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.

Entertainment / Reviews

Amazon Instant Video

Written by Terry White
Jan 21, 2013
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Having another streaming content option is usually a good thing. I’ve got Netflix, Slingplayer, HBO Go and various TV station Apps. There is no shortage of things to watch on the go. When I saw the announcement for the Amazon Instant Video App I downloaded it immediately. I figured that since I already pay for Amazon Prime, I might as well take advantage of this benefit. I just got a chance to play with the App and it does the kinds of things I expected right off the bat. I signed in with my Amazon credentials and I was presented with a display of available TV shows and movies for instant streaming. So far so good. I randomly picked an episode of Fringe to watch and the quality was decent. Again, this is all good, but…

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Trouble in paradise…

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While the App performed as I expected, I was completely dismayed to find out that it only worked via WiFi. That’s right, no 3G/4G cellular support. While you can watch any videos that you’ve downloaded, you can’t stream anything once you step outside the range of a WiFi Network. This seems like a huge step backwards in 2013. In the early days many apps were restricted from streaming over 3G because AT&T was the only network that supported the iPhone and AT&T/Apple feared that millions of streaming customers would bring the network to its knees. However, those days have long gone since the iPhone is available now on several carriers. Also since most carriers charge for a certain amount of data use each month, users are careful not to do a ton of streaming unless their plans support it. I think that it’s very shortsighted of Amazon to limit their App this way. Perhaps put up a warning when I user starts a stream over cellular data and then once the user taps OK they’re on their own. The other problem (and this is not just an Amazon problem) is that the App doesn’t support AirPlay. So If I understand this correctly, I have to be on my WiFi network to enjoy the App, and since I’m home on my network I can’t even enjoy the show on my big screen HDTV? With these limitations, this will not be my goto App.

If you have an Amazon Prime account or you’ve purchased downloadable movies via Amazon, then the App is probably worth having on your device. However, the WiFi requirement and lack of AirPlay/HDMI out support will make it a limited experience.

Games / Reviews

Word Search Express for iPad

Written by J Smith
Jan 16, 2013
1 comment

J Smith is back with a video review of Word Search Express

Reviews / Travel

Fly Delta for iPad and iPhone

Written by Terry White
Jan 15, 2013
1 comment

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As a Delta frequent flyer (Diamond Medallion) I rely on the Fly Delta App on a regular basis. The App provided the basics and electronic boarding passes. However, it was lacking features compared to the competition. It lacked Passbook support, the ability to manage/view your Skymiles account info, iPhone 5 display size support and there wasn’t even a way to book a ticket or make changes to a reservation. To make matters worse the App became unusable for many as Delta updated their website to prompt users to choose a new password instead of a PIN, and the existing App didn’t support passwords! Doh! That all changed this past weekend. Delta not only released the long awaited and much needed 2.0 update to the Fly Delta App for iPhone, but they also released an iPad version.

Fly Delta on iPhone

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The iPhone App answered all my previous concerns. I can now do everything in the App that I’d want to do on the go. Most importantly it also supports Apple’s Passbook. You might be wondering why Passbook support is important if the App could already produce a scannable electronic boarding pass? First of all Passbook supports geofencing. This means that when you’re near the airport your boarding pass can appear on the lock screen. Just swipe the icon and there it is. No need to dig for it in the App. Secondly the Passbook pass can automatically update with the latest gate information. In the previous App it would sometimes take forever to update (downloading itineraries) before allowing you to get to your boarding pass. With Passbook the pass is there whether you have a connection or not. When the 2.0 update came out I was in the middle of a trip to Orlando, so I used it for the return flight. The Passbook option was there, however the geofencing feature wasn’t there and the pass never provided the gate info. Not sure if it’s a bug in the App/implementation or it was just a fluke with this particular airport. I have another trip this week and I’ll check it again.
UPDATE I have now flown on a different trip with different airports and it seems that the gate info and geofencing features are broken in Delta’s Passbook implementation. Hopefully they’ll fix this soon. The other thing I noticed was that this version doesn’t seem to send Push Notifications when it’s time to check in like the old one did.

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Aside from the Passbook support the App has been updated in every way. It’s optimized for the 4″ screen size. It now allows you to access your Skymiles account info. They even added the ability to price/book tickets right in the App. The bag tracking feature also came over and yes you can even use your new password to log in. At this point I can’t think of anything left to include in the App that I’d need.

Fly Delta for iPad

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Just as I was about to complain that this wasn’t a Universal App I noticed that they released a separate Fly Delta for iPad App. I couldn’t wait to download it. This App is geared more towards planning your trip, booking your ticket and your in flight experience. This was a well thought out effort. Rather than make one huge App they kept the iPhone version relatively small and added the other features to the iPad version. I agree with this strategy. The Fly Delta for iPad App provides entertainment features. For example, you see suggested movies to download based upon your destination. For my flight to Vegas the App suggested “The Hangover”. The iPad version also offers the Delta Sky Magazine. A complete electronic version of the magazine that you can read right on your iPad. This might not be too practical since the printed version is right there in the seat pocket in front of you, but I can see a day where they eliminate or reduce the printed copies in favor of the electronic version. You can check in for your flight on the iPad version (although you won’t have Passbook), see maps/seat maps, purchase trip extras such as WiFi and Priority Boarding, and lastly a very cool Glass Bottom Jet feature that provides an interactive moving Map as you fly complete with landmarks and social content from your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

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These ARE the Updates you have Been Waiting for! Not only are these two apps very functional, but they are beautifully designed. The iPad version can be a little slow sometimes and it really bugs me that I can’t stay logged in like I can on the iPhone version, but other than that if you Fly Delta, these are must have apps!

Get Fly Delta for iPhone/iPod touch here:

Get Fly Delta for iPad here:

Games / Reviews

t Chess Pro for iPad and iPhone

Written by Terry White
Jan 11, 2013
1 comment

tChessPro-iPad

A friend of mine received an iPad for Christmas and she was looking to me for a recommendation for a good Chess game. Although I hadn’t played chess on my iOS devices before, I figured that there were probably “tons” of good chess games for iOS. I was actually appalled by how bad the selections were. Chess games have been around for YEARS! The one that ships on the Mac is great. Looks gorgeous and it works. However, when it comes to iOS the selection was not as good as I assumed it would be. I wasn’t looking for much…

I wanted a good looking board with good looking pieces
I wanted multiplayer support either via Game Center or wirelessly/internet
I wanted the basic features for beginners such as hints, take backs, etc.

The above listed features are not revolutionary and have been around in chess games for as long as I can remember. First off most of the games I found had very bad looking (line drawing type) graphics. This is what surprised me the most. Most didn’t offer multiplayer support. However, I did finally find one (actually she found it first). It’s t Chess Pro. It meets all my basic requirements and it works great via Game Center so that you can play your friends either in the same room or across the globe. Her only disappointment was that there wasn’t more fanfare when you beat the computer!

You can set the difficulty level and this is a Universal App so that it’s native to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. There are LOTS of options beyond the ones I wanted. The only thing I’d like to see added is the ability to actually drag you piece to make the move. As far as I can tell you can only tap the piece and then tap where you want to move it to. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a great iOS chess game, this is it!

Games / Reviews