Editor’s Picks Apps

Just as the best chefs and hunters know to use every part of the animal, so too must the best developers use every part of the iPhone—the microphone, accelerometer, touch screen, you name it.

It’s always great to see developers who are interested in improving their product and prove it by listening to users and cranking out upgrades that actually work.

Tagged: photo editing

Infinity Blade is one of the most-hyped iPhone games ever. Early looks at screenshots, and the knowledge that it made use of the impressive Unreal Engine 3, had handheld game enthusiasts drooling.

StarWalk for iPad immerses you in the Solar System. It turns an iPad into a virtual window that reveals constellations and other celestial bodies in real-time. Pinch-to-zoom elegantly focuses in on stars, planets, shooting stars or deep space.

Tagged: constellations, misc reference, science app, telescope

Talking Santa for iPhone will feel familiar to anyone who has used any of the other “Talking Friends” apps by the developer, Outfit7. When you open the app it’s just you and the cartoon character, face to face.

Tagged: greeting card

With so many radio apps to choose from, how can you pick just one? Well in short you probably can’t, but depending on how and what you want to listen to TuneIn Radio may be ideal. Similar to SparkRadio and comparatively priced, TuneIn Radio features many (not all) stations from around the world.

Tagged: Clear Channel, Internet radio, radio app

Filamente — The more popular the iPad becomes as a mobile device, the greater the desire for file management tools. The added functionality of viewing and reading documents, spreadsheets and other files gives a user yet another reason to ditch the laptop and just bring along an iPad.

Tagged: file storage, Microsoft SharePoint, read later

Texting enthusiasts certainly have an array of texting apps to choose from ranging from free texting applications over wi-fi to simple ascii art creators. Among the selections is TextPics – Creative SMS Art for iPhone Texting.

ESPN is a popular sports network. Pinball is that fun table game you play in bars and arcades. What do they have in common? Pick up ESPN Pinball to find out.

Tagged: 3D games, arcade games, ESPN, multi-player, pinball game, sports games

Stick Stunt Biker for the iPhone is a combination two very successful game genres: the stick-figure ragdoll physics game, and the side-scroller dirt bike stunt game.

Insider Trades seeks to be a go-to source for keeping tabs on your stock portfolio. With detailed company information and an easy-to-navigate interface it is a good addition for the financially savvy or those just getting started with watching the market.

Knowsy - Plenty of board games have made the leap to the iPad. Scrabble, Monopoly and other long-time favorites have converted their popular gameplay to the iPad's multi-touch screen. Along comes Knowsy. It plays like a board game that has been re-imagined for the iPad.

Tagged: board games, family games

Nike+ GPS is a study in appropriate technology. The first upgrade that long-time users of the Nike+ GPS app will notice is that the iPhone is now doing what the iPhone has been able to do for a long time: tell where you are.

Tagged: jogging, Nike

Was there a guy in your sixth-grade class who spent day after day drawing geometric shapes on graph paper, fascinated by the perfect symmetry that medium afforded him? Well, he's made an app.

Tagged: puzzle games, strategy game

For the uninitiated, HDR photography is all the rage, supplanting tilt-shift photography as the trendiest way to manipulate your photos and earn your Flickr feed a little extra attention.

Tagged: Flickr app, misc photography