2014 Apps of the Year Announced by Apple

The Apple Design Awards recognizes developers of exceptional apps that “combine design and technology in creative, compelling and powerful ways.” To learn more about the winners this year, visit the Apple Design Awards page.

Why Type Using an iPad?

Jason Snell at MacWorld has written an interesting article about using the iPad to write articles entitled “Why I’m writing on the iPad.”

He suggests being forced to type slower on the iPad has benefits. He explains that although his mind still tries to get the information out quickly, because he types slower on the iPad, he must focus more on what he wants to say. Importantly, because he can not easily jump go back and forth between web pages, email and other “distractions” like he does on a computer, the iPad’s screen and his slower typing pace cause better focus on the task at hand – writing crisply, concisely, and clearly.

There are several minimalist word processing apps to consider. These apps may or may not be compatible with Word or other more popular word processor’s formatting.

The point is simple. It is more important to get the initial content down before spending time formatting.

Nebulous Notes is one writing app mentioned by Mr. Snell.

WIRED magazine reviewed three other minimalist writing apps recently in Prose on the iPad: 3 Dedicated Writing Apps. The apps reviewed are WriteRoom, DraftPad and ensō Writer.

The idea behind these apps and articles that discuss them is simple – you write better with less distraction.

So, if you have thought that the iPad is not a better tool for writing your work or papers, you could be fooling yourself.

As the New Year approaches, consider the benefits of typing slower using minimalist apps to do more.

Top of the Charts

Ever want to know what the current top apps are?

The iTunes Charts page is your starting point to finding the week’s top Songs, Albums, TV Shows, Movies, Movie Rentals, Free Apps, Paid Apps and Music Videos.

The page lists the top 5 items in each category. But, if you want to see the top 100 in each category, click on the category. Click to see the top 100 Free Apps or Paid Apps.

Some of this weeks top paid apps are shown below.

 

iPad Apps for Work

Credit ZDNet

 

An updated article by Matthew Miller discusses iPad apps you can use for work.

He shares his experiences with several apps, including:

Documents 2

Documents To Go

iWork apps (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote)

Office2 HD

Quickoffice Pro HD

Smart Office

For a good overview of these apps, check out his article.

How to Organize Your iPad Apps

So you’ve bought a bunch of apps, perhaps its a good time to organize them. There are many ways to do this. A couple include using iTunes or physically dragging apps around on your iPad.

iPad to Organize

To rearrange apps on your iPad, touch an app and hold down until the app icons jiggle. Then, arrange the icons by dragging them. Press the home button to save your arrangement.

If you have many apps, you can arrange and create up to 11 screens or pages. The dots above the Dock show the number of screens you have and the white one shows you the one you are currently viewing.

For apps you use frequently, you can create a shortcut by making those apps available on every page. Tap and hold an app. When they start to jiggle, drag the app or folders of apps to the bottom of the screen (dock). This will allow you to find an app quickly, no matter which page you are on. To drag a folder into the dock, you will have to create it first on the screen, then drag it to the dock.

iTunes

You can organize your apps via iTunes if you prefer. Launch iTunes and connect your iPad. Select your iPad and tap Apps.

You will see your apps and the different pages on which they appear on your iPad. Select an app and drag it to a different page to move it to that page.

You can create folders the same way by dragging an app into another app. iPad automatically names a folder when you create it based on the icons used to create the folder. You can change the folder name by tapping the x and typing a new folder name. You can put up to 20 icons in a folder.

To get rid of the folder, drag the apps out to the desktop.

Organizational Methods

There are many ways you can arrange your apps including by location, alphabet or categories.

Alphabetical

To arrange your apps alphabetically, on your iPad, tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Home Screen Layout. This will make your first page default to the original Apple apps. Beginning on the second page, your apps will appear alphabetically. You will have to do this each time you add an app to keep it in order or you can rearrange them after buying new apps.

Categories

Apple has currently listed 20 categories of apps. Perhaps you can create a folder for each category and arrange your apps accordingly. The 20 categories (in alphabetical order) are: Books, Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Games, Healthcare & Fitness, Lifestyle, Medical, Music, Navigation, News, Photography, Productivity, Reference, Social Networking, Sports, Travel, Utilities, Weather.

Conclusion

There are many ways to organize and make your iPad your own. When you have begun accumulating apps, take a little bit of time to organize them. A little time spent organizing can well save time and increase your productivity.

New iPad Features

Today, new features became available for iOS devices after the WWDC 2011 keynote by Steve Jobs. Now, when you tap on the App Store icon,  you will see a “purchased” icon.

When you tap on that icon, you will be able to see a list of what items you have purchased, even if they are not on your device. You can even tap to distinguish between iPad apps and iPhone apps.You can even display solely the apps “Not on this iPad.”

If an app is not on your device, a little cloud icon with a down arrow appears indicating you can download that app.

Overall, this improvement is a handy way to remember which apps you may have not loaded onto your iPad or remind you of an app you want to download.

iTunes Charts and iTunes U

 

Feeling like a lemming. Want to download what others think are good apps? Just want to peruse the app store to see what is selling well?

Apple has a site for you to visit. iTunes Charts lets you browse the top apps (paid or free), TV shows, albums, songs, etc. are at the moment.

If you are feeling more intellectual, you can’t go wrong with iTunes U. How else could you sit in on a class at MIT, Harvard, Cambridge, and Stanford the same day?