One of our longtime favorite camera tripods has been the Joby GorillaPod, which has flexible legs for customizing your shooting setup — even if it means hanging the thing from a tree. If you've ever found yourself wishing for a similar setup for your smartphone, you're in luck because now the Joby people have released the MPod Mini Stand. With the original…
I've talked about customizable wooden iPhone cases around here before, but until now I hadn't seen anything that allowed you to incorporate your own Instagram photos on the back. The Grove WoodPrint Case allows you to do exactly that, with a level of detail that I think is surprising, considering that they're printing lo-fi images onto wood. The grain of the maple…
I've been a fan of Flexibits' Fantastical since it released for iPhone a while back, but Readdle's new (and universal) Calendars 5 is certainly great competition. As with Fantastical, Calendars 5 allows you to use natural language to create events. For example, you can type something like "Meet Shawn at Blue Bottle Coffee every Wednesday at 3pm" and it will recognize exactly…
Reeder 2, the newest version of the widely beloved RSS reader, is now available on the iOS App Store as a $5 universal app. The interface has been redesigned and looks as beautiful as ever, yet maintains the same sort of UI aesthetic you know and love from the previous version. My favorite thing about this upgrade is that Feed Wrangler is…
What if you could somehow take the accessibility of a smartphone and pair it with the power of a point-and-shoot camera? Sony's new 'Smart Lens' QX series of cameras aims to do just that. Available for pre-order in two flavors – the smaller QX10 ($248) and the larger QX100 ($498) – these cameras essentially look like zoom lenses that you attach to…
Today, Apple announced — for the first time — two new phones. The iPhone 5C is the new mid-range model. Starting at $99 on contract for a 16GB model, the 5C sports the same basic internals as last year's iPhone 5, but in a new, colorful plastic shell. Available on AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon here in the US, the iPhone 5c…
Some people like to work in an office, while others – like myself – are at our creative best in a comfortable environment like a coffee shop. For those of us in the latter camp, Coffitivity is an excellent app for Mac, iOS, and the web that recreates the acoustic experience of working in a bustling coffee shop. Choose one of three…
Aero ($1) is a beautiful, iOS 7-inspired weather app for iPhone that just released a couple days ago. With its lovely animations, simple UI, informative display, and push notifications, this is definitely a weather app worth checking out even if you've tried a hundred others.
Downcast has long been one of the most popular "podcatcher" apps for iOS (I'm more of an Instacast guy myself, but the fact remains). If you've been wishing for a Mac version of Downcast, you're in luck because it just released today. It's got all the features you'd expect, such as subscription management, importing and exporting of OPML files, auto-updating schedules, smart…
Thanks to Nate Boateng, I found out that the well-regarded Scanner Pro is on sale for $2 right now (down from $7). This app will let you scan paper documents and receipts with your iPhone or iPad camera, then send those scans off to places like Evernote and Dropbox. It even uses an algorithm to clean up the images and make them…
Frontback is a fun, simple, and totally free iPhone app with a singular purpose: it allows you to shoot with both the front and back cameras (one after the other), combining the images into a single photo that can then be shared with friends. Not much more to say than that.
Ohai ($5) is a journaling app developed by Steve Streza – former lead developer for Pocket – that uses the App.net API to help you track places you've been to. It's honestly a bit similar to Rego in concept, but the fact that it's built on top of App.net is pretty interesting to me.
There are a lot of iPhone docks out there, but the $30 Saidoka iPhone mount is unique. The mount is designed to sit on a desk or table, and angles the iPhone up slightly, near the angle of Apple's Bluetooth keyboard. This makes it easy to use in conjunction with a keyboard, laptop or paper notebook. The dock can be purchased in…
IFTTT (If This Then That) is one of our favorite tools on the web. It essentially allows you to cook up "recipes" for automating actions across all kinds of web services — Dropbox, Evernote, RSS, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, App.net, to name only a few. For example, you could make it so that every time you upload a photo to Instagram, a copy…
(Photo credit: Gannon Burgett) Thunderspace is a gorgeous new ambient-noise generator for iPhone, one that uses stereoscopic 3D audio (and occasionally even activates the camera flash) to simulate relaxing thunderstorms. There are two included "thunderstorm" tracks – Roof Garden and Waterscape – with six other tracks available for purchase within the app. Here are the IAP choices: Desert Wetlands Rainforest Moonlit Angels…
This Wednesday (July 10, 2013) is the 5th anniversary of the iOS App Store. There hasn't been any official announcement from Apple yet (Update: Now there has), but we've found that several popular developers are offering their top apps and games for free this week. If you've never gotten around to trying these out, now's your chance. We will try to keep…
The iHome iPL10BC's full name is rather unfortunate. Amazon lists the item as "iHome Dual Charging Stereo FM Clock Radio with Lightning Dock and USB Charge/Play for iPhone/iPod." That mouthful aside, the iHome device is a $70 alarm clock with FM radio and a Lightning connector for iPhone 5 users. This makes it a little rare, as many companies are still shipping…
Learning iOS Design is a book written by William van Hecke, the User Experience Lead at the Omni Group (the makers of OmniFocus and other well-known apps). In this book, William takes you through the process of becoming an iOS app designer, regardless of your experience level. You'll learn how to flesh out your app ideas, from early sketches and wireframes to…
It's no secret that I love LEGO stuff. I have kits stashed all over the place, with a giant box of the toys in the attic, waiting for my kids to get a little bit older. Belkin's LEGO Builder Case for iPhone 5 isn't the only LEGO-inspired case out there, but it might be my favorite, as it's built with a real,…
The iOS App Store is replete with great photo editing apps these days, and one of the better-looking ones is PicLab for iPhone. It allows you to add nice typography and lots of different photo effects to your shots, with an interface that looks like it was ripped straight out of Letterpress (in a good way). The app itself is free, but…