Favorite Apps of 2010

Hey Everyone.

I figured I would share with everyone which apps I used the most in 2010, and would like to hear what apps you have used this year.

1. ZumoCast

ZumoCast has proven an invaluable app for my daily use. I can access all of my files from home, and listen to media while on the go. I usually use this app on the iPad instead of the iPhone though.

2. The Weather Channel.

I use this app every day to find out how the weather will be as I head off to work. I really like the organization of this app, except  I do not like some of the VoiceOver labels.

3. Unibus (iBus-Mobile)

Even though this app went down for a while, it is still the best app for finding out the next bus times for a particular stop.

4. AOL Radio

AOL Radio is an awesome streaming music app from CBS. It may not be the most stable app, but the channels are good and it is free. They even have channels that you can’t find anywhere else, like the video game sound track channel.

5. VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is one of my favorite media players for the PC and Mac. Now it is for iOS. VLC for iOS allows you to play just as many video formats as you can on your own computer. This is a good app for iPad users, and is also good in conjunction with ZumoCast.

6. Audible

The Audible app is a good way to download your Audible books straight to your iDevice. You can even get achievements for listening to books!

7. iWork for iOS

iWork for iPad is a fully featured Office Suite. It is still good for on the go use, but can do any desktop based work if a bluetooth keyboard is present.

8. IM+ for iOS

IM+ is the best instant message app for VoiceOver users. with IM+ you can chat with people from almost any network. You also only have to have one app instead of a special VoiceOver only app like Fring.

9. Facebook for iOS

Facebook for iOS is an awesome app for social networking. the sections are well designed, and in a design similar to the iOS home screen.

10. Prizmo for iOS

Prizmo has to be one of my favorite apps for iOS. With Prizmo, a user may scan documents by taking pictures of each document, and then convert that document to text, business cards and more. I am also waiting to see how DocuScan for iOS will do from Serotek Corporation when it is released on the App Store.

Conclusion

So those are several of the apps that I like, and use every day. I would love to know what apps everyone else is using on a daily basis, so please leave comments with your favorite choices.

Have your computer(s) in your pocket with ZumoCast!

ZumoCast

Have you ever wanted your phone, your PDA, or any mobile device to be able to access all of your files on your home computer? Since the creation of the Internet, people have always wanted the ability to access their files remotely, without having to bring around expensive media such as hard drives, CDs, Flash drives, or floppies. ZumoCast is an app meant for streaming music and videos from your home computer to your iOS device. What many do not know is that this application can do so much more.

How it Works.

ZumoCast is an app that requires an installation on a host PC or Mac, and the iOS application to be installed on your device. Once you have these installed, head over to http://www.zumocast.com, and create n account. Account creation is free. Once you have an account, ZumoCast will point your iOS device to your computer, and your computer will tell your device what it has as far as files, music, and videos. You can then select something to read, play, or listen to, and ZumoCast will stream the content to your device. The app will do one more thing. ZumoCast will also allow you to download any file, song, or video from your computer to your iOS device to be viewable offline, or through another application.

Initial Screens.

The initial screens of ZumoCast tell you how to set up ZumoCast on your computer, and how to sign up for an account. You may also sign up for an account from the iOS app itself. Each of these screens are VoiceOver compliant. All labels are read, and are centered on the screen. Once your account has been created, ZumoCast will ask you to install the computer based app, and log in. Once this is done, tell ZumoCast that the app has been installed on the computer, and the program will log in, and bring up all of your files.

Files

The files section shows all available computers. You can also view which files have been downloaded from here as well. When you select a computer, ZumoCast will show you which folders have been shared. These usually include Documents, Music, and Movies. Though the desktop app, you may add more shared folders. Once a file has been opened, tap the download button on the top right to download the file. VoiceOver will read any document opened by ZumoCast assuming the document is text based. Once the file is downloaded, you can go to the downloaded section, and open the file again. From here you can open the file in other iOS applications, such as Documents To Go, or iWork.

Music

The music section also shows two areas. All music, and downloaded music. Under all music, you can see all of your music stored on your computer. You can then select to view by album, artist, songs or playlists. Below these items is a label that states the number of songs. All labels are VoiceOver compliant. Selecting an option will bring up the sorted list. The audio and video player is based off the iPhone iPod player, and is VoiceOver compliant. You may also download these songs to your iOS device. This comes in handy if you have audiobooks that you would like to listen to offline. This will not put music in the iPod list however. Any audio you download will stay in ZumoCast, unless you have other apps that support the file type.

Videos.

The video section is also set up like the music section, but you will see a list of all videos on your machine. these are not sorted in any order. You may also download these videos to your device, and open them with other applications, such as VLC Media Player. The videos section uses the same iPod video player, so will be VoiceOver compliant.

Transferring.

This screen shows you all active downloads. Tapping a transfer will tell you all current data, which includes the file name, speed of download, percentage, and how much has downloaded. When a download finishes, the transfer will be removed. There is also a bar at the top of this screen that shows how much space is being used on your device. This will show how much space you are using with other apps, how much ZumoCast downloads take up, and how much available free space is on your device. All labels are VoiceOver compliant.

Settings.

The settings area lets you sign out, change the video orientation, and to set a passcode lock. This is to make your downloaded files more secure. All settings are VoiceOver compliant.

Conclusion.

ZumoCast has shown itself to be one of the best remote storage and download apps in the App Store today. For the low low price of nothing, I feel that this app is a must have for all iPhone and iPad users out there. I have only found one issue with this application. VoiceOver users will find that this app is a bit high on memory usage. While running this app with VoiceOver, your speech will slightly stutter. If you are on a device with a pre-A4 processor, such as the iPhone 3GS, you will find that the app will not properly run, and VoiceOver will act up fairly badly. I have really not had a problem with this issue on iPads running VoiceOver. If this changes I will let everyone know. Even though this is an issue for some, I still would recomend this app for anyone wanting to access their home computers.