With iPad out in the US now for awhile and about to launch in several countries around the world on May 28th,  I wonder what your thoughts are with regard to the iPad?   For iPad users out there, do you think it is just a giant iPod Touch?   Would you replace your netbook or even a laptop with an iPad?

I personally feel that the iPad will attract a certain niche market and may replace netbooks and laptops for some users.   But for the more technically inclined, it will likely just be one more addition to your line of computers which include your desktop, laptop, and cell phone. 

I am just wondering how the rest of the community feels?

Have you ever wanted to customize your Mac OS X desktop beyond what Apple allows through its control panels?  There are several ways of customizing your desktop and dockbar beyond the standard look that the Apple System Prefs allow.

1.  Download a nifty little program called Candy Bar available at www.panic.com/candybar/

Candy Bar allows you to change icon sets, the look of the dock bar, and application icons.  In short, it allows a high level of customization to your desktop.  At the time of this post, the app costs $29 dollars to get a registered copy of it.   You can also try it before you buy it for 15 days for free.

2.  Download a nice desktop background for your Mac you can find nice desktop backgrounds at www.digitalblasphemy.com some desktop backgrounds cost money but many are free.

3. Download a useful utility called Overflow www.stuntsoftware.com/store/

4.  Even without Candy Bar to change icons all at once, you can change individual icons within Mac OS X by copying a picture you want to use for an icon into the clipboard using Command-C and then clicking the file, icon, or application whose icon you want to change by highlighting it and then doing a Commnd-I on it.  In the Get Info screen, the small icon at the very top of the window can now be replaced by highlighting it by clicking it and doing Command-V

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

With the social networking craze being so important to Web 2.0, the Facebook™ App is one of the more important and useful applications you can download for the iPod Touch and iPhone.

The Facebook App implements the most important features of the Facebook website into a specially formatted application designed specifically for the iPod Touch and iPhone’s smaller screen.

When you initially launch the Facebook App, you are taken to the home screen where any updates or News from your friends and contacts are displayed. There are tabs at the top of the Home screen : Notifications and Requests.

Any notifications that are sent to you either from facebook, groups you are associated with, or applications or games you play wil appear in the notification tab. If you receive any new Friend Requests, they will appear under the Requests tab.

There are also buttons at the top of the Home screen for submitting a post or a picture contained on the iPod/iPhone’s Photo Library.

Navigating away from the Home screen, there is an icon at the bottom for your profile usually labeled with your name. Under your profile screen, you will find your Wall where you can post information about yourself or what you are currently doing. There is an Info tab at the top of the screen that shows all the Information you wish to share about yourself such as your age, sex, email address, and particulars. There is also a tab for Photos where you can post recent photos of events in your life or recent pictures of yourself or your friends and family.

Next to your profile, there are the friends link which shows your friends list in alphabetic order. The Chat link which takes you to facebook chat is the next link over and finally the Inbox where you can view any messages sent to you from other facebook users.

All the basic functionality of the Facebook website is implemented in the Facebook App, I would highly recommend avid Facebook users download this application.

Screenshots of the Facebook App for iPod Touch and iPhone appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

You’re at the airport waiting for a friend to show up for what seems like an eternity. You get up from your seat at the airport terminal where your friend or family member is supposed to arrive and search around to find a terminal screen showing flight departure/arrival information. The screen shows that they should be arriving soon in about 30 – 45 minutes.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Likely you have waited in an airport terminal for your friends/family and wished you had access to more accurate departure/arrival information. If so, FlightTrack is a necessary app if you want to keep up to date with the latest flight information. FlightTrack allows you to search for a flight based on the airline or arrival/departure times. The iPod Touch/iPhone App then provides detailed information on the flight status including a detailed map showing the current live map of where the plane is located in respect to its destination. The app also provides detailed information on the type of airplane as well as its present speed and altitude.

Theres no doubt that if you are a frequent traveller that you will want this application.

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

If you like air hockey, you’ll likely enjoy FS5 Hockey. FS5 Hockey is similar to playing air hockey. Your goalie slides on a cushion of computerized air. The air flow can be regulated in the settings. You can also set the amount of goals that need to be scored until a winner is established. You can choose between a 5 goal, 7 goal, 9 goal, or 11 goal game.

The game allows you to play versus the computer, versus another player right on a single iPod/iPhone, or versus another player via wifi. There are both free advertisement sponsored versions of the game and paid versions of the game.

Screenshots of the FS5 Hockey Game for iPod Touch and iPhone appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

If you’re like me, bookkeeping is not something you enjoy. Saving all your receipts and either entering them into a paper based accounting system or a computer based system can be time consuming. This app takes all the effort and work out of tracking your expenses. Since the iPod Touch and iPhone are small enough to fit into your pocket, you can enter expenses into this application as you incur them.

There is a free version of the application limited to 50 entries named iXpenselt Lite and the paid version which does not have the 50 entry limitation. Once you have this app, you will be able to effortlessly track all your expenses.

The application allows you to specify the type of expense whether it is a business or personal expense. It then allows you to categorize and subcategorize the expense and show method of payment and the date the expense occurred.

Itemizing expenses on the fly has never been so easy!

Screenshots of the iXpenseIt App appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I love Vegas Pool Sharks! Playing Pool at the billiards has always been a favorite past time of mine. With this iPod Touch/iPhone Game, you can feel like your at the Pool Hall! You can play against the computer if you wish. The game has a realistic feel to it. You can change the direction of the queue and its angle as well.

When you play against the computer, the first player to sink 3 balls wins. There are both free versions and paid versions of the game. The paid version only costs $0.99 and is worth the price.

Screenshots of the Vegas Pool Sharks App appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

If you want to be able to view the HTML source of a web page on your iPod Touch/iPhone, you’ll want to get this application. All you do is simply launch this application and enter in the web page’s URL into WebSource and it will display the pages HTML source code. This app is perfect for web developers who want to check out their source code quickly while on the move.

Screenshots of the Websource App appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

As a kid, didn’t you have fun popping bubblewrap? Popping bubblewrap can definitely be addicting! If you enjoyed doing so as a kid, then you will likely enjoy this iPod Touch/iPhone Game.

Screenshots of the Bubblewrap App appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore.
All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

If you love to Instant message, the Fring App for the iPod Touch or iPhone is a must have app. Fring connects to multiple Instant Messaging platforms including: MSN Messenger™, ICQ™, Google Talk™, Yahoo IM™, AIM™, and Twitter™. You can even use Fring to connect to Skype™ ! There are several options located at the bottom of the app including: Buddy List, History, Dialer, Goto, and More. Buddy List is where you will spend most of your time as it shows all your friends that are online or offline. To chat with someone, you simply press on their name and then you will be presented with the options of either chatting or dialing them (i.e. thru skype). If you choose chat, you will be presented with a small text box at the bottom to enter your message and then it will be displayed on the text box at the top of the screen along with any messages your friend has written. If you want to view a history of your chat sessions, then you would choose history at the bottom of the screen. There is an easily accessible button at the top of the history screen to clear your history. Choosing dialer launches a keypad similar to a standard telephones keypad. From the keypad, you can enter the phone number of the person you wish to call through Skype. Screenshots of the Fring Mobile App appear below:

3rd party Apps such as this one available at the Apple iTunes AppStore. All Cell Phone Apps we review can be found under the Mobile Apps section and the iPod Touch App Reviews section of our website