"Unique, Useful, Unknown, Fun"
App-O-Plectic does not monitor its listed applications. Some applications may become pay-only in future. Always check your application is listed as FREE before you purchase!

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Tuesday 31 May 2011

#60 - Ghostbuster: TOS

TITLE: Ghostbusters: The Other Side
SCORE: 4 / 5

COST: FREE (first issue, the rest are 0.99/each)

One of the best things about the iPod/iPhone is how well they handle comic books.  The transition between pages is smooth and the comics are easy to read.  This time we bring you the first issue of Ghostbusters: The Other Side.  The first (as with many comics available on iTunes) is a freebie.  If you enjoy it, buy the rest!



RECOMMENDATION: If you like a delicious combination of comic books and busting ghosts, this one's for you!

Monday 30 May 2011

#59 - TWZ Radio Drama

TITLE: The Twilight Zone: Radio Drama
SCORE: 5 / 5

COST: FREE (first three radio drama titles of your choice are free, you can then shop from a large database to buy additional 40-minute episodes)

If you enjoyed the classic, black & white Twilight Zone of yesteryear, iTunes has decided to take you on a nostalgic childhood journey by re-enacting your night terrors in audio form. Download and listen to all your favorite classical actors as they reenact the creepy, surreal Twilight Zone in radio drama form.


RECOMMENDATION: If you are a fan of the series or simply just a horror buff, you can't go wrong with this app.

Friday 27 May 2011

#58 - Swakker Doodle

TITLE: Swakker Doodle
SCORE: 3 / 5

 
COST: FREE

A doodling app that allows you to draw over your existing photos and backgrounds, Swakker Doodle also offers various stamps and badges to add to your images and the additional option to log in online and doodle live with friends on the same image.  The app also claims the option to export your design(s) onto purchasable real-life items such as key chains and shirts. I've not used the service, but if anyone does, feel free to let me know the quality of the service.


RECOMMENDATION: Not really original or unique (aside from the additional online doodle option), but still fun and varied for a free app.

Thursday 26 May 2011

#57 - Tour Wrist

TITLE: Tour Wrist
SCORE: 5 / 5

 
COST: FREE

If you've ever dreamed of seeing the world but find yourself decidedly too broke to do so, Tour Wrist may just be the next best thing.  Choose from a large database of various famous, beautiful locations, then immerse yourself in the beautifully hi-definition, fully rendered 360' degrees panoramic locale.

RECOMMENDATION: I honestly can't find anything to complain about here.  The locations are beautiful and the panoramic movement smooth.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

#56 - Singing Fingers

TITLE: Singing Fingers
SCORE: 4 / 5

COST: FREE

An excellent musical education toy for kids (but pretty fun for adults too), Singing Fingers starts you on a blank white canvas.  From this point, it is up to you to draw whatever you like, associating each line or design with a particular sound, tone, or tune.  Want to give your picture a soundtrack? Design your own musical instrument? Then save and export your masterpiece to show off online!


RECOMMENDATION: There are many education or "kids" apps available on iTunes. Few of them are quite as creative and fun as this one. My only complaint is that sometimes, the playback on your designs is not very clear, though I imagine a bit of fine-tuning on the part of the developers and a bit of learning patience from downloaders can help with that.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

#55 - HauntedFace Lite

TITLE: HauntedFace Lite
SCORE: 3 / 5

COST: LITE (Demo)

If you have at any point in time, found your standard Japanese long-haired ghost terrifying, you may do well to stay away from HauntedFace.  A photographic morphing app, the process is simple: take or use an existing photo in your album, import it into HauntedFace, touch it, and watch as a hollow-eyed, gaping-mouthed specter superimposes itself over your face, turning the image into a creepy, 3D animated ghostly experience, complete with unsettling sound effects.


RECOMMENDATION: The paid version of this app offers, amongst other things, a larger range of "ghosts" to possess your photograph.  It seems unnecessary, seeing as whats included with the demo may as well be the poster child for your nightmare fuel.

Monday 23 May 2011

#54 - Bump

TITLE: Bump
SCORE: 5 / 5
NOTE: THIS APP IS ONLINE ONLY!

COST: FREE

If you own an iPod Touch, this app is indispensable.  IM, Text, send attachments, and more to anyone else on Wi-Fi using Bump.  Have a calendar event or a contact that you want to share instantly with the person next to you? No problem, just attach your desired stuff and "bump" your iPod to instantly send whatever you choose. Got something you need to send right away but the receiver is outside a Wi-Fi zone? Simply add that person as a contact, send your attachment, and the next time that person is logged onto a Wi-Fi network the information will be sent to them automatically.


RECOMMENDATION:  Normally I wouldn't really bother reviewing the more popular apps in the iTunes store, but Bump is one of those you-can't-live-without apps and its usefulness (for myself in particular) have made it (for a free app especially) a phenomenal find.

Friday 20 May 2011

#53 - iCosplay

TITLE: iCosplay
SCORE: 2.5 / 5


COST: FREE

If you're a big fan of sticker photo albums and like anime, iCosplay is a fun little app that is a mix of both.  Take or import a photo from your album and add various anime-themed items to your photo.  Want to choose between various styles of anime eyes? Hair? Accessories? Add a little fun to your photos!



RECOMMENDATION: It's a pretty brainless app, but if you like to mess around with photo applications, it's a fun little distraction.  The only setback is that the app doesn't come with a very diverse collection.  A little more would be nice.

Thursday 19 May 2011

#52 - Shoeboxed

TITLE: Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker & Reader 
SCORE:  1 / 5

COST: FREE (except not)

A fantastic idea sunk beneath the mass of the developer's greed.  Advertised as a free app providing a great way to store and view all of your receipts, Shoeboxed is instead a bit of a hook.  Not very classy, developers.  As a free user, you are given only 5 credits (each worth one receipt entry) to store your receipts and are then expected to pay $9.95/month if you want to be able to store more (making the app essentially utterly useless at its intended purpose unless you pay the additional monthly charge).


RECOMMENDATION: No. By comparison it costs less to take all of your receipts to a cheap accountant than what you will spend on this app in a year.

Wednesday 18 May 2011

#51 - Rotate Mojo

TITLE: Rotate Mojo 
SCORE: 5 / 5

COST: FREE

A clean, simple app that makes it convenient and easy to flip a picture stored on or taken with your iPhone. Load your chosen image, press a button, and save.


RECOMMENDATION: I mainly chose to review this particular app because of its massive usefulness.  I take a screenshot of each app I review, being able to flip the image around appropriately saves me the editing and allows me to just upload it.

Tuesday 17 May 2011

#50 - CC Caveman Lite

TITLE: Chop Chop Caveman Lite 
SCORE: 5 / 5

COST: LITE (Demo)
  
Bringing you back to the sweet side-scrolling era of yesteryear, Chop Chop Caveman is an endearing, oddly hard to put down little game.  Controlling the aforementioned caveman, make your way through each level, collecting gems and hidden foods on the way while deftly defending against and attacking a variety of creatures.


 

RECOMMENDATION: There's just something very cute about this game.  It helps that the controls are easy and responsive.

Monday 16 May 2011

#49 - Tap Defense

TITLE: Tap Defense 
SCORE: 3 / 5 

COST: FREE

An oldie but goodie, Tap Defense is pretty much Tower Defense for your iPhone.  The strategy is simple: start each level with a finite amount of gold and use it to set up a variety of different weaponry and trap defenses to hold back the oncoming horde of monsters.  For each monster killed, you earn more gold to buy additional defense or upgrade what you already have. 


RECOMMENDATION: Challenging and addictive with a fairly easy leaning curve. Go for it.

Friday 13 May 2011

#48 - AppAllStar

TITLE: AppAllStar
SCORE: 5 / 5

 
COST: FREE

For anyone experiencing app-addiction, you probably know the dangers of apps designed to find apps.  Especially good, free apps.  You can pick through a wide, WIDE variety of app-collecting apps but still have to sift through a whole lot of garbage before you make it to the gold.  AppAllStars doesn't have this problem.  The best of the best is no joke here, as only the most widely downloaded and rated free games make it on the list.


RECOMMENDATION: This is a seriously fantastic app-finder.  Pretty much every time I get a notification there's something new and awesome to download!

Thursday 12 May 2011

#47 - Picture Perfect Animals

TITLE: Picture Perfect Animals
SCORE: 4 / 5

COST: FREE

When it comes to my iPod Touch, I just cannot stop giving it up for those delicious photography apps.  Filters, effects, manipulators, and tons more.  Picture Perfect Animals is rare in that it only does one thing: it puts animals into the frame of your photographs.  This may not sound very exciting, but damn if the animal shots are clearly defined, focused, and re-sizable, making for one seriously hilarious time-waster!


RECOMMENDATION: If you like to upload photos to your Facebook or other streams and you want to give your readers a bit of a laugh, this is a good app for you!

Wednesday 11 May 2011

#46 - iAssociate 2

TITLE: iAssociate 2
SCORE: 4 / 5


 
COST: FREE

Word games are sometimes a guilty pleasure of mine (though I like to keep them simple, being incredibly clever but woefully dense). iAssociate 2 is a simple concept: You are given a word.  It can be anything. A place, a kind of food, an emotion.  It is then up to you to figure out the corresponding words associated to that original word, and on from there.


RECOMMENDATION: It can be a tad difficult, mainly in that in certain cases, the associated words are just...random.  Utterly odd and not something I would have thought to guess.  But you do get hint bonuses to help in these cases, so it's not a huge setback.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

#45 - The Simpsons Arcade Lite

TITLE: The Simpsons Arcade Lite
SCORE: 4 / 5

COST: LITE (Demo)

As any self-respecting human being, I am a huge fan of the Simpsons.  When I was a kid, I remember playing an arcade version at the local grocery store, pouring my hard whined money into the machine like cheeseburgers to a gluttonous fat metal man. It's nice to finally hold my childhood in the palm of my hands.



RECOMMENDATION: The Lite version of this app, as with most Lite app games, can only take you so far.  But the game is great, fun, and you'll be hard pressed to keep that 0.99 to yourself.

Monday 9 May 2011

#44 - Rue Morgue

TITLE: Rue Morgue Magazine 
SCORE: 5 / 5
 
COST: FREE (kind of)

While it may escape the notice of all but the nerdiest of horror movie nerds, Rue Morgue Magazine is no less an awesome magazine.  The app enabling me to read this awesome magazine (in clean text or formatted original magazine copies) is also no less sweet. The app comes with free magazine issue(s) for special occasions, though you can purchase additional issues at reduced costs.


RECOMMENDATION: Rue Morgue is my favorite magazine, so I can't really NOT recommend this.

Friday 6 May 2011

#43 - Inneract

TITLE: Inneract 
SCORE: 3 / 5 
NOTE: This app is ONLINE ONLY!

 
 COST: FREE

Do you find yourself bored on a fairly regular basis? Wish for a tad more spontaneity in your life? Download Inneract to start generating random encounters with strangers (it's less dirty than I make it sound, I promise).  Use the GPS to track your location, then set an interaction that you would like to receive from any stranger in your area also running Inneract.  Want someone to randomly run up and hug you? Tell you a dirty joke? Punch you in the face? The possibilities are endless!


 RECOMMENDATION: Location is, as with any kind of GPS-based app, an issue.  If you are not in a well populated city with plenty of Wi-Fi hotspots, this app is pretty well useless.  If, however, you are in a major city (particularly on a school campus, if you're not some kind of pervert), you can probably have a lot of fun with this!

Thursday 5 May 2011

#42 - Groups

TITLE: Groups
SCORE: 5 / 5
COST: FREE

While it's true that the iPhone & iPod Touch do come with a contact system native to the iOS, sadly a well organized way of custom grouping your list of contacts was not included.  This is where Groups comes in! Use Groups to organize your contacts into pre-set groups or add some of your own. To save time, text message or email an entire group of contacts, or add icons to further distinguish each group.

 

RECOMMENDATION: If you like your contacts even remotely organized, this is a great app.  If you don't want to wade through a small colony of your contacts, get this app!

Wednesday 4 May 2011

#41 - RxMindMe

TITLE: RxMinder Prescription/Medicine Reminder
SCORE: 5 / 5
COST: FREE

If you have trouble keeping track of you prescription medication/pill details, this app is indispensable! Whether to list the full details of your prescription medications for the benefit of yourself or others, keep track of your daily doses, or work out a schedule to remind yourself when its time to take a particular pill, this app has it all!


RECOMMENDATION: Really, if you are taking any kind prescription medication (particularly if it is long-term and necessary to keep a stable way of life) then this app should be with you at all times! You might not have trouble remembering when to take your medicine, but detailed information about your medication history can always have an impact if you are in a situation where you need emergency medical attention!

Tuesday 3 May 2011

#40 - HP ePrint

TITLE: HP ePrint
SCORE: 4 / 5 (due to inability to test fully)
 
COST: FREE

Find yourself out and about a bit too much? Rushed and hectic with paperwork that you store on some digital medium? Do you suddenly feel an inexplicable urge to print out the document/image contents of your iPhone/iPod on the nearest public printer? Well fear not, iTunes has you covered!

RECOMMENDATION: Sadly, as I don't own an HP printer, I couldn't try this app to its fullest.  It's limited to HP printers, so if anyone has tested this and would like to let me know if it worked alright for you, please do!

Monday 2 May 2011

#39 - Skyview Lite

TITLE: Skyview Lite
SCORE: 5 / 5
NOTE: The Lite version of this app, while still great, will only display the constellations, the sun, and the moon.  If you want the rest of the goodies described, skip your lunch donut and shell out the .99 cents.
COST: LITE (Demo)

If you have even a passing interest in the universe, this app is a unique, fascinating find.  Dabble in astronomy at all? Even better! Load up this app, point it at the world around you, and see the neighboring planets and constellations superimposed over the screen.  Want to know in what relative direction you can find Jupiter? No problem, just take a look around until you see it!



RECOMMENDATION: Seriously, just get the Lite version at the very least.  There is something absolutely enjoyable about being able to imagine a planet just a short hop ahead of you.