Ben's Blog World: TiPb Picks of the Week

Sunday, November 14, 2010

TiPb Picks of the Week

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, funnest, most useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game. To see what we picked [...]

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To see what we picked this week, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Alli’s Pick: TV Forecast

Easily one of my most used apps, TV Forecast has a place of honor on my home screen. A very simple app, you add your favorite shows, and it lets you know when they’re coming on.

In addition to telling you the day and time, TV Forecast gives you a synopsis of the episode and even information on past episodes. I especially like it since I never know when shows will come back from hiatus. With TV Forecast, I never miss anything!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Brian’s pick: Stardunk

Stardunk is an incredible basketball type game that allows you to play by yourself or online globally against other players using Game Center. The goal of the game is to score as many points by getting the ball through the hoop as many times as you can within the designated amount of time. You can also get multipliers for perfect shots and also gain add-ons like 3 balls at once by hitting the 4 blocks behind the rim. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is virtually flawless. It is an intensley addictive game and for being a free app it is well worth the download.

Check out our review for Stardunk.

[Free - iTunes link]

Chris’s pick: Sky Mobile TV

Sky Mobile TV is easily my most used iOS application. It is a UK only app; it is linked to Sky Satellite TV services available in the UK. If you are a subscriber to Sky Sports channels, this app will enable you watch them over WiFi or 3G on your iOS device. The quality of the stream is simply stunning and even on a limited 1-MB ADSL connection it is flawless. The app is a universal binary so runs great on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

In my home, it is difficult to get near the TV Remote control due to my wife and two children hogging it all the time, now I can sit down in the evening, catch up on the latest sports news or watch a live Premiership football (soccer) game all from the comfort of my iPad.

A word of warning, Sky Mobile TV is not compatible with iOS 4.2. Sky is working on an update; but it may not be done in time.

[Free - iTunes link]

Farbod’s pick: PdaNet (jailbreak)

Much like the popular MyWi, PdaNet allows for tethering your iPhone’s 3G signal to another device via either the creation of a wifi hotspot or through a USB connection.

PdaNet requires that your iPhone be jailbroken and it comes with a 14 day free trial. Afterward, there is a $15.99 option to continue using the app without secure sites being blocked.

I very much prefer PdaNet to MyWi as the transitions from on and off are much smoother and PdaNet has a much smaller footprint than MyWi. You can get it on Cydia, give it a try!

Georgia’s pick: Connectuss

This puzzle game is your old connect the dots game taken to a new level. Very simple and easy, plus lots of fun!

[Free - iTunes link]

Leanna’s pick: Plants vs Zombies HD

Of all the different platforms I have played Plants vs Zombies, the iPad is by far my favorite. PopCap games got me addicted all over again (I even played while my students took an exam). Being able to touch the large screen in multiple places is what makes the experience that much greater.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, the objective is to place plants with special powers that will fight off the zombies that are trying to get into your house. If the zombies get in, they’ll eat your brains! There’s nothing like a good ol’ zombie killing.

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

Rene’s pick: Simplenote

On the surface Simplenote is just what its name implies: a simple, universal iPhone/iPad note-taking app. Scratch that surface, however, and what do you find? More surface. Kidding. You find some very interesting sync possibilities, not just for you, but for family teams as well.

We waited a long time to get notes sync on iOS and frankly it never fails to disappoint. Simplenote lets you set up an account and it automagically mirrors the content of the app not just on your iOS devices but with the cross-platform desktop Notational Velocity as well. This is great if you want to quickly type something on your iPhone, update it on your iPad and later view and edit it on your Mac, Linux, or Windows box. But that’s just the beginning. Let’s say you put both your and your spouse’s iPhone on the same Simplenote account. You write down a shopping list and go shopping. She grabs the cereal, deletes it from the list. Boom. It’s gone from the list on your iPhone as well. You child at home finishes the milk. They run over to the iPad, add milk to the list. Double boom. It’s on both your and your spouse’s iPhone and the race to the dairy isle is on! Change spouse to business partner and you can easily use Simplenote to share ideas back and forth on whatever project you’re currently working on.

It’s not a task manager. It’s not a reminder. It doesn’t have deep organization or triggers or alarms or location popups. It’s simple as the name implies. And sometimes that’s just what you need.

[Free - iTunes link]