The New Essential Apps Feb 2012

The New Essential Apps Feb 2012


iPhones. iPads. Android. We’ve updated all of our essential apps lists to include a few forgotten favourites, some long awaited arrivals and, as always, even more amazing apps. Check them out!

The Best iPhone Apps February 2012

The end of the month is here, and that means it’s time to do a little housekeeping on our list of the absolute best iPhone apps. Who will be inducted?

Added:


Buzz Contacts: Buzz Contacts puts the traditional iOS contacts system on its head, making it infinitely more useful and faster. Its focus is getting you to contacting your contacts as fast and elegantly as possible, through whichever medium you decide to use: phone, SMS, email or FaceTime. $0.99. [imgclear]


Fitness Buddy: 1700 different workout exercises. 1000 workout videos. 4000 exercise photos. And sweat searing instructions for all of them. Fitness Buddy is an absolutely amazing tool to track your workouts, learn new workouts, build a workout routine and see your body’s progress. $0.99. [imgclear]


Cinemagram: Cinemagram uses your iPhone camera to capture a short video clip, and then convert it into an cinemagraph, which is a highly stylised animated GIF where only one part of the image moves. You record a clip and cut it down to a length Cinemagram deems acceptable (generally a couple of seconds). Then you mask the area you want to move. $1.99.[imgclear]


Clear: The new Clear to-do list app takes a different and fresh approach from others in that it’s not loaded with auxiliary features. Clear is the quickest, simplest and most intuitive to-do list for busy people who need a straightforward list to juggle a million tasks a day. $0.99. [imgclear]


Clik: Clik controls web browsers from your phone. Why the hell would you need to do that, you ask? Laziness. With niche apps like this, it’s always laziness. What kind of masochist wants to screw with the keyboard or trackpad or oh god the mouse? No one. Those can all go to a shallow gadget hell grave. [imgclear]


Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: A lovely adventure game with a lovely story and a lovely score. You play as a character who starts out dead and you need to figure out who you are, who killed you and why. An interesting take with 10 levels of gameplay. [imgclear]

Visit our updated list of the Best iPhone Apps right here

The Best Android Apps February 2012

It’s a new month and that means new apps.

Added:


Syncly: The app keeps an eye on your Android device’s SD card and automatically uploads any photos added to that card to your DropBox account. After an initial setup, the app just does its job in the background. Upload images over Wi-Fi or your device’s 3G/4G connection. Free. [imgclear]


Osmos HD: Kotaku considers Osmos HD a “masterpiece”. It’s a puzzle game where you control a single-celled organism in space and try to absorb other smaller organisms and navigate through the dangers of space. Of course, you can be absorbed too so you have to stay alert. [imgclear]


Chrome: Chrome for Android features a host of improvements over the old Android browser, but the biggest highlight has got to be automatic tab and bookmark syncing between your desktop and phone. So you’ve got a few tabs open at home, and have to run out the door? Not a problem, you’ve got those same tabs open on your phone with a quick tap. [imgclear]


Cloud Magic: Think of CloudMagic as a search engine that only searches you. It indexes your Google and Twitter data and then cuts down search speed significantly because it doesn’t get bogged down by any network or server delays. It’s like if Spotlight (or Quicksilver) for the Mac was available on your Android phone. You can search through your Twitter, Gmail, Google Apps, Docs, Calendar and Contacts through CloudMagic. [imgclear]


Cartoon Camera: This app is like Hipstamatic except instead of being tailored to aloof artsy people, it’s created for people with a sense of humour — or at least people who like the funny papers. The app does an admirably good job of turning your photos into sketch-like cartoons — especially for a free app. Free. [imgclear]


Clik: Clik allows you to control any web-enabled screen from your phone. You point your web browser to ClikThis.com and then open the Clik app on your smartphone. Scan the QR code on ClikThis.com and that web browser now becomes a big screen to watch videos on (with the Clik app being your snazzy remote). [imgclear]


Dialer One: The best speed dialler for Android. Why? Well you can speed dial by holding down a number on the keypad, instant searches a contact from typing in a number or name and looks great too. Free. [imgclear]


Fitness Buddy: 1700 different workout exercises. 1000 workout videos. 4000 exercise photos. And sweat-searing instructions for all of them. Fitness Buddy is an absolutely amazing tool to track your workouts, learn new workouts, build a workout routine and see your body’s progress. $0.99. [imgclear]

Visit our updated list of the Best Android Apps right here

The Best iPad Apps February 2012

Here are the iPad apps you should download before you get your new iPad.

Added:


NPR Music: Beyond the live streams from 100 public radio stations, NPR Music has exclusive content like advanced access to albums and stuff like music news, interviews and reviews. What’s particularly nice is that the app can scan your iTunes library and spit out personalised recommendations to make sure you keep on discovering stuff that vibes with your style. Free. [imgclear]


Tweetbot: The app is the most aggressively designed Twitter app on the planet. It squeezes every last feature it can out of the service while continuing to present a clean interface that’s easy to use. I can customise the app how I like and quickly, tweet, retweet, and reply to tweets. Or, just use it as is and still enjoy the same rewarding experience. $3.49. [imgclear]


Photoshop Touch: Photoshop Touch for iOS packs a number of the core Photoshop features, optimised for use on tablets. In particular, it handles layers, features pro-style effects, and allows users to touch up photos. One nice little feature is the Scribble Selection Tool: a lazy squiggle over the area of your choice simplifies the way in which you select areas. $10.49. [imgclear]


Avid Studio: While not fully intended to be a replacement for the powerful film editing software AVID Studio on desktop PCs, Avid for iPad is still a prosumer app that’s intended to complement its professional desktop counterpart. And while it will supposedly do most things desktop editing suites can do, it won’t be able to execute on everything. Still! Avid! On your iPad! $5.49. [imgclear]

Visit our updated list of the Best iPad Apps right here


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