"If there is an app for that"

eMail Widget 2, Song of Pan, TIPIT and more apps to check out this weekend

January 02, 2016 by macjeff

It is officially 2016. Hopefully, last year treated you well, or at least didn’t cause you too much pain. With a new year, comes a new hope of things to come, and new apps and games to fill your time.

This week, thanks to the holidays, the App Store was a little dry. So, instead of focusing on brand new titles, we are presenting a general list of apps and games that we just think are cool.

1 Second Everyday

For the next 365 days, make a goal to grab one second of video footage. Capture one moment that sums up that day, even if it is just a POV shot of your desk at work. Then, using this app, stitch together your entire year in a slideshow that only lasts six minutes but encompasses everything you did for the past year. It’s like a Vine-sized video diary. You can make multiple timeline diaries that cover such things as what you ate for dinner every day, or which pair of sock you wore. Set up a notification to remind you to grab a one-second shot. You can also convert your one-second videos into animated GIFs. This app is available for free.

Nom Nom Paleo

At the beginning of each New Year, I try to set some sort of food-based resolution. Whether it’s cutting out fast food, quitting sugar, or going heavy on the meat-based meals, there is always a way to improve your health by reducing the amount of useless calories you eat. This app is a comprehensive recipe book by the team that created the blog of the same name. In it, you’ll find hundreds of simple Paleo-based recipes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It features high-resolution photos for each step of the cooking process and tips and tricks for making things easier. If you are new to the Paleo diet, check out the 30-day sample meal plan to get you started. This app is available for $5.99.

eMail Widget 2

We told you about eMail Widget back in July, when it first launched. The app lets you access and deal with your emails right from Notification Center. You can archive, star, mark as read, tag as spam, and delete emails without needing to unlock your iPhone. The app was updated earlier this month with support for Outlook, Hotmail, iCloud, Office 365, and GMX. You can also set up multiple accounts with up to three widgets that will display in Notification Center on your device. This app is available for $0.99.

MOVIEQU

This app has been described as “the Shazam for movie trailers,” which is somewhat fitting. While a movie trailer is playing, open the app and tap the microphone and it will “listen” to the audio to tell you what is playing. This isn’t for finding out what the trailer is. It is highly unlikely you won’t already know that. It is for adding movies to your list of things to see. For example, while the trailer for Batman V Superman is playing, tap the microphone and a poster for the movie will appear. Add it to your “QU” and it will also automatically be added to your calendar with a reminder, so you won’t forget that it opens on March 25. This app is available for free.

Song of Pan

In this fun, simple game, players take control of a satyr on a mission to bring back Zeus’ wandering sheep. When you play your pan flute, the sheep follow. However, your music only lasts for so long. The goal is to figure out how to reach the sheep while playing your tunes and get them to follow you (without falling to their doom down some bottomless pit) to the holding tent. As you progress through the game, the gods of Olympus will try to mess you up with heavy rainfall, tornadoes, and fires. But, if you succeed, your father Zeus will reward you greatly. This game is available for free.

TIPIT

I love to shoot video of family outings, vacations, and other important events in my life. However, I don’t like to spend a lot of time editing them and making them into any sort of project that I could present to others. So, most of the time, no one sees my clips. This app makes it much easier to create fun videos without having to spend a lot of time on them. You can add auto-tracking captions and stickers, add some flare with video filters, and add the perfect soundtrack. If you don’t have your own videos to mess with, you can grab one from the TIPIT community. This app is available for free.

Tilt: Quill’s Quandry

In this fun little puzzle adventure, players control an adorable porcupine as he rolls his way through complex labyrinths to find the exit. Tilt your iPhone to get the little guy moving. Quill lives on the cutest pirate ship in the world and keeps getting trapped behind walls of crates. You can help him find a way out by tilting your iPhone even further to get the crates to move out of the way. If you make a mistake, you may accidentally trap poor Quill in an even worse situation. This game is available for $1.99.

More apps to check out this weekend

• The best apps for new iPhone and iPad users
• The best apps and games for new Apple TV users
• The best apps and games for new Apple Watch owners
• The best apps to start 2016 off right
• Pixite’s Union photo app is free right now within the Apple Store app
• Popular puzzle game Har•mo•ny 3 is Apple’s new Free App of the Week
• Check out Snapdrop, a web-based clone of Apple’s AirDrop
• The best apps and games of 2015
• Square Enix announces Final Fantasy IX coming soon to iOS
• Twitter for Mac revamped, gains dark theme, inline video and GIF support, group DMs and more