• Best free iPad apps 2021: the top titles we've tried (1/3)

    From TechnologyDaily@1337:3/125 to All on Fri Jun 18 15:30:02 2021
    Best free iPad apps 2021: the top titles we've tried

    Date:
    Fri, 18 Jun 2021 12:51:39 +0000

    Description:
    We've dug out some real gems for your Apple tablet - iPad apps so good you won't believe they're free.

    FULL STORY ======================================================================

    Free apps sometimes have a bad reputation, but many are gems that are so good you wont believe theyre free. Weve scoured the App Store to find the very best, and sorted them into handy categories, which you can find on the following pages.

    On this page you'll find the best app of the month - our top new or updated selection to try out, and check back every month to find a new option to
    test. After that, it's the best entertainment apps (surely the best reason to own an iPad...) and a variety of categories on the following pages to tickle your fancy. Free app of the month: Insight Browser (Image credit: Laso Technologies Inc)

    Insight Browser is an extensible browser a rarity on Apples relatively closed platform. Beyond commonplace ad-blockers, Insights extras are great at helping you shop. Open a page in Amazon and sub-tabs automatically appear, so you can peruse reviews and historical pricing. Extensions exist to protect
    you from fake reviews, and even block advertisements masquerading as standard product slots.

    Elsewhere, the browsers add-ons can help you get to news quickly and weed
    out bias. And there are ways to fine-tune search to your own needs, swiping between multiple search engine results pages, or even making your own search engine using the apps straightforward editor. Does all this mean youll ditch Safari? Probably not. But as an additional browser to install for specific tasks, Insight Browser is an excellent freebie. The best free entertainment apps for iPad

    Our favorite free iPad apps for having fun with your iPad, whether shopping, coloring, reading, watching TV or using Twitter. (Image credit: Marcos
    Antonio Tanaka) MusicHarbor

    MusicHarbor deals with a gap in Apple Music and other streaming services: keeping track of your favorite artists, rather than just playing their
    tracks.

    You can import artists from your local library or a streaming service.
    Imports appear as disc-shaped buttons. Tap on one and the artist/band page will display releases in reverse-chronological order, with a button to zip to a Google News search based on relevant keywords.

    Elsewhere, the sidebar provides instant access to latest and upcoming releases, music videos, and concerts. Go pro ($5.99/5.99/AU$9.99) and you can filter releases by kind, adjust the apps appearance, and filter concerts by proximity. Even if you dont, this ones a must to keep tabs on artists and bands. (Image credit: Konstantinos Karagiannis) Photo Flashback!

    Photo Flashback! recalls services like Timehop that serve up photos you took years ago on todays date. Here, though, the focus is solely on the contents
    of photos on your iPad and in iCloud Photo Library.

    On launching the app, youll see the days selection and can opt to add the current year via a quick trip to the apps settings. To check out other dates, tap the calendar. In the window that appears, each date lists the number of photos available, along with a small preview of one of them.

    Photo Flashback! is another of those free apps thats generous to the point
    you wonder what the catch is. But there isnt one - this is just a wonderful and entirely free way to relive favorite memories. (Image credit: Lumen Digital) The Wallpaper App

    The Wallpaper App gives you endless wallpapers for your iPad. The designs
    are procedurally generated, based around 15 different styles that are
    accessed by horizontal swipes. Within each style, variations are previewed by you tapping on the left or right half of the screen. Swipe upwards and you find more controls, to subtly adjust the brightness and color within the current design.

    Unlike most free wallpaper apps, output is optimized specifically for your iPad - although you can long-press the Save button to export wallpaper for other screen sizes.

    The entire production feels elegant, perfectly matching the host hardware.
    And although it perhaps wont suit every iPad owner - especially if youre keen on using photography for screen backgrounds - its an ideal download if you fancy shaking up your Home screens with something arty and refined. (Image credit: Astrio, LLC) Sofa: Downtime Organizer

    Sofa is a free iPad app thats all about organizing your downtime by making lists. Tap the + button and you can choose a category, search for something, and then add it to your collection. Using the sidebar, you can categorize items you add however you wish.

    Because Sofa uses existing online data for items you add, it will automatically import cover art and synopses. For movies, music, and podcasts in particular, it works very well as a means to remind yourself about things you plan to check out - and of what youve already watched and listened to.

    The apps less impressive for books and games, but given the lack of a price tag (IAPs are for additional themes), and iCloud support to sync data between devices, Sofas a solid option when you want a fast, simple means to plan what media youd like to experience in the future. (Image credit: Brent Simmons) NetNewsWire

    NetNewsWire is an RSS reader - a news aggregator that lets you subscribe to website feeds, and have headlines and articles beamed directly to the app. In fact, for many people, its the news aggregator, having been a big name in various forms since 2002.

    This latest incarnation is open source and therefore free from a price tag. Its also free from ads, IAP, and cruft. Its less flashy than paid fare like Unread and Reeder, but has an elegant simplicity that sits well when you want a speedy no-nonsense experience thats nonetheless friendly and usable.

    Although gunning for efficiency, this app gives you all the most vital features: direct feed subscriptions, Feedly/Feedbin sync, dark mode, reader view, and feed import/export. In fact, its so good it might tempt you away from its premium-priced contemporaries. (Image credit: Google) Google News

    Google News might seem redundant in the age of Apple News, but it serves a purpose. Like Apples equivalent, this free news app for iPhone learns as you use it, aiming to serve up stories youll be interested in. And in a similar fashion to Apple News, you can flag specific publications and topics you like to read.

    Where Google News diverges from Apple is with the full coverage button. Tap this and you can view a story across a range of publications, and check out a reports timeline useful in an era of increasingly partisan coverage.

    Beyond that, there are many other reasons to make the app one of your go-tos for news: fast access to any sources list of stories; the means to hide any publication; a regularly updated briefing; an optional daily news email; and
    a stripped-back, cruft-free reading experience. (Image credit: TechRadar) GIFwrapped

    GIFwrapped is designed for GIF obsessives. If you cant get through an entire social media message without welding a looping animation to it, this is the app for you.

    Universal search provides fast access to more GIFs than you could conceivably hope to use in several lifetimes, even if you tried very hard. Its also possible to import your own Burst and Live Photos. Whatever you find can be saved to your local library; GIFs can then be shared from the app itself, or in Messages by using the GIFwrapped iMessage app.

    For other use-cases, stashing GIFwrapped in Slide Over seems to work particularly well. And if you get very deeply into the app, affordable subscription IAP removes ads, powers up search, and lets you remove the watermark from shared GIFs. (Image credit: TechRadar) Lake: Coloring Books

    Lake: Coloring Books seems ideally suited to iPad owners who like dabbling
    in coloring especially if they also own an Apple Pencil. The One A Day feature provides a daily freebie for 60 days, and each of the varied coloring books also offers you a free image to try your hand at.

    The coloring experience is solid. Friendly tool panels sit at the side of the screen. You can quickly swap palettes or switch from a brush to a spray can. If you dont want to go over the lines, a single button press gives you a hand there, too.

    Beyond scribbling inside of someone elses lines, you can make your own with a blank canvas option, and your masterpieces can be saved to a gallery, so you can later show them off online. Image credit: The Iconfactory (Image credit: The Iconfactory) Twitterrific

    Twitterrific is a client for Twitter that wants you to use the social
    network on your own terms. This means you get a slew of customization options
    and a much richer user experience compared to when using the official Twitter app.

    On iPad, this is very apparent on exploring the tabs at the top of the
    screen. You get five. Home returns you to your main feed, but the other four can be set to open anything from mentions to lists its up to you. As is how the app looks, given its range of built-in themes.

    Twitterrific excels elsewhere, too. Next to the search field is a Center
    Stage button, which you press to browse through media tweets. Muting and sync are fully supported. All of this is free, in return for a single unobtrusive always-on ad banner. Infuse 6

    Infuse 6 enables you to watch your video collection without first loading any of it on to your iPad. Instead, the app streams footage from files stored on local PCs, Macs, or network drives. Should you want to store some content on your iPad, though, Files integration makes that a cinch.

    In fact, the interface throughout is superb usable and sleek. It serves up not only your videos, but also cover art and background information assuming youve named your files reasonably sensibly. Subtitles can be downloaded with
    a tap.

    The free version doesnt offer all the bells and whistles. Library/progress sync, streaming from cloud sources, AirPlay, and HD audio require a pro account, or the purchase of the standalone Infuse Pro 6 . But even without these, you wont find a better or more feature-packed free video player on
    your iPad. Feedly

    Feedly bills itself as a smart news reader. However, rather than attempting to second-guess what youd like to read, based on you having tapped a few
    vague category buttons, Feedly takes a more old-fashioned approach: subscriptions.

    In short, using the magic of RSS, you (for free) subscribe to the newsfeeds
    of your favorite websites anything from news corporations down to the most niche of blogs. New articles are then sent to Feedly, and can be read in-app.

    If you fancy discovering content beyond what you usually read, theres an Explore tab; but Feedlys best when youre curating what you end up checking out, through focusing primarily on sources you trust.

    As an added bonus, if you like the idea but not the interface, a Feedly account can be used to power other RSS readers such as TechRadar favorite Reeder . Pocket

    Pocket is a read-later app. What this means is that rather than ending the day staring at dozens of unread browser tabs, you fling items of interest in Pockets direction. It then converts them into a streamlined personalized magazine you can peruse at your leisure.

    The default iPad interface is an appealing grid, and individual articles are stripped back to words and images. This can be a major improvement over the original websites, letting you delve into content without distractions.

    A night mode flips colors late in the day, to ensure you dont get eye strain, but Pocket also allows you to read with your ears. This turns your reading list into an on-the-fly podcast. Its an odd experience, but it can be nice to work through your reading list while cooking, walking or driving. Infuse 5

    Infuse 5 is a video player that lets you get at video from pretty much anywhere. This means if you have a massive video collection, you neednt load it all on to your iPad. Instead, you can quickly copy across items as and
    when you want to play them or just stream from local network storage.

    This app isnt unique in the field, but its friendly and sleek. Set-up is a breeze, and even when streaming from your local network, metadata (cover art; item information) is automatically downloaded. Its also possible to download subtitles on the fly.

    The free version has restrictions that require an annual subscription to unlock: some video/audio formats; AirPlay and Google Cast support; background playback; library sync. But as a freebie for anyone who wants to stream
    videos to their iPad, Infuse 5 really cant be beaten. Fiery Feeds

    Fiery Feeds is a full-featured RSS reader. If youre unfamiliar with RSS, it enables you to subscribe to almost any websites content. Youll then in Fiery Feeds get a list of headlines whenever you open the app, ensuring you dont miss articles from sources you trust.

    Most free RSS readers are clunky, but Fiery Feeds bucks the trend with a
    sleek two-pane interface, and a slew of customization options. It feels modern, but gives you very direct control over what you read, unlike the
    likes of News or Flipboard.

    Theres a paid tier, too US$9.99/9.99/AU$14.99 per year which unlocks additional features, including a must read folder, a text view mode (which loads full articles for sites that otherwise only send you synopses), and custom actions. Whichever flavor you plump for, Fiery Feeds is well worth installing on your iPad. VLC for Mobile

    VLC for Mobile is an iPad take on the popular open source media player.

    On iPad, it has two main uses. The first is offline playback. You can load up VLC with videos, and broadly speaking be secure in the knowledge its actually going to be capable of playing them. During said playback, you can fiddle with the picture and audio, and use gestures to skip through boring sections or backwards if you missed a bit.

    VLC is also good for streaming. You can stream movies from a PC or Mac right to your iPad, rather than having to sit in front of a computer like its 2005. The interface throughout is sleek and minimal (irritating zooming to the options sidebar aside), and impressive for a video streaming app thats entirely free. JustWatch

    JustWatch solves one of the biggest problems with the way we consume television and movies. With streaming services and on-demand increasingly rendering traditional schedules redundant, the key is usually finding out where and how to watch something, not when.

    JustWatch asks you to confirm your location and the services that interest you. If youre still into the big screen, theres a tab for currently showing movies, which makes it a cinch to access local showtimes.

    But this apps mostly about TV, providing filterable feeds that list popular shows and bargains and where to find them. Select a show, tap on an icon,
    and youre whisked away to the relevant app. Whatever you want to see, JustWatch makes reaching it a whole lot easier. Letterboxd

    Letterboxd is an iPad take on a social network for film lovers. Sign up, and you can do all the usual following friends and bellyaching, only here youre complaining about whether Blade Runner 2049 is 2049 times worse than the original, and whos the best James Bond. If that sounds awful but youre a film lover, Letterboxd has another use: the ability to log everything youve ever watched.

    You can quickly assign ratings and likes to your personal favorites, which
    are subsequently displayed as a grid of artwork that can be sorted and filtered. Beyond that, you can add tags, a review, and the date when you last watched the film. On the iPads large display, the entire app looks great not least when you start checking out trailers of those films youre keen to see. Attenborough Story of life

    If youve any interest in wildlife films, Attenborough Story of Life is a must-have. It features over a thousand clips picked from Attenboroughs decades-long journey through what he refers to as the greatest story of
    allhow animals and plants came to fill our Earth.

    The app is split into three sections. Youre initially urged to delve into
    some featured collections, but can also explore by habitat or species, unearthing everything from big-toothed sharks to tiny penguins skittering about. Clips can be saved as favorites, or grouped into custom collections to later peruse or share with friends.

    Some of the footage is noticeably low-res on an iPad theres nothing here to concern your Blu-Rays, and thats a pity. Still, for instant access to such a wealth of amazing programming, this ones not to be missed. Chunky Comic
    Reader

    The majority of comic-book readers on the App Store are tied to online
    stores, and any emphasis on quality in the actual apps isn't always placed on the reading part.

    But with many more publishers embracing DRM-free downloads, having a really great reading app is essential if you're into digital comics. Chunky Comic Reader is the best available on iOS.

    The interface is smart, simple and boasts plenty of settings, including the means to eradicate animation entirely when flipping pages.

    Rendering is top-notch, even for relatively low-res fare. And you get the option of one- or two-up page views. For free, you can access web storage to upload comics. A single $3.99/3.99/AU$5.99 pro upgrade adds support for
    shared Mac/PC/NAS drives. Check out the best iPad deals available now

    Can't figure out which iPad to buy? Watch our guide video below! For a mix
    of free and paid apps, check out our amazing Best iPad apps chart. If you're more into a smaller form-factor or have your eye on the iPhone X check out
    our list of the best free iPhone apps . Haven't bought an iPad yet and not sure which is best? We've got them listed on our best iPad ranking - or you can check out the best tablets list to see the full range available now.
    We're also rounding up all the best iPad deals going right now. Are you a professional? Then our pick of the 10 best business apps should have
    something for you. Want a free app to keep your iPad safe? Check out the best free VPNs The best free art and design apps for iPad

    Our favorite free iPad apps for painting, sketching, drawing, graphic design and animation. (Image credit: TechRadar) Charcoal

    Charcoal is a sketchpad for people who dont want complexity. Fire up the
    free iPad app and you can choose from three canvas sizes. When said canvas appears, its flanked by a selection of tools to the left, and a scrollable color picker to the right.

    With a finger or an Apple Pencil, the tools prove responsive, and theres a tactile ruler you can drag and twiddle about for laying down straight lines. And thats about it at which point you might ask after brush sizes, text tools, and layers.

    To do so is to miss the point. Charcoal is basic on purpose. If you want an all-singing, all-dancing free digital sketching tool, Autodesk SketchBook
    fits the bill. But if that kind of app overwhelms you, Charcoal will scratch your digital drawing itch. (Image credit: Linearity GmbH) Vectornator X

    Vectornator X is a pro-grade vector art app for iPad that lacks a price tag, but has the kind of toolset that should appeal to everyone from jobbing artists and designers to people who just fancy transforming their favorite photos into sleek, poster-like works of art.

    If youre an illustrator, youre well catered for with features that let you quickly work up projects with shapes, paths, type, and templates. Plentiful import/export options enable the app to be a mobile sketchpad for ideas you can then continue on the desktop.

    But if youre a mere norm, its worth picking up, too. Load a photo, select the Layers palette, unlock the layer, tap the photo on the canvas, tap the style tab, and then tap Auto Trace. Within seconds, youve gone from snap to vector art and endlessly editable art at that. (Image credit: Visual Blasters LLC) FlipaClip

    FlipaClip wants to unleash your inner Disney animator. Set up a project and you gain access to a streamlined interface for crafting your own scribbly moving pictures. The toolset is straightforward, but with enough flexibility for nuance. The brushes have multiple sizes, theres a selection tool for grabbing chunks of art, and a flood fill for quick coloring.

    The layers system enables you to separate elements, such as line art and coloring. Grids and onion-skinning (to see previous frames faintly on the canvas) provide further aid as you put together your masterpiece. And audio capabilities ensure youre not just making silent movies. It all feels rather swish and professional but also approachable.

    There are limitations on the free version of this iPad app, plus full-screen ads that obnoxiously spring up when you open a project. However, if these irk you, theyre easily removed with a one-off IAP. (Image credit: Cameraxis Private Limited / TechRadar) Desyne

    Desyne makes it a cinch to quickly put together graphical layouts, which can then be used for flyers, posters and online banners.

    You get started by picking a template. Unlike with many ostensibly similar apps, pretty much everything here can be edited. This means although you
    could just make a quick change to some text and export the result, you can also work with the built-in tools to fashion something radically different from what you started with.

    The app of course locks a bunch of content behind subscription IAP, and welds a watermark to your creations albeit only a small one in a corner. However, the free version has a lot going for it, not least fun stickers, a simple but powerful layers system, the means to save projects, and a range of export options. Universe Website Builder

    Universe Website Builder suggests you should be able to create a website in 60 seconds. That time scales a bit of a stretch, but Universes
    building-blocks system does make getting something online dead easy.

    Each page is a grid. You drag out a section, and then decide what should fill it a photo, text, social media buttons or video. You can start from scratch, or work with a theme. When youre done, prod a button and your efforts are uploaded.

    Should you want more pro-oriented features analytics; a store; a proper domain youll need to pay $9.99/8.99/AU$14.49 per month. But for free, Universe is a usable, smart, simple way to get a personal website online,
    with little effort, and in a manner that feels entirely suited to the touchscreen. Autodesk SketchBook

    Autodesk SketchBook is a drawing and sketching app. Toolbars sit at the screen edges, providing quick access to a slew of editable brushes, a comprehensive layers system, and tools for drawing shapes, adding text and manipulating selections. Flow and size sliders sit on the brushes palette, so you can easily adjust your brushs properties.

    Tap the full-screen button and most of the interface falls away, leaving you with your canvas, but brushes, color pickers and layers always remain within easy reach, accessed by pressing a small on-screen switch.

    This means that with a little time spent getting used to the interface, SketchBook provides as much power as you need and for no outlay whatsoever. That makes it a good bet whether youre an occasional doodler, or a jobbing artist wanting something powerful yet usable for working on their iPad. Unsplash

    Unsplash is an app that gives you fast access to many thousands of images generously gifted to the Unsplash website by the photographic community.
    These photographs can be used entirely for free, for any purposes you wish, and can be modified as you see fit.

    The app and available photographs are both rather good. You can search for something specific, browse new photos, or explore by themes. The large iPad display is the perfect lean-back way to look through dozens of images, flicking between them in full-screen mode.

    Its a pity theres no download option, nor a means to follow specific photographers. But then this ones all about effortlessness and immediacy, and knowing that whenever you do find something that inspires you, it can be downloaded to your iPads Photos app with a single tap. Artomaton - The Motion Painter

    Artomaton - The Motion Painter is a little like Prisma, in that it uses AI
    to transform photos into something that looks like it was painted or
    sketched. However, this isnt a single-tap filter app; Artomaton wants to afford you at least some control over your creations.

    To start with, you paint in the natural media effects to the degree youre happy with. Do so lightly and you get the subtlest of sketches; cover every inch of the canvas and you end up with a more complete piece of art. Beyond that, there are plenty of settings to fiddle with.

    The resulting images arent always entirely convincing in terms of realism,
    but they always look good. And although many materials are locked behind IAP, you get plenty for free. Autodesk SketchBook

    We tend to quickly shift children from finger-painting to using much finer tools, but the iPad shows there's plenty of power in your digits if you're using the right app.

    Autodesk SketchBook provides all the tools you need for digital sketching, from basic doodles through to intricate and painterly masterpieces; and if you're wanting to share your technique, you can even time-lapse record to
    save drawing sessions to your camera roll.

    The core app is free, but it will cost you $4.99/4.99/AU$7.99 to unlock the pro features. Brushes Redux

    The original Brushes app was one of the most important in the iPhone's early days. With Jorge Colombo using it to paint a New Yorker cover, it showcased the potential of the technology, and that an iPhone could be used for production, rather than merely consumption.

    Brushes eventually stopped being updated, but fortunately went open source beforehand. Brushes Redux is the result.

    On the iPad, you can take advantage of the much larger screen. But the main benefit of the app is its approachable nature. It's extremely easy to use,
    but also has plenty of power for those who need it, not least in the layering system and the superb brush designer. Canva

    The idea behind Canva is to do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to creating great-looking layouts based on your photos. Select a layout type (presentation, blog graphic, invitation, and so on) and the app serves up templates to work with.

    These are mostly very smart indeed, but the smartest thing about Canva is
    that these starting points can all be edited: swap out images for your own photos, adjust text boxes, and add new elements or even entire pages.

    Because of its scope, Canva isn't as immediate as one-click automated apps in this space, but the interface is intuitive enough to quickly grasp. Our only niggle is the lack of multi-item selection, but with Canva being an online service, you can always fine-tune your iPad creations in a browser on the desktop. Pixel art editor - Dottable

    Despite being lumbered with an awkward name, Pixel art editor - Dottable is a usable and nicely-conceived app. Choose a canvas size and then the interface is split between your drawing area, layers, and tools.

    The basics are all there for creating old-school pixel art, but beyond
    brushes and fills, Dottable adds some fairly sophisticated shapes and transform tools.

    If you want to trace an image, it can be imported, and optionally converted
    to pixel art form. Exports are also dealt with nicely, either exporting your image as a PNG, or converting each layer into a single frame of an animated GIF.

    None of this is enough to trouble the pro-oriented Pixaki , but as a freebie for pixel artists, Dottable is mightily impressive. Folioscope

    One of the great things about the app revolution is how these bits of
    software can help you experience creative fare that would have previously
    been inaccessible, unless you were armed with tons of cash and loads of time. Folioscope is a case in point, providing the basics for crafting your own animations.

    We should note youre not going to be the next Disney with Folioscope the tools are fairly basic, and the output veers towards wobbling stickmen.

    But you do get a range of brushes (of differing size and texture), several drawing tools (pen, eraser, flood fill, and marquee), and onion-skinning, which enables you to see faint impressions of adjacent frames, in order to line everything up.

    The friendly nature of the app makes it accessible to anyone, and theres no limit on export projects can be shared as GIFs or movies, or uploaded to the Folioscope community, should you create an account. MediBang Paint

    MediBang Paint feels like one of those apps where youre always waiting for the catch to arrive. Create a new canvas and you end up staring at what can only be described as a simplified Photoshop on your iPad. There are loads of drawing tools, a layers system (including photo import), and configurable brushes.

    Opening up menus reveals yet more features rotation; shapes; grids but palettes can also be hidden, so you can get on with just drawing. Judging by the in-app gallery of uploaded art, MediBang is popular with manga artists, but its tools are capable enough to support a much wider range of digital painting and drawing styles all without costing you a penny. PicsArt
    Animated Gif & Video Animator

    You wont trouble Hollywood with PicsArt (or PicsArt Animated Gif & Video Animator to use its unwieldy full name). However, it is a great introduction to animation and also a handy sketchpad for those already immersed in the field.

    A beginner can start with a blank slate, paper texture, or photo background, on to which an animation frame is drawn. Add further frames and previous ones faintly show through, to aid you in making smooth transitions.

    Delve further into the app to discover more advanced fare, including brush options and a hugely useful layers system. When done, export to GIF or video or save projects to refine later. That this all comes for free (and free from ads) is astonishing. The best free education apps for iPad

    Our favorite free iPad apps for learning new things from coding to
    astronomy. (Image credit: SN Digital LLC) Mission to Mars AR

    Mission to Mars AR is an educational app about humankinds exploration of the Red Planet, told through a range of photography, computer-generated imagery, quizzes and augmented reality experiences.

    The last of those is the meat of the app or at least its most interesting component. With the larger display of the iPad, you really become immersed as you explore the Martian surface, help Perseverance deal with hazards to complete objectives, and drive rovers across your desk or down your street.

    The visuals are solid, and although the main interface feels a little like a blown-up portrait iPhone app, the AR components work well in landscape. In all, its a great mix of education and entertainment thats a must-have
    download for anyone with an interest in our celestial neighbor. (Image
    credit: Jonathan Yeo) Jonathan Yeo Studio

    Jonathan Yeo Studio shows how augmented reality can be more than a gimmick. It provides a glimpse into the working life of the titular artist, in a
    manner that immerses you in his studio environment.

    The studio can be projected onto a desk, or if youve space explored at full size, making you feel like youre in the room. Either way, you can poke around various pieces of interactive content, or listen as Yeo chats with Jamie Oliver while painting his portrait.

    This combination makes for an informative app for anyone with an interest in the visual arts, and its also an impressive technical achievement that shows how far apps of this ilk have moved on from merely giving you a handful of videos to watch. (Image credit: iCandi Apps) Night Sky

    Free iPad app Night Sky brings the planets and stars to your iPad, with gorgeous visuals and a rich feature set.

    The basic view can be dragged around or be oriented by holding your iPad in front of
    --- D'Bridge 4
    * Origin: Physics (1337:3/125)