’s other sister channels as well.

NFB Films for iPad

NFB Films for iPad features over 2,000(!) free films, shows, and shorts. The content is all Canadian films you’ve (might) never heard of, but still, look around, there are some good documentaries and cartoon shorts for kids.

  • Cry of the Wild
  • Sexy Inc. Our Children Under Influence
  • Hitman Hart: Wrestling With Shadows
  • William Shatner Sings O Canada
  • and tons more.

ABC Family

The ABC Family app lets you watch recent full episodes of ABC Family originals. The app even saves your place when you stop watching a video so you can start where you left off. Content rotates, but currently available are episodes for:

  • The Secret Life of the American Teenager
  • Bunheads
  • Jane By Design
  • Pretty Little Liars
  • Switched at Birth
  • Baby Daddy
  • and more.

ABC Family is a universal app for the iPhone and iPad.

Review: Agenda Is a Nice Replacement for the iPhone’s Calendar App

It wasn’t until I tried the Agenda ($0.99) calendar app that I realized the iPhone’s default Calendar app is kind of annoying to use, especially when it comes to its interface. Where Calendar forces the user to tap tiny buttons to move through dates, Agenda relies on finger swipes, which prove less frustrating for navigation through small or large amounts of time within the calendar. With Agenda, all it takes is one swipe to move between various calendar views (6 months, 1 month, 7 days, 1 day), where with Calendar it takes several button taps.

Another advantage of using Agenda is that it lets you infinitely scroll through your weekly calendar with a swipe of your finger. In the weekly calendar view, you can swipe up or down to infinitely scroll through the days. While it may not seem like a big deal, when comparing Agenda’s easy scrolling to Calendar’s tapping a touchscreen button a few dozens times, Agenda just provides a more pleasant experience.

Agenda has all the functionality of the default Calendar app; in fact, the screen for adding an event looks exactly the same, with all the same options like alerts for events and invitees for meetings, etc. So there’s not much of a learning curve to switching over to the app. I don’t do anything fancy with my iPhone calendar like creating multi-invite meetings, but Agenda does have those advanced features, including the ability to SMS or email all invitees to a meeting and inserting links to Google Maps in events.

Overall, I found that Agenda, with its swipe-based interface, is just a much smoother experience than the iPhone’s default Calendar app, which relies more on touchscreen buttons. And that’s why I’ve switched away from Calendar and replaced its icon in the coveted spot of my iPhone’s first homescreen with Agenda.

Soccer Superstars 2011 iPhone Game Now Available for Free

Soccer Superstars 2011 iPhone Game

Developer Gamevil has released a free full version of their Soccer Superstars 2011 game into the App Store. It’s an excellent soccer game similar in style to their beloved Baseball Superstars games.

Soccer Superstars 2011 is a full-featured soccer game with 6 modes of play, including Exhibition, My League, Season, Cup, Dramatic, and Match Mode. There is extensive gameplay tweaking, including the ability to create teams and players and upgrade player skills over time. There’s also a fun cartoon element with superplayers and superskills.

Like many app developers these days, Gamevil is introducing the freemium business model to many of their games, as they’ve done here with Soccer Superstars. The company sells “G-Points” via in-app purchases that can help upgrade your teams and players. There are also alternative ways to earn G-points without purchasing them via the App Store. Gamevil has introduced similar models in their free but full versions of Zenonia 3 and Baseball Superstars 2011. Again, you don’t need to buy the points to experience the full game.

Gamevil’s motivation for offering free full versions of their games most likely derives from a recent study that showed freemium iPhone games are making more money than paid games in the App Store.

Despite a few minor bugs in the game’s tutorial, this is a great soccer game, especially for the price of zero.

Put Your Friend’s Head in a Jar With the New Futurama iPhone App

Futurama Head in a Jar Generator

Why suffer the uncertainty of death when you can live forever by preserving your head in a jar? The Futurama Head in a Jar app (free) offers just that: immortality.

The app lets you design heads to resemble yourself or friends by letting you choose various eyes, noses, hair styles, skin color, etc. Then you can place your friend’s name on the jar’s nameplate just in case your message is unclear. Their head, in a jar, forever.

My favorite feature is that you can quickly assign your head-in-a-jar to any iPhone contact using the app. The next time your friend calls, their head-in-a-jar will appear. You can also save them to the iPhone’s Photos library or share on Facebook and Twitter via the app.

And just in case you’re wondering, the preserving liquid inside the jar is drinkable and some even enjoy the taste.

The 50 Best Travel Apps for the iPhone

Whether you’re traveling to Paris or Yellowstone, there are apps for the iPhone to help get you there, feed you, and find the best places to visit. Below are 25 of the best travel apps for the iPhone.

1. TripIt (free) is the premiere travel-organizer app and website. Simply forward confirmation emails to TripIt to have them automagically organized into a travel itinerary. Collects check in/out dates, flight plans, gates, flight times and delays, rental car info, etc, into one place. Never fumble through stacks of papers again. An indispensable tool for travelers, see our review for full details. We love this app.

Download TripIt
2. Kayak (free) searches for prices and availability of flights, hotels, and rental cars. A beautiful interface makes it a pleasure to use on the iPhone. Book travel, check flight statuses, and look up baggage fees. An indispensable travel tool for finding out basic pricing and availability of flights and hotels.

Download Kayak
3. TripAdvisor (free) lets you browse through millions of reviews for hotels, attractions, and restaurants. Know everything about your destination from real traveler’s experiences. View millions of photos uploaded by travelers who have stayed at the locations. Use the iPhone’s GPS to find nearby bars, restaurants, etc, and read their reviews.

Download TripAdvisor
4. Priceline (free) is the popular travel bidding website on the iPhone. Currently supports only bidding for hotels as well as access to rental car deals. Bid on hotels right within the app. View recent winning bids from other Priceline customers.

Download Priceline
5. Packing Pro ($2.99) helps you organize and remember everything you’ll need for a trip. Create and edit packing lists. Discover ideas for packing through sample lists. Packing wizard can suggest packing lists based on the number of people traveling, children, destination, temperature, and more. Customize the look of the app to suit your tastes, including themes, fonts, and layout. The ultimate packing tool.

Download PackingPro

6. FlightTrack Pro ($9.99) helps you organize and track the entire process of flight travel, from creating itineraries automatically, to ticket confirmation emails, to supplying offline maps with satellite and weather radar images. Get push alerts for flight updates and delays. Works with the TripIt service. Syncs with iPhone’s Calendar.

Download FlightTrack Pro

7. Gate Guru (free) provides gate information about 115 major airports in the US, Canada, and Europe as well as lists of airport restaurants, shops, and services. Features over 20,000 reviews of those airport services. View airport maps. Share and view airport security wait times. Sort airport shops and restaurants by rating.

Download GateGuru
8. Yelp (free) is a way to find and get reviews for nearby restaurants, businesses, and services. Use the iPhone’s GPS to quickly find and filter nearby bars, cafes, restaurants, etc. Get addresses and phone numbers for businesses. View on a map, or call from within the app.

Download Yelp

9. Google Translation (free) is a powerful translation tool from Google, and it’s free! Translates both text and speech (simply speak into the app and it will return translated text). Translate between 57 languages. Hear the translated text spoken for you. Access translation history offline. View additional dictionary results for words or short phrases.

Download Google Translate
10. Flightboard ($3.99) turns your iPhone into a beautiful airport arrival and departure board. Interface based on the Paris Charles de Gaulle airport board. Features flights for 4,000 airports and 1,400 airlines worldwide. Updates flights every 5 minutes. Search for flights and quickly filter and narrow down results. Email flight statuses or share via a URL.

Download FlightBoard
11. Hipmunk (free) is a fresh take on searching for flights. View available flights on a timeline along with price and a special “agony” factor that calculates flight times and number of stops. Book flights using the phone, or email the flight to finish on the computer.
12. ZAGAT To Go ($9.99) is the trusted classic restaurant review guide on the iPhone. Get access to all 45 ZAGAT guides for the price of one guide. Quite a bargain. Features offline mode.
13. TripTracker Pro ($0.99) provides real-time flight status info. Get push alerts for travel and flight status updates. Check gate numbers, delays, cancellations, and baggage claim areas. Get hotel and car rental info, including confirmation numbers, check-in/out dates, etc. View flight maps with weather radar.
14. Maplets ($2.99) gives access to over 3,000 maps in the US that you can download and store on the iPhone for offline viewing. Visit their website to see all available maps, which include city subways, national parks, bike maps, hiking maps, zoos, theme parks, etc.
15. Word Lens (free, $9.99 for Spanish language pack) is an amazing app that instantly translates text using the iPhone’s video camera. It even maintains similar font style and color. It has to be tried to believed (free version lets you try it out). Cool app.
16. Southwest Airlines (free) is the official app from Southwest that lets you book plane tickets, check in for flights, view DING! deals, get notified of DING! deals instantly. Access Rapid Rewards accounts.

17. Fly Delta (free) helps you take care of your flight details for Delta Air. Check in for upcoming flights. Download mobile boarding passes. Rebook canceled flights. Get flight status and terminal and gate info. Search for upcoming flgihts. Get airport weather info. Save a photo of your parking spot.
18. American Airlines (free) lets you log in to your American Airlines account and view flight info. Get push notifications for upcoming flight details and alerts. Monitor your place on standby lists. Set parking reminders. Track Elite Status progress. Get gate and seat info for your flight. Access a mobile boarding pass. View terminal maps. Play sudoku.
19. British Airways (free) provides info for your flight on British Airways, including flight status, check-in, gate numbers, and departure times. Use a mobile boarding pass to board your flight. Access tweets from British Airways.

20. UpNext 3D Cities (free) offers free 3D maps of several major US cities (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and Austin, with more cities to come). Need a Wi-Fi to download the maps, which can be up to 30MB.
21. AAA Roadside (free) makes it easier to access your AAA roadside assistance on your iPhone. Send assistant requests using the iPhone. Use GPS to give your exact location quickly and easily. Get confirmation that help is on the way. View and display your AAA card within the app. Find nearby AAA-approved repair shops, branch offices, and AAA discounts.
22. Autostitch Panorama ($1.99) lets you capture the broad, sweeping landscapes you normally couldn’t with your iPhone’s camera. Easy to use. Stitch together multiple photographs. See our review. A great way to capture your vacation.
23. Google Places (free) with Hotpot helps discover nearby restaurants, cafes, bars, etc using your iPhone. Rate the places you visit, and Hotpot will supply you with recommendations based on your reviews. Automatically syncs your ratings with Google Maps.
24. AllSubway ($0.99) puts the subway maps of 128 cities around the world into your pocket for offline viewing. No Internet connection required.
25. XE Currency (free) converts over 180 currencies using live exchange rates. View currency charts going back to up to one year. Use the app and currency-conversion feature offline—the ratings from when you last connected will be used.
26. Free WiFi Finder (free) helps you find over 465,000 free and pay Wi-Fi hotspots around the world. Use the iPhone’s GPS to find the closest Wi-Fi hot spot.
27. UpNext 3D Cities (free) offers free 3D maps of several major US cities (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, and Austin, with more cities to come). Need a Wi-Fi to download the maps, which can be up to 30MB.
28. Google Earth (free) lets you view gobal satellite and aerial imagery of cities and regions from around the world. View Wikipedia articles and photographs from icons laid on top of the maps. Search for places and businesses.

29. Taxi Magic (free) lets you find and book a taxi in over 4,000 US and Canadian cities. A “Magic Booking” feature lets you book a cab inside the app without a phone call (supported in 40 major US cities). Instantly find taxis based on your location. Chard the ride to a credit card. Expense the ride with an e-receipt.
30. OpenTable (free) helps you make restaurant reservations and earn rewards from doing so. Browse restaurants with open tables for a planned evening out. Get restaurant reviews. Earn Dining Rewards points that can be used for meals.
31. Best Of (free) answers the question, What is the best….barbeque in Chicago? Best sushi in New York? Brought to you by the Village Voice. Quick and easy way to find great ideas in dozens of major cities across the US.
32. AroundMe (free) quickly provides information about the businesses around you. Find bars, banks, restaurants, supermarkets, etc, around you quickly and easily.
33. GateMaps ($0.99) provides offline viewing of airport gate maps. Currently supports 38 airports.
34. World Customs and Cultures (free) provides info on customs, cultural info, and interesting facts for over 165 different countries. Discover info on common greetings, taboos, communication style, gestures, and laws. Use GPS to quickly find the customs of the country you’re in.
35. Foursquare (free) lets you quickly and easily share your adventures with friends and family. Simply check-in at various locations using the iPhone’s GPS. Share pictures and get comments. Get discounts and freebies based on location.
36. Gas Buddy (free) helps you find the cheapest gas near you. With one tap, find nearby gas stations and their prices. Easily enter in gas prices to help the community stay informed.
37. Orbitz (free) lets you search and book flights, hotels, and rental cars using the iPhone. View your booked trips, check current flight status, and find hotels near your location using GPS.
38. Menu Pages (free) provides you with the menus of local restaurants. Find nearby restaurants (and their menus) using the iPhone’s GPS. Search for restaurants by cuisine type, meal type, price, etc. Get restaurant reviews. View locations on maps. Call restaurants directly within the app. Currently only supports 8 major US cities.
< 39. iPhraseBook ($12.99) has over 10,000 audio phrases in 5 different languages available for offline playing (American English, French, German, Italian, and Latin American Spanish). Bookmark your favorite phrases for quick access. Search for a specific word of phrase within the app. Built-in access to Google Translate service.
40. InnTouch (free) helps you find the perfect Bed and Breakfast place. Search through thousands of B&B’s and boutique inns. View locations and contact info and browse photos. Read guest reviews. Bookmark your favorites.
41. Rick Steves’ Audio Europe (free) gives audio tours for tourists in European countries. Download and store audio of self-guided tourist of sights and historic places. Comes with complementary maps for the the tours.
42. Royal Carribean International (free) lets you find cruises and discover special offers. Get information on the various destinations as well as facts on Royal Carribean ships. View image galleries. View deck plans. Watch the Oasis of the Seas webcam. Get the latest Royal Carribean news.
43. Tipulator ($0.99) makes figuring out a restaurant tip easy, even when you’re splitting a check among friends. Enter the bill amount and the percentage of tip you want to leave. Check the restaurant bill’s math to make sure you aren’t being overcharged.
44. LiveATC Air Radio ($2.99) lets you listen in on the air traffic control talk between pilots and controllers. Features over 350 airports and 500 audio feeds from around the world.
45. Roadside America ($2.99) helps you find the interesting, odd, funny, and weird attractions across America. $2.99 unlocks one of the 6 regions of the US. $5.99 in-app purchase unlocks all regions. View over 6,000+ attractions with photos, maps, and directions. Find the oddities near you. Call attractions using the app. Mark attractions you’ve visited.
46. The Weather Channel (free) is our favorite app for the weather. Find out the weather in locations around the world. A no brainer download, as weather is probably the most important info to enjoy a vacation!
47. Homeaway (free) lets you search and browse over 230,000 vacation rental properties worldwide. Sort by price, location, etc. View photos. Call directly using the app. Read reviews. Check availability via a calendar.
48. iCruise – Cruise Finder (free) lets you browse cruise information for 20 different cruise lines, including 220 ships with 25 destinations and 12,000+ itineraries. Get hot cruise deals. Get port weather. Save your favorite cruises.
49. TripDeck (free) is basically a pretty wrapper for the TripIt service. If you think the TripIt’s interface is ugly, use this one instead.
50. Camp and RV ($4.99) helps find campgrounds, RV parks, and related places, featuring everything from BLM camping to Walmart (where they let you park your RV) to RV tank dumping stations. Supports both online and offline. View maps with camping and RV locations. Over 17,161 campgrounds. View campground photos.

6 Free iPhone GPS Navigation Apps

6 Free iPhone GPS Navigation Apps:

Waze
  • Voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation.
  • Live crowdsourced traffic information.
  • Notification when approaching police traps and speed cams.
  • Learns and personalizes your preferred routes.
  • Free, community-updated maps.
  • Voice-alerts when approaching a hazard.
MapQuest 4 Mobile
  • Free voice-guided turn-by-turn directions.
  • iOS4 compatible—make calls or listen to music while voice navigation continues to work.
  • Live traffic updated every 5 minutes.
  • Search for locations, restaurants, businesses, etc..
  • Auto Re-route.
  • Energy savings mode.
  • Multiple stop route.
  • Landscape view.
  • Customizable avatars.
2. NavFree USA (no longer free)
  • 1.8GB of stored local maps.
  • Voice guided, turn-by-turn directions.
  • Auto-rerouting.
  • Live ‘Google’ search.
  • Google Local.
  • Bing search.
  • Night driving mode.
  • Search for nearest point of interest.
  • Uses OpenStreetMaps.
Skobbler (no longer free)
  • Voice-guided turn-by-turn directions.
  • Integrated iPod controls.
  • Night driving mode.
  • iOS 4.0+ compatible—keeps working during calls and listening to music
  • Quick take-me- home navigation feature.
  • Pedestrian navigation.
  • Uses OpenStreetMaps.
TeleNav GPS (no longer free)
  • Free 30-day trial for voice guidance, followed by $2.99/month or $21.99/year subscription fee.
  • Free maps content and local search
  • Text directions
  • Spoken dtreet names
  • Automatic teroute
  • 2D maps
  • 3D moving maps
  • Navigation preferences to avoid.
  • HOV lanes.
  • Tolls.
  • Fast Routing.
AAA TripTik Mobile
  • Gas station location and latest price information.
  • Provides route maps and turn-by-turn narrative directions to selected locations.
  • AAA approved hotels, restraurants, attractions, auto-repair, and camprounds.
  • AAA office locations.
  • Calculate routes to AAA points of interest (POI) as well as user-entered addresses.
  • Voice guidance on your next maneuver at the press of a button or by shaking the iPhone.
  • Pinpoints and tracks your location and allows you to turn on POIs around you.
  • POIs are automatically updated as your location changes or as you move the map.
  • Drag and pinch and double tap to move around and zoom in on the map.
  • Call for AAA Roadside Assistance.

Review: Instapaper for iPhone and iPad

Instapaper ($4.99) is one of my most-used apps for the iPhone and iPad, but it’s more than just an app—it’s a free web service that lets you quickly and easily save interesting articles for reading later by clicking a bookmarklet in your web browser. Instapaper strips away ads and presents the content back to you in a minimalistic format, available for offline reading. In a world where online ads are getting more annoying and intrusive, Instapaper is the TiVO for the web, giving control back to the user over web content.

Saving Articles for Later

The primary way to save articles to Instapaper is via something called a bookmarklet—a fancy bookmark that performs a function when clicked. Setting up the bookmarklet takes 2 seconds, just go to this page and drag the Instapaper bookmarklet into your browser’s bookmarks. When you come across an interesting article you want to read later, click the bookmarklet, and the article is added to your Instapaper account.

Instapaper also works with over 130 iOS apps as well as Google Reader and NetNewsWire, letting you add content to your account using those services Also available from Instapaper is a special email address that allows you to forward email to your Instapaper account for offline reading.

Besides the iPhone and iPad, Instapaper also works on the Amazon Kindle as well as having its own website where you can access and edit content.

iPhone and iPad Apps

The Instapaper app is a universal app, so buy it once and it’ll work on both your iPhone and iPad. You’ll also need to sign up for a free account. While Instapaper is a good iPhone app, it excels on the iPad, mostly due to the iPad’s bigger screen and more comfortable reading experience.
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Review: TripIt Travel Organizer App for iPhone

Keeping track of important travel info like flight times, addresses, check-in dates, etc, can be a huge hassle when traveling. TripIt – Travel Organizer (free) simplifies things by bringing all your travel info together in one place. It does this by stripping information from travel confirmation emails that you forward to the service. It’s like having a secretary who creates a travel itinerary for you. Quick and simple with additional information like flight status and Google Maps, TripIt is a killer time-saving app for travelers.

TripIt has been around as a website for a while now, but like many such services, its usefulness really blossoms when brought to a mobile platform like the iPhone. TripIt offers a free account, which you can sign up for in the app and which I’m reviewing here. They also offer a Pro account that costs money but offers more features.

The way TripIt works is simple: whenever you receive an email confirming reservations for airline tickets, hotel rooms, Priceline.com, etc, just forward the email to plans@tripit.com (you’ll need to forward from the email address you assigned to the TripIt account). TripIt takes over from there, stripping out the important data and compiling it into a travel itinerary accessible in the app.
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Review: AutoStitch Panorama (Best of iPhone Apps)

A common problem with the iPhone’s camera is that, due to its small lens, you can’t fit enough of a scene you’re trying to capture into a single photograph. That’s where AutoStitch Panorama ($2.99) comes in. As the name implies, the app stitches together multiple photographs to create panorama photographs. But panorama means more than just those long, rectangular landscape photos you’d normally associate with the word. It also means capturing tall buildings or any scenes too wide and tall for the iPhone’s lens. Essentially, AutoStitch is the wide-angle lens for the iPhone that lets you capture these scenes, and overall, it’s an indispensable tool for anyone who takes photos with the iPhone.

What I found most impressive about AutoStitch is how simple it is to use. The only real work you do is selecting the photos to stitch together, everything else is automated by the app. After taking the photos (which you must do outside of the app), you simply launch AutoStitch and select the photos you took. Then tap the Stitch button. The photos don’t have to be selected in any order. You can even make a mistake by including a wrong photo, and AutoStitch will ignore it.

A panorama I made of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The resulting photographs are usually detailed and blemish free—the app does a great job of blending photographs seamlessly. It helps if you use proper technique for a panorama, which is to keep the iPhone in one place but rotate it as if on a pivot for each photo.

After stitching, the resulting photos are often oddly shaped, with curving corners and bulging sides. AutoStitch includes a nice auto-cropping feature that can automatically cut the picture into a perfect rectangle suitable for framing. If you’re not satisified with results, you can take over the cropping and cut as you please.
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