Posts Tagged
social
While there was nothing wrong with Tapbots apps, Tweetbot and Netbot, I had grown increasingly disenchanted with them and craved something new and fresh. When Twitterrific 5 made its debut, I quickly jumped ship and haven’t looked back. Unfortunately, at that time, Netbot remained the best option for App.net and thus I was resigned to using it.
This Monday, however, things changed drastically. Felix, previously only available on the iPhone, crashed the scene by making a big splash. Overnight it catapulted to the top spot in charts across the globe. The success is much deserved and needless to say… Netbot no longer resides on my iPad.
I’ve written my fair share of articles for AppStorm about App.net and the clients I test out, but there’s always new ones out there that I want to try. I have yet to find the ADN client that fits every one of my needs.
I’m aware, of course, that most people are using Netbot these days: it’s free and it’s admittedly awesome. But it’s wearing Tweetbot‘s clothes, and I want my ADN experience to feel visually unique from Twitter without losing the power of Tapbot’s app. In the past, I’ve tried Rivr (for iPhone), which was full of features and pleasant to look at, but after several weeks of use, it didn’t capture my attention anymore and I was back to Netbot (which also has an iPad app).
Zephyr is the closest I’ve come to the Netbot experience. In colloquial terms, I’m really stoked about this app. Read on to find out why.
Twitter applications aren’t the most difficult ones to find on the App Store, but most people either stick to the official application or popular ones, such as Tweetbot or Twitterrific. There are, however, a certain number of alternative apps that can suit some people better. Examples include clients like Osfoora HD and Echofon, but also TweetCaster, a full-featured iOS Twitter application few people know about.
There was a time when Twitter was a breeding ground for gorgeous user interfaces and great developers. Since Twitter introduced its new API last year, this has changed. A lot of developers are moving. That being said, some developers continue to embrace and improve the platform. The Iconfactory is one of those developers that, despite Twitter’s apocalyptic approach with token limits, continues to update their app and improve it.
With Twitterrific, the entire app gets a whole new (and vastly improved) look. It’s a Twitter app that’s better than the standard Twitter app by leaps and bounds, but also completely different from the rest of the competition. Less mechanical than Tweetbot and more fun than any of the others, Twitterrific is its own beast and well worth exploring. (more…)
Right now, there are two huge trends in app development: weather apps and email apps. I get more emails about weather apps and email apps than I know what to do with. I’m not complaining, though. These developers are often making really impressive apps but, apart from great user interfaces, I fail to see what they’re really putting their tech-savvy skills to use with. Interfaces are great, but they could be outdone anytime Apple decides to update their own Weather or Mail apps. Sometimes, these apps are a little short on features.
Cloze is the exact opposite. It’s a free universal app for iPhone and iPad that combines email and social media updates into one centralized feed. What really excites me is that Cloze doesn’t think the problem lies within the communication’s interfaces but rather within the interface’s management of communication. Combining email and social feeds has been tried before by a few other developers, but I’ve never felt it’s been executed well. Let’s face it, making an app like this is tough. Does Cloze have the technical knowhow and design skills to make their app user-friendly and feature-filled? Let’s find out.
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.
A month or so ago, Pose launched its native app made specifically for the iPad. Pose has iPhone and Android native apps as well; the iPhone app was already reviewed at iPhone.AppStorm.
Pose is a photo sharing app for outfits. Users take a snapshot of their outfit and tag it with brand and designer details. You can also discover other people poses and even shop from within the app. Pose has a considerable users’ adoption; more than 10 thousands poses are being added to the platform everyday. (more…)
Everyday, roughly 42 percent of tablet owners in the U.S. use their device while watching TV. Why? TV viewers are multitasking (i.e. web browsing) or using their device as a second screen in order to find more information about the program they’re watching or engage in social networking banter.
With this rise of second screen usage, it should come as no surprise that app makers want to provide tools that act as a companion to a user’s TV. Instead of jumping on Twitter to comment about a show, IMDb to access a show’s cast or Shazam to tag a song that’s being performed, IntoNow from Yahoo! hopes to provide all those functions and more. But, does it do so effectively? (more…)
If you’re a trivia fan, you’ll be happy to know that the makers of Trivi.al have introduced an app to fulfil your trivia needs amongst your friends. Instead of sitting at home answering questions online, you can now compete with tons of people and outsmart them using your general knowledge.
Trivi.al is doing what Rumble did for Boggle by digitising a classic form of entertainment and making it more accessible to the world, enhancing the experience due to the competition you have. Let’s take a look at what this app is all about. (more…)
Fancy news reader apps are a dime a dozen in the iOS App Store. The level of innovation going into these apps is mind-blowing and most of the expertise goes towards designing the app. A pixel perfect design, combined with some snazzy effects ensure immediate traction and the developers are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the same.
As an information addict, I consider it my duty to download and test every single news reader app. Equally dutifully, I try my best to review them here at iPad.AppStorm as well. I discovered Evri sometime ago and wasn’t until recently I got the time to use it extensively. Curious to know how well the app performs as a news reader taking into account the fierce competition? Do read on.
