Review Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Daily iPhone App: Agricola is Playdek's great adaptation of the board game

by Mike Schramm (Jun 18th, 2013)

Agricola is one of the most popular board games around these days -- it's sort of a farming simulation game, where you can take two turns every round, and then periodically get rewards paid off in a harvest. Playdek is an up-and-coming iOS developer that's mostly done card games so far -- they're ...

Daily iPad App: Tayasui Sketches is a basic, but beautiful sketching app

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 18th, 2013)

Casual artists looking to expand their sketching skills to the iPad should take a close look at Tayasui Sketches. The app landed in the iOS App Store earlier this month and rivals Paper as one of the best easy-to-use sketchbook apps. Sketches reminds me of an artist's workbench with a canvas in ...

Chatology for Mac lets you easily search Message histories

by Dave Caolo (Jun 18th, 2013)

Flexibits has released Chatology for Mac (US$19.99), which lets you search your Messages chat history with great ease and success. Its looks will make it familiar to just about anyone who's used a Mac within the last ten years and and its integration with Messages is just lovely. Say goodbye to ...

Wren Sound Systems V5AP AirPlay speaker: Stunning design, incredible sound

by Steven Sande (Jun 18th, 2013)

When it comes to getting music from your iOS device to a good speaker, there are a lot of different methods. There's the tried and true dock method, which can fall to pieces when Apple comes out with a new connector design as they did last year with Lightning. Some manufacturers have the mistaken ...

Bracketron NanoTek Stand: minimalistic design by 1.0 Innovations, functional standout

by Steven Sande (Jun 17th, 2013)

You may read this review of the Bracketron NanoTek Stand (US$29.95) and ask yourself "What's so exciting about a angled piece of aluminum with some sticky pads on it?" Well, many times smartphone stands are tied to a particular generation of a smartphone, so when the next big thing appears on the ...

Daily iPhone App: Solstice Arena is Zynga's shot at multiplayer online battle arenas

by Mike Schramm (Jun 17th, 2013)

I first got to see Solstice Arena, Zynga's latest iOS entry, at GDC earlier this year, and then had a short meeting again last week with the publisher at E3. But you no longer have to take my word on what it's like: The game arrived on iOS worldwide last week, so you can grab the ...

Satechi 7 Port USB 3.0 Premium Aluminum Hub looks good, works well

by Steven Sande (Jun 15th, 2013)

Satechi is now shipping a new 7 Port USB 3.0 Premium Aluminum Hub ($69.99 MSRP, on sale for $54.99) that matches good looks with the speed of USB 3.0. The company came out with a 10 port USB hub earlier this year that comes in a black plastic case and sports special switches for turning various ...

Videon for iPhone is a full-featured and well thought out app

by Mel Martin (Jun 14th, 2013)

Camera apps seem to get most of the attention from iPhone users, probably because there are a lot more people taking stills than video. The iPhone does have very capable video features, and some third parties seem to have outdone Apple when it comes to creating and editing videos you will want to ...

Test-driving the Blue Microphone Spark Digital

by Steven Sande (Jun 14th, 2013)

Many podcasters and musicians love the digital and analog microphones made by Blue Microphone. The company's booth at trade shows usually has a long line of computer geeks eager to see what the latest mic is, and earlier this year we were wowed by both the Spark Digital (US$199.95) and the ...

Daily iPhone App: Elevatr helps you build a booming startup

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 14th, 2013)

People with an entrepreneurial streak should run with Elevatr on their phone so they don't miss those moments of inspiration. Elevatr is a free-form note-taking app with a business plan focus. The app lets you create a note with fields for your business idea, the target market, product details, ...

Daily iPad App: Nova Elements walks you through the periodic table

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 13th, 2013)

Nova Elements is one of those showcase apps for the iPad. It has a great UI and is filled with fantastic photos The showcase section of the app is an interactive periodic table that provides details on each of the elements. You can read about each element find out where it is found and how it is ...

Daily iPhone App: Plant Nanny lets you water plants and yourself at the same time

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jun 13th, 2013)

Plant Nanny is fun, little app that combines the process of growing plants with the healthy habit of drinking water. It's an unusual combination, but the app pulls it off wonderfully. Plant Nanny lets you pick a cartoon seedling and plant it in a pot on your virtual window sill. As you drink ...

Props Power and Keyboard Case for iPad: review and giveaway

by Steven Sande (Jun 12th, 2013)

Remember my last keyboard case review where I told you it was going to be the last one for awhile? Well, that was before yet another manufacturer knocked on my virtual door and handed me a keyboard case. But this, my friends, is a keyboard case with a difference -- it also has a huge built-in ...

Daily iPhone App: Scurvy Scallywags is great fun for landlubbers or first mates

by Mike Schramm (Jun 10th, 2013)

Ron Gilbert is the great game designer mind behind popular series like Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, and the recent Deathspank games. His latest project is called Scurvy Scallywags, and arrived on iOS last week. The game is great -- it's a match-3 title that makes use of some excellent RPG and ...

Review: CruxSKUNK iPad keyboard case

by Steven Sande (Jun 7th, 2013)

If there's one promise I hope I can make to TUAW readers, it's that this will be the last iPad keyboard case review you'll read for a while. We've had quite a few over the past few months, but the subject of this review – the CruxSKUNK (US$179 introductory pricing, $210 regular MSRP) -- has ...