Welcome to our weekly installment of Picks of the Week at iSource where we provide our expanded coverage of Apple accessories and applications Here we will promote our favorite iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac and Apple TV related items, as well as bring you occasional tips and tricks. Hopefully many of our favorite items will also be of interest to you. Please feel free to comment on our selections, and suggest picks of your own. Check out this week’s picks after the break
Soundhound (v3.6.1)
Picked by: Jay
My pick this week isn’t a new app, but it has a shiny new place for me in my iPhone/iPad life. Why you may ask? Well, yes I read the Lifehacker review comparing Shazam vs. SoundHound (also making its way on to our own site here) where they gave a slight nod to SoundHound for its overall accuracy. However, the hidden gem in my opinion is how this universal app can integrate with your iPod (through the icon at bottom right corner).
You might think it odd to consider using a song-identifying appwith your own library. At first I did too. Then I noticed the “lyrics” portion of SoundHound seemed to be more frequently available than Shazam’s. So one time I fired up SoundHound while my iPod was playing and to my delight, the lyrics appeared overlaying the album art! Now you might think of this as no big deal, but for someone who is notoriously inaccurate with lyrics (think Jessie Eisenberg on SNL… “I love rock ‘n roll! So come and kiss a lime you dance machine!” – more transcripts here), this is an exciting way to sing along without the karaoke machine.
On a side note, unlike Shazam, did you know you could sing or hum into your iPhone’s mic (or type a title) and have SoundHound search? Hearing that my wife successfully searched for a song by testing that feature shows that the algorithm SoundHound uses is far superior than even the human ear. (Good thing my wife never reads what I write.)
(free/ad supported) iTunes Link (no/ads) iTunes Link
TextExpander (v1.1.8)
Picked by: Thomas
My pick of the week, TextExpander ($4.99), can take a little while to get a hang of, but it’s a great little tool for setting up text macros on your iOS device. The macros can range from basic text replacement (typing “iS” to write “iSource”) to more dynamic text (“%’dd” to write today’s date out instantly). The only real catch here is that TextExpander is only supported in very specific apps, so you can’t use it just anywhere.
I wrote a quick post about TextExpander for creating quick bullet points within apps that support it, and I’m hoping to use TE to work around the limitations of the iPad’s touchscreen keyboard … well, once I get my hands on one, anyway. 🙂
($4.99) iTunes Link
Quickshot with Dropbox (v1.5)
Picked by: PatrickJ
This is a great little app for automatically uploading images to the superb Dropbox service every time you snap a picture on your iPhone or iPad 2. I’ve tried it on both my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 and it works well on both. It’s got a nice, very basic UI and lets you modify a few key settings for how it’s used. You can turn auto-uploading off or on, and set which folder within Dropbox it uploads to (/Photos by default). You can also choose from four quality settings for your uploads – the higher the setting the bigger the resulting file and the slower the upload.
I think this may also be the first app that works with the iPad 2 cameras in this sort of way – not that they’re up to much, but anyway.
It’s a universal app, so it will run on both the iPhone and iPad 2
($0.99) iTunes Link
Mobile Mouse (Remote/Trackpad) v2.0.2
Picked by: Joe Tomasone
Mobile Mouse is a neat and clean remote mouse utility for Mac OS X (Tiger/Leopard/Snow Leopard, Intel/PPC) and Windows (XP/Vista/Windows 7, 32/64bit). It allows you to sit back and control your PC with your iPhone or iPad, either as a trackpad or by holding the mouse and using gestures. You can control your media player, start and close programs, or pretty much anything you can do with your real mouse.
There is a free version (for iPhone) that offers a lot of features, and a pro version ($1.99 for iPhone, $2.99 for iPad) that offers even more features, such as a mobile Dock that allows you to switch to any running program instantly.
(Free) iTunes Link (Pro) iTunes Link
iPhone 4 Chrome Flip Case by iKit
Picked by: Renkman
Have you ever been on a plane or sitting at a table or other flat surface and wanted to watch a video or picture slide-show on your iPhone 4? If your like me, you occasionally want to sit back in your chair sometimes rather than hover over your iPhone for the duration of your media experience. This is especially valuable for those times where the ambient lighting might not be optimal.
iKit has the answer to all your viewing needs—the iPhone 4 Chrome Flip Case. With its built in kickstand, hands-free viewing is now possible in standard landscape and portrait mode. All controls are accessible through cut-out areas in the case (ie silent ring switch, volume control, mute, and headphone jack). Charging your iPhone with the Flip Case on is still feasible, although you need to remove the bottom portion of the case to charge while docked.
While in the case, your iPhone is protected on the outside by a polycarbonate coating, and on the inside, with a soft, thin rubber lining. The shiny mirror outside coating comes in (3) colors—silver, pink, and light blue. Included with your purchase is a set of screen protectors (front & back), and a handy cleaning cloth. Order yours today!
($34.95) Link
There you have it! Hope you enjoyed this week’s installment of Picks of the week. Please let us know what you think, and share with us some of your favorites.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
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