Guessing the Apple

Location based apps that help you find a restaurant in an area you are unfamiliar with or maybe you are familiar with are a dime a dozen. Most often, people use the app Yelp to help them discover, locate, and reserve a table all from one app. But for many the app is lacking something. Sure, it can find near by locations with reviews, but what about near by places that serve what you like the most? That is where Ness comes in handy.
Ness instantly recommends restaurants based on the kinds of places you like, what you're in the mood for, and where you are. Just like you discover music with Pandora or movies with Netflix, Ness learns your tastes as you rate, save and dismiss restaurants, then finds new places you'll love. An Apple "App Store Best of 2012", and powered by over 4,000,000 ratings from Ness users, Ness is the fastest way to get restaurant recommendations for you, not the crowd. 

This is the best app I have used for finding new places to eat in my hometown and on the go as well. In a big city or even a smaller town, Ness is your one stop shop to find the best restaurant for you and only you. Better yet, Ness is great both on the iPhone and iPad. So no matter what device you are on, you can always discover!


Don't forget to check out our forums page, giveaways page, and buyers guide as well! With the iPhone 5S and 5C here and iPads and Macs coming, check out our guide to make sure you get the newest product here! 

What exactly do you use your iPhone or iPad for the most? Do you watch or listen to podcasts? How about reading news like tech sites, yahoo news, or CNN? If you do then you probably are always on the look out for the best podcasts and news apps out there. There are numerous apps out there for both Podcasts and news, but we will discuss the best apps out there for podcasts and news.

Updated Podcasts app (left), Original Podcasts app (right)

Pulse News for iPad on iOS.

March Madness is here and for many sports fans, this is the best time of the year. You don't have to look far to find apps for March Madness in the App Store. So what is the best app or apps out there?

The first app that is a must have for any college basketball fan is NCAA March Madness Live. This app gives you the option to watch any college basketball game live over either cellular or WiFi no matter where you are at. On the train headed home? On a bus or waiting in an airport? Maybe you are at school or at work. No matter where you are at, the game is right there. If you are looking for a one stop app for March Madness, this is it.  NCAA March Madness is for the iPhone and iPad.

The second app that is a must have for any college basketball fan is BracketBound by ESPN. Are you looking to make a bracket prediction? Maybe you want to challenge your friends or enter to win a contest for predicting the tourney correct? This is the app for you. From the latest news, to highlights, and future match up previews, this app has everything you need to prep for the tourney. BracketBound by ESPN is for the iPhone and iPad.

So there you have it. These are the best two apps you can find if you want to watch or stay connected to your favorite team. Let us know if you find an app that you think is better!

In the past few weeks, there have been several apps that have debuted with goals to help the user become more organized. Mailbox by Orchestra was the first, Sunrise a calendar app was second, and the third was Tempo.

I have been waiting for almost a week to use the app because like Mailbox, the app takes advantage of servers for faster and more reliable in app speeds. Because of this, I had to wait in line like thousands of others. But yesterday I was notified that I just got in. So if you download this app at the end of the review, you will have to wait for a little while.

One of the many reasons I am in love with Tempo is that the app is simple to use, great UI, and uses Facebook, your iOS Calendar, and emails to make a planner/Calendar of your day, week, and month. Unlike Sunset, which did some of this but relied on Google Calendar and Facebook (both requirements), Tempo does not require Facebook and does not force you to use a certain mail account or even calendar.

From the settings, you can add up to two email addresses that the app will manage. From your email, Tempo gathers names, addresses, phone numbers, and location if possible to make your planner smarter and keeps you more up to date. On the Calendar side, you can select any Calendar app you use as the default whether that be Sunset, Google Calendar, or the iOS iCloud Calendar.

Without a doubt this is the best productivity app that I have EVER used on my iPhone because while this is a stand alone app, if I add an event or meeting on Tempo, it goes to my iOS Calendar, Sunset Calendar, and Google Calendar. Furthermore, Tempo reminds me of birthdays and events on Facebook which is very important to me.

If you are in need of a better calendar or day planner app, Tempo is the app for you. Maybe you are happy with whatever calendar app you use and thats fine, but I highly encourage you to download this app and give it a shot. Tempo is worth every bit of the wait.

Shortly after the release of iOS 6, it didn't take long for complaints to fly in on how bad Apple Maps were and the severe flaws they had. With iOS 6, a lot of people realized how much they actually needed and relied on Google Maps. A solution was needed immediately for an alternative to Apple's Maps.

Among some of the recommended apps by Apple as great replacements for their own Maps app was a social maps app called Waze. One of the great things about Waze is that the user can interact with other drivers on the road by reporting accidents, road closures, and speed traps while you are on your journey. Also built into the app, you can have the app show on the map the best gas prices around your location and recommended places to eat as well.


This is a must have road trip app, not only does this app keep you up to date on the latest news on the road, the app can help you find the best gas prices and best restaurants in an unfamiliar place. The app has up to date maps, turn by turn directions, an voice commands. Another plus is that Waze is both for iPhone and iPad. So no matter if you are using an iPhone or an iPad on your next road trip, Waze has you covered!

The one downside to this is that its great for driving, but for users that need accurate maps for bus routes, subway info, walking directions, or street view for the bigger cites, this isn't the app you need. For that, I highly recommend Google Maps.

While this is not certainly a one stop app for navigation, its the best maps app for driving and is a small app that takes less than 100 megs on your device. So download Waze and Google Maps, with these two apps, you will never stress again on a road trip!

Head on over to the App Store and check out both Waze and Google Maps! You will thank me later! 

Early on Thursday morning, the highly anticipated Real Racing 3 hit the App Store. Without a doubt Real Racing 3 is the best racing game in the App Store. However, there is one thing that holds the game back from absolutely being a must have. 

A couple of months back, Firemonkeys and EA announced that the highly anticipated Real Racing 3 would be free. In previous editions, Real Racing had been among one of the more expensive game to play up front. However, after the initial payment, you didn't need to pay to buy cars, repairs, and extra in-game money to have a great experience. 

With Real Racing 3, instead of an up front cost, EA and Firemonkeys elected to go with a Freemium model where the user is more than encouraged to purchase tokens, in-game money, and better cars to rank up faster and win more games at a quicker rate than other players. After each race, your car shows levels for oil, tire wear, suspension, etc, and you have to pay your race earnings to service your car. After you service your car, you have to wait upwards of an hour before you can begin racing again unless you use tokens that you either earn through races or that you buy.  

Personally, I hate this. I hate the freemium model a lot when big games like Real Racing use models like this model to extract even more money from its players. Yes, ultimately it is a business and no one is making a user buy more in game content, but I feel used as a user. I feel like I am getting squeezed for every extra penny. But not everything is all negative.

All in all though, I love this game! Don't be too discouraged about the Freemium rant, the game is free after all and if you are patient enough for time to elapse for repairs, you won't have to pay a dime. Real Racing 3 has the best graphics and is the closest game to a console style game. Despite my hate towards the Freemium model, Real Racing 3 is definitely worth the download!  

You can download Real Racing 3 for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad here! 

Lets face it, who doesn't love coffee? Or, well, at least eat or drink something from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? Thats what I thought, everyone does! Because of this, I wanted to focus on two apps that are really amazing that will make your next run to Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks even easier and more awesome!

If you are anything like me, there are a million and one things to keep track of and make sure you take care of from the start of your day to the end. The stock notes and reminders app are ok for tasks like these, but the only benefit that seems be iCloud where my reminders are updated across all my devices from my iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But thats not all those apps should do. The fundamental principle of both apps are the same and have the same goals, they should be combined and work together. 

Well, with Catch, you get the best of Apple's Notes and Reminders app with an all in one app that allows to you create reminders, geo-location reminders, checklists, note taking, private notes, and cross device sync ability between all iOS devices. 

After a week of use, this is the only app I would use for keeping my life straight. From grocery lists, payment reminders, email reminders, to everything inbetween, this is my go to app. 

According to the developer, "Catch is a free note-taking app designed to make sure you never miss an idea. It lets you capture ideas and discoveries across all your devices and when you're ready, turn your ideas into action with friends and colleagues using simple, mobile collaboration."

Before I start my post, how many of you are still in line? Raise your hand, be honest now. If you are still in line, that is more than ok. Keep those push notifications on for the app and leave it in a random folder on the last page of your device if you hate waiting.





Mailbox has been hyped up from day one from sites from MacRumors to iMore. While some people think that this app, with the wait in line feature, is all hype and no substance. However, after just 2 days of using the app, the way I use email and how my inbox looks is totally different.

Mailbox UI on the iPhone.

After using Mailbox, I now have an inbox of zero for the first time, and when I get a new email, I take immediate action on it preventing a pile up of a thousand emails. I also have found it much easier to categorize lists and save emails to them so I can quickly find an email based on where I stored it. The gestures, the ability to sort email puts Mailbox all alone in the conversation of best email app on a mobile device.

There are some nay-sayers that point out some flaws with Mailbox, which is that Mailbox lacks an iPad app, a dedicated Website to use mailbox, and the ability to add other accounts besides gmail. While all of those features are noticeably absence at the moment, Orchestra posted on their website that all of those features will be added on in the future. Will the app be totally free or a freemium app? Who knows. But all of those features will be added in due time.


This is the best email application on a mobile device hands down. The wait, where ever you are in line is totally worth it.

So what do you think of Mailbox? If you have it, do you like it or rather use another app? If you don't, why you don't want the app? Let us know in our Forums page or on our Facebook page! Also, head on over to the podcasts page for three of the best Apple podcasts on the net!