This week’s app roundup includes a couple of offerings that help you stay on target with your task list—plus games, a reading list manager, photo apps, and more.
The $3 Chordana Composer lets even the most unschooled musicians make memorable music—you just enter two bars of the melody in your head (either by playing on a keyboard, arranging the notes yourself, or singing into your iPhone’s microphone) and the app begins to build the actual song for you. You can guide the app by letting it know the song’s genre, and edit the finished product to your liking.
If you haven’t found a good way to send articles from your iOS device to your Kindle, the $2 Comfy Read might be a good fit. The app takes advantage of the Share Extensions feature in iOS 8: Install the app, then it will appear as an option when you “share” from Safari.
Let the developers describe the $5 Exiles game, which looks great: “In the near future, a colony on a distant planet has been driven to isolation and desolation, as a corrupt government tries to enslave it with a lethal virus. Become one of the Elite Enforcers, and go on various missions that will unravel the secrets behind the plot to enslave the world. Unleash a large arsenal of weapons and items against vicious aliens and mechanized enemies.” Did we mention the graphics look great?
Handle is a free productivity app that combines your reminders list, calendar, and Gmail inbox to create one easy to follow to-do timeline. The developers say they’re working on adding support for Exchange and other email services soon.
Having trouble getting the perfect picture? The $3 Hydra app merges up to 60 frames together to create a single detailed shot: It has five capture modes: HDR, Video-HDR, Lo-light, Zoom, and Hi-res. It’s recommended for static and distant scenery—the shooting method might create visual clutter when shooting a moving target. Hail Hydra!
The latest proof that we’re in the golden age of note-taking apps? Letterspace lets you take notes and use hashtags and @mentions to organize them. You can turn them into a to-do list, and sync your notes across devices using iCloud.
PhoneExpander isn’t actually an iOS app—but it is an app for your iOS device. Download to your Mac, then connect your phone: The software then clears out app caches, big apps, and old photos that are filling the iPhone’s memory and slowing performance. Best of all: It’s free.
Polaroid Blipfoto is a free offering that helps you keep a photo journal with just one photo a day. “Take a photo and write a few words about your day. Share it with the global Polaroid Blipfoto community, or just with family and friends. Improve your photography, make new friends and discover daily life around the world.”
Reuters TV has launched with live and on-demand video news … Citymapper has added new cities to its transit app … Top 10 Hotels has added Priceline, Venere and LateRooms services to support in-app hotel booking.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.