Radio apps

8Tracks Radio (Free. iOS, Android, Windows) Nice user interface with unique channel options that are generated by users. There are no audio ads, less repetition in songs, and there is a wider array of choices offered to listeners to broaden their music horizons. Listening online also allows for some added social features. A subscription of $25 for six months eliminates banner ads.

Pandora (Free. iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows) The biggest name in streaming radio it has thousands of channels based on artists and genres. Channels are based on genre or artist all using what they term the “music DNA project” they uses like and dislike buttons to help customize the music users hear to their individual tastes. The only talk channels are comedy. Allows users to create 100 channels and is available on virtually everything from car radios, set-top boxes, stereo equipment, dvd / bluray players, gaming consoles, and stand alone radios. Ads can be repetitive and play more often on popular music channels than say classical music. For $4.99 a month remove all ads, eliminate pauses, and get unlimited skips. The user interface is utilitarian and the graphics are good not great.

Songza (Free. iOS, Android, and Windows) Radio stations that are by genre, activity, decade, or mood based. No audio ads, nice user interface. The playlists do not give allow users to specify specific artists.

Rdio (Free. iOS, Android, and Windows) Boasting a library of more than 20 million tracks and unlimited streaming users can listen to stations by genre, decade, create a playlist, or choose a list created by a musical artist. They have $3.99 mo. and $9.99 mo. subscriptions that allow for downloading, searching for specific songs, and no advertising.

Google Play Music (Free. iOS and Android) Users can purchase music from Google or listen to streaming radio channels. Music purchases can be used to create personalized playlists. The app has a clean minimal interface that is easy to use.

Spotify (Free or $10 monthly. iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows) The desktop version of Spotify allows users to select almost any song by any artist but with the Spotify app users can only listen to streaming radio stations for free. By paying $10 a month users are ad-free, can listen to any individual songs they like, they can download music for offline listening, and they can access their playlist on any device. The user interface can take a little learning but that is because there are so many features. Spotify is also available on a wide variety of electronics, similar to Pandora. A recent article stated additional new features are coming: multiple running modes, adding video, and users will be able to select music played at their local Starbucks. http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/20/spotify-for-runners/?ncid=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29#.gn3ejv:Zrwd

TuneIn (Free or $9.99 Pro. iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows, Nook) – Over 100,000 radio stations in 230 countries and 4 million podcasts. Users have a wide variety of choices including talk radio, college stations, police and fire station radio feeds. The Pro version eliminates banner ads and gives users the ability to record what they are listening to. The user interface is spare and not very appealing visually.

iHeartRadio (Free. iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, Amazon) This radio app has a large selection of the biggest and most well-known radio stations across the United States. Streaming channels based on genre, activity, and artists are available as well. It doesn’t have the selection of radio stations that is available on TuneIn but it is has a superior user interface: more color, better graphics, and bigger buttons.

Slacker Radio (Free. iOS, Android) 100’s of hand crafted stations that include genre and activity. Talk stations include: news, sports, weather from ABC, ESPN, American Public Media and The Weather Channel. The app has a gorgeous user interface, nice graphics, and shows how many songs you can skip. Utilizing both a human constructed playlist and algorithm that takes your preferences in mind it creates the best of both worlds. On the hand crafted stations there is a DJ that makes quick banter every couple of songs, I thought it would be annoying but was mostly enjoyable. For $3.99 a month you can have unlimited skipping, eliminate ads, and download songs for offline listening.

RadiON Free (Free. iOS and Android) The idea behind this app is classic radio in a modern app. The app provides FM and AM channels from around the world with a clean radio looking interface. Users can see what is playing on each channel in real-time; the "scrap" feature allows you to record Title/Singer/Radio Channel/Dates information for later use; an alarm feature allows users to wake up to the radio station of their choice (shake your device to turn it off).

Vocab Building Apps

Vocabulary Builder by Magoosh (Free. iOS and Android) A vocab building game with 1200 important words, it has three levels: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Created by a GRE tutor with over 10 years experience it uses words in sentences and it designed to stick. Track your progress and practice online http://gre.magoosh.com/builder/vocabulary . Includes  free access to all of Magoosh’s general, GRE, SAT, and TOEFL vocab quizzes.

PowerVocab Word Game (Free [with in-app purchases] Android only) With 350 words and a flashcard teaching style this app helps users gain vocabulary skills for SAT, GRE, GMAT, and ASVAB tests.  Key features include learn words, challenge quiz, search words which is like a handy dictionary, and an audible pronunciation. Extremely bright colors and playful graphics keep the app fun and fresh.

Vocab Builder (Free. Android) Match the definition to the word to help build your vocabulary. Designed for users studying for SAT or GRE tests, it has a dictionary and tracks progress but seems to lack the colorful user interface or features of some other apps.

Vocab Genius by Brainscape (Free. iOS only) Created as a sort of gateway app to their other products that teach foreign languages and GRE vocabulary this app created by former executives of Kaplan and Princeton Review in conjunction with cognition scientists from Columbia and Yale uses a unique algorithm that creates a pattern of flashcards to help each individual learn new vocabulary quickly. Feedback, statistics, and visualization help users view their progress. The app will ask if you'd like study reminders which may be helpful. It uses Facebook profile information to send e-mails which may get annoying. I did not like it as much because you don't really answer questions, you say how well you know the word.

IntelliVocab (Free. iOS, Android, Windows) With 287 words the app uses a quiz style to teach users vocabulary. The user interface is simple and easy to use. Questions ask users the correct definition or which word correctly completes the sentence. Focusing on words that a user gets wrong it provides an order of questions that best help the user learn new or difficult vocabulary words. The app has an audio pronunciation available. There are over 4500 additional words that can be unlocked for a fee. 

SAT Vocab by MindSnacks (Free. iOS only) An app with a very cute graphics, it looks like it is designed for elementary school or middle school children. I found the colors and artwork engaging. The app has an easy to use interface that walks you through how to use it the first time you open it up. Users are required to set-up an account or connect via their Facebook account. The app uses a flash card style games to teach SAT vocabulary words. I found it a lot of fun and could see it helping all ages learn new vocabulary. Unfortunately, three games are free the other SAT games (they call them lessons) within the app cost $4.99. All lessons which include a variety of languages, math, and science 400 lessons cost $19.99.

There are also several apps that provide a "word of the day" or "word of the week" these include: Push Vocabulary Builder, Dictionary.com, and Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

This week I saw two interesting articles that were app related that I thought some of you might be interested in reading. The first has to do with apps designed to record police interactions and automatically or quickly send them to a third-party like YouTube or the ACLU: http://www.wired.com/2015/05/right-film-police-apps-can-help/. The other article is about apps that sell your items for you and they pay you a percentage "8 Apps for Cleaning Out Your Closet and Making Money" : http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2483574,00.asp

Photo Apps

Camera / Photo Editing
 
VSCOcam (Free. iOS and Android) This camera, photo editing, and photo sharing app packs a lot of features into a very easy to use user interface. The camera gives you a lot of control with  manual focus, shutter speed, white balance, and exposure settings. The photo editing gives all of the basic editing tools and an extensive filter library that includes many that are premium features that range in price. The user has control over the degree to which the filter is applied. Once users are finished with editing photos they can be saved and shared via social media of choice including VSCO's own photo sharing site.

Snapseed (Free. iOS, Android) Considered one of the essential  photo editing app Google's Snapseed gives users almost every tool they could want (it lacks curve editing controls). Some of the tools that are on Snapseed but lacking in other apps include: brushes, spot repair, and focal point editing (selective). Filters have multiple controls so that users have a high degree of control. The user interface utilizes gesture controls which is handy as it keeps the screen from being cluttered but it less intuitive.

I found a helpful website that will teach you how to get the most out of Snapseed: http://iphonephotographyschool.com/snapseed-tutorial/

Faded (Free. iOS only) One of the newer photo apps allows users to take take and edit photos. It has 34 included filters and 36 premium filters each giving users control over how much the filter is applied. I found that switching between filters gave me a blank screen but if you move the slider at the bottom the photo will appear. Two of the unique features available with Faded is the availability of 18 frames users can apply and the ability to overlap two photos. All of the premium filters and effects can be unlocked for $4.99.

Although it has a very user friendly interface the website gives some basic instruction and shows some photos to inspire users: http://madewithfaded.com/

Darkroom (Free. iOS only) A photo editing app that has straight forward easy to use tools and twelve filters. Unfortunately it does not give control of applying those filters but switches over to traditional photo editing tools so users can make manual corrections. There are a myriad of aspect controls including the 1:1 square that makes using in Instagram easier. Curves control is 2.99 extra. Made to be quick and easy it doesn't have all the tools of some other apps but is what most people want.

Photo Storage

One Drive (Free. iOS, Android, Windows) 8GB of free space if you enable automatic backup, more space if you get referrals, and Microsoft Office documents don't count toward your storage total.

Flickr (Free. iOS and Android) The app has camera and editing features that are good not great; where it shines is the 1TB (1000 GB) of free storage space. Users can also share their photos with other Flickr users or use a website plugin to share their photos easily on a personal website.

Photo Sharing

Instagram (Free. iOS, Android, Windows) A photo sharing social media platform that allows users to add filters, tag photos, add hashtags, like, comment, and follow contributors.

Storehouse (Free. iOS only) Users can group photos together and add comments to create a narrative that tells a story then share it with others.

500px (Free. iOS, Android, and Windows) A photo sharing platform for hobbyist and professionals that want to show off their best work, get inspired, and maybe get critiqued. Photos can be seen in all their glory because it allows for larger file sizes.

There were two apps that I actually did not get a chance to look at personally because they cost money but they look amazing.

Pro Camera ($5. iOS only) Giving you all the controls of a nice digital camera:  http://www.procamera-app.com/en/

Enlight ($3.99 iOS only) Here is a very thorough review that makes it look amazing.

http://iphonephotographyschool.com/enlight-app-overview/