The Daily iPhone App

I love reading news on my iPhone and iPad because I have access to so many magazines and newspapers all in one device. I was happy to read on Mashable that The Daily, a daily news publication owned by News Corp., has released an app for the iPhone. They already have an iPad app which they released over 1 year ago. The only negative thing that people are saying about it is that the iPhone app looks relatively basic and boring compared to the iPad app. I can understand that because of the iPad has so much more real estate; you can do a lot more design-wise. http://mashable.com/2012/05/03/the-daily-iphone/

LinkedIn iPad App

I am an avid user of LinkedIn, the popular social media for professionals. I have the app on my iPhone and use it a lot, but when I got my iPad last month, I was disappointed to see that there was no app. But today, my frown has turned upside down because the LinkedIn app for iPad has finally been released. It's very easy to use and I like viewing it on my iPad rather than my iPhone because of the bigger screen. There are some little bugs, but I'm sure those will get fixed within the next few weeks. http://mashable.com/2012/04/25/linkedin-ipad-app/

Pocket

Read It Later, a popular app which allowed users to save articles they find and "read them later," has undergone a huge change and is now called Pocket. I downloaded the app and it works great. I love being able to save articles I want to read and later, I can just open up the app and there they are! Their website is very nice too. http://getpocket.com/

Paper by FiftyThree

A few weeks ago I mentioned how I was looking at drawing/creative apps for my new iPad. Well, I finally got the iPad and I have definitely found an app worth paying for (sort of). It's called Paper and was released last week by the company FiftyThree. It's an app dedicated solely to drawing. You start off with just an ink pen, eraser, and all of the colors, but through in-app purchases, you have to buy the rest of the tools which include a pencil, watercolor brush, marker, and writing pen. For a total of $8, I bought all of the tools and I am very satisfied. I've done a lot of sketches in the app and plan on doing more. It's one of the best out there! And the introduction video is cool too! http://www.fiftythree.com/

Waygoz

I used to play video games like it was my job back in the day. When I was 13, it was Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. When I was 15, it was Halo. When I was 16, it was all about World of Warcraft. After I beat those games, minus the latter, they just sat on my shelf gathering dust. I tried selling them back as used, but I would only get at mac $5 when I originally paid $60. If Waygoz, a new social network for trading video games, was around back then, I would have made total use of it. Gamers can connect and trade games; so after one person has beaten or is bored with the latest Call of Duty (who would be?), they can trade it for a new Bioshock. Pretty cool. Check it out here: http://mashable.com/2012/04/05/waygoz-social-network-games/

Fitocracy

A new iPhone app has been released that allows users to not only track their workouts, but compete against other users. This is really great because there is an incentive involved; I've seen and experienced those times when working out starts out great but gradually gets boring because of little to no motivation. This app will put you against others so you can gain points, badges, and hopefully the power to continue onward. http://mashable.com/2012/03/29/fitocracy-iphone/

World Water Day

Today is World Water Day and Mashable posted an article about the effect social media is having on raising awareness. Charity: water has launched its "Give Up Your Birthday" campaign which allows people to tell their friends that instead of buying them gifts, they should donate to the 2.5 million people who need clean water. Here's the article: http://mashable.com/2012/03/22/world-water-day-2012/

Impending

Impending is a software studio founded in 2011 and had a large part in the development of Clear, a to-do app I review a few weeks ago. I came across their website and had to share it because I think it's so cool. What really caught my attention is the 3D meteor at the top and how it spins; it's almost uncanny for a website. http://impending.com/

Ethnographic Research

I learned a lot about doing ethnographic research and decided to make tonight's blog post about the subject. I found this great article on Core77. The author focuses on the evolution of ethnographic research; people originally found their subjects via recruiting agencies. Now, it's all about the social networks! http://www.core77.com/blog/articles/the_new_dawn_tapping_social_networks_for_design_research_recruiting_by_jan_chipchase_21490.asp

Pinterest

I'm obsessed with Pinterest, a social media site dedicated to sharing images. It's been around since 2010, but never really caught on with the public until now. Most of its users are females between the ages of 18 and 34 who enjoy cooking, decorating, fashion, and Ryan Gosling. No wonder why I like it so much...

Procreate

Rumors have been swirling about the iPad 3 (HD?). I'm planning on getting one as soon as it comes out. I already have a mental note of the apps I want to download. As a design student, I've been researching the best design/art/color/creative apps out there and came across Procreate, an app for illustration, but more in depth than similar apps. I haven't tested it out, but I've seen some example work and it looks great. Can't wait to try it out! http://www.savageinteractive.com.au/

Supermarket App

This is very similar to the app I am doing for this class! It's happened plenty of times to me: getting lost in the supermarket. If I had this app, the amount of time I spent walking up and down the aisles would be reduced by at least 20 minutes. http://mashable.com/2012/02/14/indoor-navigation-app/

Clear

I don't always pay for apps, but when I do, they look like this. Clear is a beautifully designed to-do app. But, what makes it so unique? It is so simple. So simple. It cannot get simpler. I've tried other to-do apps and lasted only a few days. I have been using Clear everyday and will continue to do so. The simple interface makes it easy to use and the sounds are great! In fact, the sounds remind me of Super Mario 64; whenever I complete a task, the sound that plays is the sound I used to hear when I beat Bowser in the boss level. Check out the website: http://www.realmacsoftware.com/clear/

Facebook Timeline Movie

With the advent of Facebook Timeline, a new browser tool was launched which takes content from your timeline and places it into a well-made movie. It was created by Definition 6, a marketing agency located in Atlanta, Georgia. Here's a link to the post from Mashable.com (scroll down to watch a video created by the author of the post, Brian Hernandez): http://mashable.com/2012/01/30/facebook-timeline-movie/

App Websites

App design is a new subject for me. Before I get heavily involved in the project, I thought that doing some very general research would be beneficial. I came across something I never thought about: websites dedicated to apps. It makes total sense; what's the best way for developers to market their app and for consumers to learn more than what is described in the app store? http://appsites.com/ is GREAT! It's so interesting to see all of the different sites and apps. What's funny is that a lot of the sites have a similar design to them, yet they're all different. I'd say they're all very 'Apple-esque' but I'm not complaining!