My iOS Must-Haves

• PS View - While on the same Wi-Fi network, Using Remote Connection in Photoshop you can see your PSD's real-time on your iPhone. This has become a great tool for mobile design; for figuring out font sizes, button sizes and just getting a feel for how your app will look on the device. You can always email yourself pictures, but that's just dumb.
• Check (formerly Pageonce) - I've been using this app to get my finances in order. Gives me a real-time snapshot of my money, portfolio, debt and credit score. Love it.
• Rowmote - Control your Mac while on the same Wi-Fi network. I use this so I don't have to get up and put on the next Game of Thrones (I connect my laptop to my TV via HDMI). Gives you player controls, a touchpad (with gesturing support) and keyboard. So there's really nothing you can't do.
• Evernote - Notes app that syncs to the cloud, so I have access to my notes no matter which device I'm using. I make notes on my phone and can access them on my laptop and vice versa.
• Waze - Crowd-sourcing maps application. Real-time information about traffic speeds, accidents, visible cops, something in the road, as well as navigation all from other users. So good Google bought them for $1.1B a couple months ago.
• Redbox - I use this app to rent my DVD's before I get to the kiosk, so all I need to do is put in my CC and out comes the movie. I sometimes use it when I'm waiting behind someone in line and snipe their movies.

Got any to add?

To be continued...

iOS 7 Bugs / Missing Features / Issues / UX - Part 2

Beta 3 has been out for nearly 3 weeks now. I didn't write about beta 2, not that anyone is actually reading this, but even for my own sanity, I never got around to it. There are still quite a few bugs (as is expected with betas), so here is a small list of the ones that are still bugging me.

• Camera Focus - The camera still won't focus up close. This one is a real pain for me, as it affects every day use. Even simple shots 2-3 feet away sometimes won't focus.
• Some apps become unusable - This may be an app issue, and maybe not an iOS issue, but some apps' buttons eventually stop working, and I have to restart the app in order to make it work properly.
• Apps with custom dialog boxes may not work properly - I've had apps lock up on me once their custom dialog boxes appear, as there's no way to close the popup and it renders the app useless. I know this because our app is one of them. Doh!
• Notification banner gets in the way! - This was an issue with iOS 6 as well, but there really needs to be a close X button on the notification banners. If I'm getting navigation, if I'm on the phone, or if I simply need to access to the top level navigation in an app, my new message banners get in the way with no way to close them.
• Parallax really isn't that cool. I don't even notice it anymore. Not a game changer as some fanbois are claiming.
• When you close an app that was opened from within a folder, you're still in that folder. I really don't like this. There are times I want to quickly get somewhere else, and this feels like an extra step.lo