Word Foto

Price at time of writing £1.19

It takes a lot for any photographic app to impress me but this one has succeeded where so many others have failed.

Take any image of your choice and convert it so that your own keywords make up the picture. Rendering is practically instant. Save it to your camera roll, email it to a friend or just save it and upload where you like.

There are numerous preset styles and you can also make your own styles. Or you may just want to tweak the brightness or font size.

For the effect you get to the price you pay for the app Word Foto is an outstanding piece of Software

10/10 available here

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iHandy Level

Price at time of writing FREE.

Price FREE

Look I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. There isn't much you can say about a spirit level.

This popular app (as advertised on TV too) has had thousands of downloads and thousands of ratings.

The variation between 1 and 5 stars is huge. The overall verdict being pretty evenly split between awful and excellent.

However, if used as the developer states, it certainly isn't a bad app.

Used "out of the box" the level may not be 100% accurate so the developer added a calibrate option so you can use a known accurate spirit level to rectify this. The accelerometer in every mobile/touch may differ slightly in it's initial setting so it is sensible to give this option. (I'll ignore iPad as I can't see anybody seriously using an ipad as a leveller). I have to say I haven't used calibrate and I found the initial level accuracy spot on, but perhaps I'm just lucky?

Some have said "If I want a level I'll go to my toolbox". Well yes, but if you only want a quick guide for a shelf you may not wish to go out to your shed/garage in the pouring rain or snow.

Graphically it's fine. How much glamour can you give a bubble for heaven's sake?

And hey it's free which can't be bad these days.

As far as I'm concerned this is a functional app from a developer who has been honest about how to use it properly for best results.

8/10 Available here

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Open Feint application review

Price at time of writing FREE

By now most seasoned game players on the iPhone or iPod touch will have come across Open Feint.

It is the popular utility for the sharing of high scores, chatting about apps, looking at your game achievements  and editing your profile.

So why create an app specifically for Open Feint when you can access it from within any Open Feint enabled game?

Well a free game every day that has Open Feint functionality is a good reason.Each game is only available for the 24 hour period.

Early on following the release of this app users were complaining that the Free App was a "lite" version rather than a full game. To be fair Open Feint did state this would be the case from the outset.

However, recently, the balance has changed with a lot of full apps being given away free. Granted the vast majority may only keep you entertained a few hours, rather than weeks but they are FREE.

Max Injury was one such app which had a FREE DAY recently. Granted it is no longer on my IPod Touch (and it doesn't make my 8/10 criteria as it's far too short). But it did remain on my gadget for a couple of days and I quite enjoyed flinging my "dummy" over, across, and at various obstacles trying to do the most damage.

This app isn't an "earth mover" by way of functionality by any means but it does make the grade purely because giving things away these days for free is always handy !

8/10 Get the free app here

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Free Apps Review

Price at time of writing FREE

Look it's not going to win any awards for presentation although the developer PBJ Studios has a sense of humour in saying following a recent update that the interface is "63% less ugly" than it was before.

To be fair for an app with such a basic function the screens are as detailed and informative as they need to be.

The sole object of the app is to give you a quick and easy way to locate iphone and ipod touch apps that were previously "paid for" but are now free.

When the app contacts the database you can sort your list in 3 ways - by category - rank within category - or alphabetically.

Because of the huge volume of apps which are complete rubbish I have found I use only one of these sorting methods - rank within category.

Apple do not permit their star ratings to appear in third party apps so the developer has arranged a clever alternative method of judging good apps for bad.

If an app was ranked #3 in games for example it will be towards the top of the list whilst a utility that was ranked 5000 in its category will be way down.

I would recommend this method of sorting. Free Apps is free app and at the end of a 30 day period I understand you can stick with a fully functional ad supported version or pay on a 30 day cycle period for an ad-free version.

I have to be honest because of the vast amount of rubbish apps this is always going to throw at you I can not see that this is ever going to be worth paying a one-off fee for let alone a monthly fee.Also the database is sometimes several hours behind "live iTunes" and you can therefore regularly choose to look at a free app only to see the price has gone back up. The database update period really needs to be changed.

Free Apps does what it claims to and is worthwhile if you want to look daily to see if there is a bargain going. But it isn't worth paying for.

8/10 Download from

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TuneIn Radio App Review

Price at time of writing £1.19 (approx $2)

Whilst I am writing this review this app is (in the UK) #1 in music apps and #5 in top paid apps. It is receiving rave reviews with the vast majority being 5 stars and of the remainder mainly 4 stars are awarded. As for the very few people who have given this app less than 4 stars they are clearly insane, downloaded the wrong app, or haven't actually used it having bought it.

Listening to worldwide radio isn't anything new we've been able to do it on the PC for years.

What is new is this marvellous app which puts the worlds radio in your pocket. As long as you have a web connection you have access to radio from just about every country imaginable. If you don't have a connection that's fine just listen to something you recorded earlier using the app.

But there's more to this app than simply radio stations. What makes this app so perfect is the effort that has clearly been put into making sure that anybody can simply install and use it first time without reading any instructions.

Using the simple menus find your stations by subject matter, by location, language or look for local stations only. Alternatively use the search facility to search the whole database for any station or obscure subject type you fancy.

Bookmark your favourite stations with ease, record a show to play back later, pause a live stream for up to 30 minutes and there's even a facility to buy the playing song on iTunes should you wish.

As a bonus if your chosen radio station's stream happens to be very poor where possible the app will give you alternative streams to choose from.

The ironic thing I have found is that of the 30,000+ radio stations that are accessible using the app that I can receive without problem (including those in remote areas and on the other side of the planet) the one I can't get a quality stream from is the local radio station 1 which transmits just one mile down the road. Fortunately the station is pretty rubbish anyway so it's no loss to me whatsoever.

I love TuneIn Radio and I can see why so many others have joined me in purchasing this wonderfully useful app. Money well spent and highly recommended !

10/10 a must have app from

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iSeismometer app review

Price at time of writing FREE

For those with even the slightest interest in plate tectonics and the movement of the earth this app is quite fascinating.

This app works both on the latest iPhones and iPod Touch. Using the amazingly sensitive Apple accelerometer built into the devices this app picks up even the slightest earth movement.

Even if you live far from the nearest area associated with earthquakes you will be amazed at how much movement there is in the earth at every location on the planet. Rest assured the slightest movement will be shown.

This app offers more though.

You can use it to report an earthquake if you detect one, although I am sure that any report will have to be backed up by official data.

You can even set an alarm to sound at a movement level you set. I guess if you live in an area prone to severe earthquakes this could be very useful. Although I wonder how hard it is to choose the right alarm level?

You don't want to be awoken by every tremor yet you don't want your alarm to go off only after the rest of the house has crashed on top of you (that's if you wake up).

The main part of this app is, of course, the seismograph and it really is just that. Your own portable seismograph capable of picking up the slightest movement in any direction.

The only thing I would like to see added to such an app is the ability to record data for a timescale you set. It would be great to leave it running for 24 hours for example and to watch a time lapse video played back.

I guess the only issue there is the memory needed to store the data?

A really good app and best of all it free (at the time of writing this).

9/10 download now at

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Quake Watch App Review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

Enter the word Earthquake into the iTunes app store and your reward will be a complete page of apps.

To save a lot of trial and error on your part I can gladly tell you that Quake Watch - Latest Earthquakes info is a superb all round application.

I've been interested in earthquakes, seismology, volcanos, continental drift and tectonic plates, and the amazing power of the earth since I was very young (a long time ago).

This superbly presented app receives daily use from me not only because it is well laid out and very functional but because of its speed in updating compared to similar applications.

Track and show any earthquakes reported with their within minutes of their occurence. See where they are in relation to your location. Set it to view all earthquakes or only those higher than a level you set on the richter scale. Google maps pinpoints the exact earthquake location including its didtance from you and its depth.

Quake Watch is to receive a dedicated page on this site for a more in depth look at its functions and options.

But don't wait for me to finish that whether you live in an earthquake zone or not you will find this app fascinating and I am sure, like me, it will be used regularly by you.

10/10 a very worthy download from 

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Animation Creator App Review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

Look I'm clearly no artist but short as it is I knocked the above short sequence together on this app in literally a matter of minutes.

I'm honest in saying I read absolutely no instructions (I still haven't) and just learned as I went along.

To be fair it's received very mixed reviews but realistically this isn't the app for everybody. Animation is not complicated it just requires subtle changes from frame to frame and not everybody has the patience for that type of experience.

Me? I love this. I love the fact you can build animations way longer than my small effort here. It is really just limited by your imagination. You will find that where it has been given good scores by users it appears to be from the more "mature" user who seriously loves animation and has a little patience in the knowledge that superb results can follow.

There's a basic colour pallette which can be adjusted to practically unlimited via sliders. Brush sizes can be changed. Shadows can be added automatically or not. Zooming in for touch-ups is so easy using the "pinch technique" There's an eraser for mistakes together with an undo function.

Upload direct to you tube (like I have) and tweet your you tube link direct from the app. You can draw freehand, draw lines, shapes and more from one simple tool menu.

Oh I almost forgot what you see above is a fairly slow frame rate. You can actually change for frame rate instantly from between 1/2 and 24 frames a second. This makes for incredible animations for the longer creations.

For a bloke I have relatively medium sized fingers - even then this can make drawing a little fiddly trying to see what is under your fingers. Someone with very large fingers may struggle and accidentally open menus whilst drawing. But this is not an application fault - the developer has done an excellent job in creating an app which includes so much for such a little price.

One thing's for sure my next creation will be longer than 6 seconds!

An amazing app for the creative type at a real bargain price!

10/10

Download directly from

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iSpy Cameras App review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

For the full review on this please see my dedicated page on this wonderful app as I will be adding to that page.

In short though if you find the idea of watching the world from your armchair this is the app for you.

Watch animals in San Diego Zoo, holidaymakers in Hawaii, try and spot relations on a New Zealand beach, have a look at the bicycles outnumbering cars in The Netherlands. Watch life in hotels, bars and streets worldwide.

I have to be honest I find this app addictive with cams being added all the time and an incredible number to choose from already you really are spoilt for choice.

Add your most visited cams to a favourites menu, choose a random selection, look at the most recently added cams, just browse the whole lot or choose a category or country.

Many cameras can even be controlled by you with multiple views available.

You can even submit new public cameras if you have the details.

This really is the world in the palm of your hands.

It is the best cam app I have seen for the iPod Touch or iPhone by far.

I also must add here that I have hundreds of apps and that this is easily my favourite and most used.

For the small price it's a must-have-addition to a decent app collection.

10/10

If you use iTunes USA get it here

Or for iTunes UK here

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Currency Master App Review

Price at time of writing FREE

Please note : This app was renamed Currency Master so please excuse references to it's original name, Currency Pad.

Please note as I write this the currency pad app is on a free promotion - I do not expect it to stay this way. I would still give this app it's given rating even if it had been charged at the $1.99 (£1.19) level as I think it's worth up to that amount.

I make use of currency conversion regularly - mainly from US$ to £UK - so I like to be able to keep up to date with currency exchange rates.

I just wanted something with a simple layout, easy to use and reliably updated.

Currency Pad fits all those requirements and more.

On the front page you can simply set up your favourite "currency pairs" this gives you your most regularly used exchanges at a glance.

Beneath that are your customizable currency lists. Pick a list - add or delete currencies as required - and set your "base" currency entering an amount of your choice for comparison to all chosen currencies.

The developer has made added more interest into this very capable application by adding commodity prices into the mix. Want too see the current cost of a barrel of oil in any currency? No problem just click and then get furious over how much it's just cost you to fill up your car with petrol! The same goes for silver, gold, aluminium and other commodities.

For simplicity this is a marvellous app for the iphone or ipod touch. There is no need to make something as simple as currency exchange complicated or try to create marvellous graphics.

The only thing I would change is the name from Currency Pad to Currency Master because that is what this little app is.

10/10 and available from

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The World Factbook 2010 App Review

Price at time of writing 59p (approx $1)

This app is a bargain at the price above and to be fair although it is 75% discounted at the above price I do think it would still be worth the full price too.

The word factbook has become an extremely popular resource for keeping up to date with interesting facts and figures from all the countries of the world.

The actual World Factbook database is used by hundreds of thousands of people around the world from students to government agencies.

The database is kept up to date with regular upgrades so for those of you interested in transnational issues with countries regularly in the news, like Afghanistan, you will not be left feeling you have been deprived of topical information.

A bonus for me is that the app is an offline app so all that application can be called up whether you have a web connection or not. I find it a great app when you have 10 minutes to spare and just want to read something interesting about any country of your choice.

I can't fault The World Factbook - it does what it states it does - and does so very well.

Extremely recommended for facts, figures, current affairs and information addicts!

10/10 Get it now from

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LiveCams EarthCam App Review

Price at time of writing FREE

EarthCam needs no long explanations. It is simply a collection of live webcams from around the world (granted the vast majority are in the USA & Canada).

The user is able to watch any of these feeds. Time lapse videos are available for many cams - the one in Trafalgar Square (London) I found fascinating.

You can add ANY still to your photo album.

This has received mixed reviews - one complained that there were only 2 in England (both in London) , a scattering in Europe and the vast majority from the USA.

True enough, but there are still a vast number of interesting cams to take a look at. I've pictured only a few but I found it incredible watching the Niagara Falls and then people wandering around the streets of New Orleans unaware people around the world are watching them.

Not all the countries in the menu (note I've only pictured part of the menu) currently have cams listed and there are some very noteworthy countries not listed including Australia and New Zealand.

I hope we see more countries added in due course as this app really has some potential.

It is more than worth it's FREE price tag and if cams can be added for more countries this could become one of the most popular apps ever. Watch out pickpockets and muggers you never know where in the world you may be being watched!

Excellent app 9/10 Download at

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