iPad By Davis: “iMore Editors' Choice: Ravensword, Flare, Elder Sign, and more” plus 10 more

iMore Editors' Choice: Ravensword, Flare, Elder Sign, and more
FlipSide gaming case arrives on Kickstarter with claimed support from Apple
How to check stocks and exchanges using Siri
Omni announces their productivity app plans for 2013
Google and Motorola rumored to be working on X Phone to once again take on the iPhone
How To Setup a New iPad, No Computer Required
Best Free iPad App of the Week: Snapguide
Wordament, the first Xbox Live game from Microsoft, hits - and misses on - the iPhone
New iPad mini TV Ad: I’ll Be Home
The Wall Street Journal Now in Newsstand
The Wall Street Journal finally comes to Newsstand

iMore Editors' Choice: Ravensword, Flare, Elder Sign, and more

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 01:03 AM PST

iMore Editors' Choice: Ravensword, Flare, Elder Sign, and more

Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps, accessories, gadgets, and websites. This week's selections include a role-playing game, a board game, a comics apps, a photo filter app for Mac, and a game that will grab the heart of every grammar nazi.

Ravensword: Shadowlands - Simon Sage

If you've ever wanted some rough approximation of the Elder Scrolls games on your iPad, now you have it. Ravensword: Shadowlands is an open world role-playing game with classic progression, strong storyline, and tons of monsters to slay. Shadowlands is a sequel to two-year-old game, and as you can imagine the graphics are significantly improved. Camera shake, dynamic lighting, and well-executed lip syncing with the occasional voice acting the game has to offer. Delightfully absent are any signs of in-app purchases, and the soundtrack is great to boot. Fantasy fans should definitely check out Ravensword: Shadowlands.

$6.99 - Download now

Elder Sign: Omens HD - Joseph Keller

Elder Sign: Omens HD is a take on the 2011 board game. Set in the Arkham Horror universe, Elder Sign sees you maneuvering a team of investigators in an effort to stop one of the Old Ones, beings on the order of Cthulhu, from entering our universe by completing different adventures. Players race against a clock of sorts, as the Old One you are trying to seal away is trying to break out. You must find the requisite number of Elder Signs in order to win and lock the Old One away, while they are attempting to gain Doom tokens and break free to devour the world. Players gain Elder Signs by completing the correct adventures. At each adventure, you will attempt to beat challenges by finding the correct combination of glyphs and matching them to the challenges. Each investigator has unique abilities and starting items that aid in completing adventures, from adding special glyphs to spells that change one glyph into another. The game is $6.99 and comes with three Old Ones, while players can buy Cthulhu and Ithaqua for $2.99 each.

$6.99 - Download Now

Dreamworks Comics -Chris Parsons

Although there is plenty of apps out there for normal comics such as Batman, Superman and Spiderman, there isn't a ton of selection when it comes to comics for younger children. Luckily, Dreamworks caters to that audience and offers up a wide assortment from their base of characters. Kung-Fu Panda, Shrek, Rise of the Guardians and more are offered within the app. Many of the comics available offer free previews and while the prices for the full version can be a bit on the higher side they're still pretty reasonable. The app is free and available now for both iPhone and iPad.

Free -Download Now

Flare for Mac - Rene Ritchie

After all the brouhaha surrounding Instagram's terms of service this week, and the debate about the true cost of "free-as-in-Google" apps, I was reminded of a little gem from the fine folks at the Iconfactory (makers of Twitterrific) called Flare. It's a Mac app that lets you easily add filters and effects to your photographs. And it's a paid app. No strings attached. You buy it, you use it, and they don't want or expect anything else from you. It's a done deal.

The latest update to Flare, version 1.5, added two new presets, Tin Type and InstaMatic, two new borders, Tin Type and Hipster, new profile presets in the color menu, Facebook sharing, rotation that keeps the image filling the frame, and a way to increase the effect of the Shuffle.

Flare is a beautiful app that does a beautiful job making pictures even more beautiful, or more interesting. And what's more, it's on sale right now.

$4.99 - Download now

The Grading Game - Leanna Lofte

The Grading Game is sure to be a hit for all you grammar nazis out there. In this game, you are a TA for a mean professor who wants to fail his students. It is your job to grade papers for him and find as many errors as possible. The more errors you find, the lower the score the student receives, and the happier the professor becomes. You also earn more money for giving out low grades and your goal is to pay off your student loans.

The Grading Game is actually a pretty challenging game because you have a time limit for each each paper you grade. The time limit is barely enough time to read through the paper, so don't expect to be able to read it slowly and carefully. Part of the challenge is finding the errors the first time you read it.

$0.99 - Download now

Your choice?

Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!

FlipSide gaming case arrives on Kickstarter with claimed support from Apple

Posted: 23 Dec 2012 12:03 AM PST

FlipSide gaming case arrives on Kickstarter with claimed support from Apple We have seen many gaming solutions for the iPhone come and go however this latest Kickstarter project may have a bit more to offer. The interesting part of this particular project is that the designer is working with iDevices who already has a relationship with Apple. Because of this, Apple has apparently agreed to support the device.The FlipSide gaming controller is basically a protective case for your iPhone that also has hardware gaming controls in the back of it that can be unsnapped and attached to the front.

Flipside is a protective iPhone case that has gaming controls (for the serious gamer) integrated into the back of the case. When utilized, you unsnap parts of the back of the case and attach it to the front. With iDevices professional design team, this controller can be manufactured exactly how we envisioned with the original design and intent.

iDevices contacted Apple on my behalf and we are happy to announce that Apple is not only going to support us, but willing to devote a team to making sure that this controller works perfectly with Apple iOS devices!

The controller works by utilizing the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) which is a highly power efficient protocol that was designed to run off very small coin type batteries. The ability to use this technology in the FlipSide case also allows it to include solar charging too. The project needs help to reach its funding target, it currently stands at just under $2,000 and needs to make at least $135,000. It still has 28 days to run so there is plenty of time.

What makes this particular controller stand out, is the claimed support from Apple. I have said on many previous occasions that any game controller would need to be supported by Apple and a standard be setup so all game developers can support one controller protocol in their games. Then and only then, would a controller become a success. Maybe this is the first glimpse of that becoming a reality.

What do you think of the FlipSide controller and the claimed support from Apple?

Source: Kickstarter

How to check stocks and exchanges using Siri

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 08:53 PM PST

Complete guide to Siri commands for Stocks

Siri can't be your financial advisor or broker -- yet! -- but Siri can look up stock prices and exchange positions for you. Whether you want to find out what's happening with APPL or GOOG, or if the DOW or NASDAQ is up or down, Siri's got you covered. (Just not your positions. Sorry.)

How to check individual stocks with Siri

Siri can give you up to the minute information about any individual stock across many different stock exchanges. You don't even have to know the stock symbol, only the company name. Siri provides opening, high, and low quotes, price-to-earning ratio, market cap, 52-week high and low, average volume, and yield.

Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

Ask Siri to check on a stock price for you. For example, "Where is Google's stock at today?","What's Apple PE?", or "What's Yahoo's market cap?"

Tap the Stock widget to go to the built-in Stocks app.

How to check stock exchanges with Siri

Besides giving you information on different stocks, you can also ask Siri for information on an entire exchange, including NASDAQ, NYSE, FTSE, Nikkei, or others.

Press and hold down the Home button to activate Siri.

Ask Siri about the exchange you'd like information for. For example, "What is the New York Stock Exchange's current position?" or "How did NASDAQ close?"

How to get more help with Siri

How to check stocks and exchanges using Siri

If you have other Siri-related questions, you can also check out our Siri forum for suggestions and tips from all our members.

Omni announces their productivity app plans for 2013

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 06:47 PM PST

Omni announces their productivity app plan for 2013

Omni Group, one of the first major Mac developers to go all-in on the iPad, has posted their plans for the first quarter of 2013. CEO Ken Case elaborated on all of it on the Omni Group Blog:

OmniFocus 2. OmniOutliner 4. OmniPresence. Sandboxing. Accessibility. Visio and Microsoft Project compatibility in our iPad apps. Upgrade pricing from Mac App Store apps. I hope you're looking forward to 2013 as much as we are!

Whether you're getting things done, getting things outlined, or getting things synced, it looks like Omni will have you covered over the next 3 months. To read all the details, hit the link below, then come back and let me know -- did Omni's "iPad or bust" strategy work out well for you? Are you using their apps?

Source: Omni Group Blog

Google and Motorola rumored to be working on X Phone to once again take on the iPhone

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 01:30 PM PST

Google buys Motorola. Denies any plans to do anything with it. No one believes them. Flash forward. Rumors spread Google is doing something with them. Deep breath. It's rumored to be an "X Phone" designed, once again, to take on the iPhone.

That might sound silly until you realize it's been Samsung, not Google, who's had all the success in the market against Apple. Now that Google owns Motorola, it only makes sense they'd want that division to be profitable as well, and to be an insurance policy against the power of manufacturers like Samsung, the same way Android was an insurance policy against the power of BlackBerry and Microsoft at first, and then very quickly Apple.

Not much is know about the code-named X Phone yet (which really should have been a name used by Microsoft for a gaming phone, but I digress), though Android Central scored some details in their forums:

Apparently this phone is called the "X Phone" or something along those lines and has buttons on the back of the phone. He said that a camera button is in the middle of the phone with volume up and down buttons on both sides of it all on the back face of the phone. He said it is supposed to be more ergonomic while holding the phone.

Best of luck to Google and Moto on this. Sincerely. The faster they push the pace of innovation, the faster Apple and everyone else has to work to stay ahead or keep up.

For the full story on the X Phone, at least as much as we know right now, hit the link below, and then jump back here and tell me what you think. Are Google and Motorola capable of fielding a device that can take significant market share away from Samsung, and profit share away from Apple?

Source: Android Central

How To Setup a New iPad, No Computer Required

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 12:45 PM PST

Are you getting a new iPad for a loved one or friend this holiday season? Or maybe receiving one as a gift yourself? If so, you may find it handy to know how to go through the basic setup to get your shiny new iPad ready to start being used. Luckily, this is a [...]

Microsoft has just released Wordament, their first XBox Live game for the iPhone. Wordament is really well regarded on Windows Phone, but the iPhone version is... disappointing, especially coming from one of the biggest, best software developers in the world, and one that owns its own mobile and gaming platforms.

Despite it being 3 months post-iPhone 5 launch, Wordament doesn't support the new 16:9 screen resolution, so it's letterboxed. The interface is also middling. For example, once you get past the intro screens, you're given a button to sign in with your Xbox Live credentials, but a text link to skip that step and play as guest.

I tried signing in with Xbox Live but it didn't work. (I typed in my login, it spun, gave me the sign-in button again, I tapped it again, then without asking me to sign in again, it just went back to the sign-in button. Over. And. Over. Again.)

If you skip it, like I did, you're then dumped into a screen filled with tiny text and no clear way to start your first game. After jabbing at some names on the board, that either did something, or wasted enough time for something automatic to happen. Either way, a game started with a countdown timer. Here interface elements are unnecessarily crowded together, the gameplay instructions butted against the un-labeled back button, the rotate button crammed between the board and what looks like an add for the game you're already playing (and when the banner goes away, simply crammed against the board and nothing.)

If you're screen turns off, or if you hit the Home button to exit, when you come back to Wordament you're inexplicably shown the Microsoft splash screen and the last page of the intro screens again, where again you're presented with the button/text link login/skip screen. If you had a game in progress, it looks like the timer is still at the same place, so that state is at least stored, but the cruft imposed to get there is flabbergasting.

It's as if multitasking was never introduced in iOS 4.

Maybe that only happens in guest mode but I have no way of knowing, as I'm not able to sign in.

Once a game ends you're shown another screen filled with tiny text and you can swipe around and tap to see words you missed. There's no Next button, however, and it seems at some point (another invisible timer?) you're forcibly moved to the leaderboard again, where there's still no New Game or Rematch button, and after a few seconds, you're suddenly playing again.

I might be missing something here. There might be some genius level interface and mechanics going on that I'm too dull to see, or are just impenetrable to me, but given the lack of iPhone 5 support and the ridiculous way Wordament resumes, I'm inclined to think Microsoft simply didn't do a very good job here.

Update: I get that it's real time and you're competing against other people, but the mechanics could still be handled in a way that you're staged and alerted when new games are beginning, can tap to join the next game or skip it, and move around the leaderboards and other reports at your own leisure. The idea is fine, the implementation is not good.

Which is odd since, again, the Windows Phone version is adored. And if Wordament really is that good on Windows Phone, Microsoft should have made it killer on iOS to show people how good apps can be on that platform, and entice them over.

In that regard, the real win here is Xbox Live making an appearance on iOS. Apple has Game Center, but it's exclusive to Apple, of course. There are third party gaming networks, but Xbox live has a massive following and being able to game against friends on other platforms will be a huge plus. If there's one ounce of redemption to be found in Wordament for iPhone, it's that.

Perhaps Microsoft will improve Wordament for iPhone with the next release, but frankly Letterpress, made by lone indie developer Loren Brichter, is so far beyond Wordament when it comes to interface and experience, I don't think many people will stick around to find out.

Free - Download now

New iPad mini TV Ad: I’ll Be Home

Posted: 22 Dec 2012 08:48 AM PST

Apple's latest TV ad for the iPad mini is titled 'I'll Be Home' and features a young girl and her granddad sharing a moment on FaceTime. I think it manages to stay just on the right side of the line between adorable and cheesy. What do you all think of this latest iPad mini ad? [...]