Battle of the Bulge Lite was released on the iPad App Store yesterday. This is the new, free version of the superb Battle of the Bulge strategic wargame for the iPad. This new Lite version of the game offers unlimited play of one of the game’s most interesting scenarios – ‘Race to the Meuse’, with all its features and modes of play.

Here’s a little more on Battle of the Bulge Lite and its notable features, via its App Store page:

Battle of the Bulge is a historical wargame, designed specifically for iPad. It’s a turn-based simulation in the spirit of traditional board wargames. Pieces represent actual military units fighting on the terrain of the famous WWII battle.
• Play three ways: online through Game Center, vs. computer opponents, or Pass & Play
• Unlimited play of “Race to the Meuse,” a short, tense fight in the opening days of the battle
•...

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6 Free Mobile Cloth Combo Packs To Be Won (one large and one small)

Contest Deadline: Friday May 24, 2:00PM US Central

It’s contest time again. This time we’ve got one of the least glamorous but hardest working and most useful iPad accessories up for grabs. If you’ve been following this site for any length of time you know that I’m a big fan of these Mobile Cloth cleaning cloths. If you somehow missed my past mentions of them, check out my post when I first came across them, and asked how excited you’re allowed to be about cleaning cloths.

The short story is these are by far and away the best cleaning cloth for the iPad and all my touchscreen devices. Winners of this contest will receive a combo pack of the big and small Mobile Cloth – with the iPad Insight logo on them, so you’ll never forget which site you need to visit every day. :)

Hit the break to see how easy...

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Here’s a handy tip for newer iPad users. If you don’t like the default font in the iPad’s built-in Notes app, it’s very easy to change it.

You don’t have a broad range of choices, but there are 3 fonts you can choose to use with the iPad Notes app. Here’s how to select the one you want:

– Open the Settings app.

– Tap on the Notes item in the left sidebar, just below the entries for iCloud and Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

– Tap on one of the 3 font names in the Font window – Noteworthy, Helvetica, or Marker Felt.

That’s it. A very basic tip I know, but I see the question of how to change the iPad Notes font come up relatively often in support forums – so I thought I’d share.

Happy font selecting.

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Flickr Studio for iPad is available for free today only (5/21/13) – to celebrate ‘the new Flickr’. That’s down from its standard price of $4.99. Yahoo announced the new Flickr yesterday, including an upgrade on all accounts to 1TB (!) of free storage.

The Flickr Studio app is designed specifically for the iPad and offers a good set of features to work with and manage your own photostream and explore those from your contacts and the Flickr community as a whole. Here are some of the notable features:

YOUR PHOTOS
All your Flickr photos and videos, one smart app. With Flickr studio you can instantly browse your stream, sets, collections, groups, tags or find any photo with the powerful search!
AND EVERYONE ELSE’S TOO!
But Flickr Studio is not just YOUR full photo collection. Use it to view photos from your contacts, or any Flickr user for that matter – Even...

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Pocket and Instapaper are two excellent read-it-later apps / services for the iPad, iOS and beyond. I’ve used both services for years, but for the last year or so I’ve been using Pocket a lot more than Instapaper.

So a tip on how to import Instapaper articles into Pocket, from Whitson Gordon at Lifehacker, caught my eye this morning. Since Pocket is the app I look at regularly, it seems a fine idea to pull my Instapaper saved articles into it. And it’s super easy to do. Here’s a few things to be aware of before starting:

– Instapaper export note: If you have more than 2,000 articles, only the most recent 2,000 will be included.

– Pocket Import Note: Instapaper’s export does not provide a list of what items you have ‘liked’ or ‘favorited’. As a result, your ‘liked’ items have been imported into your Pocket archive but will...

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I’m continually amazed with the incredible art being created on iPads. For years I’ve watched as a growing number of both traditional and ‘digital artists have embraced the Apple tablet as not just one of their tools, but as their primary canvas. I’ll share some great iPad artwork here each weekend, and I hope some of you will become fans of it too, or better still be inspired to create your own art on the iPad.

Today’s selection of amazing iPad art is around the theme of portraits. First up is Halle Berry by Woon Tien David Chong – created using the Procreate app. One of the most beautiful women in the world, and this portrait does her justice I think.

Next is ‘My Angelina’ by Cheeky Raffy – another one that’s a striking as its subject – and also done with the Procreate app.

And finally ‘Adrianna’ by Michael Acosta. As far as I know Adrianna is not a...

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A new free version of the fantastic Battle of the Bulge iPad game is coming soon. Battle of the Bulge Lite was submitted to Apple for approval on May 16 and could hit the iPad App Store any day now.

Battle of the Bulge Lite will feature the ‘Race to the Meuse’ scenario from the full Battle of the Bulge game, with unlimited play in single player and online multiplayer modes. The Race to the Meuse scenario simulates the first three days of the Axis surprise attack in 1944. It can be played online against friends or random online opponents; or versus the game’s excellent AI.

Some of the other features of the new Lite version of Battle of the Bulge include:

• A quick start guide, to get you playing fast

• An interactive tutorial to teach you the game more in depth

• Extensive history notes and photographs about the battle

• Strategy hints and tips

• Full rules to...

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One of the best things about using an iPad is all the great apps that we can run on it. There are excellent apps for just about any purpose you can think of. Better still, there are lots of great free apps for the iPad. Our Best Free iPad App of the Week posts highlight these apps.

This week’s pick is Google+, the iPad app for Google’s social network. It took Google a long time to bring out an iPad version of Google+ but it turned out to be worth the wait – and I’ve ben meaning to feature it as a Best iPad App of the Week here for a long while now.

I was fortunate enough to get an early Google+ invite right around its initial beta launch. I liked it right from the off and it has become my favorite social network. I find myself spending more and more time on Google+, as I enjoy the lively discussions on a wide range of topics that interest me. And the excellent Google+ iPad app...

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The new MLB.com Home Run Derby iPad app is just what the name sounds like – an iPad game that lets you test your long ball hitting prowess, playing as one of the home run hitting stars from the last three MLB All-Star games.

The game lets you choose from any of the 24 sluggers who took part in the last three All-Star Home Run Derby events – though many of them require you either to collect a large number of ‘MLBucks’ as bonuses while you play or to pay up via In-App purchase. The game starts you off with 100 MLBucks, which will allow you to choose from around 9 of the sluggers who cost that much to select. Others range from 300 to 700 – for instance Robinson Cano from the 2012 Derby and Prince Fielder and David Ortiz from 2011 are 700.

Some of the other stars you can play as include Miguel Cabrera, Matt Kemp, Jose Bautista, Andrew McCutchen, and more.

There are single and...

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Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is a wonderful new iPad app celebrating this famous and loved piece of music. I’ve never been a big fan of classical music but something about the look of this app grabbed me and I decided to give it a look.

Wow, I am so glad I did. This is just a fantastic app, even for someone like me who’s not knowledgeable about the music. Here’s a bit of the App Store intro for it:

Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for iPad presents four of Deutsche Grammophon’s legendary recordings of this iconic work, with the amazing ability to switch instantly between each performance at any point in the piece. As you listen, you can watch the synchronized musical score, be guided by expert commentary, follow Beethoven’s 1825 manuscript or immerse yourself in the hypnotic graphical BeatMap of the orchestra, precisely highlighting every note. The app also includes a treasure-trove...

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Apple announced yesterday that the App Store hit the much-anticipated 50 billion app downloads milestone:

Apple® today announced that customers have downloaded over 50 billion apps* from the revolutionary App Store℠. Customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of over two billion apps per month on the App Store.

In iTunes on the desktop you can see a listing of the Top 25 All-Time Paid Apps and Free Apps, with separate listings for iPad apps and iPhone apps. There are no huge surprises in the iPad Top 25 list, but here’s a few things I find interesting:

– Skype for iPad is the Number 1 All-Time Free App. I think Skype’s iPad app is great, better than its desktop version – but I’m still a little surprised to see it right at the all-time chart.

– 10 of the Top 25 paid are not games, and 6 out of those 10 are Apple apps – Pages, Keynote,...

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At yesterday’s Google I/O event Google announced the very promising Hangouts app, a sort of unified messaging app / service for iOS, Android and web. And the Hangouts app for the iPad and iPhone was released yesterday too.

The iPad app is a horrible, ugly mess. There a number of very good iPad apps with simple, basic user interfaces. But Hangouts has a drab, clumsy UI that looks very much like it was slapped together with little to no thought or effort.

That’s one of the app’s main screens above. It’s just sad looking right? Hit the break for a couple more screenshots of the app in all its glory.

Here’s a typical Hangouts screen when having a text chat:

What’s going on with all the huge amounts of blank space? And the goofy positioning of the text blocks? It just feels like it’s not meant to be this way. Like somebody started working out this screen design and then...

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The Watchup iPad video news app has been updated this week – adding a number of good new channels.

The update, issued yesterday, takes the app to Version 1.10.1. New channels added for the US include Chicago Tribune, The Motley Fool, KXAN (Yay Austin), Moyers & Company, TechCrunch and more. There are also a great number of new international channels added:

• Latin America: NTN24
• Argentina: C5N, Canal 7
• Brazil: RedeTV!, SBT, TV NBR, Ulbra TV
• Colombia: Canal Capital, Noticias Caracol
• Ecuador: RTU Noticias
• And many other channels for Australia, Canada, the UK, Mexico, Ireland, Hungary, France, Italy, Lithuania, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Venezuela and many others.

Watchup is great, simple app for keeping up with daily news via video from a strong, curated list of sources. It’s a recent pick of ours for ...

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The photo above shows a gorgeous coffee-colored iPad Smart Cover – but it’s not a color you’ll find in the Apple store range. It’s the result of a DIY project involving actual coffee being applied to the Smart Cover.

This is the creation of simeon, one of the developers at twolivesleft – makers of Codea and other apps and games.

Simeon decided he wasn’t seeing quite the aging effect he had hoped for on the tan Smart Cover, so he decided to create his own.

I’m not too careful with my cover. I chose the leather cover thinking the more scuffed and damaged it got, the better. I wanted it to look worn. Unfortunately after only two weeks of use it did start to look worn — on one side only.

As you can see in the above photos the right side of the cover is darkened in the place I usually hold it while reading.

This asymmetry wouldn’t do. I had a wonderful, horrible idea:...

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The ever-excellent 1Password app for iPad and iOS has been updated again this week, to Version 4.2.

This is another big update for 1Password, with a slew of new features and enhancements for its 1Browser inline browser. A big new feature, apparently based on user demand, is sharing. You can now share 1Password items via email and Messages. The search function within the app has also been beefed up – it now searches URLs as well as item titles.

Here’s the full (full!) change list for this latest version:

1Browser
* Added Go and Fill bookmarks in 1Browser on iPad.
* Added the ability to use Strong Password Generator in 1Browser on iPad.
* Added the ability to auto-submit on login filling.
* Added fill animations to make it easy (and fun) to see where fields are filled.
* Added Copy to Clipboard in the Share menu to copy the current URL to the clipboard.
*...

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The Battle of the Bulge iPad game has been updated – adding 3 new scenarios and 2 new artificial intelligence opponents.

Battle of the Bulge is a fantastic, old school strategic wargame for the iPad, made by a wonderful group of long-time wargame developers at Shenandoah Studio. And this is a major update that should give players many, many more hours of enjoyment from this already stellar game.

Highlights of this update include:

– A new free scenario, titled ‘Bitter End’ – enables the historical campaign game to be played to the end of the last day of the historical battle, regardless of how well or badly either side is playing, with the possibility of a draw.

– Another new free scenario called ‘Luck of the Draw’ – which resets the historical campaign game with a random setup and altered reinforcement schedule.

– One new paid scenario called...

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Square Stand is a new iPad-based point of sale system – from Square, makers of the clever little credit card readers that plug into iPads and iPhones.

The Square Stand offers merchants a wealth of slick features – ‘all for the price of a cash register’.

Ready to use in minutes, Square Stand works with Square Register, the free point of sale application, and gives merchants access to real-time analytics, robust reporting, and a delightful experience for their customers. Square Stand features an integrated card reader that keeps information secure from swipe to payment, and easily connects to the hardware accessories businesses need, including a receipt printer, kitchen printer, cash drawer, and barcode scanner. Merchants can lock their iPad in place and secure the stand to their countertop, making it easy to tilt and rotate the stand and complete orders quickly. Square...

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Last week Write for Dropbox, iPad edition hit the App Store. It’s another good text editor app for the iPad, with Dropbox sync and strong Markdown support.

The app’s full title in the App Store is Write for Dropbox – A Beautiful Note Taking App (iPad Edition) – but I’m just going to refer to it as Write from here on in this post.

To say that this app is feature-packed would be an understatement. Here’s its App Store feature list:

• Write opens to a new blank note to quickly jot down things on your mind
• Automatic Dropbox Syncing
• Full background support for uploading notes to Dropbox. Notes will continue uploading to Dropbox even if you close the app
• Clean distraction free interface
• Create, edit and view text files on your iPhone and iPod Touch
• Folder Support (upto 1 level deep)
• Full Markdown support with ability to preview markdown even while...

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Flipboard, the superb news magazine for iPad and iOS, has been updated again today – adding new profile pages, new features for its recently added roll your own magazines, and more.

Today’s update is to Version 2.0.2 – here’s the full change list for it:

-Get a window onto your readership and curation activity with new profile pages.
-Discover magazines by friends quickly in new Friends category in the Content Guide.
-Select a social network and access options more easily in the improved share menu.
-Share magazines and stories with friends and family via SMS text messaging.
-Save images directly to your device. Tap item’s share icon, then “Save to Camera Roll.”
-Improved navigation for Google Reader RSS folders

Flipboard only just added the ability to create your own magazines within the app less than two months ago. It’s very cool to see...

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Today I’m continuing our new iPad Art series of weekend posts featuring some of the incredible art being created on iPad. I’ve been and admirer of art created on iPads and iPhones for years now and I hope some of you will enjoy it too.

Today’s iPad painting picks are all solar themed, starting with the ‘Torn Sunset’ image shown above. This one is by A. Harrison. It was created as a free hand drawing with the Sketch Club app.

Here are three more solar themed iPad paintings for this week:

Solar Power by hgberk (Helene Goldberg) – created with the ArtRage app:

Catalan Beach 15 and Catalan Beach 18 – both by Albert Viladrosa and both done in the Paper by 53 app:

All of these images were originally shared to our iPad Insight Flickr group. Check it out if you have a chance, and by all means share some of your work if you’re creating art on an iPad.

©...

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The superb Battle of the Bulge strategic wargame for the iPad is getting a major update tomorrow, adding several new scenarios and two new artificial intelligence opponents

This is easily the best wargame I’ve seen on the iPad – created and developed by an all-star team of old school wargame makers. Here’s a little of its App Store into, for those who haven’t come across it yet:

Battle of the Bulge is a historical wargame, designed specifically for iPad. It’s a turn-based simulation in the spirit of traditional board wargames. Pieces represent actual military units fighting on the terrain of the famous WWII battle.
• Play three ways: online through Game Center; vs a computer opponent; or Pass & Play
• Fast turns, deep strategy
• Two scenarios: a quick, tense, fight in the opening days; and a campaign covering the entire battle
• Tutorial, quick...

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Thanks to all who took part in the Dino Walk promo codes contest. Here are our lucky winners:

Heather, Bill, whnn, Chris M, and Byron

Winners – congratulations and please keep an eye on your Inboxes and spam folders, as you will soon be receiving an email from Vito Technology with your promo codes.

Look out for more cool contests coming soon.

© patrickj for iPad Insight, 2013. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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One of the best things about using an iPad is all the great apps that we can run on it. There are excellent apps for just about any purpose you can think of. Better still, there are lots of great free apps for the iPad. Our Best Free iPad App of the Week posts highlight these apps.

This week’s pick is UPS for iPad, which provides a number of resources for managing UPS package delivery and using their services. Here’s a bit of its App Store description:

The UPS for iPad app lets you easily manage your deliveries by tracking, nicknaming shipments, and viewing your package’s progress on a map. You can also quickly find UPS service locations via GPS. Need to reroute or reschedule a delivery? No problem! For UPS My Choice members, this app provides the flexibility to reschedule, redirect, or authorize shipment release so that UPS can leave packages when you won’t be home to...

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If you’re looking for inspiration in choosing an app or apps to gift a mom in your life for Mother’s Day, then you may want to check out the Mother’s day Gift Guide featured section in the iPad App Store today.

The gift guide is made up entirely of apps and includes 9 sub-sections including:

Gifts for Foodies: Cookbook and culinary apps

Gifts for Photographers: Photo and video editing and effects apps

Gifts that Wow: An odd,eclectic section with apps ranging from iMovie to Star Walk and others about the universe around us

Apps for Kids and Games for Kids: Perhaps with the idea that a good set of distracting apps for the kiddos is a nice gift to help Mom get some relaxation in on Mother’s Day?

Gifts for Gamers and Gifts for Hardcore Gamers: For all the Gamer Moms.

It’s a good looking collection, with a lot of range to it. Even so, I ‘d say it’d be a good idea to make sure...

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Posts, one of the best blogging apps for the iPad, is now a a free app. It has previously been priced at $9.99 and this appears to be a permanent move to free for the app.

I say it appears to be a permanent move to free for the app because of the phrasing of the developers’ answer in this Twitter exchange:

I’ve tried out just about every iPad blogging app that has support for WordPress, and I’ve not seen any that are better than Posts – and certainly none that match its gorgeous UI.

Posts supports the WordPress (wordpress.com and self-hosted) and Blogger platforms, and some of its key features include:

• Multiple blogs support
• Post browsing – displays your latest posts, with various view options
• Writing – a clean, simple interface for creating and editing your posts
• Local Drafts
• Comment Management
• Working Offline

This app was worth every penny...

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