Software

Review: Heads Vs Tails takes the coin-flipping game to new heights

Heads vs. Tails manages to take the least skill-based competition on the planet and create a compelling and engaging game out of it--albeit one that will not entertain for too long.

When you first open Heads vs. Tails, the options are limited. The higher-level "game" components remain locked until you've flipped the coin at least 20 times. However, that takes all of a minute to do and in the process you'll see why such a basic concept is so compelling. While no computer program can ever be truly random, Heads vs. Tails manages to imitate randomness … Read more

Review: WizMouse keeps windows active and clickable

WizMouse from Antibody Software takes care of an annoying issue in Windows that has only gotten worse as PC screens have grown bigger: the need to click each window before you can use your mouse in it. With WizMouse running, any visible window is active; just mouse over it to activate menus, commands, and links for clicking. Whether windows overlap or are separated by space, WizMouse treats them the same. And not just buttons, either: WizMouse also enables scrolling, even in applications lacking mouse wheel support (though that's an experimental option that can cause "strange behavior" in … Read more

Review: Fruity Matching HD makes produce recognition fun again

While not a particularly ambitious app, Fruity Matching HD is well designed, and when combined with the numerous other apps in the suite, featuring the same characters--almost all free--you have a nice mixture of fun experiences for preschool-aged children and toddlers.

When first opened, Fruity Matching HD shows you a mixture of all the different apps that are available from the developer. Each can be downloaded through the App Store to the interface on this screen, allowing you to access them all together. If you choose not to download any other apps just yet, you can start matching fruit. There … Read more

Review: eGallery Lite falls short of streamlining the photo-tracking process

The purpose of eGallery Lite is to help users create a digital, interactive gallery in which they can store and track items. The concept is smart and the tool (the iPad) is a perfect one for it, but the execution of this particular app leaves quite a bit to be desired.

To start, eGallery Lite is unnecessarily hard to use. It opens to a blank item entry and offers no clear direction on how to fill out the boxes on the screen. You must create a category, then load that category, then create an item, load that item, and finally … Read more

Review: Dragon City Mobile lets users build cities and hatch dragons

Combined with notifications and a powerful processor with online connectivity (meaning social sharing), games like Dragon City Mobile are ripe for explosive popularity.

Dragon City Mobile is one of the finer made city management games on the App Store. While not wholly different from many of its contemporaries, it is fun to play and incredibly deep in terms of content. The goal of the game is to generate resources, build habitats and buildings, and then hatch and grow dragons. Players must feed their dragons, which requires the creation of farms to grow food. Every resource in the game is limited … Read more

Review: Directr turns users into professional moviemakers

One of the newest video creation, editing, and sharing apps is Directr, an app that takes the entire concept of mobile moviemaking to a different level--one that cinephiles will absolutely love.

The core interface of Directr is very similar to other photo and video sharing apps. You can connect with Facebook or create a new account, and the home screen shows all of your friends' movies, the community's movies and your sharing options. The big draw here, though, is the movie creation function. Tap the center button and you're given dozens of prebuilt storyboards that you can use … Read more

Review: Date Matter organizes your tasks in to-do lists

Date Matter attempts to fill the low-cost end of the productivity app spectrum by providing a clean event and task creation and management tool. For the most part it succeeds but not without a few glaring omissions.

Date Matter looks clean when first opened, albeit with some odd design choices and font placements. Creation of a new event takes only a couple taps and there are multiple options for categorizing the event, including categories (which you can set), reminders, dates, and event name. The app looks good and the input takes little time. New events are added to the home … Read more

Review: Crossword Puzzles for Kids Lite is too light on the content

Crossword Puzzles for Kids Lite produces a unique, engaging experience that is unfortunately a bit too light on content to last longer than the initial play through.

The concept behind Crossword Puzzles for Kids Lite is very basic. There are two options--classic crosswords or riddle crosswords. The riddles usually just consist of one clue missing from the puzzle. Each clue is a picture shown next to the word that needs to be filled in. The use of pictures is generally good and the word choice, appropriate. The letters all appear at the bottom of the screen and can be dragged … Read more

Review: Count 10 x 10 is too complex for basic counting lessons

Counting apps like Count 10 x 10 are theoretically very useful. The learning concepts and the theme behind this particular app are well chosen, but the execution of its interface and the lack of features beyond the core concept are enough to make it a tough recommendation.

The idea behind Count 10 x 10 is very basic. Bananas appear on a 10 x 10 grid. You must enter the number of bananas on the screen and tap the "check" button to proceed. Children can also tap the bananas and they will become highlighted, helping little ones to count … Read more