That’s why we here at App Chronicles want to help you find and discover music with your iOS devices as easily as possible. So in order to do that, we’re going to introduce you to seven apps that will help you discover new music and bands. Some of these you have probably heard of, and some of them will be just as new as the music they help you discover.

1. Spotify

iPhone OS
Free

For what seemed like an eternity, US residents had to wait for access to the uberpopular music streaming service until it finally arrived on our soil this past year. Spotify gives you access to over 15 million different tracks, as well as the ability to wirelessly sync your own music to your iPhone through the app itself. You can build playlists, share what you’re listening to with your friends, and discover loads of new bands you never even knew existed.

It’s really a great service, and the iPhone/iPad app pairs wonderfully with the required desktop app, but there is a drawback. In order to get mobile capability, you have to pay for Spotify’s premium service, which runs at $9.99 a month. But for unlimited access to what is arguably the web’s greatest collection of streaming music, that might be a worthy price to pay.

2. Rdio

Universal (Optimized for both iPhone and iPad)
Free

There are generally two factions in the streaming music world right now: Spotify vs. Rdio. Before Spotify came to the States, we basically only had Rdio. Even with the former’s inevitable arrival, Rdio has stayed strong. It offers basically the same service as Spotify, with just around ten millions songs to stream and discover. Like Spotify, there is a subscription charge of $10 a month to listen on mobile devices. Another great feature between these two apps is that through the subscription service, you can listen to your playlists on either service while offline, which is a great asset to those of you who might hate keeping space available on their devices.

3. SoundHound

Universal (Optimized for both iPhone and iPad)
Free

Have you ever heard a song somewhere and you just KNEW that you had heard it before, but couldn’t put your finger on it? Here’s where SoundHound comes to the rescue. It’s a free app which, when launched, will identify whatever song is playing for you. It will even identify songs you sing and hum to the app in any language! It gives you detailed information on the artist, the song, and oftentimes will include the lyrics. If you happen to like the song, SoundHoud will give the option to open it in the iTunes store and purchase it for your personal library.

4. Pandora

Universal (Optimized for both iPhone and iPad)
Free

By now, I’m sure you’ve already utilized the wonderful service that is Pandora on your desktop. Create a playlist based off a certain artist or sound that you like, and Pandora will continually stream you song after song with a similar taste. You can “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” each new song, thus fine-tuning a more user specific experience and playlist. Well, now you can do JUST that on your mobile device with the Pandora app.

The free version is ad-supported, but you can get rid of them with a $3.99 a month subscription.

5. Soundtracking

iPhone OS
Free

This next app, Soundtracking, is a great way to share with your friends “the soundtrack of your life.” Having a special moment brought on by a special song? This app allows you to share that with those who follow you within the app–as well as on Twitter, Foursquare, and on Facebook–what music-related moments are taking place in your life. You can add a picture of whatever it is you’re doing, and then a little snippet of the song with a caption and it will be uploaded to the app and your various social networks.

This is a great way to not only share what’s going on with you, but also see what’s going on in the lives of your friends and what music they’re listening to. Oh, and it’s free, which is always a plus.

6. Wall of Sound

Universal (Optimized for both iPhone and iPad)
Free

Is access to 15 million songs not enough for you? How about 20? That’s what Wall of Sound will give you. Through this app, users are given a screen of images (tiles, actually) displaying every song available in the iTunes store for purchase. Each image will give the user a preview of the selected song, as well as the option to purchase it in the store if they so desire. If you already own the track, it will just play the whole song via the app.

With email and social networking sharing features as well as AirPlay and background play functionality, Wall Of Sound has it covered on the essential features front. Users in need of a random selection can just shake the iOS device to get a different bunch of tracks making it ideal for new inspiration. Costing zero money is another notch on this great app’s belt.

7. Discovr Music

Universal (Optimized for both iPhone and iPad)
$0.99

Discovr Music is a $1.99 iPhone application that helps you do exactly what its name suggests. It works in a similar way to last.fm but instead of listing similar music acts, it displays suggestions graphically in interconnected webs.

Discovr allows you to see how the music you love might be connected with other artists. All you have to do is give the name of a band you love and the app will show you music that is similar to said band. All similar artists are drawn up and connected by web-like lines that you can navigate and create additionally similar groups of artists off of. Double tap on an artist to see additional information about them, listen to samples, and catch up on their latest news. If you find an artist you like, you can share it with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.

While we’re sure that there are many other apps out there that help you discover music in countlessly unique ways, these are seven of the ones we enjoy best. Did we miss any of your favorites?

7 Awesome Apps For Discovering Great Music is a post by App Chronicles

Once you’re all caught up on what President Obama had to say in the State of the Union, it’s time to get back to business and examine the State of the App Store. This week’s theme appears to be pretty casual, as we’ve got a platformer, an auto-runner, a baseball sim, and some real-time strategy. Check below for a quick peak at what each has to offer.

Baseball Superstars 2012

Baseball Superstars® 2012. Universal (Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone) (4.5 stars with 6551 Ratings)

Free

Gamevil knows what they’re doing when it comes to baseball, so fans of the franchise won’t have to think twice before picking up this free download. As usual, expect a fully realized micromanagement system, as well as fun gameplay and a wealth of game modes. Only think twice if you find yourself geared toward a more stripped-down baseball experience like Homerun Battle 3D.

Paper Monsters

Paper Monsters Universal (Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone) (4.5 stars with 1105 Ratings)

$0.99

Revered developer Crescent Moon is back in the App Store to offer this 99-cent platformer. Featuring an eye-catching art style and big variety when it comes to gameplay, Paper Monsters feels like Little Big Planet- for the iPhone and iPad. It is definitely capable of getting a big draw from the platforming crowd.

One Epic Game

One Epic Game iPhone OS (3.5 stars with 47 Ratings)

$0.99

Maybe you’ve played it on PSP Mini, maybe not. Either way, Chillingo has done us a favor by bringing One Epic Game to the App Store for 99 cents. The auto-runner is always an irresistible genre on iPhone, so we have high hopes for this zombie/alien mash-up set in post-apocalyptic times.

Ant Raid for iPhone

Ant Raid for iPhone iPhone OS (4.5 stars with 10 Ratings)

$0.99

After establishing itself as a mainstay on the iPad, Ant Raid is making its way to the iPhone for just 99 cents. The game features real-time strategy gameplay played out by—you guessed it—a colony of tiny ants. It’s fun and challenging on the iPad, so we expect the same from its iPhone counterpart.

New iOS games out now! Baseball Superstars 2012, Paper Monsters, One Epic Game, & More is a post by App Chronicles

Before I get into my impressions, I feel I should take a moment to lay out my academic credentials. In my day job, I am a full time faculty member with a private college in the Detroit area. My specialty is English Language and Literature, and much of my workday is spent teaching students how to write for college. I have a Master’s Degree in English, and I am currently working on a PhD in Instructional Technology. While I don’t claim to be a foremost expert on app design, I would like to think that I know a thing or two about what might work in the classroom.

Which leads me back to iBooks 2 and iTunes U. When I loaded them up, I immediately liked what I saw. As an educator, I’m constantly looking for new ways to present course materials, to engage students, and to facilitate learning. Over the past decade or so, so many new ideas have come out of technology — everything from e-mail to Facebook to Twitter — and into the classroom that sometimes its hard to tell what’s a legitimately new tool for teaching, and which is an idea that just isn’t going anywhere.

iBooks 2 and iTunes U would seem to fall into the former category. There’s real potential here. The sample textbook offered in iBooks, for example — E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth: An Introduction (iBookStore Link) — is a fine example of how books are becoming more than just, well, books. Life on Earth: An Introduction boasts more interesting images, videos, and interactive elements than many webpages do. And iTunes U takes what was already a great resource (I’ve used audio files downloaded from iTunes U in my courses before) and packages it in a form that is both useful and effective, and also a form that offers additional functionality.

Here’s the thing, though. You can’t just put together a tool like this and accept it to change the face of education by itself.  iBooks 2 and iTunes U are great tools, but utilizing them will require a real effort on the part of educators, because curriculum matters.

Apple seems to be reaching out to textbook publishers, and they seem to be reaching out to school administrators. But I hope that somewhere in their plans, Apple is reaching out to the teachers and the instructional designers who are in charge of writing the curricula. Because if the curriculum isn’t designed to utilize the technology to the fullest, then all these great things become nothing more than expensive bells and whistles adorning an otherwise stale learning experience. You can’t just swap out a paper textbook for an iPad and expect the student to know what to do. He or she will just read the new textbook the same way they did the old. Or he won’t read the new textbook the same way he didn’t read the old, more likely!

Luckily, there are educators out there embracing new paradigms in learning, utilizing new technologies, and things like iBooks 2 and iTunes U could really boost those new initiatives. Take, for example, the case of Clintondale High School in Clinton Township, MI, which recently had success with a “flipped” classroom model. In Clintondale, students view lectures at home, posted to YouTube and other online outlets, and then come into the classroom and do their “home” work with the teachers. And they’ve had real success with it!  They’re leveraging existing technology in a way that helps their students succeed.

So, what happens if you plug an iPad into the hands of every kid in Clintondale? Lectures can be delivered in a more consistent format via iTunes U, which also comes with other tools to keep kids connected and on track. Textbooks can be delivered in the more dynamic iBooks format, great for a curriculum already learner-driven and student-centered. If the educators at Clintondale aren’t salivating over iBooks and iTunes U, they should be. It could be a legitimate boost to their already successful curriculum.

As an educator, I love to see a company like Apple developing tools specifically to help our kids learn. It will get their attention, it will make them interested, it will prime them for learning. But I desperately hope that Apple is reaching out to teachers as well as to publishers with ideas on how these new tools can be utilized. And I hope that school administrators realize that these tools will only be effective if the curriculum is designed to use them to the fullest. Anything less will be a wasted opportunity — for Apple, for schools, and ultimately for us all.

iBooks 2 and iTunes U: Excellent New Tools, But Not the Cure-All for Education is a post by App Chronicles

In some ways, Siri has nothing to worry about. After all, Evi isn’t built into your iPhone, and thus can’t offer the convenience of tapping into your calender/reminders/clock to set up your day. That’s sure to turn some potential users away from Evi, especially those who already have a healthy relationship with Siri… But then there’s the matter of searching the web and getting answers to all kinds of trivia that comes to mind. It’s here where Evi appears to soundly beat out Siri.

The app comes to us from True Knowledge, and it’s powered by Nuance voice recognition technology. What gives Evi such an edge for answering your questions is her extremely deep database and built-in web browser. Instead of pointing you to another source like Siri often does, Evi wants to answer your questions right within the app, and early video of the app in progress makes it look like she does quite an impressive job.

Though both virtual assistants are still considered to be in beta mode at this time, it looks like you can put Evi on the fast track to getting smarter and becoming more useful. By rating her answers, you teach Evi about her job and potentially make her more effective at doing it.

So are you content with Siri, or is it time to play the field? Evi is currently available in the App Store for $0.99.

Can Evi help you More than Siri? Try a new Virtual Assistant is a post by App Chronicles

Now, I’m not exactly the most creative person when it comes to design elements and color schemes. I can’t design anything my mom would want to put up on the refrigerator, and I struggled to comprehend the wonders of MS Paint as a kid growing up. Thankfully, there are a litany of apps out there that help me overcome my creative shortcomings by allowing me to easily customize my iPhone’s home and lock screen with gorgeous photos, drawings, and designs.

Pimp Your Screen might be one of the best. This app offers a broad selection of well-designed wall papers for iOS devices of all sizes, making it easy to customize your new look.

First of all, take a gander through Pimp Your Screen’s arsenal of gorgeous retina display ready wallpapers and find which one suits you best. There are plenty of themes for all kind of occasions, including updated ones for whatever current holiday season you are celebrating. Once you’ve found the one you like best, simply tap SAVE, and the photo will be saved to your device’s camera roll. From there, hop on over to your camera roll, select said photo, then save it as either a wall paper or lock screen item, and you’re good to go. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

If you want more customization, you can customize the wall paper even further by using the Lock Screen and Home Screen Maker feature. This feature allows you to select your preferred wall paper, but also add on overlay shelves, icon skins, and other images over the original. It’s actually very easy to do and gives you even more options to customize your specific look.

Personally, being the OCD freak that I am, I rather enjoy the shelves feature. This theme will give an organized look to your screen by placing a shelf underneath all of the apps, thus making them appear to be resting upon a mantle of some sort. The shelving options are numerous, ranging from mahogany style to a futuristic industrial look. It’s also fun to try and see which shelves couple nicely with certain wall papers, and your customization options are virtually endless.

One thing I particularly liked about the app was that it gave me a preview feature. This feature overlays a set of app icons, or the lock screen, over the wall paper of your choosing so you can take a look at what the proposed job would look like when finished. This saves you the time and effort of going through all of the work yourself, only to get back to your home screen to find out that you don’t really like the look all that much anyway.

The images and previews load rather quickly, so you it doesn’t take a lot of time to get the look you want; that is if you’ve already found the perfect wall paper for whatever your tastes are in that moment, which I’ll talk more about below.

It’s great to have such a huge selection of wall papers, but this ultimately can prove to be a little bit of a problem. There really isn’t a simple, organized way to browse through all of your options. You’re basically left to just peruse through every picture, one by one, until you have found the one you like. But if you want to keep going to see more, you’ll have to keep searching through them in a linear manner, one by one, and do the same if you want to regress back to a previous photo. This disorganization is a minor problem, really, but it would certainly make things much easier if you could browse through via category and themes.

As far as home and lock screen customization apps go, Pimp Your Screen does its job quite nicely. There are already a healthy number of wall paper choices, with more being added on a frequent basis; so if you haven’t found many you’re particularly fond of right off the bat, you’re sure to stumble across one eventually. It’s simple, easy to use, and does its job nicely. What more can you ask for?

And at the price of a cheeseburger ($.99), it’s a more than justified purchase. Besides, we could all use one less cheeseburger.

Our Score: 4.5 Out of 5

Pimp Your Screen Review: It enables you to do just that… is a post by App Chronicles

For those of you for whom the movie might not have been enough, though, today we offer you The Adventures of Tin Tin game for iOS devices. The game is based on the 2011 film, though with a few tweaks here and there. As promotional game tie-ins go, they’re typically pretty disappointing. Fortunately for Tin Tin, that’s not at all the case; but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Just in case you aren’t aware of what The Adventures of Tin Tin is all about, here’s the scoop, via IMDB:

“Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock’s ancestor.”

So, a basic treasure hunting story. What more could an adventurous person want?

The launching point of the game begins with Tintin looking through a market place, whereupon he finds an ornate sailing ship model. Immediately after making the purchase, our protagonist encounters a rude man named Ivan, who offers to buy the ship off of Tintin. After being refused, Ivan stomps away in a huff, leaving Tintin rather perplexed. Not long after, Tintin is assaulted and has his ship stolen. Using his natural detective inclinations, he is able to surmise who he thinks is behind the robbery, and sets out to get back his stolen ship.

The Adventures of Tintin – The Game is an amalgamation of many different genres. One minute players will be using third-person stealth to sneak into a mansion, the next they will be on-rails, running away from an angry dog, solving puzzles, and competing in quick time events to escape. It’s a really impressive mix of ideas, and will keep the player interested throughout.

The controls are generally responsive, although sometimes the game didn’t correctly recognize swipes. Moving the character feels really smooth, with the on-screen virtual d-pad reacting well. At the start of the game the player is asked if they wish to turn on motion controls, and it’s something worth doing as there is some clever implementation further in. There’s also some nice interaction in cutscenes, where the player can tap the screen to collect coins as the camera pans around.

One thing that really stands out to me is the quality of the graphics. The game comes in at a hefty 846 MB, and the developers at Gameloft used every bit of that space to give the player a wonderfully thought out and imaginative experience. All character models look fantastic, especially Tintin, and the environments are superb.

As superb as the graphics are, the same can’t really be said about the voice acting, which is weak at best. Also, unfortunately my game seemed to suffer from a high number of crashes, and every time one happened it would take about ten minutes and multiple reloads for the game to work again. Obviously this was incredibly frustrating, and whole areas would have to be repeated.

Overall, I found this game to be fantastically entertaining, even with the periodic crash problems. Like I said before, most promotional tie-in games are incredibly subpar and have a rushed feel to them, but not Tintin. The game stands alone pretty well, even if you’ve never seen the movie. It’s easy to follow, but still gives a little bit of a challenge and mystery to keep you occupied, and it has a very clean nature to it, so it’s perfect for kids and grown ups alike.

The Adventures of Tintin comes with a $4.99 price tag, but for an immersive game like this, the price is well worth it.

The Adventures of Tintin Review: Reliving the Days of Your Childhood is a post by App Chronicles

The App Store is back in full swing following the holidays, and this week brings a whole batch of new titles to check out. Read on for more on the latest from Gameloft and others.

Urban Crime

Urban Crime Universal (Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone)

(4 stars with 1203 Ratings)

Free

The recipe for this latest effort from Gameloft looks to be some sort of combination of Gangstar and Six Guns. The download is free, but those with experience in the freemium model know that Gameloft will be asking for your money if you want the good stuff like inventory space, ammo, etc… Regardless, it’s worth watching the trailer to see if crime, Miami, and freemium are worth your time.

Roo Roo Run

Run Roo Run HD iPad Only

(4 stars with 719 Ratings)

$1.99

Simple premises make great games, so there’s reason to hope that this effort from the makers of Scribblenauts could be a good one. Play as a kangaroo who is searching for her baby as you traverse each level and overcome obstacles. It can all be had for just 99 cents (iPhone version) .

Star Marine: Infinite Ammo

Star Marine: Infinite Ammo iPhone OS

(4 stars with 120 Ratings)

$1.99

There are lots of retro shooters for the iPhone, but perhaps none that come this close to the classic Contra experience. That’s what we’re hoping, anyway. This 2D side-scroller is looking slick, and we’re anxious to find out if it’s worth the $1.99.

This Week’s Hot New Games. Star Marine, Roo Roo Run, and Urban Crime is a post by App Chronicles

Everything I just said above applies to Venture Towns . In this case, it’s Kairosoft’s take of SimCity — build a town, watch the population grow, avoid disasters, invest in the future. It is another time and resource management sim done up with the cutesy 8-bit graphics that Kairosoft is so good at. You build town, attract citizens, and manage both to become a thriving metropolis. You’re being ranked and evaluated periodically, so growth is essential to success.

This game does seem more difficult than some of the other Kairosoft games. Maybe it’s just that town management is more difficult than managing a school or a racing team; but I found my first effort (and even my second effort) very quickly spiraling into failure before I began to figure out the formula for success. I haven’t failed at a Kairosoft game this hard since my first time through Game Dev Story. Once again, I found myself wishing that Kairosoft was a little better at building in a tutorial system, but I also liked the challenge.

On the one hand, it carries all the positives of the prior Kairosoft titles. Kairosoft games are inviting to play and fun to immerse yourselves in.Kairosoft titles are defined in part by their complex, layered success mechanics. Figuring out what buildings should go next to other buildings, which research items are best to invest in, which jobs are best for which citizens – this is what will take up your time in Venture Towns. Kairosoft games carry a heavy dose of puzzle and analytical thinking, at least until you unlock the formula for success.

On the other hand, the game suffers from a sameness issue. Like object-launching puzzle games in the App Store have all started to feel alike (and usually like Angry Birds),

Venture Towns suffers from one other deficit that the rest of the English-language Kairosoft stable does not: it’s too close in concept to another Kairosoft game, Oh! Edo Towns. Really, it feels like little more than an Americanized version of that very Japanese-flavored title. It’s a nice change for those of us who don’t relate so well to Japanese culture and history; but it means that the sameness factor of all Kairosoft games is enhanced here, and the play value a bit diminished.

I don’t think Venture Towns would be a good “first game” for Kairosoft newbies. It’s a good game in general, but not a great one. If you’re well into the Kairosoft library and looking for the next title, definitely pick this up. After all, you know what to expect! But don’t be surprised if you start to feel, just a little bit, that the formula is starting to wear thin.

Our Score: 3 out of 5.

Venture Towns Review: Kairosoft’s Edges Are Beginning to Show is a post by App Chronicles

In Amazing Breaker, you launch glowing, exploding baubles at colorful sculptures of ice. The goal is to blow up as much of the sculpture as possible; the more you blow up, the better your ranking, and if you don’t hit a destructive minimum you fail and have to start over. Helping you along the way are various kinds of bombs — chaining bombs, ghost bombs, bombs that split into threes — and you also have the ability to earn more bombs as you destroy (and figuring out how to get those extra bombs is necessary to defeat some levels).

In general, the game is very fun to play. Any game that roots itself in explosive destruction is a good one. Firing off bombs is fun, and creating chains of six, seven, even eight bombs to all explode in a row is both challenging and rewarding. Like any good puzzle game, this one offers that “one more try” element — if you fail, you want to do it just *one more time*, and if you succeed, there’s just *one more level* to play before you’re done.

The game’s interesting visuals help, too. Instead of bright, clean colors or a cartoony look, this game almost feels Victorian, with a steampunk flavoring to it. The “ice sculptures” that you destroy look great, generally, with some interesting color use and a sheen that almost feels like glass.

That’s not to say the game doesn’t suffer from some problems. Principal amongst these is that there’s simply not enough room at the bottom of the screen to aim and align your shot. The catapult is too close to the scoring bar, and so when you pull all the way back you can easily slip into the scoring zone and launch before you’re ready. This can get really frustrating!

There’s also some issues with difficulty. First, it’s one of those games that only awards you a full 3 stars with 100% destruction; so even if there’s a sliver of ice left, a handful of pixels so small you can barely see it … that’s 99% and you’re out one star. These kinds of games can definitely irritate.

Second, the game sometimes suffers from a bumpy difficulty progression. One board can seem ridiculously easy; but it can be followed by a board that makes you want to spit in frustration. Granted, all puzzle games suffer this to some degree. But the problem seemed especially acute at times in Amazing Breaker. I hope future levels even things out a bit.

While I don’t foresee Amazing Breaking joining the ranks of an Angry Birds or a Cut the Rope in the annals of all-time great puzzle games, it is a very solid title. With some update tweaks and some better managed update levels, it can certainly become one of those games you keep on your iPhone for a long time.

Our Score: 4 out of 5.

Amazing Breaker Review: Explosive Fun! is a post by App Chronicles

The Sonic CD port was done using the Retro Engine, a system developed independently by Christian Whitehead. Apparently, the process was a difficult one — for technical reasons, Sonic CD couldn’t be ported as easily as the other Sonic games.  But Whitehead’s achieved something nice here. The whole game is impressively ported. It looks good, it plays well, and it’s as complete as copyright will allow. It even includes the awesome opening animation!

In addition, the game comes with some neat extras, such as the option to use the Japanese or American soundtrack (it defaults to Japanese) and the original or Genesis spin dash. There are also Game Center achievements (a welcome nod to modern gaming),leader boards, and unlockable extras. All in all, there is a lot of Sonic gameplay here. It’s the most robust Sonic port we’ve seen, apart from Sonic Racing.

The one thing about the port I’m not particularly fond of is the limited d-pad. It’s trying to imitate a Sega controller, but it’s just … not good. This sort of thing doesn’t work well without the tactile feel of the d-pad. Personally, I’d prefer a floating virtual pad, as has become the standard in iOS gaming, or even the looser virtual stick from Sonic 4.

The game itself is more difficult to review, as we’re talking a classic of a bygone era. Sonic CD is generally well-loved by fans of the series. It takes it’s cues from the other Sonic 2D titles, so anyone who’s played the other iOS ports will recognize the green grass level, the water level, the casino level, etc.  Sonic CD did not forge new territory when it released.

Where the game got innovative was in its time travel mechanism. Sonic CD was one of the first games to use the “same level in past, present, and future” trick that we’ve seen many times since. This is both a blessing and a curse for the game. It can be very confusing for more casual players, like those who have only been introduced to Sonic via the iOS ports. For hardcore players willing to invest the time, though, figuring out when to go into the past, what future to use (Good or Bad futures exist in the game), and how to achieve maximum success can be a blast. If you’re a speed player, though, Sonic CD can get a little frustrating.

So, bottom line: Christian Whitehead did a phenomenal job porting this. If you like the Sonic franchise and have enjoyed Sega’s previous iOS ports, this is a no-brainer. Buy the game. If you’re new to the Sonic franchise, I’d say start somewhere else and work your way up to this one. Sonic CD is a great game, but it’s neither the purest nor the easiest entry into the franchise.

Our score: 4.5 out of 5.

Sonic CD Review: Powerful Port of a Classic Sequel is a post by App Chronicles

1. Splashtop Remote Desktop for iPad

iPad Only
$4.99

If you have an iPad and a laptop computer, then you have to get Splashtop Remote Desktop. This app basically turns your iPad into a touchscreen PC or Mac. The idea is simple. With a home Wi-Fi or wireless internet connection, you control your computer remotely on your iPad.

That means you can run any flash content directly on your iPad. Watch TV shows on Hulu without paying for premium mobile subscriptions. Play any flash only games on Facebook or other websites directly on your iPad. You can even play computer only games like Civilization V on the iPad with ease. Splashtop also lets you run and control desktop only applications like Powerpoint right on your iPad.

The video quality streamed to your iPad is superb. You can run a movie on your desktop and stream it on your iPad. Hook up your computer to a HDTV, and you can now pause, fast forward, or rewind your movie playing on the big screen straight from the iPad.

The controls are easy to learn and simple to use. Within an hour, you should be able to control all desktop functions with ease. You can now lazily lie on your couch and control your desktop computer effortlessly without getting up. With so many possibilities to add to your iPad experience, Splashtop Remote Desktop is our number 1 choice for the must-have iPad app.

Our Score: 4 Out of 5 (Read Full Review)

2. iCab Mobile (Web Browser)

Universal
$1.99

Sure, iOS 5 may have added tabbed browsing to make switching between web pages a little easier, but it is still far from being the ideal web browser. iCabMobile is the iPad browser we use daily because of its full screen mode, customizable gesture controls, ability to customize links opening in the background tabs, file downloading capability, Dropbox support, intuitive user interface and more!

iCabMobile works best in full screen mode. With gesture controls, you can simply swipe to go to the next tab. Semi-transparent icons located near the edge of the screen lets you search, enter new urls, and perform other browser specific tasks with ease all in the full screen mode. iCabMobile should give you an entirely new browsing experience when viewing images and web pages from across the web. If you are not pleased with the default Safari browser, give iCabMobile a try today!

3. Flipboard

Universal
Free

Does Flipboard even need an introduction? As Apple’s iPad app of the year in 2010, this app turns your iPad into a social digital magazine. Not only can you add your favorite websites to your feed and present it in a format similar to a magazine. You can also add your Facebook and Twitter accounts and interact with your favorite social media content right on the Flipboard app. Like your friend’s status and retweet a favorite tweet. View the entire photo albums your friend has just posted on Facebook, Flipboard style. With such a wonderful approach to social media, it may make you forget those native Facebook and Twitter apps available in the App Store.

Our Score: 5 Out of 5 (Read Our Review)

4. Zinio

Universal
Free

Sure, there’s a Newstand app on the iPad that gives you access to digital magazines. But Zinio’s selection is bigger with the newest, up-to-date sample articles you can read for free. It’s layout is easier to navigate as you explore the abundant full magazine issues available for in-app purchase. Check it out, it might change the way you read periodicals on the iPad.

5. Snapseed

Universal
$4.99

As Apple’s pick for number 1 app of the year in 2011, Snapseed is the only photo editing app you need to add those special touches to your photos in your iPad. The Auto Correct feature automatically make your photos look better by adjusting color and exposure to perfection. Fine tune specific areas in your photos with selective adjustment feature. Adding a few photo effects such as vintage or drama doesn’t hurt too. Best of all, Snapseed has a unique gesture based controls to fine tune your photos with ease. If you are looking for the best photo editing tools for your iPad, Snapseed is your top choice.

Our Score: 5 Out of 5 (Read the Review)

6. iTunes Movie Trailers

Universal
Free

If you are looking for the newest exclusive trailers of upcoming movies like Batman, Avengers, or Men in Black III, iTunes Movie Trailers is the app to get on your iPad. Watching trailers has never been easier. Simply launch this app and you’ll be given a variety of high quality movie trailers to choose from. If you have an Apple TV, you can even stream the content directly onto your big screen TV. It is a great way to check out the newest movies in the theaters as well as new dvd releases. Add it to your iPad app collection. It’s free!

7. Good Reader

iPad Only
$4.99

In the age of digital mobile computing, PDFs may soon replace paper documents as we use our mobile phones as pocket scanners and iPads as the preferred device to view digital documents. Good Reader helps you manage and edit those big PDF files with ease. With Good Reader, you can finally read that 50-page PDF files on your iPad. Highlight important points and add customized notes like in real paper. Good Reader not only handles PDF files, it also handles Microsoft Office files like Word, Powerpoint, Excel, iWork files, and TXT files. If you work with a lot of PDF files in your everyday life, be sure to grab the Good Reader app.

Our Score: 5 Out of 5 (Read the Review)

8. PenUltimate

iPad Only
$0.99

If you think the iPad will replace paper in the near future, you are probably right. With PenUltimate and a iPad stylus, you can naturally write on the iPad as if on a real piece of paper. It is perfect for taking notes at a meeting. Students with an iPad may use it to take notes in class. The notes taken on PenUltimate can then be converted to PDF or other formats. Its ease of use and great execution make it the top choice among a variety of notetaking apps.

Our Score: 4.5 Out of 5 (Read the Review)

9. Pages

Universal
$9.99

If you are looking for a heavy duty word processor for your iPad, Pages may be the app of choice. It has all the word processing features like fonts, margins, images, spell check, and more you need to write a full report on your iPad. Recent update has also allowed it to save your document directly into Microsoft Word .docx format. Introduction of iCloud in iOS 5 successfully brings your documents created on Pages onto the cloud. With so many features, Pages has really become the premier office application on the iPad.

Our Score: 4.5 Out of 5 (Read Our Review)

10. iThoughts HD

iPad Only
$9.99

When you need to plan a project or a report, it would be nice to draw a flow chart to brainstorm your ideas. With the iPad, you no longer need to draw them on a piece of paper. You can easily create, edit your flow charts, and save them to the cloud (Dropbox support) for later use with the iThoughts HD app. Intuitive drag and drop controls make this mindmapping map very easy to pick up. You can add or rearrange a variety of customizable word bubbles anyway you wish.

If you need an app help you brainstorm ideas, plan projects, organize goals, take quick notes in meetings or classes, this is the mindmapping app of choice to keep on your iPad for everyday use.

Our Score: 5 Out of 5 (Read the Review)

We have only include 10 top iPad apps in this list. There must be some that we’ve missed. Feel free to add the names of these apps in our comments section!

Top 10 Must-Have Apps to SuperCharge Your iPad is a post by App Chronicles

Many of the hottest and best apps listed here have their prices dropped to the low of $0.99. With their regular price floating around $6.99-$9.99, you’ll be saving a 80% to 90% off the original price!

Christmas is arriving in the next few days. What better way to celebrate Christmas with your family with A Charlie Brown Christmas. This interactive digital book received a 4.5 Out of 5 stars in our review. With the regular price set at $6.99, grabbing this Christmas gem at $0.99 is a steal!

Real Racing 2 set a standard for iPhone and iPad gaming with its console quality graphics and realistic racing gameplay. It is one of the few apps that support Airplay. With your iPhone 4S or iPad 2, and an Apple TV, you can enjoy this iOS app on the big screen, and effectively turn your iOS device into a gaming console comparable to PS3 or Xbox360. Don’t miss this incredible sale price of $0.99, its lowest price ever.

Dead Space for iPad is Apple top pick as the iPad game game of the year. You can grab this gem now for a mere $0.99. With its regular price set $9.99. You’ll be saving 90% off the regular price!

Other great games sitting at rock bottom prices include Sonic 4, Gangstar Rio, Sonic All Star Racing, Monopoly for iPad, Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD, FIFA 12, BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY 2 for iPad. Don’t miss these great deals!

For 10 more best app deals this Christmas Holidays, visit our Christmas Holiday app deals Round 2.

1. A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas Universal (Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone)

(4.5 stars with 2285 Ratings)

$6.99 → $6.99

Read Review

2. Real Racing 2 HD

Real Racing 2 HD iPad Only

(4.5 stars with 8234 Ratings)

$6.99 → $6.99

Read Review

Real Racing 2 iPhone OS

(4.5 stars with 13428 Ratings)

$4.99 → $4.99

Read Review

3. Dead Space

Dead Space™ for iPad iPad Only

(4.5 stars with 3192 Ratings)

$9.99 → $9.99

Read Review

Dead Space™ iPhone OS

(4.5 stars with 5147 Ratings)

$6.99 → $6.99

Read Review

4. Sonic The Hedgehog 4™ Episode I

Sonic The Hedgehog 4™ Episode I iPhone OS

(4 stars with 2836 Ratings)

$3.99 → $3.99

Read Review

5. Gangstar Rio: City of Saints

Gangstar Rio: City of Saints Universal (Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone)

(4.5 stars with 3563 Ratings)

$6.99 → $6.99

Read Review

6. Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing

Universal: Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone

(4.5 stars with 5664 Ratings)

$1.99 → $1.99

Read Review

7. MONOPOLY for iPad

MONOPOLY for iPad iPad Only

(3.5 stars with 4202 Ratings)

$9.99 → $9.99

Read Review

8. Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD

Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD Universal (Optimized for Both the iPad and iPhone)

(4 stars with 5234 Ratings)

$4.99 → $6.99

9. FIFA SOCCER 12 by EA SPORTS for iPad

FIFA SOCCER 12 by EA SPORTS for iPad iPad Only

(4.5 stars with 5379 Ratings)

$9.99 → $9.99

10. BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY™ 2 for iPad

BATTLEFIELD: BAD COMPANY™ 2 for iPad iPad Only

(3 stars with 568 Ratings)

$9.99 → $9.99

For 10 more best app deals this Christmas Holidays, visit our Christmas Holiday app deals Round 2.

Top 10 Christmas Holiday App Deals. 99¢ on Charle Brown Christmas, Real Racing 2, DeadSpace, & More! is a post by App Chronicles

So what puts GTA miles ahead of the competition? Where to start… From top to bottom, Rockstar has brought the whole Liberty City atmosphere to the iPhone. That means the characters, the music, the dialogue, and the compelling missions are all represented—and with surprising execution. It’s interesting to notice how much these creative touches make a difference, because when you turn to the controls, we find that GTA III is not without it’s flaws.

For the most part, you can navigate around the city without much trouble. Walking, running, and driving are pleasurable experiences by and large. It’s when things get dicey that the mobile version of GTA starts to feel a little less polished. Gunplay in particular can be frustratingly inaccurate, relying on an auto-target system that can leave you shooting multiple pedestrians rather than the fleeing villain who owes your boss money. This troublesome shooting system can be lumped in with the turn arrows that dictate your vehicle’s direction. These elements are definite workarounds when compared to the precision that existed on the console version of GTA III, and they serve to make the mobile version much harder (which can be a turnoff at times). When working with a screen full of digital “buttons,” it’s all too easy for things to descend into frustration in a hurry.

But enough about the game’s flaws, because there are precious few others to mention… I’ve got to admit that some of the things making this a standout title in the App Store are intangibles. It’s far more possible to lose yourself in Liberty City than it is in any other open-world game available for iPhone. While Gameloft’s efforts might LOOK similar, they’re not as tightly-scripted and nowhere near as compelling. In GTA III, you’ll often find yourself replaying a mission until your eyes get tired of staring at the screen—never giving a second thought to the fact that you’re gunning down a bad guy while in a full-on police pursuit, and it’s all on your iPhone in full 3D… The quality of what goes on in Liberty City is good enough to make you forget this incredible feat and just focus on the downright good times to be had.

So whether you’re a veteran returning to your old haunts 10 years after the fact, or if this is your first time stepping foot in Liberty City, get ready for a wild ride. As was always the case, one of the great things about GTA III is that it can be played however you’d like. Just get behind the wheel of a sports car and cruise around if you feel like it, or get busy taking jobs if you want to pull in cash and purchase some nasty weapons. We’re glad to see this departure from Chinatown Wars (or this return to traditional gameplay), and we can only hope that the community response to this 10th anniversary edition of GTA will encourage Rockstar to get busy bringing something completely original to the App Store. This port is more than enough to ensure that iOS gamers all over would highly anticipate such a release.

Our Score: 4 Out of 5

Grand Theft Auto III Review: An Amazing Rendition of the Console Classic on the iOS is a post by App Chronicles

Enter Snapseed, from the folks at Nik Software.

Snapseed is a powerful photo editor for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, packaged in a dead simple way that minimizes the confusion and intimidation many amateur photographers experience.

In a lot of ways, Snapseed for iPhone and iPad is comparable to iPhoto, in that you are given easy to use tools to adjust your photos, including color, exposure, cropping, straightening, and tuning, as well as adjusting saturation, contrast, and white balance.

If these features are too much for you or a little intimidating and you’re not sure what to do with them, you can also add some vintage over-lays to your photos, á la Instagram. While there aren’t as many options as Instagram, these work just fine, in my opinion.

Here’s a great run down of Snapseed’s features:

Basic Adjustments

• Take Photos – Open photos from the Camera Roll or take new photos.

•Auto Correct – Automatically analyzes your photo and adjusts color and exposure to perfection.

• Selective Adjust – Make precise selections and enhancements to specific areas of your photos in seconds with Nik Software’s revolutionary U Point technology.

• Tune Image – Use Ambience to create depth and vibrancy that uniquely adapts to colors and textures. Adjust White Balance, Saturation, Contrast, more.

• Straighten & Rotate – Rotate 90° and/or straighten photos with simple gesture controls.

• Crop – Easily crop images to remove distracting parts of your photo, now with standard aspect ratios.

Enhancements

• Black & White – Get that classic Black and White look with this darkroom-inspired filter.

• Vintage Films – Make any photo look like a vintage color film photo from the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s.

• Drama – Add style with a custom effect specifically tailored to your photos, ranging from subtle textures to wildly artistic effects.

• Grunge – Give your photos a totally unique, hip, and dingy look.

• Tilt-Shift – Create a narrow in-focus area designed to simulate depth of field, common in a Miniature Scene look.

• Details – Enhance details with traditional sharpening or the unique Structure control found in the Nik Software professional products.

• Center Focus – Draw attention to the subject of your photo by blurring the surrounding background.

• Organic Frames – Add stylized borders to photos for the perfect finishing touch.

Sharing

• Email – Send images at original resolution.

• Social – Share on Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter (using iOS5).

• Print – Print wirelessly using Apple’s AirPrint technology

Now I consider myself to be a novice when it comes to photography, so the Auto Correct feature is a life saver in my book. It allows me to easily adjust the photo’s color and contrast setting without having to worry about what effects this might have on other aspects of my photo.

With Selective adjustment, you have the ability to do exactly what its name implies: select an area (or areas) of a photo and adjust them manually. For instance, if I have a photo of myself and three of my friends, it’s quite possible that I can adjust the saturation, contrast, and brightness of all of our faces to varying degrees. This gives the user even more control over what they want to do with the photo, and that can never be a bad thing.

Most of the other features are straightforward and highly simple to use. All you have to do is swipe up/down to select the enhancement of your choosing, and then swipe left/right to adjust said enhancement. This provides an intuitive feel to the app’s capabilities, and allows you to see your adjustments in real time.

As for the enhancements, they’re just as simple to use. Want to apply a tilt-shift effect? Just tap the icon and adjust with two fingers how big you want the effect to be, where you want it on the photo, and voilá, you’re good to go.

One feature that is incredibly useful is the ability to dump RAW images from a camera via Apple’s Camera Connection Kit. The drawback to this, though, is that you need an iPad 2 or an iPhone 4/4S.

Nik also says that the app will work with images up to 16 megapixels on these devices, so you have the opportunity for some serious photo editing right on your mobile device. If you don’t have these most current devices, you are relegated to 6.25 megapixels or lower and RAW image processing will not be available to you.

While experimenting with it on my iPhone, it quickly became apparent to me that I was utilizing one of the most powerful photo editing apps on the market. The ease of use with which I was afforded by Snapseed made it a fun and worthwhile experience.

It comes with a fairly hefty price tag at $4.99, but there’s a reason why Apple labeled the Snapseed as its Rewind iPad App of the Year. You get an amazing amount of capability out of that 5 bucks, while on the flip side you might pay 6x’s that amount for other comparable editing software programs for the Mac. For all that you get for that kind of price, I’d be hard pressed to find another photo editing app as good as Snapseed.

Snapseed Review: Most powerful Photo editing app in the App Store? is a post by App Chronicles

I only feel comfortable nitpicking that great game because of what Chair Entertainment Group has done with the sequel. Infinity Blade 2 is everything you might have hoped. All the things we loved about the original have been expanded and most of the rough spots smoothed over. There’s simply not a better looking game in the App Store. Maybe I’ll regret saying it later, but with Infinity Blade 2, Chair has used the Unreal Engine to slash its way to near perfection.

You’ll get the sense that this is a serious sequel right from the beginning, when you’re met with a beautifully crafted prologue that walks you through some fights and sets up the story. It’s clear right away that the narrative is going deeper this time, as it gets more meta and allows itself to gain complexity over time. For all the atmospheric, creepy moods found in the original, its great fun to see that competent writers are behind Infinity Blade, and they’ll definitely keep you interested in between the swiping battles.

The gameplay tweaks don’t change the formula that made the first Infinity Blade so awesome, but they do serve to improve the experience. For example, the parry action is far more precise and usable—which is a good thing, because you can’t endlessly dodge anymore without getting fatigued and taking damage. Other factors that change the experience (for the better) include things like dual weapons and weapon gems (for bonus effects). None of these things overhaul the sort of fights return gamers rightfully expect, but they definitely take them to the next level.

Since Infinity Blade offers fights that are exclusively one-on-one, it’s worth noting the obvious effort that has been put into mixing up the strategies of your opponents. Their attacks come at you from a slew of new angles, requiring quick reactions and a sense of timing that sometimes takes a while to grasp… The size of these monsters, their weapons, their armor—everything offers something new to look at and a more difficult challenge to be faced on the battle floor.

Infinity Blade continues to be the franchise to track for any self-respecting iOS gamer. Unfortunately, it’s understandable if certain players didn’t feel that way after their first experiences with this sequel. Some widely-publicized bugs and glitches kept it from performing at its peak on slightly older devices like the iPhone 4, and this led some to assume that Chair had dropped the ball. But after a few short days the developer was back in the App Store with an update to address some of these issues, and while not everything might be worked out just yet, we feel confident that Chair isn’t going to leave anyone behind, and you can bet that you’ll definitely get $6.99 worth of entertainment out of Infinity Blade 2.

In all the coverage of this game since it’s release, not once have I seen anyone refer to it as a letdown compared to the original. That question won’t even be on your mind from the moment you launch the app and get swept into its world.

Our Score: 5 Out of 5

Infinity Blade 2 Review: Yes, it gets even Better! is a post by App Chronicles

Tiny Tower puts you in charge of a city high-rise, one that will get much higher under your care. As you play the game, you build a variety of retail and service oriented businesses, as well as private aprtments where “Bitizens” can live (and you need those Bitizens to run your stores). Your job is to assign the right Bitizens to the right jobs, to keep the stores stocked, and to keep building more and more spaces. You also get to tend to various visitors and tasks. As your stores grow, they make more money; which is good, since the building keeps getting more and more expensive to maintain and expand.

 Tiny Towers works as well as it does in part by balancing the demands of tending your tower with the realities of casual gaming. This isn’t like Farmville — evil, evil Farmville! — that requires constant attention to avoid spoilage and wasted resources. The game is built more on the concept of setting things in motion, then coming back when it’s convenient; if things “wind down” while you’re away, you’ll stop earning money, but you won’t be penalized for it. Thus, regular tending is rewarded, while inattention is not penalized; instead, if you leave the game alone for long enough, all of the stores will run out of stock and close, and you’ll just have to spend time restocking them all the next time you play.

Of course, as the game goes longer and the demand for resources increases, you can always buy your way to success.   The goal of the game is to generate both money and “bux,” the buyable currency of the game. Bux get you … well, everything. It costs bux to speed things up; it costs bux to move things; it costs bux to buy extra money. Luckily, you can buy bux in packages ranging from $0.99 to $29.99. Don’t worry, though; Tiny Tower is not one of those freemium games where you practically NEED to buy to play. The more you play actively, the more you’ll earn bux just through the course of play. It’s slower, but it works. For more hints and tips on getting more free bux in game, visit our Tiny Tower Walkthrough page.

One place where Tiny Tower falls flat, for me, is the graphics. The game is presented in a retro 8-bit style, and while I don’t mind retro at all, here it just comes off as flat and uninspired. Especially annoying are the Bitizens, who all look like Domos in costumes, and who have these flappy fish mouthes that make them look like brainless mouthbreathers. I just don’t get the look. The background music is likewise dismissible (and I quickly did).

Did Tiny Tower deserve to be App of the Year? That’s a discussion for a different column. But in terms of providing balanced freemium play that keeps you coming back, Tiny Tower is pretty good. If these sorts of games are a draw for you, and if you’re looking for a new way to waste five minutes on the bus, or in line at the theatre, or just before dinner, than try it out.

Our Score: 4 out of 5.

Tiny Tower Review: Freemium Fun that Made it Apple’s Top iPhone Game of 2011 is a post by App Chronicles

Unfortunately, what I got was not exactly the game I used to love. At a fundamental level, I don’t know that the folks responsible for this app understood Tetris — what makes it fun, what makes it a classic. As we’ve seen too many times before in the App Store, the makers were not content to simply bring Tetris, unmolested, to the device. They had to throw in extras. And those extras really rub me the wrong way.

The game has three different modes, which I find to be two modes too many. And those modes bring very different things to the table. So, one at a time …

For the Tetris purists out there (like me): The mode you want is Marathon mode. This is classic Tetris, with touch controls that mimic the classic control scheme — tap to rotate, slide with your thumb to move side-to-side, and flick down to drop. This is by far my favorite way to play, because it feels the most like Tetris.There’s something visceral about the flicking down of a piece that feels like I’ve got an old NES controller in my hands.

Unfortunately, there were a few times where the screen registered a tap and a slide, and visa versa, and I’d have to recorrect where / what orientation my piece was, and a few times where I didn’t notice the change and suffered a bad placement for it. Other than this occasional moment of frustration, this is Tetris, as it should be. If you’re a Tetris fan and didn’t download the old version of the app, this is probably worth 99 cents to you.

For general Tetris fans, and those new to the game: The new Tetris app introduces a new way to play: One-Touch. Rather than the dropping block and physical manipulation, One-Touch mode introduces a new system: the piece hangs there, a clock counts down, and you’re presented with numbered options for where to place your piece. Don’t like the options? Tap the screen to cycle into another set. I personally found this mode to be too slow and cumbersome; frankly, I think on my toes with Tetris, and having to cycle through four or five screens of options to find the one I wanted just threw off my rhythm.  Plus, it didn’t *feel* like Tetris. But I can see it being a bit easier for newer players, in that it lets them better visualize where pieces can go.

If you’re not a big Tetris players but want to learn the game, this is the mode for you. Then, when you’ve learned enough to get annoyed by swapping out options, Marathon Mode will be waiting for you.

For those of you who love to be nickeled-and-dimed to death by microtransactions: Then there’s Galaxy mode, which is Tetris done up in the puzzle style that is both the blessing and the bane of the App Store. In Galazy mode, you’re presented with level challenges, most of which involve clearing the board, with morestars awarded for doing it faster and in fewer pieces. This mode also introduces power-ups — exploding and fragmenting pieces, for example — that you can use either freely (they recharge like spells in an MMO) or at the cost of virtual “T-Coins” per use. Oh, yes — T-Coins. Virtual Tetris currency. And if you don’t think you can’t buy a bundle of them from the App Store for $99.99, then you haven’t been playing many games on your iOS device.

In addition to the annoyance of having to deal with virtual currencies to play Tetris, you can also — and I am not making this up — subscribe to Tetris. As in, pay a monthly fee to play Tetris, that game that you can play perfectly well, for the cost of the App, over in Marathon Mode.  For the price of — again, not making this up! — $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, you get to earn T-Coins and Lines at a 15% faster rate than playing normally. So, for a monthly subscription, they don’t even oven up the game for you to play freely.

Ultimately, there’s enough good in Tetris as a game that it’s worth the price of admission here for the pure virtue of having Marathon mode (read: normal Tetris) on your iPhone; and those a little less zealous about their Tetris experience may warm to One-Touch mode, too. Unfortunately, the transaction-focused Galaxy mode comes along with it; it’s a feature of the game best left ignored. Sometimes, the best games are those that are simply designed and masterfully executed. And thankfully, they’re not charging you T-Coins or an extra 99 cents to play the mode you’ll want to play.

Our Score: 3 out of 5

Tetris (2011) Review: A Perfect Game, Overcomplicated is a post by App Chronicles

We here at App Chronicles understand that most of you probably already indulge in this app, but for those who might be unaware of the wonders it brings, we thought we’d give it a thorough run-down.

All you need to enjoy Instagram is an iPhone, an email address, and a password.

As photo editing/sharing apps go, this one makes the process dead simple. You can take a photo from within the app, or choose from your iPhone’s library. Once you’ve found the not-so-perfect shot, you can then move on to the editing process, wherein that photo can come a little closer to perfection.

It’s the editing process that sets Instagram apart, really. You can apply a number of effects to your photo, ranging from simple black and white (Inkwell) to plenty of other hipster-ish vintage overlays. You also have the ability to apply a tilt-shift effect to your photo, which has quickly become one of the most popular on the app.

Applying the filters is as easy as the push of a button, either in post or in real-time as you’re taking the picture, which gives you a nice preview of what your photo might look like before you take it.

Once you’ve found the look that’s perfect for your particular photo, you have a couple of choices: keep it for yourself, or share it with the rest of the world.

And when I say share, I mean it. Instagram supports pretty much any social network out there you can think of, and makes uploading almost as dead simple as editing.

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Flickr
• Tumblr
• Posterous
• Foursquare

As of right now, these are the supported networks you can share your photos to, so sharing your masterpiece with the world isn’t difficult by any means. In case you are a little shy or private about a certain photo, you can easily choose which network, if any, you want to load that specific photo to. So if you only want your friends on Instagram, or maybe just Facebook (or perhaps all of the other networks), to see what you just created, you are given that capability. It’s this ease of sharing that separates Instagram from other vintage photo-editing apps, like Hipstamatic. For me, I’m especially fond of Instagram’s integration with Foursquare, as it gives me the opportunity to not only check-in at a certain site, but document what I was doing there as well.

Something else that’s really great about this app that I touched on briefly before is that Instagram is in itself a social network. You can follow friends or various other artists/celebrities (á la Twitter), and see what kind of photos they’ve taken in your “Feed” tab. You’re also given the ability to comment and/or “heart” (similar to Facebook’s “like” function) the photos of your friends or people you follow. By participating in this sort of communal environment, every photographer can collaborate and take pointers from each other, creating a unique learning and sharing experience.

If you’re not sure who to follow, you can always jump to the “Popular” tab, and you’ll be given a rundown of which photos on Instagram are currently the most…well…popular. I’ve spent many hours of my life perusing through this list, finding random people who I think have a particularly wonderful or unique photographic eye, and started following them. Now I by no means consider myself an even competent photographer, but because of this interaction with the other users of the app, I have learned countless lessons on lighting, angles, and effect layering. I’d like to think that it has at least helped me to grow as an amateur photography hobbyist.

If I there were any sort of “cons” to Instagram, it would be that after applying your desired filter, you lose a little bit of image quality to said photo. It’s not a major degradation, but it’s necessary to allow the filter to be placed on the photo in the first place. Also, if you’re uploading a previously taken photo from your iPhone library, you’ll have to scale it down to fit into Instagram’s size restrictions. Aside from these nitpicky things though, I can’t find anything else wrong with it.

Instagram is perhaps the most simple and easy to comprehend photo editing app on the iTunes market. And it’s free! You can’t really beat that combination.

Instagram Review: This App is 2011′s #1 iPhone app for a reason… is a post by App Chronicles

I’m sure that as the year has gone by, there have been certain apps you’ve downloaded on a whim only to have them sweep you off your feet and become a permanent mainstay on your home screen… Those kinds of surprises are what make the App Store so much fun, and once a year Apple goes through the process of picking the apps they think were most extraordinary. It’s called the App Store Rewind, and today Apple announced its selections for 2011.

We’re pretty into games here at App Chronicles, and we were a little surprised to see that Tiny Tower took game of the year for iPhone. Sure, it’s been rocking a full five-star rating since who knows when, but it’s not a title with a lot of visual flair or addictive qualities right off the bat… On the other hand, game of the year for iPad went to Dead Space , which remains a stunning effort in every respect. From incredible graphics to fluid controls, there’s no doubt Apple got that one right.

… But it’s not all fun and games, and for general app of the year we have Instagram on iPhone and Snapseed on iPad . Interesting and telling to see that both app of the year choices are directly related to photography.

For the iPad, other honorable mention apps included Conrtre Jour HD, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, djay, and Jamie’s Recipes… As for iPhone runner ups, a tip of the hat went to Tiny Wings, Touchgrind BMX, VidRhythm, and Band Of The Day.

App Store Rewind 2011: Apple Reveals its Top Picks for this Year is a post by App Chronicles