# Unexpectedly Good Apps



## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

What apps are you guys using that you love but didnt expect to? Something you downloaded to see how bad it was, or knew you'd use it but didn't expect it to be so good?

For me there's two: the Macleans magazine app is qite well done and their digital editions are nicely put together, feature extra media, and are just nice to read. The other is The Vancouver Sun app which when I am reading feels just like I'm reading the paper. Articles and easy to get at, expand, and the layout is exactly like. Digital paper should be.

What have you guys found that you love but didn't expect to??


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## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

A couple of games actually. I have downloaded several games primarily for my kids and have found that very few have any lasting draw for me. I recently showed my wife a game that I had seen others getting a real kick out of read good reviews of. She isn't a games person either but instantly took to it so I sat with her for a bit and gave it a try as well. We both have it on our iPads now. The game is "Cut The Rope". 

The other game is Angry Birds. I stayed away from it for the longest time thinking how stupid it was to hear generally intelligent people go on about how much time they spent playing or how great it really was. Gave it a try and enjoyed it far more than the other games I had tried in the past. Not as much as Cut The Rope though.

My 17 year old son has been captivated by Fruit Ninja but I haven't looked at it for myself yet.

Those are the apps that I am surprised by. There are several others (not games) that I use and enjoy using but I expected that from these apps.


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## Mckitrick (Dec 25, 2005)

For me it was the redflagdeals app. I really didn't expect to use it much but I've spent way too much time in there. I think I have a shopping addiction.


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## WCraig (Jul 28, 2004)

Mckitrick said:


> For me it was the redflagdeals app.


Many, many reviews on iTunes complain about crashing after the last update (Dec 2010). It works OK for you?


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## Niteshooter (Aug 8, 2008)

Contract Killer and Uber Racing for games.

Global TV, CBC and CityTV all have great apps though they have not put all of the older episodes up for all the shows listed but at least I can get my fix of Republic of Doyle and check out my old haunts in St John's.


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## winwintoo (Nov 9, 2004)

Camera+

It makes the camera on my new iPod touch a gazillion times more useful :clap::clap:

There doesn't seem to be an iPad version, but the iPod version works.


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## Mckitrick (Dec 25, 2005)

WCraig said:


> Many, many reviews on iTunes complain about crashing after the last update (Dec 2010). It works OK for you?


Yep! There's a trick though. When you start the app you need to wait for the activity icon on the title bar to finish loading before you click on any buttons. If you click something before the data has loaded the app craps out.


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## The_E (May 29, 2010)

For me, it's a few: 

- The Dictionary App from Dictionary.com. It's complete, stores data locally and is intuitive.
- MacLife App….. well, I love Mac|Life, so there you go.
- Converter (metric to Imperial conversions) It's really full featured and includes things like Data, Speed, Volume, area, etc.
-Scrabble….. just can't seem to put it down. 

Edit: The one that I really didn't think would be good, but has been a game changer: APPLE REMOTE. It rocks my world….literally & figuratively.


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## CubaMark (Feb 16, 2001)

I second the Scrabble app - totally addicted, now that I've dominated Angry Birds (and so far have resisted Angry Birds Rio)


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## Garry (Jan 27, 2002)

Which MacLife app? is there a link?


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## lang (Jun 9, 2010)

App? Reeder
Games? Too many to mention


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## Joker Eh (Jan 22, 2008)

Weather Eye - from The Weather Network
Apple Remote
680 News - quick news read.
Bloomberg
TD Canada Trust
TSN - app for sports, though I don't like TSN it is the easiet to read and get the scores and news quick
WhatsApp
Food Network My Recipes - lets you search for recipes and then add it to grocery list and then you check off what you have and need.

I do play games but they come and go.


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## Stephanie (Jul 21, 2004)

Atari's Greatest Hits - I tried it last night. 

The app is free (comes with Pong) but there's 100 arcade and Atari 2600 games you can download with in-app purchase. They come with original box art & graphics. 

I was always a fan of Battlezone so I gave it a shot. It uses the original arcade control (two forward/back controls, one for each track) rather than a 4-way joystick. I sucked at it back then and I suck at it now, but it was a lot of fun to see it again. 

Another one is an iPad game called Obliteration. I thought the graphics were kind of cute, but the gameplay is perfect for a casual gamer. It's similar to Angry Birds in that you're trying to clear objects from the playing field using fixed resources, so you have to rely on some strategy, planning, and use of physics.


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##  Dumpling (May 28, 2010)

Corkulous for iPad. Use it daily and it has to my most versatile app. Pastebot for iPhone is another gem and the sync with Mac feature makes it the best clipboard app. Angry Birds, well I own all 3 versions from iPhone, to iPad, to Mac. I thought it looked dumb from screenshots so I resisted it for several months. Funny how I was more productive back then. Lol.


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## lang (Jun 9, 2010)

Stephanie said:


> Atari's Greatest Hits - I tried it last night.


Did you buy the whole pack bundle? If so, could you let me know if Atari included the comics for the 3 SwordQuest games?

THX


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## rgray (Feb 15, 2005)

lang said:


> *Did you buy the whole pack bundle?* If so, could you let me know if Atari included the comics for the 3 SwordQuest games?
> 
> THX


It is free!


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## Stephanie (Jul 21, 2004)

lang said:


> Did you buy the whole pack bundle? If so, could you let me know if Atari included the comics for the 3 SwordQuest games?
> 
> THX


So far I've only bought the arcade Battlezone bundle, so I don't know, sorry.


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## lang (Jun 9, 2010)

rgray said:


> It is free!


The app is free. The games aren't (except Pong).

And after a number of purchases based on mislead expectations or promises, just prefer to be cautious.



Stephanie said:


> So far I've only bought the arcade Battlezone bundle, so I don't know, sorry.


Thanks anyhow


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## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Niteshooter said:


> Contract Killer and Uber Racing for games.
> 
> Global TV, CBC and CityTV all have great apps though they have not put all of the older episodes up for all the shows listed but at least I can get my fix of Republic of Doyle and check out my old haunts in St John's.


You would not recognize St.John's these days, Niteshooter.


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Nanostudio

Hands down, Hands on for $14.99,
Best music studio I've ever owned in the palm of my hand, Or my iPhone.

Magnifier

Great .99¢ app,
To zoom in on a book or even take a macro photograph on my iPhone.


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## fjnmusic (Oct 29, 2006)

Stocks. Comes free with your iPhone. Initially I was just curious to see what Apple stocks were worth (as I watched them quadruple in value), but now I check up several times a day to read all the latest Apple news as well as the competitors. Who knew the stock market could be so interesting?


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## The_E (May 29, 2010)

Garry said:


> Which MacLife app? is there a link?


Hey Gary, sorry for the delay in responding!

You know, I just looked in the App Store and see that the Mac|Life app is no longer available. They're in the process of working on a new app….. I guess they pulled the old one in the meantime. 

It's just a reader, but organizes the topics and is much quicker to load and easier to read. It makes me happy!


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## kkritsilas (Mar 1, 2010)

I like the Mapquest app. It seems to come up with routing that is better than the built-in maps application, and it has both turn by turn functions, and can show a list of directions. It's free.

Kostas


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

kkritsilas said:


> I like the Mapquest app. It seems to come up with routing that is better than the built-in maps application, and it has both turn by turn functions, and can show a list of directions. It's free.
> 
> Kostas


You can get Zorro Canada for free, But I haven't used it yet,
It's freaking huge, I use Motion X, Smaller and just as easy to use.


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## Mckitrick (Dec 25, 2005)

OurGroceries allows my wife and I to keep synced up lists. We have a grocery list of course, but we also have lists for "Walmart/Home Depot" and "Ikea" and "To Do," etc. It's a free app as well.


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## Greenman (Feb 22, 2003)

...


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

winwintoo said:


> Camera+
> 
> It makes the camera on my new iPod touch a gazillion times more useful :clap::clap:
> 
> There doesn't seem to be an iPad version, but the iPod version works.


Works beautifully on the iPhone as well. love Camera+.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

CubaMark said:


> I second the Scrabble app - totally addicted, now that I've dominated Angry Birds (and so far have resisted Angry Birds Rio)


Scrabble by EA or Words With Friends by Zynga? I've bewen rocking the latter on my iPhone forever and recently picked up the HD version for my iPad. Love it.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Stephanie said:


> Atari's Greatest Hits - I tried it last night.
> 
> The app is free (comes with Pong) but there's 100 arcade and Atari 2600 games you can download with in-app purchase. They come with original box art & graphics.
> .


I grabbed this the other day and have been completely re-addicted to Lunar Lander.


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## PosterBoy (Jan 22, 2002)

Another one for me is MLS Match Day. Full rosters, gull game breakdowns, and AirPlay enabled video highlights. Good stuff for we season ticket holders


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## The_E (May 29, 2010)

PosterBoy said:


> Scrabble by EA or Words With Friends by Zynga? I've bewen rocking the latter on my iPhone forever and recently picked up the HD version for my iPad. Love it.


I'm really into Scrabble by EA, but I'm wiggin' out on Words with friends as well. Speaking of which, I need to turn on my notification for that again…..


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## Dr T (May 16, 2009)

Stephanie said:


> Atari's Greatest Hits.....


I am disappointed that it lacks Blue Max, Archon, Arena.


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