2

Pop Letters Word Game for Kids 2.3 Review

Learning is a lot more fun with the range of apps now available for the iPad. Using what they know of learning habits and the natural desire of almost every child to play with an iPad or iPhone, developers are creating ever more interesting and engaging educational apps. Pop Letters is an interesting take on the act of learning letters that many young children will find entertaining, even if it is ultimately lacking in features.

The idea behind Pop Letters is for children to quickly tap the onscreen letters, right after the game announces them. At any given time, there … Read more

Ocarina for iPhone 1.4.2 Review

Ocarina by Smule was first introduced very early to the App Store. It was a shining example of what apps could do and why the App Store, itself, was so exciting. Fast forward nearly five years and it is still one of the more innovative apps available and a heck of a lot of fun to play with, whether you're 8-years-old or 80.

The basic concept of Ocarina is very simple. Onscreen there are four glowing purple dots. Place your fingers over these dots and you simulate the holes on an Ocarina. Blow into the microphone at the bottom … Read more

Photo Icons 1.2 Review

The purpose of Photo Icons is to provide you with enough tools to make any number of possible icon combinations. However, while the app is mostly effective, there are some glaring omissions, a limiting trial restriction, and a poorly-designed interface that will keep most users interested in the actual icons disinterested.

The app is very basic. Open it and you are presented with a list of 11 icons. The interface is messy so you'll need to skim through each of the buttons, some of which have typos and spelling errors. Tap any one of those buttons and a sidebar … Read more

Pics2Flix Lite 1.0.31 Review

Creating an animated image seems like a lofty task if you're not already an expert. Sadly, mastering heavy-duty coding and photo editing skills would probably be easier than using this app. Pics2Flix Lite has a restrictive layout and is confusing to operate. The results it gives aren't worth the time it takes to figure things out, either.

This app compiles a folder of pictures into an animation. To find your photos, you have to search through your gadget's raw file menu instead of the standard gallery -- where most of your photos will be. Once you've … Read more

Pass2U Passbook 1.1 Review

iOS 6's Passbook app made plenty of Android fans jealous when it debuted. The good news is that you actually have plenty of ways to control tickets and loyalty cards on your Android. Pass2U Passbook is made to work just like the Apple Passbook app so many iFans love. This app is a good clone and a great app for travelers or urban explorers.

Pass2U Passbook works with .pkpass files, which is great if you're converting from iOS, but it isn't as ubiquitous on Android. It does cleanly present all of your passes in a stylish, completely … Read more

Optimize Master 1.2 Review

The debate still rages as to whether task killers and memory optimizers actually do anything on Android. Optimize Master is another entry that claims to help you win back some extra memory and CPU power. It didn't seem to do much during testing, though, and it lacked some of the convenience of other optimizing apps, as well.

Though the app has a smooth, easy-to-navigate layout for one-touch boosting, it doesn't offer a home screen widget. That means you have to open the app to get to the good stuff, which is an unnecessary step with similar apps. The … Read more

Deca Color Sudoku 1.2.0.0 Review

Sudoku on its own is a very complex game. All but the most mathematically inclined put extensive mental energy forward to complete even moderate Sudoku puzzles. So the very concept of changing the game to use something other than numbers is enough to cross the eyes. But Deca Color Sudoku manages to do it right, presenting an engaging, mind-bending variation on the classic puzzler that works well.

The idea is very simple. Instead of nine numbers, Deca Color Sudoku uses nine colors. The same rules as traditional number-based Sudoku apply: match up the colors across all 18 rows and columns … Read more

SaveHollywood for Mac 2.0 Review

Whether you want to use an interesting video as your screensaver, or would like to use your screensaver to display marketing and promotional material, this app provides an interesting solution. SaveHollywood for Mac enables you to use your own videos, including flash, QuickTime and other formats, as a screensaver. It can also be used as a solution to watch QuickTime videos in fullscreen. This non-intrusive app works great and offers some customization options.

The installation process for SaveHollywood for Mac literally takes seconds. Once it's installed, you can access the app via your Desktop and Screensavers in the Mac … Read more

One Touch Draw/Sketch & Paint 1.2 Review

Photo-filtering apps can add artistic or sophisticated flair to all of your favorite photos. True to its name, One Touch Draw/Sketch & Paint lets you draw, sketch, and paint on photos, but it's marred by a messy interface that requires a lot of trial and error to get results.

Before you get started with One Touch Draw/Sketch & Paint, the app asks you to accept an ad agreement. You don't have to accept, but it installs ads on your status bar, browser home page, and more if you do. For an app that's centered around … Read more

Set up quick access to the Galaxy S3 or Note 2 camera

This How To isn't about lock-screen widgets. Yes, they are exciting. And yes, they bring additional functionality to your lock screen -- but unfortunately, a lot of people have not had their devices updated to Android 4.2 as of yet. If you have, check out Jason Cipriani's post on how to set up lock-screen widgets.

Instead, let's work with the wonderful world of TouchWiz that comes preloaded on your Samsung Galaxy S3 or Note 2. TouchWiz, in short, is a home replacement for Android (think Facebook Home), that adds proprietary theming and options. … Read more