This week’s top apps don’t have much of a cohesive theme, but they’re all interesting in their own way. There’s an app for painting, an app for hands-free searching, and an app for movie streaming. If that wasn’t enough, there are also great apps to let you unzip files on your phone and turn your pictures into TV news headlines. Variety is the spice of life, so enjoy these apps.
Inspire – Paint, Draw and Sketch ($4.99)
Art is hard, especially on a digital canvas, but the Inspire – Paint, Draw and Sketch app does its best to offer a dazzling array of options so you can paint on your iPhone. The app description takes great pains to mention that Inspire is not a Photoshop clone, as it doesn’t have “layers” on its images, but the fact that it operates as a regular old canvas to paint on makes it a bit more interesting. The app offers five different brushes that each react to the canvas differently. A recent update to the app lets you upload your drawings to Facebook and Twitter with a few quick taps.
Dragon Go! (Free)
The Dragon line of voice-powered search apps have been going strong for a while now, so they can be easy forget about if they get lost in your app shuffle. If you haven’t taken a look at Dragon Go! recently be sure to check out its latest update, which added support for Hulu+ and Expedia, making it that much easier to search for vacations and your favorite TV shows without using your hands.
Popcornflix (Free)
Whether or not complaints about Netflix’s instant streaming selection are really warranted, Popcornflix is here to provide a free alternative, promising hundreds of free movies you can watch right on your iPhone. The app promises that films included are a mix of theatrical releases and independent fare, but if you’re holding out hope for big time Hollywood blockbusters, you may want to reconsider. Instead, the app is probably best for the film buff who simply must see everything. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Serpent’s Kiss or Men Seeing Women, now’s your chance.
WinZip (Free)
Teleworkers who use their iPhones for taking care of business should appreciate the release of the WinZip app. With it, you can open zipped-up files right from your iPhone. You can also preview the zipped files so you know whether you really want to take the time to unpack the zip file sitting in your inbox.
News Booth (Free)
As a journalism geek, I have a particular appreciation for what News Booth does for photos. You can keep your sepia-toned Instagram photos. I’ll take the app that lets you take your iPhone photos and then adorn them with graphics and headlines like they’re appearing on the 10 o’clock newscast. The graphics range from sophisticated modern images to headers more commonly seen in the ’70s. It’s a novel way to caption a photo and add a little flair to what otherwise might look like a run-of-the-mill photo.
