This week’s roundup includes a new app that lets you watch great 1970s movies like “Shaft” and “Foxy Brown.” Read on!
Image by Brown Sugar
Brown Sugar ($4 a month, iPhone and iPad) is a new movie subscription service for fans of “ blaxploitation” cinema of the 1970s. For a subscription of $4 a month, you’ll have streaming access to movies like Superfly, Foxy Brown, Cleopatra Jones, and the immortal Shaft.
Image by Houseparty
Houseparty (free, iPhone) is kind of a group version of Snapchat—when you and your friends are in the app at the same time, you’ll see each other’s availability. Tap, and you’ll be in a video chat with one, two, or all of your buddies.
Image by Ingage
Ingage (free, iPad) is the latest app to help you build presentations for your boardroom or classroom. It comes from Scrollmotion, an experienced creator of books, magazines, and textbooks for iOS devices. It features templates to help you tell your story, Shutterstock integration so you can find the right pictures to illustrate it, and MailChimp integration for sharing.
Image by Jillian Michaels
Ready to keep your New Year’s resolution? Jillian Michaels ($4 a month, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch) offers exercise guides and meal plans. Workouts range from beginner to advanced, meals are targeted at omnivore, paleo, and vegan eating preferences, and there are plans to help you reach your fitness goals in 30, 60, or 90 days.
Image by Lunaform
Lunaform ($1 download, iPhone and iPad) “is a puzzle arcade game like breakout, but instead of destroying all of the blocks you’re trying to fill them up. Swap the hexes just in time to catch stars of the same color, and fill up the grid to complete the level.” Sound easy? It gets more complicated the more you play.
Image by PaperSpan
Here’s an alternative to “read it later” favorites like Instapaper and Pocket. PaperSpan (free; iPhone and iPad) lets you save webpages for later reading—or, if you desire, later listening. You can highlight articles, send them to your Kindle, and check a dashboard for your reading stats.
Image by Self Control
Do you browse the web on your phone a bit too obsessively? We’ve all been there. Self Control ($2, iPhone and iPad) lets you block specific distracting websites, at least temporarily. Say the makers: “Self Control allows you to temporarily block distracting websites on Safari browser. You can always unlock them again but it requires that you think twice before doing so: ‘Do I really need to browse funny cat pictures right now?’”
Image by TripActions
TripActions (free, iPhone) is built for business travel, letting you find and book flights, hotels, and cars, while accumulating points for your favorite airline, hotel, and car programs. You can use the app to book Uber or Lyft trips to your hotel, and receive alerts for flights delays, hotel check-out times, and more.
Image by RunKeeper
Runkeeper now lets you name runs and categorize them with activity tags … Snapchat has been redesigned … Google Maps now lets you know the busiest “Popular Times” at local businesses.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.