My Favorite iPad Apps :: Part 3 of 3

My Favorite iPad Apps :: Part 3 of 3

The apps in this short series are in my regular rotation - I use them daily.

Evernote logo borrowed from Assistive Technology

Evernote: A note-taking application.

Pros:

• This app has proven useful for me for grocery lists. I make the grocery list on one device and then make sure I sync devices before heading to the grocery store. The inclusion of the check box is simple yet helpful.

• I audio record my students presentations, usually about 5 minutes. I also tag the notes and they're easy to access for grading.

• For taking notes, meeting minutes and outlining presentations, it's nice to have some formatting options like italicizing and indentation.

• My Instagram pics are automatically synced to Evernote thanks to ifttt.

• The Evernote app is great for capturing business cards and organizing them, however, make sure you double check the details to make sure that it's correct.

• Before I travel, I use Evernote Clipper to capture and file notes on places to go and things to do. I assume that I won't have Internet access and I'll activate Evernote Premium to access the folder offline.

• I don't really use a calendar/task app, I sync my Google Calendar with my iPhone/iPad. Simple and easy. I also don't use the reminder option since I use that feature exclusively with Google Calendar.

Cons:

• I think the paid platform is too expensive for what you get and have access to.

• With the paid platform, you get offline access, however, you have to download and sync in advance. Depending on the size of the notebook that you want to access offline, it could take some time for it to download.

• I know that Evernote and Moleskin have a happy relationship, however, I have the Evernote Notebook by Moleskin and I'm not seeing the big difference between it and any other notebook.

Evernote is available for the iPad, iPhone and Android devices.

I hope that you've enjoyed the My Favorite iPad Apps series. Please share your thoughts on the Evernote app and the other apps in the series in the comments.

My Favorite iPad Apps :: Part 2 of 3

My Favorite iPad Apps :: Part 2 of 3

The apps in this short series are in my regular rotation - I use them daily.

Stitcher logo borrowed from EdReach.us

Stitcher Radio: Stitcher is a way to organize your podcast listening.

Pros:

• There are lots of categories to chose from, keeps track of listening stats, sync across devices, offers suggested listening.

• I have created playlists such as my favs, media, etc. It's nice to hear the various podcasts back to back.

• Typically, I begin my Stitcher use by listening to the headlines especially for AP Radio News. The AP newscasts are about 3 minutes.

• You can opt-in to get notifications when new episodes of your favorites are available.

• When you sign up and sign in on the desktop app, it's syncs your account so that you can pick up where you left off.

Cons:

• There are many podcasts to chose from, but surprisingly not all podcasts are available on the platform. 
• The options to 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' a podcast is a bit too small.
• The description is much larger than the 'play' button. They could easily give equal space so that the 'play' button is easy to access.
• There are some advertisements that run between podcasts. So far, it's not too annoying. However, if you do find it annoying, Stitcher has a paid non-ad platform.

Stitcher Radio is available for the iPad and the iPhone.

Please check back next Thursday for the last installation of My Favorite iPad Apps. And please add your comments about your experience with Stitcher Radio.

My Favorite iPad Apps :: Part 1 of 3

My Favorite iPad Apps :: Part 1 of 3

I've been an iPad owner for several years now. It's true that I have not always drank the Apple Kool-Aid, and I'm certainly not gulping it now, but I do love a good app.

The apps in this short series are in my regular rotation - I use them daily.

Zite logo borrowed from Twit.tv

Zite: It's a curation site for news and information, but it also helps you discover news and information.

Pros:

• Looking forward to the merger of Flipboard + Zite, but for now I'll focus on how I currently use Zite.

• For me that's what differentiates it from other curation applications. Your ability to 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' an article will bring you more or less of what you like and dislike.

• I use Zite for curating information on the following topics: Journalism, teaching, technology, iPad apps, Cairo, travel, podcasting, hip hop and more. I love it for a quick glance of what's happening now.

• You can sign up and then sign in to the app. It will sync across devices.

Con:

• After the app has been idle for a while, it will wipe out what you were reading and refresh the page automatically. You will rarely find your way back to the same spot, but it depends on how much time has lapsed. It think it would be better if the app asked if you want to refresh.

Zite is available for the iPad and the iPhone.

Please check back next Thursday for the next installation of My Favorite iPad Apps. And please share your comments about your use of the Zite app.

The 5 Apps I'd Rather Die Than Live Without

The 5 Apps I'd Rather Die Than Live Without

I'm basing this post on a post I recently viewed: The 8 Apps Robert Scoble Would Rather Die Than Live Without (don't forget to read the comments there).

More and more I'm using my iPad and iPhone consistently throughout the day. Though I don't have the exact same apps on each device, there's a lot of overlap.

The following apps are the ones that are definitely on both devices (the first three are also web-based and I use them on the web-platform daily as well). Although I think I could live w/o them,   they help to keep me organized and informed.

Gmail/Google (this link is to the Google search app which allows you access to all of your Google related services)

Pros: Gmail is my default email account for professional and personal. My university is using a Gmail platform for email and my primary personal account is Gmail. So having consistent access is important. And via the app, it's easy enough. And once I'm signed in to this, I can also utilize other Google services like Google+.

Con: Having two accounts can be a pain if you don't set it up properly in the mail settings. And remember, if you change your password on the desktop application, then you'll need to do the same for the app.

Evernote

Pros: I'm using Evernote for just about everything right now:

I have a few ifttt recipes that dump stuff into folders in Evernote.

• For example, when I post images to Instagram, a copy is automatically sent to Evernote.

I definitely host my 'to do' lists on Evernote.

I organize my conference presentations using Evernote
I take notes at meetings using Evernote.

I love the cross platform appeal: I use it on my desktop Mac in my office, on my Macbook Pro laptop as well as on the iPad and iPhone. Seamless.

Cons: My account's getting a bit messy in terms of organization. Also, there have been too many occasions when material/information did not sync in a timely fashion to the devices; that means I'm without some information that I thought I'd have available. Finally, when you overwrite information in Evernote, you can't retrieve the previous version unless you have a paid account.

Looking forward to incorporating on new Evernote Smart Notebook by Moleskin journal too (though the journal costs the same in store as online, but the in store version had a pen; #justsayin).

Twitter

I love Twitter and I use it a lot.

Pros: Easy access to my accounts via the official platform; easy toggling between accounts.

Cons: Seems often that not all of the tweets load in when I'm searching a hashtag; that's annoying.

iMessage

I like iMessage for the ability to quickly contact my family. Since there's a 7 hour time difference, the message will be there when they wake up or whenever they check their devices. Great for sending quick pics too. Love the group messaging too (but make sure you don't reply all when you really just want to reply to one person in the group, otherwise, oopsy).

Con: There's no con here. Most of them have Apple devices and it works for us.

Zite

This used to be my all time fav app. Now, it's still at the top, but I've waned on my excessive love for it.

Pros: I like Zite for the ability to discover new information and sources of information that I find interesting and useful. The Zite algorithm is awesome. I like the 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' feature to help improve the source material. I like selecting the categories that are of interest to me. And most importantly, I used to like the many options for sharing material: Evernote, Instapaper, Twitter. They used to also have Delicious and they recently removed it in one of the upgrades. I've asked them about that. They responded, but mostly recommended that I reinstall the previous version from my backup. Fair enough; I'm working on that.

Cons: They changed too much in recent months/upgrades (seems since they were purchased by CNN). I don't like the recently updated app. The interface is too busy and not intuitive. Sometimes I liked giving a 'thumbs up' to a source or to 'block' a source. Not sure if you can still do that and if so, it's not intuitive b/c I haven't figured it out yet. I'm very unhappy about the lack of share options - or that I can't share on Delicious. I'd even like to see an option for sharing via Buffer, but no luck on that just yet. 

I don't like the new 'owl' as the logo for Zite. First of all, Hootsuite has an owl. Not that there's an exclusive rights on owls, but ... whatever. The previous clean font with the word Zite was just fine. Leave well enough along. You don't see Flipboard changing their image with every upgrade.

Apparently, I'm not the only one with strong feelings about Zite's recent changes: see this article in TechCrunch and just check the app reviews on iTunes.

I say all that to say, I'm still using Zite on a regular basis, but definitely not as much.

(click the image for image source information)

Testing Out SoundCloud's Audio Player

Testing Out SoundCloud's Audio Player

I use a good amount of web tools and technology.

Now that I'm a bonafide Apple Girl, I've been trying to get my MacBook Pro up to speed w/all of my usual tools:

• Picasa
• Microsoft Office
• Evernote
• And a variety of fonts including my fav Pea Andrea

Right now, I'm testing out SoundCloud's audio player to see if I can do a few things:

• Stack multiple audio players (yes; see below)
• Create my own embeddable playlist in SoundCloud (yes, see last track; you have to create a set and then you can add tracks to the set)