iPad

All of the apps that we have reviewed that have iPad support and are available to use natively on the iPad. If an app is in this index, you won’t have the 2x iPhone app interface.

Games / Reviews
DoodleJump

Doodle Jump for iPad

There are games and there are addictive games. Doodle Jump falls into the second category. The world went crazy playing Angry Birds. I was up til 2AM the first night myself. However, before there was Angry Birds there was Doodle Jump. Up until recently Doodle Jump as only for the iPhone/iPod touch. In other words they hadn't come out with full size iPad version yet. Well now they have and I gotta say that although I had my doubts about an accelerometer based iPad game like this one, it actually works well. 

Don't fall

The premise behind Doodle Jump is that your character (Doodle) is always jumping. That part you don't have to worry about. What you have to do is use your iPad and tilt it to guide him from floating ledge to floating ledge. The higher you go, the more points you make. Some ledges are made of straw/branches and will break with Doodle's weight. You can see them easily as they are brown in color. However, if there is something good right below one on a solid ledge such as a spring, jet pack or propeller cap then it's usually worth the risk. If you miss a ledge and there is nothing below (on screen) then your Doodle will fall all the way down and game over. There are also aliens flying around and you can either avoid them or shoot them from Doodle's hat. The higher you go the more obstacles will be in your path. 

This game is fun! It's actually even more fun on the iPad! If you've got an iPad, $2.99 and some time to kill, I highly recommend it.

You can get Doodle Jump for iPad here from the iTunes

You can get Doodle Jump for $0.99 for iPhone or iPod touch here from the iTunes

Reviews / Utilities
IPCameraViewer

IP Camera Viewer

Last year I did review on iCam and I've been very happy with that App. I'm still happy with it. However, earlier this week a colleague turned me on to IP Camera Viewer. While both Apps allow you to view and control your remote IP Cameras on your iOS devices, IP Camera Viewer has one distinction and that is it works directly with the cameras themselves. My Panasonic cameras all have their own webservers built-in. This is how the cameras can be viewed in a web browser. With iCam you setup their server app on your computer and your iOS Devices communicate with that server. The obvious disadvantage in this is that you need to have a computer on and have access to it (opening the right ports on your firewall) over the internet. I still like iCAM because it can do things like record and transmit a serious of stills if it detects motion. It can also send push notifications. However, for those looking for a more simple solution that doesn't require a server, IP Camera Viewer rocks! IP Camera Viewer can not only view the cameras, but it supports panning them as well if the cameras themselves offer that feature.

Setup multiple cameras and camera groups

I have a set of cameras at home and another set offsite in my photography studio. I like the way IP Camera Viewer can have groups that you can switch between. This way if I want to watch the cameras at home I can switch to the "Home" group. Setup was extremely simple in that all I had to do was put in the url/IP address of each camera, port number and user name and password. IP Camera Viewer supports hundreds of different camera models natively. Once the cameras are setup you can view them and control them from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch from anywhere that you have an internet connection. I was pleased with the performance once I got the cameras setup. The initial model selection could use some improvements as it takes a while to scroll through the list of brands to get to "Panasonic." A search would work great in that dialog.

You can get IP Camera Viewer for $2.99 here from the iTunes

Business / Reviews
ContractMakerElite

Contract Maker ELITE is the Ultimate Contract Maker for iOS

I started using my iPhone to create model releases a few years ago Photographer's Contract Maker. The idea was great to have them digitally sign and generate a PDF emailed both the model and me all directly from my iPhone. While I still do that same thing today on my iPad, I realized that there are so many other uses for paperless contracts and documents that go beyond just model/property releases. While I do use Easy Release for my Model Releases, I use Contract Maker ELITE for everything else. With this App you can create just about any custom form, contract, agreement, etc. that you will ever need. The number of available customizable fields is staggering. You can choose from over 500 of them to build your multiple page contract. 

 

My favorite use is print releases

I have a standard print release form that a client can use to show a service provider that they have the rights to have the image(s) printed. I was doing these by hand in Adobe InDesign, generating PDFs and emailing them to the client or print provider. Then I realized that I could be doing these on my iPad. Within minutes I had it setup by copying my existing Print Release's text into the App and then I added the custom fields that I needed. Now whenever I need to generate on one of these I can do so right on the spot and PDF it to whoever needs it. Although I haven't started renting my out just yet, I'm sure when the time comes I will create a rental agreement that the renter has to sign. You guessed it. I'll be doing that agreement as well in Contract Maker ELITE. 

 

The Bottom Line

For anyone (not just photographers) that need to generate agreements/contracts or other forms and you want the ability to customize it extensively, Contract Maker ELITE is the "Best App" The new Font formatting Placeholders address my longest standing complaint of the contracts looking to "plain". It was also great that the developer worked in my feature requests of letting us create 2 column contracts as well as Contracts that can be forced to fit on one page (if you like). He even added GPS place holders so that you can have the geo location automatically added to the Contract for where it was signed. There is a lot to love about this App.

You can get Contract Maker ELITE for $19.99 here from the iTunes

Books / Reviews
Boboandlight

Bobo Explores Light

There is a plethora of Book Apps, Read along Apps, and interactive Apps available in the iTunes store. I have a soft spot for these for no other reason than I want to give my twins every advantage possible in school and life. When I came upon Bobo Explores light the father in me said "This is a good book App to help the twins"… The photographer in me said "This is awesome! This will help me teach my kids all about light and how it works making them better photographers!" Photography aside, this App teaches all about light; it has info about everything from the Sun to Lasers, so it's a great learning tool for children.

Lots of Content

The thing I love most about Bobo Explores Light is the amount of content packed into this easy to use App. The reader's journey through the world of light begins with the addition of a new friend, Bobo the robot. Bobo is a robot that guides you along through the App teaching you all there is to know about light. Each topic is described on the main page, such as glowing in the dark above. At the top of the page there are "pull downs" providing much more information about specific topics that relate to the main subject. For example, the Glow in the Dark section had a "Did you know?" pull down that gives helpful and interesting trivia about glowing in the dark. There is also a "Lucky You" pull down that provides interesting facts. The "How it Works" pull down is probably the most information packed section of each topic however. Pulling down this window provides information on how that particular light works, as well as (sometimes) video on the subject. What's truly amazing about this App is that each topic has this much info or more! Bobo Explores light covers everything from the Sun to Lasers to telescopes is covered in over 100 pages of content.

Who It's Designed For

Admittedly this App is a little advanced for my 5 year old twins. This App is designed for children who are able to read, and who are able to grasp some of the more advanced concepts such as Chemiluminescence. This isn't to say that children as young as mine can't gain anything from this App. I sit and read through some of the pages with them and they find the information about the Sun and other topics that they are familiar with, interesting.

 

The Bottom Line

If you have a child and you want an easy way to teach them all about light, this is the App for you. The range of topics, the quality of the content, and the appeal of the graphics make this an App worth getting. I can't recommend it enough.

 

You can get Bobo Explores Light for your iPad from the iTunes store for $6.99 here: iTunes

Reviews / Social Networking
gowalla-icon

Gowalla 4.0: A Considerable Upgrade

Gowalla When I last year penned the review for Gowalla 3.0 I really liked the changes and the considerable update to the interface. Back then, it felt like it was a major upgrade to the whole platform. Well, this time around they are going further at Gowalla, releasing both the 4.0 version of the app and their website itself and there are a lot of news.

Interface Update

This is an update that once again features a re-design of the entire app interface. With the shift that Gowalla is making to become more of an experience network, helping you to see and find new things in new cities, this was certainly necessary. As much as the interface is stylish and visually beautiful, they are making it much harder for me to just check in somewhere and use Gowalla as I have always used it: Sharing where I am if it is important across my social networks.

Guides

Gowalla has introduced city guides for a lot of cities in the world (don’t just think New York and San Francisco, yours is probably there). These guides basically contain a list of spots that they suggest that you go to. My guess is that this list is based, apart from the featured spots, on frequent check-ins by Gowalla users. The next time I go to visit a new city on vacation or have a few hours to spare when somewhere on business, I am sure to give Gowalla a chance to see how well it works to experience something new based on the spots that they suggest in the city guide and the already present lists.

Conclusion

I am torn. Part of me really likes the new Gowalla while the other part of me just don’t get it. I have a hard time with the fact that they have made it harder for me to check in to a spot, add a comment and share with friends on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. Instead, the focus on their new stories, while good for the site in general, just takes too much away from me personally. It’s a free update and you should update regardless of what I (or you) think about it since it also contains bug fixes and general improvements as all updates do. If you don’t like the new version, there is always the option of switching to Foursquare instead.

iTunes
 

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