Keyboard Battle! SwiftKey vs. Swype vs. Minuum

With iOS 8s arrival comes a slew of new features (and bug infestations), one of which Android users aren't completely unfamiliar with, keyboard apps. This hasn't ever been a huge thing that'd make people swap over but it did pique my curiosity. Now that I have the capability I went to downloading a few and the top 3 that appear to be making the rounds are SwiftKey, Swype, and Minuum. Now I don't need 3 keyboards but I wanted to give each their fair chance and have been rotating them every time I typed anything on my iPhone 5C. After a couple of weeks, here are the results.

Jasmine Review

When they removed the YouTube app from iOS 6, it took Google awhile before they got their own app out there. Ever since this event, I found and chose an app called Jasmine to take over and never went back to YouTubes app even after the subsequent release ceremoniously topped the Best Free Apps list. Now I'm here to talk about my 2+ years experience with Jasmine and the ups and downs to bring me here to this moment in time.

Manga Rock (Best Manga Reader) Review

I've reviewed quite a few manga reading apps in the past. For the last several months I've settled down with one I find to be quite amiable to all my needs. Unless Manga Meow or Manga MF have had significant updates in the past year or so and fixed some of the problems I had with them that I'm unaware of, I'm sticking with alternatives that work. Disk space is an important concern after all. If I've firmly planted my feet down, Manga Rock must be good right?

IFTTT

I'd like to review this app, but it'd really be a review of the service itself. If you've never heard of If This Then That, it's a social service that automates your online experience. And it's wonderful.

Layton Brothers Mystery Room

The Professor Layton franchise is a long running series of puzzle games for the Nintendo DS platform which combines deep gripping plot, a creative art style, and a variety of clever puzzles that make full use of the touch screen. When a spin off was announced and quite unceremoniously released for the iOS platform, I was looking forward to solving similar puzzles on the go. But that wasn't the game I should have been expecting apparently. Layton Brothers Mystery Room is something a little different.

Har-mon-y

A smartphone screen is a blank canvas for game developers to tinker about with. The result? Intuitive and unique gameplay and controls as well as big company cash grabs. As for puzzle games the sky is virtually the limit, or at least as limited as the devs imagination. Somehow I got my hands on har-mon-y, a stylish and serene tile based puzzler which caters to peoples need to organize. Sounds fantastic, right? Right?!

SketchBook Ink

Let me tell you about one of my favorite drawing apps for the iPad. While it's bittersweet to bemoan apps that just cannot find a place in my heart, I love to celebrate the ones that I can somehow accept despite the glaring, painful flaws. SketchBook Ink is one of those, boasting the same Autodesk flawed brand of mobile spit shine that offers a unique drawing experience that Procreate, ArtRage, or Paper can't quite emulate. Only Adobe Ideas practices the same bold line execution but SketchBook Ink has a better streamlined interface which feels more like a free spirited tool. iPad artists looking for something new and interesting should read onwards to see if they want to get Inked.

Pot of Legend

I’m succumbing to an addictive and very strange game for iOS (and it’s NOT Flappy Bird.) As I’m writing this, I’m popping my hand up every five seconds to swipe my hand across my iPads screen like some sort of servant. The name of the game is Pot of Legend, and I’m deeply concerned over my own wellbeing. Stranger yet? It’s NOT asking me for a single dollar.

Tweetbot 3

Of all the Twitter apps on the iPhone (and there are quite a few) I have fallen for Tweetbots simplicity to be downright addictive. Although I can't speak for Twitterific which I hear many lovely things about, many if not all other Twitter apps have steered me the wrong way and that includes the official app. When I heard that they released Tweetbot 3 I was thrilled, until I learned that I had to cough up more money for nearly the same app.