Atomic Web Browser
Atomic is one of the better alternative browsers available for the iPhone and iPad as it offers a number of benefits over the native Safari offering. It has an impressive full screen mode that gets rid of most of the navigation clutter to allow you to view more of a given page at any one time. Another neat feature is its tabbed browsing, which makes it faster to swap between open pages.
There’s good integration with Twitter and Facebook and it includes a handy built-in ad blocker too. You can also choose between a large range of search options such as Bing, Yahoo, Wikipedia and YouTube. We like the way you can increase or decrease the font size used to display pages and there’s a handy lock rotation feature for those using older iPhones.
Verdict
Atomic Web Browser is a slick alternative to the built-in Safari browser as it offers up a number of really useful features.
Convert Units for Free
The iPhone isn’t exactly short of applications to convert between different units, but some of these are paid for apps and many are limited to specific types of conversions. Convert Units beats the lot because it’s free and allows you to convert between a very broad range of different units including everything from time and volume, to speed and temperatures.
The user interface is refreshingly straightforward. You simply select the type of conversion you want to perform using the button in the centre of the display and then use two roller deck menus at the top to choose the two units to convert between. There’s a keypad at the bottom of the display where you enter the amounts that you want to convert.
Verdict
Convert Units’ broad range of conversion options and slick, easy to use interface makes it a worthwhile app to have on your phone.
iFitness
If your New Year’s resolution was to get back in shape, but you’re currently lacking a bit of inspiration in your fitness regime, then it’s worth giving iFitness a go. It offers a comprehensive exercise database with clear and easy to follow instructions, pictures and videos.
Currently there are over 300 exercises listed in its database, which will give you plenty of opportunity to vary your exercises programme and save you from becoming bored. You start by choosing the muscle groups that you want to target and you can then tap on individual exercises that work these muscles to see a picture of the exercise. Tap again and you’re presented with detailed text instructions on how to perform it. On more complicated exercises there are also video instructions that you can view.
Verdict
This feature-packed fitness app means you’ll have no excuse for not sticking to your exercise regime.
Nigella Quick Collection
Nigella may be the middle-aged man’s crumpet thanks to her ample curves, but she knows a thing or two about knocking up a tasty meal with the minimum of fuss. This app offers 70 recipes that have mostly been culled from her ever-increasing number of cookery books, but there are also 10 that are exclusive to this app.
The recipes are sorted into categories, but you can also select recipes using the 'what’s in your fridge' option. When viewing recipes you can move back and forth through the instructions by shouting forward or backward into your iPhone, so you don’t have to dab at it with your sticky fingers. There’s also a useful shopping list feature that comes in handy when you’re out buying ingredients for meals you’re planning on dishing up.
Verdict
It’s a bit pricey, but this well presented app is the ideal companion when you need a bit of inspiration in the kitchen.
Cut the Rope
The iPhone isn’t exactly short on puzzlers, but there’s always room for one that’s truly excellent and Cut the Rope fits the bill. The premise behind the game is simple. You open a package to find a monster called Om Nom that’s rather fond of sweets. Luckily, on each level there’s a sweet and it’s your job to guide it into Om Nom’s gob.
You can’t directly interact with the candy. Instead, there are ropes on each level that you have to cut to guide the sweet towards the monster. As you would expect, the puzzles get substantially more difficult as you go along, but the gameplay remains superbly well balanced and the graphics and in-game physics work a treat.
Verdict
The superbly addictive gameplay, cute graphics and impressively accurate physics make Cut the Rope one of the best puzzle games on the iPhone at the moment.
Yell.com
With tons of location-aware apps floating around that offer lots of information on your current surroundings it can be easy to forget that some of the more established names still have plenty to offer. Take Yell.com, for example. This app calls on the UK’s Yellow Pages listings to allow you to search for local businesses and service providers in your local area.
The database includes pubs, restaurants, taxis, cash machines and shops. The app can also use your phone’s GPS chip to show you those that are nearest to your current location and there’ an augmented reality view that overlays information about local business on a live feed from your phone’s camera. You can save business details to your iPhone’s contact list and get driving or walking directions to the businesses that you find.
Verdict
Yell.com is a well-designed application with an easy to use interface that makes it easy to find useful businesses nearby.
Brushes
If you’re of an artistic bent and fancy using your iPhone to knock up a few sketches or even complete pictures then Brushes is a great place to start. The iPhone is not exactly lacking in artistic apps, but Brushes rises above the competition not by going out of it’s way to offer tonnes and tonnes of features, but instead by offering a supremely intuitive user interface that avoids getting in the way between you and the picture you’re trying to create.
The app provides you with a broad selection of brushes that you can customise using the transparency, stroke width and spacing settings. There’s also an easy to use colour wheel with a comprehensive array of effects and the app makes it easy to work on different sections of your picture at any one time.
Verdict
If you fancy doing a spot of painting on your iPhone, then Brushes is definitely the tool to get.
90 in 1: Appzilla!
As its name suggests, this app offers 90 different mini apps for the paltry sum of 59p. Open up Appzilla and you’re presented with icons for all the apps laid out across a number of scrollable screens - pretty much like the normal iPhone homescreen.
With this number of apps included, the quality varies a lot between them and with some of them you can find similar apps available for free in the app store. However, there are still many here that are worth having and in general the usability of each of the apps is quite good, even though the presentation can be a bit crude at times. Among the apps included you’ll find a flashlight, currency converter, spirit level, spell checker and more.
Verdict
Not all the apps are massively useful, but there are enough good ones here to justify the low 59p asking price.
Gibson Learn & Master Guitar
If there’s one brand that’s synonymous with electric guitars then its Gibson, thanks to the fact that it’s behind some of the classic models like the Les Paul, SG and Explorer. So with the Gibson name attached to this app you’d expect it to be pretty good and thankfully it doesn’t disappoint.
Despite being free, it packs in a lot of useful features including a guitar tuner and metronome. Along with this, you also get a reasonably large chord guide that covers pretty much all the basic chords that you’ll need to learn as a beginner. Gibson has even included a number of high quality videos from its Learn and Master Guitar courses that offer excellent instruction for both beginners and more advanced guitar players.
Verdict
Slick presentation along with some very useful features and great instruction videos make this a must-have for budding guitarists.
FileApp
The sizeable amount of storage built into all the iPhone models means they’re ideal tools for carrying files around on. This is where FileApp comes in, as it makes it easy to transfer files from a PC to your iPhone. You can connect to your phone from your PC either via a USB cable or over Wi-Fi as long as they’re on the same network.
Once connected you can simply drag and drop folders and files across to your phone. You can then sort your files by filename, date created or file type. Naturally, you can also view files while they’re on your phone. A pretty wide range of file formats is supported for viewing, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, along with PDF, HTML, TIFF and JPG.
Verdict
FileApp is a pretty simple application, and it makes it easy to get files onto your iPhone and then view them.
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