Here are three great iPhone apps to enjoy going into the weekend. Election-2012 from Hearst Television offers in-depth analysis on the upcoming presidential election and local coverage, too. DailyArt sends you a new artistic masterpiece every day so you can learn more about the great painters. Finally, we’ve got Activision Anthology which offers retro gaming fans the chance to get their hands on some classic Atari 2600 titles.
Election-2012 (Free)
What’s it about? Hearst Television just released their dedicated election app offering news and in-depth coverage for 25 different U.S. markets.
What’s cool? The app’s interface is friendly and easy to use. There are articles, slideshows and video, local voter guides, a countdown clock to the big day, the ability to upload user-generated content and more. On election day itself, there will be live, streaming video, continuous news updates and election results.
Who is it for? Election-2012 is a good option because it covers the local picture as well as the national one, providing you’re in a city covered by one of Hearst’s television affiliates. Be sure to check the app description first before you download it if you want to rely on its local coverage.
What’s it like? There are already a handful of dedicated election apps, and there’ll no doubt be more in the future. CNN/TIME has their convention coverage app, and there’s also NYTimes Election 2012 to consider.
DailyArt (Free)
What’s it about? Learn more about art history with this app. It delivers a masterpiece to your iOS device every day.
What’s cool? You’ll receive a push notification complete with a classic art piece each day. You can tap on the description to read more about the painting, swipe left or right to see the previous editions, or swipe down to tweet your masterpiece or see a list of all the offerings. While the information is mostly culled from Wikipedia, this app is still a simple and effective way to increase your knowledge of the visual arts.
Who is it for? It’s a great app for art lovers or those who just want to educate themselves more about great paintings and painters. Because of the app’s simplicity and push notifications, it’s a quick “daily dip” type of app that’s unobtrusive and easy to consume.
What’s it like? There are other, more in-depth art offerings in the iTunes App Store, naturally. The simply named Art offers a great deal of information on the world’s most celebrated artists. Art of the Day is an app that offers a similar concept to DailyArt.
Activision Anthology (Free)
What’s it about? If you’re a fan of Activision’s retro games from the Atari 2600 console, this anthology is for you!
What’s cool? The apps is free, but you only get Kaboom to begin with. There more than 40 games to buy using in-app purchases including classics like Pitfall, River Raid, Stampede, and Demon Attack. Each game is presented alongside its original box art, complete with manuals, and features Game Center support plus the ability to earn digital versions of the famous game patches. The games offer multiple control schemes to make them easier to handle on iOS device touch screens.
Who is it for? Fans of retro games, whether they played the originals or not, should get a kick out of Activision Anthology. It will set you back just $6.99 for the complete collection which is a lot of classic gaming for your seven bucks.
What’s it like? Activision Anthology bears more than a passing resemblance to apps like Atari’s Greatest Hits and Midway Arcade, both of which collect the retro hits of yesteryear in a single app.
