Useful iPad Apps for Web Designers

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iPad enables the potential for web designers to accomplish their task and project on time because it is a portable workstation that allows designers to work on the dot. iPad is packed with thousands of creative apps that can enhance and assist designers on their project.
We are going to take a look at iPad applications that really come in handy for web designers.

The Web Designer’s Idea App

This powerful reference tool includes more than 1350 website designs arranged thematically so you can easily find inspiration for your own design work.

Dribbblr

Browse the latest work of famous designers worldwide and never miss a shot again. You don’t need to have an Dribbble account to use Dribbblr but if you provide a username, the App will show you latest shots by designers you follow.

CSS3Machine

CSS3Machine makes the most advanced CSS3 styles simple to implement and fun to experiment with. Easily create stunning gradients, drop-shadows, and 2D- and 3D-transforms. CSS3Machine even builds WebKit animations in seconds!

Web Design 205: Designing CSS Floating Layouts

Have you wondered ever how to build floating layouts using only elements and CSS? If so, this tutorial, Designing CSS Floating Layouts vanquishes the mystery and headache by showing you how to build fantastic floats from the ground up.

iMockups for iPad

iMockups for iPad is the premiere mobile wireframing and mockup app for your web, iPhone and iPad projects. The ease and mobility of an iPad app with the power of a desktop app at your fingertips.

Gusto

Gusto was created to embrace the workflow of web development on the iPad. Quickly identify your project with a beautifully generated thumbnail of your website. Open your project and download multiple files and folders at a time from your FTP or SFTP server.

App Cooker

App Cooker supports you through the 5 key aspects of planning any mobile application: the idea, the mockups, the app icon, the communication and the business model. Each of these areas has its own dedicated section on the “App Board”, the focused workplace where each project can be defined quickly then refined gradually. Whether you are a seasoned developer or yet to make an app, App Cooker’s powerful processes and clear and intuitive user interface will allow you to get productive immediately, forming the backbone of any application development project.

SketchBook Pro for iPad

Autodesk SketchBook Pro for iPad is a professional-grade paint and drawing application. Whether you are an occasional doodler or a professional illustrator, SketchBook Pro transforms your iPad into the ultimate digital SketchBook.

SketchPad HD

SketchPad is a fun, easy to use drawing and note taking application for the iPad. SketchPad allows you to draw in a variety of colors, collect and browse through notes and share notes that you create on the iPad over email.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Adobe Photoshop Express software lets you use simple gestures to quickly edit and share photos from your mobile device. Enjoy having your photo and video library right in your hand — without wasting your device’s valuable storage space.

Adobe Ideas

Adobe Ideas is your digital sketchbook, letting you capture and explore ideas anywhere you go. Sketch design concepts while sitting in a cafe, capture and store color themes while browsing through the photos on your phone, or jot down notes on a photo. Any time you need to explore creative ideas, Adobe Ideas is there with you.

Font Book for iPad

A great app to see what your creative headlines or body copy will look like in different fonts.

Typography Insight

Typography Insight is an iPad application which introduces new ways of learning and teaching typefaces. It leverages iPad’s touch interface and high resolution display to visualize and to manipulate typeface. With Type Insight, you can easily experiment and inspect the detail shapes of historical typefaces.

Ampersands

This app is quite simply a celebration of the innate beauty of the humble ampersand. Used by millions of us every day, this ligature of the letters et [Latin for "and"] can now be shown off in all its glory thanks to the iPad’s superb display quality.

Web Design and Usability Guidelines

Web Design and Usability Guidelines is your guide for developing usable and useful Web sites. The guidelines were developed to assist Web managers, designers, usability specialists, and others create Web sites that are highly responsive, easy-to-use, and useful. This app brings these best practices and guidelines to you.

Source Viewer XL

Whether you are a web designer or just curious – this application is for you. Source Viewer shows the HTML, CSS and Javascript source code of any website.

FTP On The Go PRO

An FTP client for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. View and edit HTML/CSS/JS/PHP/ASP, or other files on your server with its built in editor to change your website from anywhere. View images and documents (JPG, PDF, DOC, XLS, PPT, etc) too.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.

Keynote

Exclusively designed for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, Keynote makes creating a world-class presentation — complete with animated charts and transitions — as simple as touching and tapping.

iPDF Reader Free

iPDF Reader is the world’s slimmest eBook and PDF reader, now available for the iPad.

WordPress

It’s easy to manage your WordPress blog or site from your iOS device. With WordPress for iOS, you can moderate comments, create or edit posts and pages, and add images or videos with ease.

Things for iPad

Things is a beautifully focused and amazingly intuitive task manager. Effortlessly manage to-dos, notes, due dates, and projects. A smart today list and the scheduling feature allow you to work as effectively as possible – every day.

Web Designer Magazine

Web Designer is the premier magazine for aspiring online creatives and industry professionals. The monthly title offers cutting-edge practical projects spanning XHTML, CSS, Flash and WordPress as well as hosting features and interviews with the web community’s most influential people.

Computer Arts

Computer Arts, the Italian magazine dedicated to digital design and computer graphics, is now available as an iPad App. Read our tutorials on Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, Illustrator and many more, discover our features about the world of design you love and how you can make money with your skills, and learn how the professionals create their masterpieces.

Phaidon Design Classics iPad Edition

The application offers, at the touch of a finger, access to an encyclopedic, illustrated history of 1,000 timeless design classics by not only renowned designers, such as Marcel Breuer, Achille Castiglioni, Le Corbusier, Jasper Morrison, Dieter Rams, Eero Saarinen, and Philippe Starck but also anonymously designed pieces, such as the clothes peg, the corkscrew, and the chopstick, that have stood the test of time.

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Posted in: iPad Apps,Web Design

First Look at the New iCloud Web Apps

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Apple just recently opened the floodgates to their new iCloud web apps, and in short, they’re easily some of the most impressive web apps online today. There was initially some speculation as to whether Apple was going to continue the tradition of MobileMe’s web apps and let you use iCloud online, or if they were going to only make iCloud work with OS X Lion and iOS 5 apps. The good thing is, there are iCloud web apps for sure, and they’re great. Unfortunately, they’re not quite ready for public consumption.
Dying to see what the new apps are going to look like, assuming nothing changed between now and when they’re fully released? If you’ve got an iCloud developer account, head over to iCloud.com, login, and check them out for yourself. We’ll wait. For everyone else, here’s a quick preview of what you can expect when

The iCloud Saga

A couple hours ago, after arriving back home from a trip, I saw online that the new iCloud web apps were ready for action, at least for some. I quickly went to iCloud.com in Safari on my iPad, only to be greeted by a message telling me that it was coming soon, or I could try the web apps on a Mac or PC. Nice. So, I booted up my netbook, opened Chrome, browsed to iCloud.com, and logged in with my standard Apple account. Of all amazing things, it worked. I’m in the habit of taking screenshots of almost everything new I do on the computer, and it worked out good this time, as only minutes later, it said I couldn’t login since I don’t have an iCloud Developer account.
With that short peek, though, I’m more excited than ever to get my hands on the final version of the iCloud web apps. They’re easily some of the most impressive web apps online right now, and they’re still in beta. The amazing thing is that they actually feel like real native apps, or more accurately, native iPad apps. The only web app I’ve ever used that came this close to feeling like a native app is Flow, and it’s close enough that people have assumed it was a native Mac app instead of a web app. The iCloud apps take it to the next level, complete with iOS-style notifications. They’re still powered by SproutCore, at least in part, which makes me think that more web apps should take advantage of it.

Apparently, you've got to have a golden ticket

So, when you first login to iCloud.com, you’ll sign in with your Apple ID, and then will be asked to add a bit more info. You can upload a picture directly by clicking the Add Photo box, and then scale it to size right in the iOS-style popover. No Flash needed for the upload, but that’s to be assumed from Apple. You might notice that Apple’s new love for linen textures has been brought over to iCloud.com. This time, it looks almost more like a blue corduroy background.

Image uploading without Flash. Now, we need flash-less webcam support.

Each part of the app has been intricately designed, and is incredibly responsive for a web app. The design is strongly influenced by the iPad. The popovers, delete buttons, menus, and more feel like they’re running on an iPad. So much so, in fact, that I instinctively reached out and touched my netbook screen without thinking to close a notifications popover. Sadly, iCloud doesn’t magically turn standard LCD screens into multitouch displays.

The web could use more apps with this much style

Once you’ve added your picture, language, and time zone, you’ll be brought to the launchpad style app view. iCloud has 5 major apps right now: Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Find my iPhone (or iPod Touch or iPad), and iWork. When I tried to open Mail, it said I needed to create a new account from an iOS 5 or OS X Lion device first. Since that wasn’t an option, I tried to open Find my iPhone since I’ve used it on my iPad before. Turns out, it’s still located at me.com for now.

iOS style notifications exist throughout the iCloud web apps

The iWork apps turn out to simply be landing pages to let you know more about Keynote, Pages, and Numbers for iPad. I’ve used these apps on my iPad, and shared documents with Apple’s existing iWork.com service already, but you can’t use these web apps right now without iOS 5. Surely they’ll let you bring existing iWork.com documents into iCloud once it’s released, but it’s not there yet.
One interesting thing you can notice is that there’s a OS X Lion style disappearing scrollbar on the right of the page. Additionally, there’s a cloud icon in the top left of all of the iCloud apps so you can quickly get back to the launch screen.

iCloud isn't bringing in iWork.com documents ... at least not yet

It wouldn’t have been too surprising if all of the apps had turned out to be landing pages, but instead, the full contacts and calendar experience were running. Contacts looks identical to the contacts app on the iPad and in OS X Lion, down to the bookmark on the top and the background book cover. You can add new contacts, organize them into groups, and tweak a few layout settings. Contacts include all the options that Apple’s other contact apps include, letting you save a wide range of info about the people you need to get in touch with. The popover settings pane was easily the nicest designed web app settings pane I’ve seen, though it did feel odd to see OS X style menus in Chrome on a PC.

It looks so much like an iOS app, I without thinking touched my netbook screen to close a dialog!

The Calendar app again looked just like Calendar in OS X Lion, down to the torn paper on the top of the calendar. Many designers have complained about the odd level of fake realism in both of these apps in Lion, and for better or worse, the exact same design has been brought to the web in iCloud. That said, it’s downright impressive to see this nice of a design in a web app, and it was especially impressive to see how nicely it performed. Many richer web apps can run slowly in most netbooks, but the iCloud apps felt like they were running native.

This might be the nicest calendar web app yet

iCloud Calendar included all the options you’d expect, including repeating events, reminders, notes, and more. It also included all of the standard calendar views, including the nice Day view that looks like a classic dayplanner. I think you should have been able to download an iCal file to subscribe to the calendar from the last toolbar button, but I didn’t think to try it out. At any rate, the interface was amazingly similar to Calendar on iPad or OS X Lion, and was so smooth you could easily forget you were using a web app. In fact, take your browser full screen, and it felt like a new OS X Lion fullscreen app. We can’t wait to see more web apps like this.

Date view is very nice, and just like Calendar on iPad

And … that’s all for now

That’s where our journey ends for now. Unlike Google, who left Gmail in beta-limbo for years, Apple tries to make sure it’s products are as polished as they can be before releasing them into the wild. That can definitely be frustrating at times, but as good as iCloud looks, we’re willing to wait. Apple’s web developers have done an amazing job bringing the full native app experience to the web. When we weren’t expecting full iCloud web apps, they’ve surpassed what anyone would have imagined.
We can’t wait to get our hands on the iCloud web apps again, and hopefully they’ll be released sooner rather than later. And, we do hope they leave the apps open for everyone, not just iOS and OS X device owners. It seems like it’s almost be a good advertisement for their other products to let everyone use the iCloud apps. Either way, it’s nice to see that Apple, along with the rest of the awesome web app developers in the world, continues to push the envelope of what web apps can do. ‘Tis an exciting time for the web!

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Posted in: iCloud,iPad Apps,iPhone Apps,Showcase,Web Application

7 Tips to Help Freelancers Get the Most from Their iPad

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Believe it or not, some people are still debating whether the iPad (and tablets like it) is merely a gadget for entertainment, or if it will or already has changed the way we work. I don’t want to get into the debate, but I believe the bottom line is you can use a tablet pretty much for whatever you want.
It’s a perfect tool for distracting yourself, if that’s what you want. On the other hand, if you want to get more productive, an iPad can help you achieve that, too. For freelancers, an iPad can help you get more things done more efficiently and have more fun while you’re at it.
In this post, we’ll go over some simple tips so your iPad can be a gadget that helps you become a better, happier freelancer (that way, you can claim it as a business expense ;-) ).

7 Tips for Using Your iPad

Here are seven simple tips to help you get the most from your iPad. (Some of these tips will work for other tablets too!)

1. Get the right applications. The iPad comes with a basic set of apps that will get you productive right away, including a calendar, web browser, and email client. Other tablets will have their own basic apps. You’ve got thousands of other apps at your disposal so you can do almost anything you can think of (remember, “There’s an app for that!”): access and share files across computers and devices; create text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and movies; do social networking; publish your blog, and on and on. It can take a pretty long time to find the apps that are right for you and the type of work you do. I started by reading related posts in freelancing blogs and by asking fellow freelancers which apps were most useful in their work.
2. Use an external keyboard. Typing on the iPad is much easier than on your iPhone or iPod Touch, but if you’re going to be typing emails, blog posts and reports, you’ll definitely want an external keyboard. Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard works with the iPad, as will a number of other external keyboards made specifically for the iPad. Because I’m a writer, I need nothing more than a keyboard to get tons of work done on an iPad. If you’re a graphic artist, you may need a stylus as well.
3. Keep it safe. The iPad is one slippery device! Protect your investment with a cover or carrier. Some covers even have an external keyboard built in. And don’t forget to protect your personal data as well. You can set a passcode so only you can use your tablet. Set up Find My iPad to help you locate your iPad if you should misplace it. You can even display a message on your iPad’s screen so whoever finds it can contact you, reset your passcode, or erase all the data on the iPad. Don’t worry, you can restore all the data if or when you find your iPad.
4. Keep your data synchronized. It’s a big help to have all your contacts, calendar and other data available across multiple devices at any one time. Some of these data can be synchronized through iTunes when you connect your iPad to your computer. Wireless synching will be available with iOS 5. For other data, apps like Dropbox and Evernote can take care of letting you access and sync various files.
5. Get the most life out of your battery. Make your iPad’s battery last. Keep the screen as dim as you can comfortably take it, and turn off push, Bluetooth, location services, and even the WiFi when not in use. It’s also a good idea to let the battery completely drain occasionally before recharging it fully again. They say doing this monthly or so will help the iPad’s battery last longer.
6. Customize your home button or side switch. If you have the first-generation iPad, you can customize what the home button will do. With iPad 2, you can customize the side switch to either lock the iPad’s orientation or mute it. You can do either one by going to settings -> general then choosing either “Home” or “Use Side Switch To.” These customizations will help you use little shortcuts that can be surprisingly useful.
7. Don’t multitask. The iPad lets you easily switch from one application to another. However, although the temptation is big, I urge you to resist it! In the end, you’ll get more things done and at higher quality if you focus on one task at a time, rather than switching from one to another. Read more about why focusing helps you get more productive.

Your Turn

These are just some of the ways you can make the most of your iPad. In the end, maximizing your tablet depends on your personal working style. However, the tips above are useful for most freelancers with iPads.
If you own an iPad (or other tablet), how do you maximize it for your freelancing? Share your specific tips with us by posting a comment below.
Image by Johnny Does
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Posted in: Freelance,iPad Apps,Tips

15 Amazing Made-for-iOS Role Playing Games

15 Amazing Made-for-iOS Role Playing Games: "
There are two types of “RPGs”: rocket-propelled grenades, and role-playing games. As I’m not in a great position to write about the explosive weapon, I’ll focus on the latter. The RPG genre has a lot to offer in the realm of iOS, and is in a great position to exploit the visual capabilities of the iPad. Read on for a roundup that features 15 stunning iOS-exclusive RPGs!

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Aralon HD

Aralon: Sword and Shadow HD

Starting our list off, we have Aralon. I’m not sure why, but this detailed game has never made it very high on the charts, and may be one of the most obscure apps on this list. Of course, Aralon isn’t on the list for nothing, because it’s an absolute diamond in the rough.
An amazingly realistic 3D world and classic RPG gameplay elements make this game a must-have for any true gamer. There are tons of unique quests and locations to explore, and the overall experience is reminiscent of the computer game, Fate. Aralon is a great RPG for newbies and veterans of the genre alike.
Price: $9.99 Developer: Crescent Moon Games

Order & Chaos

Order & Chaos Online

Gameloft is notorious for ripping off a game concept, riffing on the game’s title, and then selling it off as “an original idea”; Order & Chaos is no exception. Immediately after launching the game, you realize the game is almost an exact clone of World of Warcraft.
Is this a bad thing? Definitely not. This game lacks many of the features of the real WoW, but is probably the closest thing we’ll ever get to it for a long time. Thousands of users have already caught on to this mock-version of the award winning MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game), and with a variety of in-app purchases available, this is probably one of Gameloft’s most costly games. Order & Chaos requires an internet connection of some kind to play, so in order to make the most of the monthly subscription, I would recommend playing this on a device with 3G.
Price: $6.99 Developer: Gameloft

Deep Deep Dungeon

Deep Deep Dungeon

Deep Deep Dungeon is an example of a classic dungeon crawler game. The goal of DDD, and basically all dungeon crawlers, is to explore a cave or dungeon with increasingly stronger monsters lurking around. You delve deeper collecting gold, experience, and items.
Ultimately, you will meet up with a boss monster. It couldn’t get any simpler. While DDD may disappoint hardcore fans, only providing 50 levels of dungeon madness, it is, nonetheless, a great game.
Price: $1.99 Developer: iQuibi Inc.

Chaos Rings

Chaos Rings

Oh boy. I was completely blown away with this game. Square Enix are the same people who developed the Final Fantasy series and Kingdom Hearts. This game has all the graphics of those games, plus some turn-based strategy similar to Pokémon. Combine this with a completely warped story about time-travel (I don’t want to give away too much…), and you have a recipe for Chaos Rings.
There are also several puzzle mini games that may bring be a challenging curveball to some gamers. Anyone who enjoys a console-quality experience on a mobile device will be flustered with delight about Chaos Rings.
Price: $12.99 Developer: Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Chaos Rings Omega

Chaos Rings Omega

This is, as you may have guessed, the sequel to the highly successful previously mentioned game. An even more complicated story follows up the old plot.
Even though it is a sequel, in its own way, it is a separate game. Similar game mechanics make Omega another great game by Square Enix.
Price: $11.99 Developer: Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Song Summoner

Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes – Encore

Last game by Square Enix on the list, in case you were wondering. Song Summoner is set in a dystopian future where music is used as a weapon. You play as a lone soldier, a chosen one, named Ziggy (possible tribute to Ziggy Stardust or Ziggy Marley?) whose sole purpose is to save his little brother, Zero, from an evil group of music-hating robots.
The game is very strategy-based, requiring you to command warriors across a board. Probably the coolest element of this game is the unique feature which allows you to use your music and turn them into “tune troopers”, who are empowered the more you listen to the music you used to create them. This mechanic plays a huge part in the game, so a player’s liking or disliking of music can definitely have a dynamic effect on the game.
Price: $9.99 Developer: Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Across Age HD

Across Age

Across Age is like a revival of Zelda, except with all the good 2D graphics. The game boasts a 15 hour plus campaign, plus tons of co-op puzzles. I really enjoyed the retro game experience, and the unforgettable characters that make this game unique.
Across Age is available in three versions: the regular iPhone version, a stunning retina version, and a plus-sized iPad version. Some newer gamers may not appreciate this blast from the past, or may be pleasantly surprised. Most retro gamers, however, will absolutely love this game!
Price: $2.99 Developer: FDG Entertainment

Infinity Blade

Infinity Blade

Are you ready to get console quality graphics in an amazing hack-n-slash game? Good. I’m not going to lie, this game would lack punch without the amazing graphics.
Essentially, it’s a 3D dungeon crawler, with a twisted story. The controls aren’t anything out of the ordinary (attacking enemies is as easy as slicing fruit in Fruit Ninja), but Infinity Blade isn’t ‘Infinity’ Blade for nothing: the game itself cycles in a vicious circle.
Price: $5.99 Developer: Chair Entertainment Group, LLC.

Back to the Future Ep 1 HD

Back to the Future Ep 1 HD

Across Age may have been a gaming blast from the past, but now it’s time for a literal blast from a past. The Back to the Future series of games is a spin-off of the classic 80s movie, but does not require any knowledge of the film.
I don’t really know whether I would consider this to be a typical RPG game, as it runs more like an interactive film. That being said, you get great 3D graphics and Hollywood quality voice acting. There are currently 4 chapters of the game available, with a fifth chapter in stores next month. Act quickly, because right now, the first episode is free.
Price: Free Developer: Telltale Games

Battleheart

Battleheart

Back in the wee years of the App Store, there was a best-selling app called Zombieville USA. It was best remembered for its over-the-top violence and comical graphics. Now, the people who brought you that game bring you another addictive app called Battleheart.
You control and command a group of 4 warriors, trying to defeat different waves of enemies and bosses in real-time (meaning there are no turns). This is another game that has a lot of customizability, with lots of unique weapons and skills for each character, and training all the characters on your team is essential to beat the game. Great gameplay, but lacks some classic RPG elements, such as cutscenes and a storyline.
Price: $2.99 Developer: Mika Mobile

Dead Space HD

Dead Space

Enough with the child’s play, let me show you something scary. Dead Space is an award winning console video game, and now you can enjoy it on your mobile device.
This is actually a shooter, but it has a great, creepy story about a space ship worker who is forced to fight off hostile mutants. Try playing this in a dark room, and by the end of the first 15 minutes, I guarantee you’ll be begging for the lights to be on. Recommended for the thrill-seeking gamer.
Price: $6.99 Developer: Electronic Arts

Gamebook Adventures 1

Gamebook Adventures 1: An Assassin in Orlandes

RPG video games originated from role-playing books. These books are usually played by large groups, and are highly controversial and criticized by religious groups for promoting the occult.
Gamebook Adventures by Tin Man Games are the best and truest incarnations of these you can find on iOS. There are a total of 6 volumes. Best of all, they can be played alone, for you lonely ones. Recommended for the casual gamer, or any fan of role-playing books.
Price: $4.99 Developer: Tin Man Games

Zenonia

Zenonia

Zenonia is another classic App Store RPG that is very similar to Zelda. Actually, it is so popular that (although it originated in iOS), the game has spread to other consoles.
What I was most impressed with was the character customization. With hundreds of items and three different classes, there are countless combinations to try and master. Anyone who enjoyed Across Age will enjoy this, as they are extremely similar.
Price: $0.99 Developer: GAMEVIL Inc.

dream:scape

dream:scape

Is dream:scape a game, or something more? Well, it all depends on how you take it. dream:scape puts you in a characters consciousness, a warped world where imagination meets reality and memories of the past.
It is definitely not your typical game. The premise of the game is very eerie, and the gameplay may not be appreciated by everyone because it requires a lot of thinking. If you do like games like this, such as Myst, then you will love dream:scape.
Price: $1.99 Developer: Speedbump

Plunderland

Plunderland

Plunderland is very different from every other game on this list. It may not even be considered an RPG game by some people. It is, however, probably the most easily appreciated game on this list. You control a band of pirates traveling the sea collecting gold, battling other pirates, and upgrading your ship.
It definitely has some elements of a role-playing game, but at the same time is very kid-friendly. The graphics are cartoonish and are in 2.5D, while the controls are dead simple and have multiple schemes to accompany your liking. The best thing about this game is the fact that you don’t need a lot of time to get into it, and you can play it for a few minutes or a few hours. Plunderland is the perfect mix of an RPG game and a casual game. No matter who you are, you need to give Plunderland a try.
Price: $2.99 Developer: JohnnyTwoShoes

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Posted in: Games,iPad Apps