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There’s been a lot of press about the freemium business model recently, whereby the basic game is free but users have to pay for in-app purchases that give them extra game currency or allow them to complete levels quicker, and it seems that most game developers are progressing toward this model — EA being a notable example. The Verge recently made an interesting point about Real Racing 3, in that although it’s an enjoyable game it has been completely “ruined” by in-app purchases, as they are needed for everything and progress through the game is extremely slow.
Well, now it’s over to you. What exactly do you think of the freemium business model? Does it make gameplay more enjoyable (in that you can speed certain aspects up through purchases) or does it just rack up your iTunes bill massively? Let us know in this week’s poll on the right!
And stay tuned for iPad.AppStorm’s debate, which is coming up later this month, where we’ll look both sides of freemium games — both the good and bad (and perhaps, the ugly).
We’ve collected the top four reviews, roundups and how-to articles from across the AppStorm network in February. Whether you’re interested in Mac, iPhone, Web, Android, Windows, or iPad apps, there’s bound to be something you didn’t spot over the course of the month. Now would be a good time to explore a part of the AppStorm Network you’ve never seen before!
Thanks for reading AppStorm, and I hope you enjoy looking over some of our favourite posts from last month!
It’s 2013 and, if tradition reveals itself for another year, we can expect to hear some details of iOS 7 over the next few months. There’s a bunch of new stuff we’d love to see in the next generation of iOS alongside a number of improvements to what there already is.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at few of the areas we’d like Apple to take a look at with iOS 7, both to improve the current experience and better compete with the ever-growing rival options from Microsoft, Google and others. (more…)
With alternative e-mail clients such as Sparrow and Mailbox that boast tonnes of extra features and a fancy interface coming out for the iPhone, I get the feeling that the iPad is always slightly neglected in this game, which is a real pity seeing as I prefer doing e-mail on my iPad.
OK sure: the default client does its job but are you looking for a little more flair in an e-mail client? Do you want a new way of working through your inbox so you can get it quicker down to that magical figure of zero? Then let us know in this week’s poll on the right!
A few days back I was up all night with a cold, so the following afternoon I felt like I just needed to take a nap. I wandered off to my bedroom and was about to pass out, but I felt like I needed to set an alarm. My iPhone was nowhere to be found, so I picked up what was handy — my iPad.
Now I’ve used my iPad for the clock before, but I couldn’t remember when. Setting the alarm seemed so foreign to me, but maybe that was just the cold talking.
What about you? Do you use the clock app on your iPad? Let us know in the poll to the right!
Being that my job is to review apps, I make quite a few purchases from the App Store. Some apps are free, some aren’t, it all depends on what it is, but I always get a receipt from the iTunes Store when all is said and done. In fact, I get so many of those that it would concern me if it wasn’t, you know, my job.
But what about you? Do you spend lots on iTunes and the App Store or are you keeping it as low cost as possible? Let us know in the poll to the right!
We’re not big fans of Valentine’s Day around our house — or at least that’s what I tell myself as I run to the store to buy something for the wife. But we often do find ourselves with a lot of things in common when it comes to tech. If I get a new iPhone, my wife has to get one, too. That wasn’t the case with the iPad until the mini came out, and now we both have iPad minis that we carry around everywhere.
What about you? Do you and your significant other both have iPads? Let us know in the poll to the right!
This week’s weekly sponsor is ProShow Web Slideshow Creator, an app that lets you import photos and videos and create personalized videos and your own slideshow.
I have kids — well technically, one kid at the moment, the other is just about four weeks away. Needless to say, I take a lot of pictures of my son and soon I’ll have even more shots of my daughter. When it comes to showing them off, I usually pull out my iPad and show them in the Photos app, but I’ve wanted a way to do things a bit more professionally. Something with flair that incorporates custom music and so on. ProShow is that app.
You start by picking your images from either the shots you have on your iPad, or via various social networks including Flickr, Instagram, 500px or SmugMug. Then you pick the music you want to use (either from your iPad or from one of hundreds of tracks included with the app) and finish it off by picking one of dozens of themes, adding titles or custom effects. When you’re done, you create the video right there on your device and you can watch it, or send it off to your favorite social network including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and Smug Mug, or via email or AirPlay to your AppleTV.
The app does require you to establish an account, but it’s free, so that’s no big deal. If you want HD output, custom branding or longer videos, that will take a subscription fee that’s described in their pricing guidelines online. That said, the free option is still quite excellent, it’s just that if you want pro features, you’ll have to pay a bit more.
Go Get It!
If you’re looking for a custom slideshow app like I was, pick up ProShow Web Slideshow Creator today. I know it’s already done worlds of good for me and my family so far, and I can’t wait to see how it does in the future.
We’ve collected the top four reviews, roundups and how-to articles from across the AppStorm network in January. Whether you’re interested in Mac, iPhone, Web, Android, Windows, or iPad apps, there’s bound to be something you didn’t spot over the course of the month. Now would be a good time to explore a part of the AppStorm Network you’ve never seen before!
Thanks for reading AppStorm, and I hope you enjoy looking over some of our favourite posts from last month!
Come this Tuesday (my birthday, incidentally), a new iPad will be on the shelves. Well, kind of new. It’s a fourth-gen iPad with 128GB of storage, which is the biggest iPad yet.
Is this a must-buy for you? Are you a power iPad user who needs all that storage or are you satisfied with what you have? Let us know in the poll to the right!
