20 best iPhone and iPad apps this week

It's time for our weekly roundup of brand new and notable apps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

It covers apps and games, with the prices referring to the initial download: so (Free) may mean (Freemium) in some cases. There's a separate roundup for Android apps, which was published earlier in the day.

For now, read on for this week's iOS selection (and when you've finished, check out previous Best iPhone and iPad apps posts).

This is the latest app from book publisher Penguin's Ladybird imprint, and it's a store-plus-reader for its range of Read it Yourself children's books. The app includes famous fairytales as well as stories from brands like Peppa Pig, Charlie and Lola and Moshi Monsters, with four reading levels, comprehension questions and reading guides for parents and teachers. Four stories are included, with the others available as ?1.99 in-app purchases.
iPad

Quip claims to be a "modern word processor" designed for collaboration across different devices. Aimed at workplaces as well as domestic use, it presents documents in "chat-like" update threads, showing which users are online and using Twitter-like @mentions to link to people and documents.
iPhone / iPad

Brain-training app Lumosity has been available on iPhone for some time, but this is a separate iPad-only version of the app. Based around "scientific workouts", its mini-games aim to have a noticeable effect on your memory, attention and other skills. The company behind it stresses its neuroscientific credentials, but just as importantly, the mini-games are fun rather than dry, making it a daily habit that never feels like a chore.
iPad

There's lots of interest in Mobage's latest game The Drowning for its attempt to rethink the way first-person shooter controls work on a touchscreen. In a nutshell, you tap on the screen to walk to a specific point, swipe to look around, and tap two fingers to shoot ??the bullets fire in the middle of them. The controls work well, but the mixture of junk-scavenging and in-app purchases to upgrade your weapons may not be so familiar to Western mobile gamers. It's intriguing though: a breath of fresh air for the genre.
iPhone / iPad

BT Sport went live this week in the UK to give BSkyB a run for its money in TV sports coverage. Its app is also available, promising live streams of the BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN channels (plus the odd exclusive), catch-up with previously-aired shows, video highlights and second-screen features for people watching live Premier League football matches.
iPhone / iPad

In theory, this is for children. In practice, I suspect it'll be as appealing to parents of the right age to have grown up with Transformers. The app is all about constructing virtual robots-in-disguise then sending them into battle, earning virtual coins to spend on new parts and upgrades. These can also be unlocked by scanning codes in real Transformers toys.
iPhone / iPad

Off on holiday abroad? This handy app will ensure you know about any famous buildings worth seeing near your destination. It catalogues more than 1,500 buildings in total, browsable by location, building type and the architect responsible. High-definition images are provided for each ??hence the meaty 1.15GB file-size.
iPhone / iPad

Now a Google subsidiary, restaurant, bar and public venue reviews guide Zagat has returned to the App Store as a free iPhone app, initially for nine cities in the US only, with more to follow. It aims to provide an accessible and fast way to find good places nearby, including menus and table reservations through a partnership with OpenTable.
iPhone

There is considerable buzz around Rymdkapsel this week, and with good reason: it's an addictive, accessible game that offers a twist on the real-time strategy genre. The emphasis is on building a space-base through Tetris-like block-placement, while fending off waves of enemies. It's simple in all the best ways, and well worth the purchase price.
iPhone / iPad

Dropchord is a music game by Double Fine Productions (of Kickstarter fame) that sees you manipulating an on-screen laser beam while dodging scratches and collecting notes. Neon-tastic visuals and a 10-track electronica soundtrack add to the fun.
iPhone / iPad

Aimed at older children ??cue "mild horror" warning on the App Store ??this is an engrossing picture-book centred on a girl staying up late for a mysterious midnight feast. It's genuinely eerie in places, although there's an option for parents to turn off the scariest bits for younger kids. But the beautiful illustrations make it stand out from the digital-books crowd.
iPad

It's time to play the music... This new game from Disney turns the Muppets into a free-to-play resource management game, with a musical twist. It involves recruiting a house band from more than 20 Muppets, then keeping them happy and levelling up their skills to make beautiful music. In-app purchases of virtual diamonds fund the action.
iPhone / iPad

That's Homer as in a friendly cartoon homing pigeon, rather than Homer Simpson (thankfully). This is a well-crafted reading comprehension programme from the US, blending stories, phonics exercises and a creative drawing-and-recording section to help 3-6 year-old children learning to read. A separate parents' website helps them track kids' progress, too.
iPad

Smartphones are overrun with music discovery apps in 2013, even if evidence suggests many of them aren't being discovered by many users. Musaic is the latest to throw its hat in the ring, and it does look polished. It's a way to see what friends and tastemakers are listening to, create playlists with other people, and listen to songs from Spotify, Rdio and SoundCloud.
iPhone

Dragons are hot this year thanks to a combination of Game of Thrones on TV and Puzzle & Dragons on mobile devices. This is the separate mobile version of Kabam's Dragons of Atlantis Facebook game ? the two aren't connected ??and sees players raising and customising dragons before sending them off to fight (or ally with) those of other players.
iPhone / iPad

It's a good week for new educational children's apps, with this one coming from Pearson. It's a phonics-learning game that uses the iPhone's camera, with kids catching the Trickster characters from the world around them, then answering phonics questions to stop them escaping. Inventive and fun.
iPhone

Dipdap is a marvellous series of animated shorts that airs on CBeebies here in the UK, but now it's got an app. Like the show, it's based around scribbled drawings and the Dipdap character's reactions to them, with 16 missions to draw specific objects, and a free-draw mode for children to experiment with.
iPhone / iPad

Heading to Edinburgh for its annual festival? This app may be just the thing for a spot of exploration. It's a collection of literary walks around the city, based on locations associated with writers who've lived and worked there. A location-based treasure hunt and augmented reality features are thrown in for fun, too.
iPhone

Immediate Media's magazine-app aims to tell the story of the first world war with a mixture of articles, audio lectures, videos and images, covering the 1914-1918 war and its origins and aftermath.
iPad

There's been a lot of talk about ethical children's apps in recent months, much of it focusing on in-app purchases. But there are also debates going on about ads and tracking within kids' apps and websites. This, from startup Disconnect, aims to teach children and parents about online privacy, while also blocking "the 20 most prevalent trackers of mobile browsing and app activity".
iPhone / iPad

That's this week's selection, but what do you think? Make your own recommendations, or give your views on the apps above, by posting a comment.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/aug/02/best-iphone-ipad-apps-ladybird-quip

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