Category: Reviews

Apps, games, accessories, and other iPad-centric reviews.

Go Rally – a review

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsJanuary 23, 2022

Racing games on touch screen devices work pretty well, as long as they aren’t proper simulators. Go Rally is a good example of this. This is racing in stages, without any other competitors in your way, so it’s all time trials. The controls are simple enough, with everything from auto-throttle and motion controls, to traditional buttons on the screen. I prefer the latter, and it works really well. Granted, the game plays even better with a compatible controller (I like the Xbox One controller), but it’s not one of those situations where you won’t play it with touchscreen controls just because the physical variant is better.

Continue reading →

Yoink – a review

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsDecember 7, 2021

There was a time when iOS and iPadOS was less evolved, and you needed something commonly called file drawer apps to bounce files around. If you wanted to upload an edited image to a web interface, but you had your edited photo in Pixelmator, you were kind of stuck. It was a mess, filled with workarounds and the like, before the Files app we have today, but honestly, afterwards too because even though it’s getting better, Files isn’t what it should or could be.

So, you installed a file drawer app, and shared (using the share sheet) your files to said app, and hoped that whatever app you wanted to move the file to would support importing it. I’ve written about that in the past, in one of the earliest issues of the Switch to iPad newsletter (please subscribe).

Fast-forward to today, and the Files app will actually do for most people. You can easily get to the most recent files added, which means that downloading and/or saving a file of any kind to Files will make it easy to find. And the Files app has the benefit of being tightly integrated into iPadOS, meaning that it’s easy to, say, upload a file in a web interface from the Downloads folder.

Does that mean that there’s no room for file drawer apps anymore?

Oh, no, there definitely is.

Continue reading →

Bypass Google Maps with Mapper — A review

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsNovember 9, 2021

I prefer default solutions, and love single-purpose tools and apps, so there should be no surprise that I keep Mapper, a Safari extension by Alex Kitcoff, installed on my iPad. Mapper does one thing (well, two, sort of) and it does it well: Redirecting Google Maps links to its Apple Maps equivalent. If you’re a Google Maps users, that’s obviously pretty worthless, but for me, as an Apple Maps user, it’s great.

Continue reading →

iPad, 9th generation — a review

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsOctober 17, 2021

The 9th generation iPad is the latest entry-level iPad, and it’s not such a bad pick if you have limited needs. The size is decent, with its 10.2” screen, and thanks to the bump to the A13, it feels snappy enough for most things. It’s a great tablet, especially if you compare it to non-Apple alternatives out there.

Continue reading →

Story Planner wants to get your stories in order

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsOctober 6, 2021

I’ve been using an app called Story Planner for the past couple of months. It’s an app for writers to help organize your story, from the overarching aspects such as the synopsis, to the actual structure, with scenes, locations, characters, and the like. If you’ve ever used something like Scrivener for writing fiction or scripts, you’ll feel right at home.

Continue reading →

iPad mini, 6th generation — a review

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsSeptember 28, 2021

Look, I’ve been wanting a new iPad mini since before the Switch to iPad project started. I even wrote a full-blown newsletter issue on the topic, basically outlining what was launched last Friday. So yeah, I’m happy with the new iPad mini, very much so. It’s seen quite a lot of use the past few days, and I’ve also put it through its paces taking notes on a full-day course I attended on Monday.

So, where does that leave us? Let’s find out.

Continue reading →

Solitaire Stories – a review

By Thord Hedengren ReviewsAugust 6, 2021

Solitaire Stories is an Apple Arcade Original, meaning that it’s only available if you have the Apple Arcade service. This, in turn, means that you also know that it’s going to be a game free of ads, free to play timers, and other annoying things that plague too many games these days. In other words, you don’t have to suffer all those things while playing a calm game of solitaire.

Continue reading →
Newer →