A major update to iOS always means new goodies at the core of the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. It also means lots and lots and lots of app updates. Sure, sometimes the updates just make the app optimized to take advantage of the new OS’s functionality but for many it is also seen as an opportunity for developers to bump up features. Here are just a few of the many that showed up on our iPads.
First up is BlogPress. A recent update to version 2.0 made this universal app (it works great on all three iOS devices) a truly usable app for mobile blogging. Today’s update made it even more capable. Among the treats awaiting you with this update are support for online drafts and blog previews, support for automatically savaging drafts every minutes and more. It is a great app. How good is it now? I’m using it to create this post right now!
BeejiveIM for iPad is a great way to IM on the iPad and now it has a background completion feature that makes it a more capable IM client than ever.
As we reported yesterday Hulu Plus came out of beta this morning and saw a nice drop in it’s monthly subscription price. In addition today saw the release of a new version of the iPad client. The new version adds a plot screen player and major performance increases that make watching tv on the iPad a more enjoyable experience than ever.
Reeder is a fantastic rss client for the iPad. It is fast, stable and a pleasure to use. The updated version of the client allows for task compilation in the background, the addition of Facebook integration and an overall better user experience thanks to some ui control tweaks.
The NYTimes iPad app was recently updated so that it no longer provided the anemic… Oh sorry… They called it “select” choice of articles and sections but instead offered the paper in it’s entirety. This new update optimizes the launch and reading process even further. If you are still reading the dead-tree version there has never been a better time to try getting “all the news that’s fit to download”.
Pocket Informant HD brings tasks and calendar together into a highly customizable app that offers a variety of different sync options. This update gets the app ready for 4.2, improves iOS 4 native event support and improves desktop sync. Many of us swear by it and, once you try it, we suspect you might too.
GoodReader for iPad is the iPad PDF client many of us have opted for after trying many (MANY!!!) others. This update brings 4.2’2 support for multitasking, faster page rendering, encryption and refinements to the recently introduced annotation capabilities of the app.
The official Google Voice app from Google was finally allowed into the App Store… For iPhones. If you have an iPod touch or an iPad you are out of luck. So GV Connect remains an important app on the iPad if you are using something like Skype or Ooma to make calls from the ginormous speakerphone. This update allows for the wiring of SMS messages when no Internet connection is available, refines the “do not disturb” function so that it ends automatically and more.it works quite well and it a great app for adding telephony to the wonder-tablet.
All of which just goes to say that… Updates are goooooood!!!!
I would like to add a positive vote in favor of the NY Times app. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot better experience, in my opinion, than (for example) the Wired magazine app, which was really disappointing (I did a review a while back). With the new update, it’s pretty close to what you want an “online newspaper” to be. And as the GD folks will tell you–particularly poor Carly, whose ear I’ve bent on many occasions–I’m pretty picky when it comes to eReaders.
Indeed! RT @GearDiarySite: Prepping for iOS 4.2 Means… IPad App Updates Galore http://goo.gl/fb/KAnFs