Available on iPhone only

A whole mess of these replace-your-contacts apps have marched through my inbox over the past couple of years, but I’ve ignored them all because I didn’t really want one… until now. Maybe it’s my old age catching up with me, or the fact that I’m super popular and have to sift through billions of contacts in order to find my drinking buddies, but for whatever reason I suddenly feel the need to have shortcuts to certain phone numbers.

Photogenda does this by showing me the photos associated with contacts instead of the typical line-by-line list that Apple’s default iOS provides. Show names or don’t show them, it’s the pics that count. If your contact doesn’t have a photo then Photogenda asks you to specify gender and then spits out a generic icon in place of the absent photo. Sounds good right? Yeah it is… mostly.

My first go-round with Photogenda was flawless. I tapped a big “+” symbol to add a contact and Photogenda did its job. That “+” symbol was on the “main” screen where your contacts’ photos would normally live, but then I got fancy and tried adding contacts through the Preferences page where you can see all of your groups and, theoretically, add contacts to individual groups. That didn’t go so well. Somehow my contacts all got filed under “All” instead of the group “Idiots” where I wanted them, and I wound up having to delete and then re-add them under the proper group. Strangely this process worked ok the second time around.

But! After creating two different groups, and then trying to use the big “+” symbol again, I noticed that my contacts weren’t being added to the default “All” group. Dude! WTF. Eh no big deal, but I was hoping Photogenda would be smart enough to do that for me.

As first impressions go, Photogenda didn’t wow me but now that I’ve got my most-dialed contacts all set up I think I can live with this app for the foreseeable future. Honestly, about 99% of my outgoing phone calls are to the same 10-12 phone numbers (half of which are for food delivery) so this actually is a very handy app to have around. My old method of dialing was to sift through the “Recents” section of the iPhone’s native phone app, but I’m sick of hunting. I’m old and cranky and I want everything to be easy.

Photogenda isn’t perfect but it’s good enough for what I want, and it’s even inspired me to take pictures of all the menus I use regularly so that I can just browse those when choosing which food purveyor I want to dial up. I may eventually decide to can Photogenda if I’m not using it as much as I think I will, but I guess time will tell on that front.

Available on iPhone & iPod Touch

We all know at least one person (if not ourselves) who loves posting updates to their Twitter and Facebook accounts. How would you feel if you could do this at each time Via one application? Well, today I bring to you TextCrafter. It’s kind of a 3-in-1 type of deal. It has the same idea that the basic “Notes” app does, but has many more features. The features included in this app are sharing your text to FaceBook and Twitter as I already mentioned, e-mail, or send it to someone through iMessage, changing font size, hundreds of special characters, and adding your location.

My favorite thing about this app is that I can easily post my updates to Twitter and Facebook at once. Therefore, I don’t have to open one app, post whatever it is, then go to the other app and post the same thing. I also enjoy the fact that if my note is more than 140 characters, the app will split it into however many tweets it would be. Another thing I really like about this is kind of silly, but I like the amount of “special” characters there are, and how most (not all) of them will show up on any computer, or social networking website. The only downfall I see of this app is the price of $2.99; it’s really a great app, but I’m not sure if I would spend nearly $3.00 on an app that just posts things to Facebook, Twitter, and has special characters. But, if you have the money, and you think TextCrafter would benefit you by doing these things, then I definitely recommend it.

From Mysk:
Leave a comment below and you could get this app for FREE… preference will be given to those who *promise* to post an honest review in iTunes! If you are selected to get a free code, we will send it to you via Facebook.

Available on iPhone and iPad

I was so much more productive at work when I had my Blackberry Bold 9700.  Unfortunately, my Blackberry meet its demise the day that I accidentally dropped it in the toilet. After much badgering from my friends, wife and co-workers, I decided to take the plunge and officially joined the Steve Jobs/Apple cult by purchasing an iPhone 4. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my iPhone! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be volunteering my free time to write pro bono reviews. The thing is, I like the damn thing too much! The app store is a gamers paradise with thousands of games being introduced every week and probably half of them are free. Throw in a retina display and a plenty powerful Apple A4 chip running the thing and you have a well-qualified gaming device. Gaming on my blackberry, on the other hand, was a joke: think black-and-white Pong and you aren’t too far off.

So, despite the fact that my law firm bought me the iPhone, I have rarely used it in any capacity other than playing games and the occasional phone call or email. Then enter GoodReader! This app has honestly transformed my iPhone into what I am sure my employer wanted it to be. So what is GoodReader? Well, I am glad you asked.

GoodReader is a do everything PDF viewer. Actually, just calling this app a PDF viewer is a bit disingenuous, since it does so much more than just view PDF documents. The app also allows you to view Microsoft Word, text, HTML and image files, listen to audio files, and watch videos. Regardless of the type of file you are viewing, GoodReader provides you with vast flexibility in how you actually view your documents. Take a look at some of these settings:

• Toggle Auto Rotation On/Off (win!)
• Paranoid Mode – ask for a password every time the app is taken from the background
• Startup Password
• Set Password for Files and Folders
• Wi-Fi Transfer
• Image Quality Setting (higher quality loads slower)
• Create PDF Annotations
• Highlight portions of PDF text
• Zoom in/Zoom out
• Remove Watermark
• Crop
• Search Txt
• Copy/Paste
• Underline
• Strike Through
• Comments
• Free Line Draw
• Wikipedia Support
• Integrated Web browser

These are actually only a handful of the options available in GoodReader.  As a lawyer almost every pleading, Motion or Brief that I am emailed is in PDF format.  GoodReader has allowed me to view these documents with a speed and efficiency unmatched by the iPhone’s native PDF reader.  If you are looking for a top-of-the-line PDF reader that basically does everything under the sun, then look no further: GoodReader is the one.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

I had NoteMaster on my iPhone for a long time before I ever found a use for it. I’m not a big note-taker, but when I decided to start a small business last year I found myself using NoteMaster all the time! The crappy default Notes app that comes bundled with iOS is fine for jotting down an occasional address or whatever, but when you need to keep information organized NoteMaster is definitely the way to go.

It lets you add photos to notes, it syncs with Google docs, it does several different kinds of lists, it lets you categorize notes… it really does it all.

$3.99 may seem like a lot to pay for a notes app, but if you’re constantly keeping records and tallies, or if you’re just super anal retentive, it’s a small price to pay to stay organized and have all of your info easily accessible. I’m used to scrolling through page after page after page in Apple’s default app while I search for something I jotted down months ago, but NoteMaster’s categories and search capability make life way easier.

Available on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

I like being organised (borderline OCD some might say) and I use a variety of apps to help me achieve this. In my view, a database creating app should be part of any organised persons arsenal and so I’ve been extensively using Tap Forms to manage and store my information both at home and at work.

Tap Forms is a huge, flexible app (and is therefore quite daunting to review!) and has 25 ready-made forms built-in and 19 customisable fields to create your own forms with.

The built-in forms (think bank account records, software licenses, homework assignments etc) can either be used straightaway as they are, or you can tailor them to suit your needs. I personally don’t use the built-in forms and make up all of my own, which is relatively simple and quick to do selecting from the 19 possible fields, giving the field a name, and arranging them however you like. Many of the fields can be pre-defined; for example, the date and time field can be automatically filled in with today’s date and time when you start creating a record, or default text can be left in text fields, or text can be selected from global pick lists. The calculation field is also pretty cool as it can automatically calculate a result based on figures from other fields. When creating large numbers of records this all helps speeds up data entry and ensures records are consistent and accurate.

I find on the iPad that the landscape view is most useful as you can see the records along one side at all times and the record details on the other.

The search function is also very useful and you can categorise forms, group records within forms and sort records by whatever fields you desire. I also use the favourites button frequently so I can instantly find important records.

Other features of note:

• Alerts (although I’ve not used them myself and to be honest I’m not quite sure how they work!)
• Backup & restore function, using Drop Box, iTunes or FTP server
• Import and export a variety of file types (Word, Excel, PDF). Records can be emailed individually, complete with photographs and drawings etc. or records can be exported on mass as a .csv file (which can then be manipulated in your preferred spreadsheet programme)
• Built-in web browser
• Customise font settings
• Text Expander support
• Beam forms to other Tap Form users
• Audio recorder field (notes field powered by Nuance dictation). I’ve found this to be a bit hit and miss in terms of accuracy and it’s often quicker to type
• Drop box integration for uploading/ downloading files
• Link to form (one-to-many relationships and many-to-many relationships). Never really got to grips with this field
• Security settings to protect your sensitive information. Password protection using 256-bit AES encryption and so it could function as a standalone password manager in its own right.

I can’t really fault Tap Forms as it’s just so useful! However, if you put a gun to my head I would say that I’d like to see pick lists automatically re-sort themselves (after adding to them) as currently you have to go into the edit pick list screen and manually click ascending or descending to re-order the list. I find myself regularly hunting around for specific items in pick lists only to find they were dumped at the bottom of the list. Also, when uploading to Drop Box the files just get dumped at the top folder level instead of into a specific Tap Forms folder.

I have found the app to be relatively stable in use, however on the iPhone it occasionally crashes when taking a photo and on the iPad I have had it freeze after importing small .csv files.

All things considered Tap Forms HD is a well polished app that is a pleasure to use. If you have the time and inclination it’s surprising just how many things you can use it for.

If you are responsible for supervising either one person or a team and have to evaluate their performance annually or semiannually, then you know the challenges that can come with that.

Over the course of six months or a year, unless you are someone who manages to keep detailed and consistent notes on your staff as they occur, you will find yourself struggling to remember either the things your staff members did well or the things they need work to improve on come evaluation time.

If that’s you, then I have just the app.  It’s called Direct Report: Employee Feedback Tracker.  Its purpose: to provide you with the means to record the moments of praise and correction that arise over any period of time so that you can accurately recall them when you need to write an evaluation.  Or a recommendation.  Or even a termination.

Direct Report is customizable, too, meaning that you can create profiles for your staff and attach photos for each member.  You can associate your feedback with pre-populated categories or- in the event that the pre-populated feeds don’t fit your needs- create your own categories.  And any comments you log in are automatically timestamped with the current date.  You can view all of your feedback for a given employee, sort it according to date, feedback, and category.

There is one thing that I think would make the app better, and that’s the ability to edit the log in dates for feedback.  Because the app automatically timestamps according to the current date, if the feedback you’d like to log is, in fact, from a different date, the app doesn’t currently allow you to change it.

It’ll cost you $3.99 to make Direct Report yours, but the cost in the amount of time you’ll save not having to rack your brain during annual or semiannual evaluations alone is- in my opinion and experience- justified.  So, do yourself a favor and pick it up.

iTunes Link – Direct Report: Employee Feedback Tracker

Version 1.01

Reviewed on a iPod Touch 3.1.3

As far as working effectively goes, I am a black belt in procrastinating. In fact, I’m procrastinating at the moment from writing a research paper in order to review this app, which, ironically, is supposed to help end my procrastination. But at least it’s an incremental step.

(10+2)x5 Procrastination Hack  by EBratton revolves around the idea that if you commit 10 minutes to working on a task and then take a 2 minute break afterward, you will be able to ‘hack your procrastination to oblivion’ if you rinse and repeat the cycle 5 times. The app is essentially a single screen with a set of buttons and a timer that clocks how long you’ve been working, and when you deserve your scheduled 2 minute break ration.

For such a simplistic and bare-bones app, it gets the concept across pretty nicely. I find it much easier to work on a project when there is timer tracking my progress and keeping me motivated. While I found the app successful, these kinds of unique productivity apps will obviously have wildly different success rates from person to person.

For 2 dollars, I would have loved to see a little more bang for my buck. The app desperately needs the ability to customize and create your timers and work-play routines instead of forcing you to work for 10 minutes and play for 2 minutes. The app’s interface is decidedly average looking, and while it gets the job done, makes the app seem more like a watered-down lite version and not a polished product something someone would be prepared to pay for.

Despite its shortcomings, x5 Procrastination Hack is a quirky and interesting way to get off your butt and concentrate on a task. While the app’s lack of features and over-simple interface is a drawback, this app is certainly something you should consider if you’re a lazy bum like me looking for a new way to stop procrastinating and get motivated to do something.

iTunes Link – (10+2)x5 Procrastination Hack

Reviewed on iPod Touch 3.1.3

Version 1.3

Face it: most of the to-do apps that run rampant in the App Store are filled with clutter and difficult to navigate, making them useless. It’s not fun having to spend more time organizing your day’s events then actually doing your day’s events. Todew, in the words of its developer SomanticContact, is a “no-frills, yet powerful to-do app that won’t waste your time”, is sounds like exactly what the App Store needs.

Todew’s interface is fast, sleek and simple. No unnecessary buttons to fumble around with. No option panels to get lost in. Adding the day’s events is super efficient and easy. Press a button. Make a title. Pick a day and a color. Done. My biggest gripe with the built-in iPod Touch/iPhone Calendar is that it coerces you to make a time for your event, or else use the generic ‘All-Day’ feature. Thankfully, Todew takes care of this by only sorting the events into different days, which makes for a more simple and efficient process.

The app very nicely straddles the line between functionality and simplicity, but I would love to see a few added features. A repeated-events option would certainly be appreciated. Perhaps an alarm?  The ability to search through old tasks? A miscellaneous notes function for jotting down a quick thought? There is much room for improvement and the app’s reviews are swamped with suggestions, but the developer remains quick and fast with new updates and enhancements.

And if you aren’t tired about my mindless gushing yet: you can even activate the Emoji keyboard from within the app by just making an event called ‘Emoji’. And yes, Emoji the cute little Japanese icon keyboard that developer’s make apps that charge you for activating. A very nice touch onto an already superior product, I highly recommend Todew for those looking for a simpler, better way to get your day organized.

iTunes Link – Todew

Reviewed on iPod Touch 3.1.2

Version 1.3

Much like my second novel, this review is a long time coming. As I’ve mentioned before, I do a lot of writing and invariably- especially with novel writing- things tend to bleed together; plotlines and characters and settings all expand, becoming much more formidable than you initially thought.  Writing a book is a marathon, not a sprint, and without discipline, even the shortest novella can balloon into an runaway epic of mammoth proportions.

When I first heard about Black Mana Studios‘ Manuscript, I knew this was one app I had to pick up and put through the paces.

We all know that if you break something down into small enough pieces, accomplishing just about any task becomes a lot more probable. This is precisely the premise behind Manuscript.  It is, at its core, an organizational and productivity tool for writing and can be used for either fiction or non-fiction.

Manuscript has some great options suitable for both the novice and the more experienced writer.  There is a section for you to develop your book’s pitch, synopsis, and even keep virtual index cards.  An index card in Manuscript is a place you keep track of new ideas, thoughts on character development, plots and even general reminders.  If you’re a Google user, you can import or export any and all of your work in Manuscript into or from your Google Docs account. 

The ability to create chapter outlines, in-app links to a dictionary and thesaurus, and wikipedia make this a one-of-a-kind app.  At $7.99, it’s a little on the pricey side, but most of us spend more than that on the latest game in the App Store or the latest album, only to delete it from our machines after a couple weeks.  If you are a writer- either an aspiring or more serious one, this app can help you a great deal.  And it’s one you’ll probably come back to again and again.  If you are a student with a research paper or a thesis looming on the horizon and need a nice, convenient way to keep track of your thoughts and writing, this app is one that should prove to be invaluable.

iTunes Link – Manuscript

Version 1.1.3

Tested on an iPod Touch 3.1.3

ToDo/List apps tend to remind me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  No matter how hard I try, I can never find the perfect fit for my needs and have gone through more apps than I care to remember. 

Lists! by Secret Society Software is a straightforward To Do app that has some small, but useful features that lift it above the standard ToDo/List fare.  Since I hate swiping through dates, I really like how it can add days or weeks to the Due Date by tapping the ‘+Day’ or ‘+Week’ button.  ‘Revert’ takes me back to where I was just seconds ago and if I hit ‘Today’, it goes back to today’s date.  Priorities are marked by the number of exclamation points, from ‘-’ up to ‘!!!’.  And the app will automatically sort the ranking of lists by 5 variables.

Best of all, it’s free.  So try it.  You might find that it fits you just right.

iTunes Link – List!

Version 1.0

Tested on an iPod Touch 3.1.3

A sample list

WYSIWYG.  You’ve seen the acronym before and I’m sure just about everyone knows what it means:  What You See is What You Get.  Of course, nearly every iTunes app is a WYSIWYG on some level or other, but there are some apps that are more obviously WYSIWYGs than others.

gogoDocs is a perfect example. It is a Google Docs reader whose strength lies in the fact that it can sync your Google Docs to your iPhone or iPod Touch in order for you to view them anytime, anywhere.    It also incorporates a number of features, including a document sync that allows you to access your docs anywhere you can pull a signal.  You can star documents for later reference or use the star as a way to make certain those documents are always synced.  gogoDocs Google Docs Reader can bookmark documents and pdfs so that when you reopen the document, you can easily go right back to where you left off.  gogoDocs Google Docs Reader also does document sharing, list filtering, portrait or landscape viewing, and can email docs directly from the app.

But if you’re looking for an app that you can use to edit docs and then sync back up again with Google Docs to update, this is not it. It is a reader, meaning that gogoDocs Google Docs Reader doesn’t do editing.  Of course, you could probably email the doc to yourself, download it onto your iPod or iPhone, edit it, and try to find a way to upload it back to Google Docs again, but that’s a serious hassle.  And there are far better apps that will give you edit and sync capability.

For me, the absence of editing capability is a big minus.  But remember all that stuff about WYSIWYG?  That’s where it comes into play with this app.  gogoDocs Google Docs Reader is billed as a reader.  If all you’re in the market for is a reader, then you should give this app a serious look.  It’s stable, the UI is attractive, easy to understand, and gogoDocs Google Docs Reader does precisely what it says it’ll do:  provide you with the means to view your Google Documents quickly with some decent features to boot.

Of course, there’s always Google Docs via mobile Safari, but that’s no fun, right?  Plus, with this app, you can access your Google Docs offline.  gogoDocs Google Docs Reader is available for a limited time for just $1.99.  Regular price: $2.99

iTunes Link- gogoDocs Google Docs Reader

Version 1.0.1

Tested on a iPod Touch 3.1.3

In spite of the numerous ways an iPod Touch or iPhone can help you to stay connected or easily call up information on just about everything, most of the items in the AppStore share a singular purpose: they serve as distractions, as a means to help us pass the time.  They can be fun distractions, educational distractions, but I doubt there would be all that many people who would argue with my assertion that an iPod or iPhone can also be an excellent time waster.  There’s nothing wrong with that- it’s called relaxation and entertainment- and we all need rest and relaxation.  Once we’re suitably entertained and relaxed, we can resume whatever it was that we were doing in the moments before needing a distraction.

The purpose of Peer Assembly’s PomodoroPro is to help you make the most of your time by helping you focus and concentrate on the task at hand, whether you’re studying, working, or simply reading.  In other words, it’s a time management app.

But PomodoroPro isn’t just any old time management app; it employs the Pomodoro Technique, a method of task management created in 1992 to better manage time and reduce distractions. 

How does the Pomodoro Technique work?  There are 5 steps to the technique:

1.  Choose a task

2.  Start the PomodoroPro timer

3.  Work on the task until the timer sounds (typically 25 minutes)

4.  Take a brief (typically 5 minutes) break.  This is what’s known as a Pomodoro.

5.  At the end of the 4th Pomodoro, take a longer break.

PomodoroPro is a timer that will count down both the work and break units, switching automatically from work interval to break interval.  It also sounds an alarm so that you’ll know when a work or break period has ended.  PomodoroPro continues counting, whether you’re interrupted to take a phone call or decide to open another app.  Unfortunately, the alarm won’t be heard unless the application is open at the time of the alarm.  

PomodoroPro will also keep a running count of the number of Pomodoros you’re able to complete and on the 8th one, it will give you a longer break.

The application is also customizable, meaning that you can control and set the length of the work and break periods, reset them when needed, and even pause the timer if a call comes in or you have to step away from the task at hand for a sustained period of time.

I’d never heard of the Pomodoro Technique before this app and was curious to see whether it would work for me.  After trying it out for several days, I found that it did help me to improve my overall focus on tasks and generally raised my completion rate. 

Pomodoro Pro is a simple, yet straightforward application that is easy to understand and use. The timer is large and legible.  That said, there are a few additional things that could be built into the app. For example, the ability to create or manage an in-app task or to-do list, a means to estimate in advance and track the number of pomodoros it takes to complete a task or project, a weekly or monthly journal to track previous or ongoing tasks over time or to calculate task completion might be well-received enhancements.

If you’re looking for an app that can increase your task effectiveness and time management skills, try PomodoroPro.

iTunes Link- PomodoroPro

Version 1.2

Tested on IpodTouch 3.1.3