Software

Note-taking is ideal on an iPad or iPhone. It's mobile, it's wireless, and it's in your hands. But there are some note-taking apps that pull it off, and others that fall flat. EvoNotes Pro is of the latter camp, and then some. One of the messiest, note-taking apps on the App Store, EvoNotes is filled with convoluted menus, confusing interface design, and features that only occasionally work as you expect.

The first screen you see is a newsstand-style bookshelf. On it is a book of tool tips (and a help function?) that does not open when you … Read more

Voice Changer Plus is not necessarily unique, but its clever interface and integration of multiple free voices and sound effects for altering or even transforming a recording are not only well done, but also incredibly fun to use. This is a very feature-rich, free app that provides all of the core functions in the lite version, and that makes it easy to use without any unnecessary menus or barriers.

Open Voice Changer Plus and you are shown a single screen where all of the functions can be accessed. The first step is to record your voice as you say something. … Read more

Our culture is filled with memorable, generation-defining icons, whether a logo from a popular company or a face from a classic TV show or comic book. It is with that in mind that you will play What's the Icon?, a game of memory or pop culture savvy that asks you to recognize the characters, logos, and silhouettes of the past and present.

The app has few menus but dives right into the action with level after level of icons and graphics that you must guess the names of. For each icon, there is a hangman-style letter guessing game in … Read more

Wipe It! is a basic game designed to be played quickly between two friends either wirelessly or in person. That simplicity has made its way into almost every aspect of the game design, including a bare-bones interface and occasionally vague picture descriptions when solving puzzles. Nonetheless, it is a fun take on a basic concept that many people will enjoy playing.

The idea behind the game is very rudimentary. You are presented with a blank screen, under which is a picture. As you wipe away the top layer to reveal the picture beneath, you can start guessing what it is. … Read more

The most impressive thing about PowerSketch is that it works on the fly. There are many photo editing or augmentation apps that allow you to change the features in a photo or make it look different than it should after the fact, but PowerSketch shows the final image as you view it, within the camera screen. Even more impressive, it can do the same thing for videos, making this one of the better photo manipulation apps on the App Store.

PowerSketch is a well-designed app from start to finish. Designed to look like a notebook and featuring a number of … Read more

The original iPhone shipped with a YouTube app. That has since been upgraded by Google with a more robust App Store-downloaded YouTube app that can be upgraded more frequently and that allows deeper sharing integration. Designed to be intuitive and easy to use for both the iPhone and iPad, the official YouTube app is all you'll need to surf and share videos on the popular video site.

You are not required to log in or register for YouTube when you use this app, though it can certainly enhance your experience, making it easier to share videos, like or comment … Read more

There are a handful of apps on the App Store that provide enhancements to the relatively lackluster recording tools included in iOS 6 for the iPhone and iPad. None of them, however, were created by the owner of the world's largest video depository--Google--until now. YouTube Capture is Google's first integration of YouTube-friendly recording, editing, and uploading tools with the iOS platform. In many ways, it is a much-needed upgrade over the existing tools of the Camera app, but is it worth replacing Apple's built in tools altogether?

When you first open YouTube Capture you are asked to … Read more

The iPad and iPhone are perfect for file transfers. They are portable, have remote connections to the Internet and allow you to access the files and view them on the go, something that a flash drive cannot do. However, file sharing is very limited as it is and requires a third-party app, so there are tools like ZipApp that allow you to quickly and easily move files from your computer to your device.

The concept is similar to other iOS file sharing tools--open the app and click on the upload or share button. Now go to a computer and open … Read more

The app store is filled to the brim with match-three games--variations on a classic formula that offer varying degrees of originality. That said, there are some that really pull it off--providing a unique experience that is at once familiar and new enough to warrant hours of time invested in it. Tap 'n' Pop Classic is such a game, albeit with a handful of issues that can make it frustrating in some circumstances.

The game is immediately familiar to any match-three players. You're shown numerous balloons of different colors. Tap a cluster of two or more (it's more of … Read more