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.
Amazon Mobile [v1.8.0]
Picked by: Jay
This week is a “see one, get one free” for my Pick! With the state of the American economy in such fluctuation, I am always seeking the best prices for things I need and want. Over the holiday shopping season Amazon has two apps that have become my pocket saviors while shopping. By having direct access to my Amazon.com account, the online site becomes a shopping competitor while on-the-go.
For Amazon.com-only information, Amazon Mobile has become my staple. If I want to know what the reviews of a certain Nintendo DS game happens to be, I can scan the barcode which takes me to see the price and its reviews at Amazon. If I don’t see the box with a barcode, I could use “Snap It” to take a picture of an item on the store shelf and within seconds, the app looks up what the item is, and off I go to the product page. And having access to my Amazon.com account means I can also save these product searches to Wish Lists I’ve already set up.
(Free) iTunes Link
Price Check [v1.2.1]
Amazon also offers a less-powerful app, Price Check, to price compare among Amazon.com and its online merchants where you can enter the price you see at the brick-and-mortar vendor (“this helps ensure our prices remain competitive”). For example, at a local Barnes and Noble, I found the BookBook iPhone 4/4S case for $59.99; using Price Check, I found it for $31.99 (already expired) from an Amazon’s Featured Merchant.
Whether you’re finishing you last minute shopping, or preparing for the clearance items after Christmas, give both of these free apps a worthy look to help save money!
(Free) iTunes Link
Tweetdeck by Twitter [v1.1.1]
Picked by: AliciaB
My Pick this week is a recommendation for the new Tweetdeck for desktop. This app replaces the Adobe Air version which I’ve used for YEARS, so needless to say I was at first reluctant to make the switch. When the Twitter gods bought Tweetdeck, I hoped they would not only keep it but also keep what makes it so special and hopefully make it viable. After all I had to abandon the Tweetdeck iPhone app because of slow loading times and non-intuitive navigation. So Tweetdeck desktop was my remaining hope. And thankfully the new Tweetdeck is a good offering. Although the yellow bird has been traded for a blue one and the columns no longer fit the screen exactly (3 in lieu of 4 left-indented), performance is much better and snappier. The Air version would suck a lot of energy out of my machine. The design has been Mac-i-fied, making the look of things rounder and cleaner. What is a great feature is the web app (that looks exactly like the desktop version), which syncs with the desktop smoothly. Despite the overhaul, I am not missing any features or griping about the minor differences. For me it’s great things are simpler. They haven’t changed what made the app special for me in the first place – the columns on black background is a look that’s hard to beat!
(Free) Mac or Windows
Gas Cubby [v2.4.1]
Picked by: Brandon
My Pick of the Week is Gas Cubby. Do you know how much it costs per year to run your car? What’s the ACTUAL miles per gallon you get in your oversized land yacht Escalade? How about the REAL MPG you’re getting from your baby blue Prius? Let’s be real – the EPA rating is just an estimate. They’re making it up based upon limited testing, engine displacement and weight. Sure, they may be close – but they can never tell you that a strong wind in the opposite direction of your travels can cause an approximately 8 MPG difference in a whole tank. I know in my car that’s the difference wind can make. How do I know? A little road trip across Texas and keeping track of milage on the same stretch of road. I also know that in 23,000 miles my 2010 Kizashi is averaging 24.5 MPG (EPA 21 city / 32 hwy) and that a tank of gas is now costing around $7 more compared to mid-2010 ($33.22 @ 9.72 gal) vs ($26.57 @ 9.49 gal). I also know that those 23,000 odd miles have cost me about $2,844.85 – give or take because I’ve forgotten a few entries along the way. Oh, and how many miles has it been since your last oil change? What about a tire rotation or replacement? I can tell you mine without having to look at that stupid little sticker on my windshield, or looking up the paperwork from the shop.
So, while your iPhone is one heck of a gaming device, maybe you can use it for some thing smart. They do call them smartphones after all.
Gas Cubby is available on the App Store for $4.99 and has been my constant companion for a couple years now.
($4.99) iTunes Link
ReelDoozy [v1.0]
Picked by: Joe Tomasone
‘Tis the season…. To keep your kids believing in Santa Claus.
ReelDoozy allows you to embed a background of your choice into a video featuring Santa Claus or Keenan Cahill (I had to Google him; I had no idea who he was..). With this app, you can make a movie file of Santa with or without his elves in any setting you choose – such as next to your Christmas tree, on your roof, etc. The process is very easy:
First, you choose a video foreground from amongst the 4 free choices or from one in any of several packs that are available for in-app purchases for 99 cents. Next, you choose a picture for the background, from either the camera or your photo library. Then, simply scale the foreground against the background (optionally adjusting contrast and brightness), then let the app do it’s magic. Soon, you’ll have a video ready for viewing or sharing.
(Free) iTunes Link
Skitch for iPad [v1.0.0]
Picked by: PatrickJ
Skitch has been one of my favorite and most frequently used apps on the Mac for years. It’s incredibly easy to use – for marking up and having fun with images. The new iPad version brings the ease of use and a number of cool features. It makes it easy to markup images from your photo library, the web, and Maps (a great way to help make directions easier) – or start from scratch.
Skitch was recently bought by Evernote, so it’s no surprise to see that this app has an easy Save to Evernote option – very handy for those of us who use Evernote heavily as well.
(Free) iTunes Link
Mixel for iPad [v1.1]
Picked by: Alex Jordan
Mixel is a new social network (yes another one) but with a twist- it’s iPad only, and facilitates social art. That is, you can create an image with basic photo editing tools, and then post it for your followers to see. Once posted, other Mixel members can edit, add to, and elaborate on your ideas. It’s fun, and naturally, I love it because I’m a designer at heart. It’s worth a look and costs nothing. There are already some notable people such as Mule Design’s Mike Monteiro, and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber using the service.
Recently updated last week to include
Thanks to everyone for the tremendous response to Mixel! We’re happy to bring you version 1.1, which includes many new features and performance enhancements:
* Fixed a problem where mixels were being posted with unexpected results
* Fixed many memory leaks and greatly improved speed and reliability
* NEW! Save snapshots of in-progress mixels to your Photos app (without having to post the mixels)
(Free) iTunes 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.
From all of us at iSource, Happy Holidays to you and yours!
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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