The most popular thing people ask me is what are my favorite apps/games for the PlayBook. The recent rush of PlayBook’s going out to developers has surely given a boost in the need of new users trying to get the best on their new tablets.
At one point I wrote a guest post for another site which hasn’t made it’s way to their homepage. I’d love to just post that here, but I am trying to give them more time to edit it. In lieu of that I decided on some “best of” posts to keep our readers happy! Read on to check out my latest heavy rotation.
You buy a new device and it’s empty. There’s native apps, sometimes suggested apps from the carrier and even worse there’s those icons you can’t get rid of. The first place we’d recommend heading off to would have to be RIM’s own BlackBerry App World. Top selling apps & games, Top Free and even the Top Rated products are right there. Unfortunately that doesn’t cover everything. There’s still some that you haven’t seen or heard of, or maybe you would rather hear from someone who’s already picked up the more expensive stuff before you burn the cash up.
° PicShop v1.1 by esDot Development Studios
— Now in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/87956
— Also available a FREE Lite ver: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/92432
I love this app! When it came out I fixed on another app much like it. I’m always open to more options and features. This app has it all! We did a similar post featuring their first 2 apps for PlayBook back around launch time, but this is by far my favorite from the team.
PicShop is loaded! Edit photos with options like autofix, focal point, tilt shift, crop, rotate etc. Filter photos with options like lomo, vintage, textures, super rich, emboss and many more. Then you have Frames and there’s 17 to choose from. Last but not least the Extras! In Extras you’ll find sketch, colorize (add red, blue or green), stickers, meme maker! <- love that!, speech (bubbles) and text (let’s you add a bit of info anywhere to the photo). And inside every feature you’ll see options to resize items like stickers or placement and just endless possibilities.
In the end you can choose to save the image (low, medium or high quality), tweet it or send to Facebook. PicShop is $4.99 and also available for iPad and Android tablets here.
° Run In Crowd v.1.0.3.4 by Ursine Paw
— Now in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/84333
Finally an awesome game for BlackBerry PlayBook that is absolutely FREE! Plus it’s one of the simplest games you’ll ever play. All you do is jump by touching the screen while the cute big eyed guys run to the right.
I remember a couple days back these were some of my favorite titles on the iTouch. But now that the PlayBook is out those developers have turned their noses up to bringing the games over to PlayBook. Well their loss. Run In Crowd is off the chain! You have to pay attention as you progress the gaps get larger and larger. With the bigger gaps you must time double jumps to land your little dude safely. 100 meter marker encourage you just to get a little further each time. Trust me this one is worth your $0.00.
Other features include Scoreloop integration which puts you alongside other users who’ve logged into their accounts. Also they included optional outfits you can purchase for $0.99 a piece to dress your little dudes up. Level generation puts you in a new world each day. Run In Crowd is available for iPad as well here.
° AirAttack v1.1 by Art In Games, published by Union
— Now in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/61904
OMG I haven’t had this much fun since Capcom’s 1942! When I was 10 years old I would head down to the Rainbow market, grab a doughnut for $0.25, maybe a fountain soda and I’d hit the arcade machine. It would later come to Nintendo as well. Well now I’m reliving that fun on the supped up BlackBerry PlayBook with AirAttack. And Art In Games does it much better than Capcom did back then.
Gorgeous graphics, portrait gameplay, fully destructible environments, purchase upgrades along the way (homing rockets, side planes, shiels, lightening, extra lives etc), 8 large levels each with it’s own progressively harder boss at the end. You can actually choose from 4 different control styles: touch, relative touch, tilt and joypad. I like touch the best, just feels real fluid. But every user is different and it’s nice to have options.
You’ll lose hours playing AirAttack. It’s just one of those games where “the I just have to get a little further” becomes a craving that only fixes when you keep feeding it. The game just $0.99 for BlackBerry PlayBook at the moment, but that could change soon. Pretty sure I paid more. Art In Games has also made this game for every other possible platform ( Android, iPhone, iPad, Nokia & Mac) just to name a few. Check out all the versions here.
° Cloudee v1.0.0.538 by Kisai Labs
— Now in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/88016
When Kisai first let me know about this app I wasn’t really sure how I would benefit from it. I mostly use Dropbox and can move images from the PlayBook back & forth through a couple different apps I have installed. Although I’m optimistic I knew I had to try this nonetheless.
What I have discovered is Cloudee moves images from my PlayBook into the laptop much quicker than those apps that work out my Dropbox needs. Maybe 3 times faster. Cloudee is still very new, has some bugs but with Kisai Labs behind it I have faith the app will only get better in time.
Even though we already did a full post on this app it is in my current heavy rotation so I thought a refresher would be fair. The application is $3.99 and available only for BlackBerry PlayBook.
º Plants vs. Zombies v1.3.o by PopCap & EA Mobile
— Now in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/70704
My favorite game became Plants vs. Zombies after I realized I had spent 3 hours with it one day. I don’t care about time when I’m mowing through the living dead.
I remember hearing PvZ was coming to the PlayBook a while back. I had played it on iOS devices and the Xbox360. It was cool, but not the end all best game that I would later perk up for whenever someone mentions it [post-PlayBook version].
Maybe it’s the blowing things up that attracts me? Or the idea that zombies really are America’s best pastime. Little bits of sun become that of your fingers craving. PopCap did an awesome job introducing this style of gameplay to the world. Before only hardcore gamers (usually living in their parents home) played this style.
You’ll love getting a new weapon (plants, flowers, vegetables) at the end of each level and later in the game buying exotic upgrades from Dave’s Shop. 7 inches of pure violence. The BlackBerry PlayBook version is $2.99 and well worth it. PvZ is available for just about every console. Find all other versions here.
° GeeReader PRO v2.0.8 by Ryan Krull & EPI-USE User Interface Theme by Baselime
— Now Available in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/67611
— Also available a FREE ver: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/40723
Counting all the RSS Feed applications already available for the PlayBook might take you a couple hours. I can see why they’re so popular, I mean come on it’s obvious. But as a consumer trying to pick one that suits your needs can be daunting. I’ve purchased about 7 for my PlayBook and downloaded maybe 4 other free ones. At least 4 of them were really impressive.
However some people may feel it’s UI is more important than a ton of features in their readers. I prefer mine has the best features, function and an attractive UI helps. GeeReader PRO has those things. You can’t do much better than having a theme by Baselime either. Ryan Hamrick is one of the leading trend setters in the mobile industry in my opinion so they’ve already got the advantage there.
GeeReader syncs with your Google Reader account beautifully. Read, Starred, Kept, Unread items are all carried over. I can hold my PlayBook in portrait or landscape and get the same experience as GR works in both orientations. You can add/remove feeds from within the app. Each post you read has an option to be viewed in Lite, Mobi [Instapaper Mobilizer (my favorite), or Full views. With the Mobi option you can customize fonts, layout and more. The PRO version includes options to share posts via Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and now even Email! They're even got direct integration via XML-RPC to send items to your WordPress blog. Very cool and all just $1.99. They also update GeeReader often and that's important for any great app. Easily one of my favorite apps ever built.
° Vault - Password Manager v1.2.0 by XLabz Technologies Pvt Ltd
— Now Available in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/66168
I never realized how important having a password manager is for my mobile devices until I got my PlayBook. Sure I have one built into my BlackBerry Bold, but the idea of a PlayBook is to either bridge it to your BlackBerry smartphone or to use the PlayBook native apps. Since 2.0 RIM has added some wonderful things to the tablet. Though they've completely avoided bridging in the Password Keeper or bringing one natively.
Enter Vault - Password Manager by super developer XLabz Technologies. We could do a whole post like this on their products. Though I feel like having my passwords easily accessible and locked away is among the top priorities of a mobile device. And they came with it on this app. Your passwords are extremely safe too. Vault users are secured because the app uses the industry standard 256-bit AES Encryption. You can even back-up all your items-passwords to your Dropbox account.
Build your own categories and/or use the ones provided for you to easily organize all your stuff. I love the built in password generator as well. Build up to 16 character passwords using uppercase, lowercase, numbers and/or symbols. You can completely modify what's used. Other features like KeePass XML files can be imported. Set an Auto Destruct threshold if peering eyes get a hold of your PlayBook. And the initial view-lock is a very cool pattern lock that you set yourself. Love this app and I use it constantly. From within Vault you can copy your password, launch a website and then paste your password right in from the browser! Vault - Password Manager is $2.99 and available in App World now.
° Cut the Rope HD v1.2.0 by ZeptoLab
— Now Available in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/77749
Another one of the most original [addictive] games for BlackBerry PlayBook. Cut the Rope HD hits the spot every time. If you don’t fall in love with Om Nom (little monster above) then we’ll consider you a creature from another planet. He’s adorable. And all you need to worry about is feeding the lil love munchkin CANDY!
Sure we don’t feed our kids this much candy, but Om Nom is different. Each level is based on opening a different box. Inside you’ll discover Om Nom awaiting bits of candy that are attached to ropes. Cut the Rope and the candy falls into his wide open mouth. But as you progress obstacles will become more challenging and the candy will have to travel a further distance to reach the lil monster. Along the way you will need to pick up stars with your candy bit to open newer boxes [levels]. And some will be downright daunting to retrieve. But it will be worth your time, I know it has been worth mine.
Cut the Rope HD isn’t a short game in my opinion. Each box has 25 levels inside and you’ll have 7 boxes to work your way through. They’ve also included Scoreloop integration and a bevy of achievements to collect! The game is priced at $2.99 for the PlayBook, and is available on many other platforms, found here.
° Traffic Wonder v1.0 by YoAmbulante
— Now Available in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/94250
Here’s a game that’s relatively new to my PlayBook called Traffic Wonder. I just picked it up last Wednesday and just started to play it today. What a blast! I think a lot of people will love this game, if you haven’t downloaded it already.
The premise – you guide colored vehicles along roadways to destinations of the same color all-the-while avoiding hitting other vehicles and using the least amount of gas possible. It’s quite true-to-life however with larger vehicles taking more gas to get to their destinations, plus cars will speed up in straightaways and slow down taking turns respectively. Traffic Wonder is played in a top down view, and your finger is the true master of what happens on the road.
Coding and graphics are stunning plus TW is an absolutely original type of game – at least as far as BlackBerry games goes. They’ve even included an intelligent world wide leaderboard to keep the game’s replayability high. View your score, medal, boxes, stophands and crashes in the leaderboard (seems my eldest son made it there before me). There’s 60 total levels, each is very different than the last. Traffic Wonder is just $0.99 in BlackBerry App World, available now. The game is also available for Android, and iOS devices here.
° Files and Folders v3.0.2 by Innovatology
— Available Now in BlackBerry App World: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/49236
One of the most popular questions I get is what’s the best files & folders application for the PlayBook. Funny though because when PlayBook first landed down in my lap I was having the same issue. For the first month or 2, we would see approximately 5 apps that all basically did the same thing. Some had a couple better features but none had the UI I was looking for and like I said the features were fine.
That is until Innovatology launched Files and Folders. The user interface is among the best looking apps ever built for a BlackBerry device in my opinion. The features even outweigh those of the other applications I had tried. From the top photo you can see PlayBook, Dropbox, Google Docs, Box.net and Bridge. Having direct access into all these areas own for me. A future update will bring SugarSync for those of you using their service. And if you can imagine it, you can probably do it here – cut, copy, move, paste, zip, unpack, cut/copy to clipboard, send to email/Dropbox/Box.net/Bridge [BlackBerry smartphone] etc. The possibilities are endless.
Files and Folders has received appx 6 healthy updates since the initial release back in June 2011. The support for users is top class and I’m sure we can expect to see more features in the future, especially the type of features users want. They offer a 3 day trial for those of you who aren’t easily swayed. The app is $2.99 and available now in BlackBerry App World.
