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What's On My iOS Home Screens: Summer 2014

7/26/2014

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The dog-days of summer are upon us and it's time for another installment of What's On My iOS Home Screens.  
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iPhone

1. One Touch Reveal (Free - Universal) - One Touch Reveal is a blood glucose monitoring system that works in conjunction with the One Touch Vario Sync testing meter.  Glucose results are synchronized from the Vario to the iOS App via Bluetooth.  The application maintains log book, shows your average Glucose numbers over a 14 day period, and allows for simple reporting of the aforementioned metrics.  The app also allows for the entry of medicine (various insulin types), carbs, and a way to manually enter a glucose test if using another type of meter.  This app has been invaluable in assisting me with managing my Diabetes.  I would highly suggest taking a look at the One Touch Vario and the Reveal app if you have an iOS device. 

2. MagiCam ($0.99 - iPhone) What can I say?  This app is truly magic.  From the makers of the wildly popular iOS camera app Camera+, TapTapTap has yet another winner on their hands.  MagiCam is a simple camera app that applies image correction on-the-fly to make your pictures look outstanding each and every time.  There are a limited number of post-pic filters that can be applied if necessary.  Overall, the quality of the pictures is usually outstanding.  MagiCam integrates with the standard iOS camera roll which makes things so convenient in terms of keeping all your photos in one place.  I have take some really nice shots with MagiCam and it has earned a place on my main home screen.  For .99, you should definitely give it a shot (no pun intended). 

iPad

1. Notes Plus ($3.99 - iPad) - A full-featured note taking app for the iPad.  Support for the Adonit BT Touch/Script has been added only for the iPad 3 and later.   The app offers a very clean UI and offers sync with Dropbox.  Handwriting recognition is offered via an in-app purchase.  Overall, Notes Plus has become my default handwriting note app on my iPad. 
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What's On My iOS Home Screens: Winter 2014

2/26/2014

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Winter is far from over, but there's been a couple of noticeable changes on my iOS iPhone and iPad home screens.  Aside from my background  color switch on the iPhone from red to blue and on the iPad from blue to red, there have been a couple of app changes.
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iPhone
  • Twitterrific ($2.99 - Universal) - Now my Twitter client of choice on both the iPhone and the iPad.  
  • Paper - Stories From Facebook (Free - iPhone) - This isn't your daddy's Facebook app.  Well, if your daddy is your friend on Facebook then I guess it could be.  The controversially named "Paper" is a wonderful new Facebook experience offering views of your timeline and curated news topics hand selected by Facebook staff.  While the news categories are very basic now, there are sufficient news topics in my main feed to keep me abreast of the latest news in tech, sports, science, and politics.  While Paper will not replace an app like Flipboard or Zite, the UI of Paper is a refreshing change from the vertical list view of the old Facebook app.  I like Paper so much, I have deleted the old  Facebook app from the iPhone.  I look forward to an iPad version of Paper.  Hmmmm. I might have to boycott the Paper app if the FB developers don't get an iPad version out. LOL.
  • Dark Sky ($3.99 - Universal) - While this app doesn't sit on my home screen, it is quickly accessible via Launch Center Pro on both my iPhone and iPad.  I keep it installed mainly for the precipitation push notifications that tell me when it will snow or rain in the area I am located.  I would like to see the UI on the iPhone show weekly forecast data on the first screen as opposed to having to swipe to the left two times.  For quick weather data and a view into the week ahead, I am still keeping with the stock (Yahoo data) iOS 7 app.
  • Music - I replaced Groove with the stock music player as I find myself listening more and more to iTunes Radio.  Now that I have AT&T's new 10GB family share plan, I have plenty of data to spare even with moderate listening. 
iPad
  • Clock - Nothing to see here, as my iPad is now my primary alarm clock and the stock app works as advertised. 


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Dumping Tweetbot in Protest (Updated)

2/18/2014

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I have long been a fan of the Tweetbot application, a full featured and powerful Twitter client for the iOS platform.  The application has basically everything I want in a twitter application: push notifications,  position and message read status sync, mute filters, and UI that just won't quit.  Well, that last part is really what is bothering me.  The iPhone version of Tweetbot was given an iOS 7 redesign during the latter half of 2013.  It is truly a sweet looking application.  Unfortunately, Tapbots have been really lagging in getting the iPad version of the app up to iOS 7 standards.  Since I use Tweetbot on the iPhone, iPad, and the Mac,  I prefer the experience to be top notch on each device. I can excuse an updated UI on the Mac since I spend very little time using Twitter on the desktop. However on the iPad, which I do use daily, the old style iOS 6 design of Tweetbot is wearing on me. It's annoying enough that I will cease to use it on the iPhone and iPad and will be replaced with IconFactory's Twitterrific 5.

Waiting for that Tweetbot elusive iPad update.......

Update: Twitterrific has stopped working over LTE for me and I am unable to send or receive tweets.  The app works when on wifi.  I will have to delete this app on the iPhone until the Iconfactory has a solution to get it working again.  I have tried force quitting the app and deleting and re-installing it. 

Update 2: Finally figured it out. The cellular data setting was turned off for Twitterrific which was causing the app to not retrieve or send data over my LTE connection. Once I flipped the switch to enable data, the app worked like a charm.

Tweetbot for iOS ( iPhone (L), iPad (R) )

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What's On My iOS Home Screens: Winter 2013

12/5/2013

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The Winter season is practically upon us so to bring in the cold weather is another installment of What's On My iOS Home Screens. There have been some notable changes in home screen apps since my last posting back in the Fall.
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iPhone
  • Fantastical 2 ($3.99 - iPhone) - What else can I say besides Fantastical 2 being the best calendar app for iOS (iPhone only)?  The newer, version 2 has been retrofitted for iOS 7.  Not much in terms of changes in the UI as the first version was pretty flat in terms of UI controls and look.  A big addition is the integration with iOS reminders.  I love how Flexibits integrated reminders into the application.  Reminders can be created and marked completed from the app either in the calendar view or in a specific reminder view.  Also added is the ability to add location based alert triggering that allows a reminder to trigger if you enter or leave a certain location.  As with the prior version of Fantastical, the natural language input is rock solid and has been improved for version 2.   Quite simply, this is the calendar application that Apple should have built for iOS.  I highly recommend this app.
  • Tweetbot 3 ($2.99 - iPhone) - Not a new addition to my home screen, but it is worth noting that the long-awaited iOS 7 redesign has made its way to the iPhone.  Smooth and as slick as ever, Tweetbot remains THE best iOS Twitter client and should be the defacto standard for both casual and power twitter users.
  • Groove (Free - Universal) - Groove v3 is total redesign for iOS 7.  The UI is clean and supports native iOS swiping gestures to move around the application interface.  Groove v3 supports customized playlists (mixes), iTunes Music Match, and social media posting.  It also integrates with your Last.fm profile, which I do not use.  Overall, Groove is a very slick and clean looking music app that is worthy of a look if the standard iOS music player doesn't cut it for you.  The app does not support iTunes Radio, so if you are heavily into using it, you'll need to keep the stock player easily accessible.   Did I mention Groove is free?  Go get it. 
  • iOS Weather (Free - Stock iOS application) - Nothing really special here, as I just wanted a change.  I was using Perfect Weather, but the temperature notification badge wasn't updating itself if the application was not running in the background. The Yahoo-based iOS weather app has been pretty accurate for the New York area and is in sync with the temperature and conditions data shown in Notification Center.  I could wind up switching the stock weather app for the Yahoo Weather app but there's no real need for that.  
  • Apple Podcasts (Free - Universal) - I have now standardized on using Apple's Podcasts app on both the iPhone and iPad. Check out my review of the app here.

iPad
  • Calendars 5 ($6.99 - Universal) - I think I have a love/hate relationship with this app.  For the iPad, it is a very clean and efficient UI.  However, on the iPhone I am not a fan of the UI layout when comes to menus and navigation within the application.  On the iPad however, all navigation menus are available with a single click so moving across to different calendar and task views is very efficient.  I have found a couple of bugs with the app such as the notification badge (events and due tasks) is not updated unless the application is running in the background.  I contacted Readdle tech support on this and they have verified a fix is in the works and should be available early next year.  The second bug I have found has to do with on-line subscription calendars where events on those calendars are duplicated.  I don't have many of these type of calendars so it's not really a big issue.   I haven't received any feedback on this from the support team yet.  Overall though, I do like Calendars 5 for the iPad and have decided to run with it for awhile. 
  • Screens ($19.99 - Universal) - One of the best VNC-type applications for iOS just received its iOS 7 makeover.  Screens v3 allow you to remotely connect to any computer (PC or Mac) that is running the Edovia connect software.   Once the Screens app connects, you can view and control your computer remotely.  On the iPad Air, this app really runs smoothly although on older iPads the app was never really considerably slow.  The iOS 7 makeover has made this app a real pleasure to use. It is expensive at $19.99 but it is universal and is indispensable if you ever need to work with your computer remotely.
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What's On My iOS Home Screens: iPhone 5s and iOS 7 Edition

9/27/2013

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The iPhone 5s and iOS 7 is in the house so here goes the latest installment of the apps I am using on my home screens. There have been quite a few changes since I was using iOS 6. 

iPhone
  • Pocket Casts ($3.99 Universal) - A podcasting app totally redesigned from the ground up for iOS 7.  A brand new interface and tons of new features including those that take advantage of iOS 7's auto download capabilities.  It's been a little rocky with the sync service between the iPhone and the iPad, and some issues with the episode downloading but Shifty Jelly has released version 4.1 to Apple and it should be on the app store any day now. Overall, this is a very nice looking app.  I have tried Downcast and Instacast on iOS 7 and Pocket Casts won out based on it's UI and feature set.  
  • Perfect Weather ($6.99 iPhone Only) - A great looking weather app with lots of useful data in a tab format.  Check out my review here.  Looking forward to a Universal version.
  • Pocket Informant ($12.99 Pro / $3.99 PI Go Universal) - Quite simply the most complete and powerful personal information manager (PIM) available on the iOS platform .  It received some minor interface updates to look good on iOS 7.  One of the really nice features of the latest version is if you enter an event with a location, Pocket Informant will query map data and provide you with a time to arrive at the event location.  The Pro version includes calendars, tasks, notes (Evernote too!), and contacts while the Go version has only events and tasks.
  • The iOS stock music app once again makes an appearance on my home screen, primary due to iTunes Radio which I am really enjoying. 

iPad
  • TeeVee 2 ($1.99 - iPhone Only) - This is a very slick Television episode tracker and notification app.  The app is currently iPhone only but still looks great in 2x mode.  The developer is working on an universal version which is hopefully due out soon.  TeeVee 2 does have iCloud sync so any new shows that I add on the iPhone version will get synced over to the version running on my iPad.  Since I usually have my iPad in front or around me when watching TV, I am keeping this app loaded on my iPad home screen.  I would like to see the developer use better data sources for episode information which is supposedly coming in a next update. 

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What's On My iOS Home Screens: Summer 2013

6/30/2013

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I haven't posted one of these types of articles in awhile so I thought I'd throw one up. There's been a couple of significant changes in some of the primary apps I am using on my main iPhone home screen:

  • Twitterrific 5 ($2.99 Universal) - Now my go to Twitter client on iOS. I grew tired of the dated look of Tweetbot. Twitteriffic is missing some key features such as full iCloud sync of read status and support for Twitter timeline streaming (where tweets are pushed to the device immediately upon being sent as opposed to the app retrieving new posts on a timed basis). Overall, the smoothness of Twitteriffic and swipe gestures make it my twitter client of choice.
  • Calendars+ ($6.99 Universal) - A very clean looking calendar app. Not as feature ridden as Pocket Informant, but it is fast and efficient. I am still using Fantastical in conjunction with Launch Center Pro for natural language input for when I need to add new calendar entries quickly.
  • The Transit App (Free) - If you live in a major metropolitan area and you are dependent on public transportation, run, don't walk and get this app. The app uses location based services to show you what transportation stops are in your local area and shows the time remaining for the next train, bus, etc. From my use, the schedule has been extremely accurate and reliable.
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What's on my iOS Home Screens: Mid-Winter 2013

2/3/2013

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Just figured I'd post an update considering there's been some movement of several home screen apps on both my iPhone and iPad since my last home screen post back in the beginning of the winter.  
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New iPhone home screen apps: 
  • Fantastical ($4.99) - I keep going back and forth on this one.  I love the natural language text-parsing of Fantastical for quick data entry of new events.  I have a customized new entry icon in Launch Center Pro (bottom dock) for Fantastical which allows me to quickly enter a new event.  For example, I can type (or speak), "Doctor Appointment at 5:30 next Monday Calendar Doctor Appointment", which will plug in the new appointment in to the appropriate calendar.  In terms of the UI, Fantastical reminds me of another app, Agenda Plus, which does have a bit more in terms of PIM functionality.  I am hoping the Fantastical devs put in support for iOS native reminders and more robust custom repeat options for events.
  • Track 8 ($1.99) - A really cool audio app that uses a Windows Metro motif (yikes!).  This music app is really slick but does have some annoying bugs.  The devs have been pretty responsive, and it does support iTunes Match pretty well so I'll live with the inconvience for now.  The app is that good.
  • Weather On ($.99 On Sale) - I received the "bronx cheer" on this one from my fellow iOS Docked bretheren when I picked it for my "iLike of the Week", but I am really liking this weather app.  It has accurate information, temperature notificaiton badge (updated hourly), and has a really useful daily push notification that tells you the weather and temperature. You can customize the timing of when the push is delivered.  I love waking up and having the notification displayed on my lock screen. The app currently does not support current location weather but the devs are working on it.  I am ok with using my fixed zip code for now.  
  • Rise Alarm Clock ($1.99)- What a wonderful application.  A simple alarm clock app that just works and is a model for beautiful design.  I now use it everyday to wake me up.  Buh-bye, traditional alarm clock.
New iPad home screen apps:
  • Tapatalk HD ($4.99) - A little expensive for a dedicated forum reader but with the amount of time I spend perusing various forums, well worth the investment.  The HD version and Tapatalk 2 for the iPhone (separate purchase), have been redesigned from the ground up and now have a much cleaner and more modern design.  
* Special Note - While not a iPad or Universal app, Weather On has been so darn good that I decided to give it a home in my iPad dock. 



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What's On My iOS Home Screens: Winter 2012

11/8/2012

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Look closely.  Yes, that is Apple's Podcast app on the home screens of both my iPhone and iPad.  Apple recently updated their much aligned podcast app and this time around they corrected many of the bugs that made the app pretty much unusable.  The iCloud sync has worked flawlessly, allowing a podcast subscription to be added, removed, or changed in terms of played status on device and having it synced over to another iDevice.  While I am not a fan of much of the skeumorphic design choices (the tape player in the Now Playing Screen), I have been using this app for about a week and it is working well.  I'll stick with it for now until the next major versions of Instacast or PocketCasts are released.  

My go to weather app has become Check The Weather.  See my review for more thoughts on this clean, fast, and accurate weather app. 

The iPad has remained pretty much status quo with the same addtions as my iPhone.  The other change I have made in the app dock is the addition of Google's Chome browser.  The only reason I have this in the app bar is that the NY Daily News site doesn't seem to work very well with the lastest version of Safari on iOS.  The main stories on the site seem to be fine, but when you click on a story, the site just displays a blank page.  Initially I thought this might be a paywall-type issue (i.e. you would need a subscription to read stories), but it seems that Chrome is able to display the full story without issue. 

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iOS Home Screen Musings

12/30/2011

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Home screen organization for iOS users is one of those extremely personal things.  Everyone has a scheme that best works for them in thier everyday use of the device.  Some like to organize their screens in a logical order placing their most commonly used applications on a single home screen, some like to stage their home screens in order of importantace (i.e. apps used everyday, lesser used apps, and miscellanous junk), and some wont dare put a folder on thier main home screen for fear of runing the asthetic look or inconvienience of opening a folder to access an application.  

Macgasm's Jon Mitchell put together a nice piece here about a logical approach to home screen organization.  Mitchell contends that home screen organization boils down to the logical grouping of like-applications and minimizing to the least common denominator in terms of the number of apps used to get various tasks done.  One of the most interesting parts of the article is the "heat map" used to identify logical groupings of applications.  Heat maps are used in application and webpage design to determine where the human eye travels and where the focus of attention is when looking at a given screen, page, etc.  The use of the heat map in Mitchell's article shows his logical grouping of social networking, photography based, and to a lesser extent, asthetic groupings.  

For myself, my organization practices follow convential wisdom: keep what you use most on the first home screen, and for each subsequent page apps that are less used.  I think the optimal number of pages anyone should have is 3.  Any more than that, you are really spending too much time swiping or you just have too many apps.  If you check out my screens below, you'll see my most used on a daily basis on the first page.  I have folders for many of those apps which are just a logical grouping (Apple folder, Office/Productivity, News, Utilities), and the apps that I absolutely want one click access to.  On Page 2, I have folders of apps that I use from time to time. Finally, page 3 contains mostly games and what I call the "App Graveyard".  I call it that because there are some apps that I rarely ever use but may on the rare occasion be of some use.  Also, I tend to keep apps that I have used in the past but do not want to delete them just to see what updates come from the developers in the future.  For example, Calvetica is a great calendar app, however it is missing a few features that I would absolutely love to have (hint: Event Templates), and want to keep an eye on how the developer pushes that app forward.  I also keep several twitter apps around waiting to see if they implement Tweet Marker or push notification support.  I figure that the App Graveyard is on page 3 so it does no harm being there.  

I carry the same organization methodology over to the iPad as well.  Being a larger device, it helps that the home dock can support six icons (as opposed to 4 on the iphone), and that folders can have up to 20 apps (as opposed to the iPhone's 12).  

Well, that's my thoughts on iOS screen organization. Pretty simple, if you ask me. I know some people that strive for that "clean look". Sometimes I really don't know what that means, but I do know it means different things to different people.  I get a better understanding of that concept every time I look at my wife's iphone/ipad icon placement.  

Comment and thoughts are welcome.  

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    As an avid tech fan I look forward to sharing my tech experiences both personally and professionally with those that have similar interests and passion for technology. 

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