New apps are arriving in the App Store at such a rapid pace it can be a real challenge to find the stellar entries. This week we'll take a look at a handful of newly released, noteworthy apps worthy of special mention.
1. The Loop (Free)
This new subscription-based magazine is the brainchild of longtime Apple journalist and reporter Jim Dalrymple. He will publish The Loop magazine twice a month, and it will cost $1.99 per month. The Loop magazine app is not just a spin-off of the Loop’s website online. This stand-alone app will feature articles written by some of the great authors in the field of Apple journalism, with all if the articles being written exclusively for the magazine.
While Dalrymple doesn't officially work for Apple, it's safe to say he has his finger on the pulse of the company.
And with more than 20 years’ experience as an Apple journalist, he is certainly one of the most reliable and trustworthy sources of Apple-centered media information that I've come across. In fact, whenever I hear a rumor about a new device coming down the Apple pipeline, I'll always check in with Dalrymple for confirmation one way or another.
2. The Doors ($4.99 iPad only)
I owe a lot to Jim Morrison. At a young and formative age, he influenced me in deep and profound ways with his introspective and psychedelic prose. I started listening to The Doors when I was in my mid-teens and by that point, Morrison had been dead for more than a decade and a half. I'm glad too see that he, and the music he created with The Doors, is still relevant enough to have a new app featured prominently in the Apple App Store.
The Official Doors app is a rich, multi-media experience, a virtual trip into the heart of one of the most lyrical and boundary-pushing bands of the '60s psychedelic rock scene.
The new Doors app will keep you captivated whether you are a casual listener or a lifelong fan. Chock full of interesting information, this highly polished and comprehensive app lets users flip through a virtual vinyl LP collection, view photo galleries, read song lyrics, and much, much more.
With more than 700 images and 100 music and sound clips, this compilation lets you rediscover the intensity and originality of Jim Morrison and the Doors. The Doors app includes rare band photos, handwritten notes from Jim Morrison, original short films (did you know Jim Morrison was a film student when he dropped out to join The Doors?) and homages from such Doors influencers as Hunter S. Thompson, Francis Ford Coppola, and The Doors themselves.
The Doors app is well crafted and finely tuned and even has the stamp of approval from the surviving members of this iconic and mystical band.
3. Running With Friends (Free)
This brand new Zynga game, Running With Friends was recently an App Store Editor’s Choice and seems destined to be another classic Zynga hit. In Running With Friends, you're challenged with outrunning rampaging bulls, dodging oncoming traffic, and dashing through treacherous alleys in this stylish, turn-based infinite runner.
Brought to you by the creators of such hit games as Words With Friends and Draw Something, this new social game features elements of time-shifted multiplayer racing, and pits you against Facebook friends or random opponents.
Set in Pamplona, Spain, during the Running of the Bulls “celebration,” Running with friends will test your reflexes and your skill as you dodge obstacles, leap off ramps, soar over buildings, and even ride bucking bulls for extra bonuses. You can even customize your avatar with an in-app purchase for a more unique playing experience.
Running With Friends has responsive controls, fast and varied gameplay, and competition-focused matches, all of which combine to deliver a gaming experience that ranks among the best that this genre has to offer.
