Archive for the ‘ iPad Reviews ’ Category

Weather HD For The iPad – Making Bad Weather Look Beautiful

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

When I got my iPad, one of the first apps I ever bought was Weather HD, primarily because of the beautiful animations it shows to represent the different types of conditions outside that it displays. Over the months more of these animations have appeared, and now it’s snowing, I’m starting to see that there’s some really staggeringly beautiful snow ones too.

This is what it looks like outside my house at the moment, snow covered and -7 degrees C:

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My Garden Looks a Bit Like Weather HD

and here’s the conditions outside, according to the app – see the resemblance? I wish you could see this animation live, as the snow’s constantly falling from the sky – some near to you, some much further away – the sense of perspective also surprised me, it’s easy to think you’re looking at a 3D animation here. I wish it was a screensaver, so I could have it on one of my monitor screens permanently – I haven’t got sick of it in the slightest over the many months I’ve owned it.

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Art Imitating Life from Weather HD - similar imagery

I think it does anyway. Feel free to contradict me if you think otherwise icon smile Weather HD For The iPad   Making Bad Weather Look Beautiful

If you need an app that tells you what the conditions outside are like – anywhere in the world – or just where you are right now – this is a beautifully designed app that does just that.

Every condition has it’s own beautifully crafted animation – I often leave my iPad with this app on when I’m not using it for anything else – it’s like a very cool screensaver! It tells you the forecast for the next 7 days, or the next 24 hours if you tap the ‘show hourly’ button.

I’ve got about 12 cities stored in the memory already – places I visit or where friends live. They’re accessed using the right arrow you can see at the top left of the screenshot above, to the right of ‘Wakefield’

This is a functional app that tells you everything about the conditions outside that most of us will ever care to know. It’s also one of those killer apps that will impress anyone who sees it on your iPad – it’s that beautiful. I show people complex apps that have great depth and application, they never impress people as much as this app does.

Get yourself a copy of Weather HD, it’s only 59p these days – I paid more, and it was still worth it… It’s another Two Thumbs Up recommendation from me!

badge appstore lrg Weather HD For The iPad   Making Bad Weather Look Beautiful

Words With Friends HD Review – iPad Word Game

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010
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Words with Friends HD for the iPad

Words With Friends HD on the iPad looks rather like Scrabble… and it plays rather like Scrabble too… hmmmm… anyway put those thoughts out of your mind and read on.

You get seven Letter pieces from which you must make words to get the highest score you can. You can play against friends, passing round the iPad, or you can play against friends and random Wordies online – which makes the game much more fun.

On the board are certain bonus squares where you can score double or triple points for letters and words… Hang on a minute, this game is rather like Scrabble!

I didn’t bother with the Scrabble iPad app after reading lots of complaints about the Scrabble UK English dictionary – much as I like my American pals, I’d like to stick to the English version I was born into. I can ‘speak’ and write both dialects – but naturally migrate to my mother tongue. So far, I’ve not had the right letters to make words that differ between our 2 great nations, so haven’t tested the Words With Friends dictionary on this point yet.

It’s great fun, sometimes you play someone and your game is finished within a few hours, sometimes a game lasts weeks. As it’s turn-by-turn, you’re dependant on your opponent completing their turn promptly so you can take your next turn. This is both good and infuriating – you only have to play when you’re ready, but when someone makes you wait 2 weeks for your next go, it’s a little tedious. Fortunately, you can have as many games ongoing as you want, so you’re not just stuck waiting for 1 other person… You’re waiting for loads!

If you like word games, or you’re a Scrabble fan, W-W-Friends will appeal to you. If you like games you can play while you’ve a spare minute, you’ll like it too. It’s simple to pick up, play, put down and move on. I’m still playing it 3 months after buying it, which is no mean accomplishment for the game – most of my iPad games have had a few plays then are saved just to show people what the iPad can do – so to still be in my regular plays list after 3 months indicates that this game has serious longevity. It helps that no two games are ever the same.

In summary, Words With Friends is a great, Scrabble-like word game that’s simple yet engrossing. Who knows, it could increase your vocabulary too!

I haven’t decided on the one way I’m going to standardise ratings for apps yet,I’m not going with stars cos you could just read those in the App Store. So I will use my first choice for ratings – the thumb system.

Today, Words With Friends HD gets Two Thumbs Up (that means I really like it)!

It’s fun for all the family, and tests your word skills, it must be slightly educational too stimulating a desire to know more words – that’s the effect it had on me, I now get ‘Word of The Day’ pushed onto my iPad through the free Dictionary.com iPad app!

badge appstore lrg Words With Friends HD Review   iPad Word Game