Author: Michael Simon

There may be a revolution against skeuomorphism in our virtual calendars and notepads, but it hasn’t reached the world of music production. Apps all across our digital lives are eschewing any and all resemblance to their real-world counterparts, but in…

Our iPhones make it easier than ever to keep our budgets in check. There are an abundance of spending trackers in the App Store that will alert us when our bills are getting out of hand, but they’re really only as smart as we make them. Constant vigila…

There’s something about music that brings us together. From drum circles to the original Napster, our favorite songs somehow sound better when we share them with other people. Even when we’re rocking out to our iPods, we want our friends to know what w…

There’s a trend these days toward smart calendars. No longer is it enough to just keep track of our appointments; apps like Tempo and Horizon combine our important dates with weather forecasts, contacts, and emails, and even Apple is getting into the a…

Our kids may have been able to unlock our iPhones since before they could walk, but that doesn’t mean they’re actually gaining anything by using them. There are countless cartoon and character apps to keep them occupied, but sometimes we want them to l…

Classic Note doesn’t exactly bring anything new to the world of iPhone text editors, but as a magazine with “Mac” in our name, we couldn’t ignore it. Basically, it’s an homage to the early days of the Mac System Software, with monochrome accents, bitma…

Geocaching is not for the casual urban adventurer. The concept is simple enough – seek out a hidden treasure by following a specific set of GPS coordinates – but there’s a reason why it never caught on in the mainstream. Not only does it command a …

When Drafts for iPad hit the App Store just over a year ago, it immediately turned heads for its minimal workspace and lengthy series of actions that turned a simple note-taker into a powerful and versatile text editor. A year later, the file-less file…

Something about the great American pastime brings out the best in app designers. MLB.com At Bat’s breathtaking ballparks and pitch trackers are the gold standard for professional sports apps, Topps Pennant turns lifeless box scores into beautiful works…

With an iPhone in my pocket, a trip to the grocery store isn’t nearly as unpleasant as it used to be. Thanks to a slew of advanced features that have made my lists smarter and more powerful, I’ve learned how to save money at checkout and dramatically c…

There’s no shortage of iPhone and iPod touch music players in the App Store. They all basically do the same thing, but each one presents your tunes in a unique way, using clever interfaces and bold fonts to make your music look as good as it sounds. Ma…

For as much as we ask of our calendars on our phones, they’re really only as smart as we make them. If we forget our friend’s birthday, it’s because we didn’t input it; if we’re late to a meeting, it means we messed up an alert. Tempo Smart C…

There are so many different ways to interact with our photos on iOS, we barely need our Macs anymore to create refrigerator-worthy projects. Just about anything can be done on our iPhones and iPads, with countless filter, layout, caption and effects ap…

If you’re going to try to beat Google at its own game, you need three things: good design, quick results, and an impressive algorithm. Izik, a new iPad-only browser from relatively unknown search start-up Blekko, performs so remarkably well in all thre…

Let’s face it, we could all use a little help realizing our myriad goals in life. Whether it’s as simple as organizing your closet or something a bit more ambitious, it can be hard to muster the motivation to get things done. Everest aims to make those…

Nobody likes to watch home movies. Whether it’s your niece’s dance recital beamed to an Apple TV or your grandmother’s old reel-to-reels, we can all agree on one thing: the shorter the better. Videokits does its part to keep things moving. Where other …