iPad Apps Must-Haves

To arms!—The Best Tower Defense Games

2011-09-02T02:50:00.000-07:00

A tower defense game is an excellent source of addictive fun. And in iTunes you have so many towers, princesses, castles, farms, houses, beds, and a magic portal or two to defend that it is difficult to choose one. And if you’re like me, you want a quality tower defense game that is challenging and is pumped up with enough game play to be worth your bucks. Here I have my pick of the best tower defense games that are worth your time. You’ll get hooked on these TDs—don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Plants vs. Zombies, $2.99

Plants vs. Zombies

Yes, we are talking plants shooting deadly peas and mushrooms going kaboom! The game play of plants vs. zombies is very easy. You have a house, you have your friend craaazzyyy Dave…and you have zombies—Zhey want to eatz your brainz. What do you have for your defense? Plants. Sounds lame, but really, it’s not.

It is such an inventive game with great back stories for the zombies and plants. You can buy upgrades from crazy Dave for more fun zombie carnage. There is unlimited game play in the endless mode while the mini games in and out of the game story keep the PvZ fresh and fun. If you can get past the slight cuteness of the zombies and plants, you’re going to love this game!

The Creeps, $0.99

The Creeps

You are equipped with glue bottles, boomerangs, toy guns (blasters), light torches, and paper shurikens, among other things. Your task? Simple. Defend yourself (and your bed) from the creeps that go bump in the night. Like other tower defense games you can upgrade your towers, and strategically place them on your map. When you are in a tight spot or you’ve made a mistake, you can always sell your tower, or start shooting the landscape rocks, trees, etc.

You have the classic survival mode, which has a set no. of waves, the endurance mode which is the same as the endless mode of Plants VS. Zombies, and the unique door buster mode in which you don’t just have to defend your bed, you have to destroy the door where the creatures emerge from. This game has me at the first bandaged mummy. This is classic tower defense at its best!

Defender Chronicles, $0.99

Defender Chronicles

A wonderful and to no surprise addicting tower defense game, Defender Chronicles merges tower defense with RPG game play. At the start you are a sword wielding general (male), and later in the game you can unlock the elf mage (female). You can buy your character armors, weapons and enchantments. There are so many items you can buy to make your character stronger (You use in-game currency); my brother and I ended up competing on who has the best stuffs.

You’ll be defending your castle and your land from goblins, werewolves, Imps, and medieval bad guys. This game is so much fun and gives new meaning to the word HORDES. The only con of this game is that there is a pre-set spot where you can position your archers, swordsmen, and mages. A few spots at that—but that is what makes this game oh so challenging. And you’ve got to like the absence of cuteness in this TD.

Guns n glory, $0.99, FREE

Guns' n' Glory

Moveable towers, er men. That is guns and glory in a nutshell. You are not the good guy in this Wild West-set TD. You are a badass bandit and you and your crew of misfits are after the pockets of the pioneers who dare pass in your territory. Unlike other tower defense games with immovable towers, Guns n Glory lets you control your men, making them walk to better spots and get power ups.

And yes, you can upgrade your men. No, you can’t have endless play here. Unless the developers put it in as part of the game play. Now I can finally say it is fun to play the bad guy—Well, at least in a game. Mine is free, and I can play the full game+advertisements.

Currently playing...FIELD RUNNERS.

Is it any good? Let me know what you thing in the comment below.

Kindle, the Root of All Evil

2011-08-18T01:51:00.000-07:00

Kindle, FREE

Kindle

Kindle, the root of all evil. Well, not really. The root of my insomnia is more like it. I am addicted to Kindle.It is what I mostly do on my device. Read. Read. Read.

So what is Kindle?

Kindle is a free universal app optimized for iPad, iPhone, and iTouch. The problem with universal apps is that they look great on small screen devices like iPhone and itouch, but the quality is greatly reduced when viewed on a much bigger screen, like the iPad. What you are doing is just zooming in (2x) on what is generally made for a smaller screen. That is not the case with Kindle.

Kindle, thumbnail view

Kindle's home screen is a delicious visual pleaser. I prefer this over the boring "real-looking" bookshelf forms of most e-book readers (including iBooks).

On the bottom part of the screen, you have your "archived items": Books that you have bought on the Kindle Store and is ready for download on your device.

Next to it are buttons for how you want to view your books. The thumbnail view (The image shown on the left) is my favorite. I like seeing my individual books in all its glory. Clean. Uncluttered. Just book after book.

Kindle, list view

The detailed list view (The image shown on the right) gives you a small version of your book, its title and author, and how far you've come on your reading.The alphabet on the right of the screen is for browsing, just tap on the letter of your choice and it will direct you to the list that starts with that letter.

You can arrange your books according to the recent ones you've read, according to author, and according to the book titles. Whichever you prefer. Mine is set on author for now.

And on the far right corner of the home screen is a small "i" icon, a pull up tab of info regarding Kindle: Settings, About, Provide Feedback, Contact Support, Terms of Use, Legal Notices. Beside the "i" icon is an icon for refreshing your app, checking for items, and syncing.

It is beautiful and functional. Tapping the top or the bottom part of an open book, shows the menus you need to further enhance your reading experience. Tap it again, to hide the menus, helping you just focus on enjoying a good book. You can look up word in the dictionary by simply tapping and holding the word: The dictionary definition, and the links to Google or Wikipedia will appear on the bottom part of the screen.

I love this aspect of Kindle. I don't have to leave Kindle to have something defined. You can also note, highlight, or share any word or phrase using the same tapping and holding motions. Easy as pie.

You can customize the font size, page effect, and the brightness to fit how you like to read. I always use the sepia tone, it makes me feel like I'm reading an ancient tome: the white setting makes me think of A4 sized research papers. Not pretty. But then again, that's just me.

Of course you can bookmark your page, the icon is located on the top right hand corner. You also know where exactly how far you are on your reading, thanks to the location bar on the bottom of the page.

With the search function you can find the words and phrases, like characters or topics without having to manually look for the exact page yourself.
You can easily go to your notes and marks, go back to the cover, view the table of contents, or find an exact page without flipping through hundreds of pages.

Kindle's Whispersync Technology is awesome!

I have other e-book apps in my iPad. The same apps are on my iPhone too. But they don't sync. So I don't have the same read books or pages on my devices. Not so with Kindle. All my devices are synced automatically. So i can use any device and not have to worry about manually updating the other device.

"Whispersync technology syncs your last page read, notes, bookmarks, and highlights across devices, so you can pick up where you left off."

Of course, with Kindle you buy your books at the Kindle Store (or get free samples of the books). There are also free books available on Kindle, but the book cover is not pretty.

Get your books on Kindle

It is possible to put your e-books (e-books you already have on your computer) on Kindle. It is free. All you have to do is drag and drop your e-book to your itunes.

Open your itunes.
Click your device (e.g: Cyndy's iPad)
Click the Apps tab
Scroll Down until you see the "File Sharing" section
Choose Kindle from the list of apps available for file sharing
Drag and drop your e-books to the documents section.

Important note: Your e-book format must be in .MOBI so that your Kindle can read it.

The Library at Your Finger Tips: E-book Apps

2011-08-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you want free books. Or at the very least a virtual shelf-full of one that isn't expensive. Here are a few download-worthy E-books you can fit in your iPad.

Classics2Go, FREE, $0.99

Classics2Go Collection

Not to be confused with another Classics to go app (they have different developers), this one has 60 classic books right at your fingertips. I love the antique parchment effect of the books. And like any other e-book apps, this one can bookmark your books as well. It is the first e-book app I have downloaded. If you're a classics kind of person, this one is just perfect for you.

It comes in different languages but you have to buy the apps separately. The one I have is free, but you can buy the app as well. Unlike some e-book apps, this one doesn't have its built-in settings for font size or brightness control.

Some books in the app: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland [Illustrated], Christmas Carol [Illustrated], Gulliver's Travels, Romeo and Juliet, Treasure Island, Wuthering Heights, etc.

Sherlock Holmes Collection (Classique)

From the same developer as Classics2Go comes the Sherlock Holmes Collection. I love mystery novels and the character, Sherlock Holmes, just draws you in. I enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories so much that I just had to get the entire 8 books.For free.Well, you can get the paid version as well, and the HD version for iPad for a little bit more moolah. I didn't. It is a universal app, so I didn't get the HD one for iPad.

It has the same antique parchment treatment as the Classics2Go, same pros and cons as well. But I love it, I wouldn't trade it for crisp white e-books.

Books in the app: Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Adventure of Wisteria Lodge and Other Stories, Hound of Baskervilles, Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Return of Sherlock Holmes, Sign of the Four, Study in Scarlet, Valley of Fear

History Classics, $3.99

History Classics

It is just what it is called. History. Classics. You'll find 41 books that are either set in historical settings or are stories that based on events in history. Like Classics2Go this one also has a nice sepia parchment tone for the pages and bookmarks. But this app kicked it up a notch by providing settings that lets you change the fonts type, size, and text color. It even allows you to modify text alignment, line spacing, and margin width. And it has night reading mode.

I don't know if there are free versions but the one I got is the paid one and I initially had it for my iPhone. I think the books would be an interesting read. Haven't gotten around to reading anything yet though. But I am impressed and happy with the e-book style and for sure I'll get around to sitting down and reading some.

Some books in the app: The Three Musketeers, War and Peace, Les Misérables, A Tale of Two Cities, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Last of the Mohicans, etc.

Classic Novels, $0.99

Classic Novels

A collection of 101 classic books. It's from the same developer as History Classics and thus the settings are the same. They have an impressive collection that are not available in the Classics2Go. I really didn't have to download another classic e-book (and pay for it too, $0.99), but I wanted more than 60 classic books.

I have classic books in a bookshelf in my room and am currently re-reading Moby Dick. Now that I have an iPad and this classics app, I don't have to take the paperback with me anywhere.

Nothing is better than the classics. They are always such amazing reads.

Some books in the app: Little Women, Persuasion, Wuthering Heights, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Robinson Crusoe, Great Expectations, A Room with a View, The House of the Seven Gables, etc.

Kindle and iBooks would make this post extremely long, so I intend to post a a different one for each. Kindle I can post soon because that is pretty much what I use now. iBooks a little later down the road, after I've tried getting books on it.

My Favorite Writing/Note-taking Apps

2011-08-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

I have scavenged for the perfect writing app for my iPad2. And after seemingly endless iTunes store clicks, contrasting review-reads, and a buck or more, what have I learned? 1. There is no perfect writing app, only a few that would work for you, 2. Price doesn't guarantee app satisfaction. Anyway, here are a few of my top picks:

Manuscript, $6.99

Manuscript

Before I discovered Manuscript, I have been working on my novel on DocsToGo which is really like working on Word. Manuscript is every writers dream app. It is visually appealing: it presents your novel in book form. It is easy to use and very functional with menus for pitch, synopsis, and index cards for ideas and organization.

I use the index card section to organize my character bio, and scene details.I love that I can edit my work according to chapters. Plus, it conveniently exports to my Dropbox account. The only thing that irks me is how I can't get a preview of my novel according to the chapter I am working on. It always has to start on chapter 1. Aside from that, overall, Manuscript is awesome and definitely worth the $ I plunked down for it!

Notability, $2.99

Notability

A Note-taking app that threw my Nebulous and Notes straight to the abyss that is iPad's last page. Notability lets you type or hand-write notes. With Notability it is possible to insert web clips, images, and figures, and make audio recordings.

I just wish they can auto detect lines and clean up my handwritten lines and shapes so that they don't look like pitiful doodles. I like organizing my notes and it is a huge plus that with Notability, I can arrange my notes according to category and subjects. It is a versatile app. It even exports to Dropbox (which I am a big fan of) and other cloud services.It is by far the most visually pleasing and media-rich note-taking app I have tried.

Evernote, FREE

Evernote

What is more awesome than an app that lets you create text, photos, and audio notes? A free one! Yes, Evernote is a free app that lets you type notes, tag them, create audio and insert photos. You can make searches in Evernote and you can tag notes for further organizing. But this app only allows typing, not hand writing as opposed to Notability which lets you do both.

I use this app for taking quick pictures of mom's recipe book, and for writing my own recipes, keeping tabs of credit card receipts and business cards, and for storing my favorite quotes. Evernote also syncs to--tadaaaahhh--Evernote and it is a universal app which is cool because I have my iPhone, computer, and iPad synced all the time without bothering to copy, paste, or email anything to myself.

Note Plus, $4.99

Note Plus

Finally, a note-taking app that auto-detects lines and shapes for crisper handwriting. Like Notability it lets you hand-write or type text and edit them (Yes, even the handwritten ones can be edited and moved around the page, awesome right?). You can organize your notes and pages, re-order them or edit them again. With the palm pad you can avoid making unintentional scribbles during hand writing mode. It syncs to your online/cloud services like google docs or Dropbox.

I like it that Note Plus has audio recording capabilities but I'd be a bigger fan if it also allowed photos inserts. (I hope Viet Tran adds this to a new update). Because I can pretty much draw to my hearts content here, I use this app mostly to show the iPad notetaking prowess, this and Notability.

DocsToGo, $9.99, $16.99

DocsToGo

Documents To Go is a universal app, which means you don't have to buy several versions of the same app for each of your iphone, itouch, and iPad. The price is a little steep, but it does more than take notes or scribbles. With DocsToGo you can create, edit, view word documents, excel files, and power point presentations. You can also view PDF, iWork, and other files.
It is very convenient for me that I can open my PDF files from emails to me and save it locally to DocsToGo. Thank God I don't have to search endlessly in my email. It supports cloud services, which I can't emphasize enough how much I like!

So, which ones should you get? Depends on what kind of note-taking you'll do. Do you need pictures? Do you prefer handwriting your notes? Or would you rather type the notes? With such considerations, you can pretty much gauge which one you'll need. As for me, I have all of these apps still active in my iPad and I am happy with them.

Oh, if you have other suggestions or comments of better or newer note-taking apps, leave your comments below! Thanks!