This week’s roundup of new and updated iOS apps includes a little bit of sports, a little bit of music, and of course, a little bit of zombie.
The free new BBC Sport app for iPhone is a lot like other sports-centric apps, like those from ESPN, except there’s a lot more soccer. Which this app inexplicably calls football.
Here’s an entry from the “I can’t believe we didn’t think of this already” file. The $2 Horizon app for iPhone combines your calendar and your local weather forecast—letting you know, for example, if you can expect to hit a thunderstorm when you’ve planned that picnic in the park.
In the old days, my mom used to have a stack of home improvement magazines handy, so she could browse through and daydream about remodeling our house, or even moving into a new house. But now, you can create and shape your own home improvement magazine, thanks to iOS. Digs by Zillow is an iPad app that lets you browse remodeling projects, see estimates for the construction costs, and share the details on Facebook and Twitter.
We only have a couple of days left before the Grammy Awards. You’ll want to watch with the free Grammys app for iPhone and iPad—you can stream the awards ceremony live on your device, while learning more about the nominated artists and playing trivia games. It’s one of the more interactive awards show experiences around.
This app isn’t quite available for public use yet, but it’s got such a Blade Runner vibe that we had to mention it. Guide is a newsreading app that takes your feeds and reads the news to you while you’re busy with other activities. The twist? You can pick your “anchor” to read the news—a person you find attractive, a robot, or perhaps a cute furry animal. It’ll be available across a range of devices, including iOS. And Philip K. Dick would love it.
It’s no secret that we’re Trek-loving nerds around here. The free Star Trek App for iPhone lets us while away the days until the debut of the next movie with trailers, games, and other content to enjoy before Kirk and Spock’s next big adventure.
If you’re a big fan of the smarty-pants Ted Talks lectures, you’ll like version 2.0 of the app for the iPhone and iPad, which features faster video downloads, as well as the addition of subtitles and translations to let you share knowledge around the world.
We’re pretty sure we could feature a zombie game every week in this space. This week’s entry is Zombies and Trains, a $1 iPhone app that lets you kill zombies with the eponymous trains. Only, because it’s a zombie game, you really should pronounce it “traaaaaaaaains.”
Zite has been updated with improved social networking and navigation features … Stitcher (pictured) now lets you search for shows, and within shows, for specific topics … and Mailbox for iPhone is getting rave reviews from across the tech press.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.