iPhone and iPad Apps Weekly Digest: The Magic of Instapaper Pro and Air Video, and More Besides…

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Left: Instapaper Pro. Right: Air Video.
Left: Instapaper Pro. Right: Air Video.

It’s time for our weekly digest of tiny iPhone reviews, courtesy of iPhoneTiny.com, with some extra commentary exclusive to Cult of Mac.

This time, we review 10 Pin Shuffle Lite, Air Video, Air Video Free, Cliffed, Dubble, Escape Board (iPad), Giana Sisters, Instapaper Pro, Iron Horse, Racecar (iPad), Sky Force, and Sky Force Reloaded.


APPS OF THE WEEK
Air Video: Essential video-streaming app. Great on iPhone or iPad, and includes on-demand live conversion. 5/5 $2.99 https://bit.ly/ciFpAG

Instapaper Pro (iPad): Improved layout for iPad turns very good Instapaper app into an essential classic. 5/5 $4.99 https://bit.ly/cBOamq

10 Pin Shuffle Lite: Fun, playable shuffleboard/bowling/poker hybrid. Universal app. 4/5 Free https://bit.ly/cF61Ji

Air Video Free: Stream videos from computers to your iPhone/iPad. Free version limits lists to a few items. 3/5 Free https://bit.ly/9JzAby

Cliffed: Norm’s World: Vertical platform game w/ cute graphics and chunky controls. As good on iPhone as iPad. 3/5 Free https://bit.ly/9PQU1X

Dubble: Adds physics to Puzzle Bobble. Unfortunately, removes fun, responsiveness and quality. 1/5 $4.99 https://bit.ly/cDdyN1

Escape Board (iPad): Basic, silent avoid-the-moving-shapes game. 2/5 Free https://bit.ly/biCjJ8

Giana Sisters: Decent update of 8-bit Mario clone. Pretty & playable, despite abrupt difficulty spikes. 3/5 $4.99 https://bit.ly/a2wOpD

Instapaper Pro: Optimised, efficient app for the ‘read it later’ service. Plenty of options. Good UI. 4/5 $4.99 https://bit.ly/cBOamq

Iron Horse: One-thumb timing-based ‘join the trains’ game. Pretty graphics and good fun for a buck. 3/5 $0.59 https://bit.ly/cPbCBM

Iron Horse, The (iPad): Identical to the iPhone game, but poorer value. Should have been a universal app. 2/5 $1.99 https://bit.ly/9l5M9g

Racecar (iPad): Overhead Super Sprint-style racer. Awkward controls and racing-on-ice physics ruins the game. 1/5 Free https://bit.ly/cYxjqY

Sky Force: Nicely designed old-school vertical shooter with retro styling & fluid touch controls. 3/5 $1.99 https://bit.ly/dzGRkn

Sky Force Reloaded: A little prettier and tougher than Sky Force, but too many objects that obscure game. 3/5 $1.99 https://bit.ly/9O1QM7

Hold on! Apps of the week? Yeah, I bottled it, but that’s only because both Air Video and Instapaper Pro for iPad are insanely good. If you don’t buy both, just set fire to all your Apple kit and go live in a forest or something.

Also, while Instapaper isn’t quite as good for iPhone (the interface and reading experience merely being great rather than OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER), Air Video is equally fabby for all Apple devices. iPad owners: go and buy them both, unless you want to deprive yourself of two of the best things the App Store has to offer. iPhone owners: buy Air Video first, but strongly consider Instapaper Pro as well.

For a daily dose of mini iPhone app and game reviews, follow iPhoneTiny on Twitter, or visit iPhoneTiny.com.

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