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.
Extreme Agenda [ v 3.12 ]
Picked by: jhrogersii
One of the areas of the stock iOS experience that I have always found to be disappointing is the Calendar app. It is solid, but just soooo basic. It just doesn’t come anywhere close to meeting my needs. Then add to that the act that, until iOS 5, we didn’t have any stock task management. It’s nice that Apple finally gave us the Reminders app, but even so, it’s still just so very basic. It’s fine for personal reminders, but can’t come close to organizing my work tasks.
We’ve seen plenty of task management apps, such as Toodledo, Remember the Milk, and Omnifocus, hit the virtual shelves of the App Store thanks to Apple’s omissions, but none of them or the stock apps show both calendar and tasks together in one tidy package. Thankfully, there are a handful of power apps that fit this bill nicely, one of which is Extreme Agenda from Birdsoft. I have used Pocket Informant, a similar app with a longer history and more extensive feature set, for several years now. Unfortunately, along with some other advanced Personal Information Management software available for iOS, it is currently suffering under the weight of all its features. Every new update fixes a list of bugs, but then seems to bring new problems and increased instability.
Enter Extreme Agenda, which I have been testing for a couple of weeks, but have found more tempting lately. While it offers multiple Calendar views (Month, Week, Day, Agenda) like more advanced apps, as well as the ability to view tasks and calendar information simultaneously, it has also proven to be much more stable for me than PI. While Extreme Agenda lacks some of the detailed settings and customization capability that you get with other apps, what it does, it does very very well. Also, unlike its “Power PIM” competitors, Extreme Agenda is also a universal app.
One area I have found disappointing about the app is that it doesn’t currently sync tasks with any services, not even of their own like Mysterious Trousers did with Calvetica. However, the fine folks at Birdsoft have assured me that Toodledo sync is in testing, and is coming very soon. With that added feature, Extreme Agenda will really stand alone as an app with enough simplicity to work for just about anyone, but with enough power coupled with stability to also work for power users. If you need more than the stock experience, but you also find apps like Pocket Informant or SmartCal a little daunting, give Extreme Agenda a look
$5.99 US [ iTunes ]
Draw Something [ v 1.2.8 ]
Picked by: Thomas
My POTW is Draw Something, an excellent Pictionary-like game for the iPhone and iPad. Draw Something tends to do away with all the pressures of timed turns and points that actually matter and focuses, instead, on the pure unadulterated fun of drawing stupid things for your friends to guess. The types of clues can range from abstract (“trouble”) to pop culture (“Jayz”) to Pikachu (“Pee-KAH-choo”), and you can take as much time as you want to draw your clues out. Guessing doesn’t use a keyboard, but you are given a fresh set of alphabetic tiles every turn (which can often be clues in and of themselves).
Games are always played with one other player and turns are asynchronous, so fans of games like Words with Friends will feel right at home here. You pick the game up, take a turn or two, and then wait for your friends to guess and respond. Turns are also set up very intelligently, so that you’ll always have something to look forward to. A new turn means watching your friend guess your drawing, guessing their drawing, and then coming up with a new drawing of your own.
The only points in this game are coins that you earn for picking one of three tiers of clues, and these coins can be used to buy more colours or bombs (to “nuke” irrelevant letters during a given turn).
The only thing I’d like Draw Something to improve upon at this point is allow a little more time for screenshots. Some of my friends’ drawing are truly inspired and I’d love to record them, but the game often skips to the next screen before I really have a chance to press Home + Sleep. Aside from this minor issue, however, Draw Something is a kickass download. There’s a free version of the app with ads, but the full version of the app is only a dollar, so I highly recommend the latter.
$0.99 US [ iTunes ]
Paper’d [ v1.0 ]
Picked by: PatrickJ
Thomas beat me to posting about this very cool new iPhone wallpapers app yesterday. It’s full of fun and truly unique images, all with big doses of design flair. It’s got over 200 free wallpapers and an even bigger range of walls in a number of good categories that are available as In-App purchases (for just $0.99 and $1.99).
I’m really fond of the range of clever collections the app offers – from Quotegasm and typography for nerds to states and area codes and ‘Internetz’ acronyms. When I installed the app the day it was released I found I had over a dozen walls I loved from free and paid collections within just a few minutes. They’ll be adding a bit of wit and stye to my lock screen for quite a while.
Disclosure: I’ve used the superb design services of the talented ladies of Shatterboxx, who created this app, and I’m a big fan of their work.
Price: Free with In-App purchase options as mentioned above.
Free [ iTunes ]
Raven [ v 0.6b2 ]
Picked by: Alex Jordan
My pick this week is a new browser called Raven. What makes this browser different is its focus on web apps. You can “install” different services such as iCloud, IMDB, social networks, and even Google Apps in something they call “The Smart Bar”. All of this can be done through their Web App Shop which is the default homepage. Web apps really aren’t my thing, but Raven is a different take on the idea, and I think it handles it very well. Aesthetically, it is pleasing, and the design is well thought out. I’m going to try it out as my main browser for a couple of weeks. After all, it doesn’t cost anything.
Free [ Link ]
Air Display [ v 1.5.1 ]
Picked by: Jay
A few weeks ago, I went to offer the team my Pick, Avatron’s AirDictate, only to find out it had been removed from the App Store thanks to its use of Siri as a dictation machine (read more here). Instead, I was offered a chance to take a look Avatron’s app, AirDisplay instead.
Of all the combinations possible, I chose to try out the iPad version partnered with a MacBookPro. Regardless of how you orient your iPhone or iPad – as well as how the set up on your computer – AirDisplay successfully mirrors your display or extends your display (think as a second mini display for a Keynote slideshow). And believe me, when it comes to setting up a second display on a Mac through System Preferences, enjoy the ease of use compared to a friggin’ Windows-based PC! After installing the app on an iDevice, the partnering AirDisplay Connect on a computer, and using the same WiFi network (or creating your own network), your device is ready to show off what’s on your computer.
The unique feature of AirDisplay is beyond the fact it is a great complementary second display: it doubles as a touchscreen input device! No, don’t ask if after using an iOS device I inadvertently touched my MacBookPro LCD expecting a response. I have not. But I’ve watched others (my lovely wife included) who have.
Overall, the the $9.99 pricetag is a bit steep, but if you have the need to wirelessly show off what’s on your screen, AirDisplay is a great way to do that or increase your screen’s real estate.
$9.99 [ iTunes ]
Airbnb [ v1.3.0 ]
Picked by: AliciaB
For my Pick this Week I heartily recommend you check out Airbnb for iPhone, a mobile gateway for the Airbnb global network that connects travelers to largely private hosts who are willing to rent their homes or spare rooms out to complete strangers. I had heard about the concept a while back and had always meant to check it out when I had the time. So when I heard that the Airbnb iPhone app was updated on 1 March, I decided it was high time to take a closer look.
Airbnb is a network that is not unlike Ebay in the sense that it depends on recommendations for both hosts and guests, who build reputations based on these. After browsing through the app, I immediately felt drawn to the concept.
I largely judge the success of an app on its fun factor. Once an app is done in a way that it engaging, appealing, intuitive and enjoyable to use, you have got me sold. Airbnb for iPhone is all that. The app is truly smooth and easy, chock full of things to consult or pictures to look at. Imagine needing a place in Barcelona. You get a list of places that you can filter by price, whether you want a private room, shared room or entire place, bed type or number of guests. Check out the maps, photos, guest reviews (which are particularly thorough and helpful in most instances) or host profile. Believe me, there are lots of gorgeous private homes out there. Seriously. I had to control myself from not clicking on the “book it“ button. More than once.
Although I have yet to actually go through the booking and travel process, I have the feeling that it won’t be long before we try this out for real. After all, Easter vacation is just around the corner. And we are thinking about Berlin, Paris or Venice… Where will you go?
Free [ iTunes ]
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.
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