earldom gwenora: Apps of the Week: Tetris Blitz, Impossible Road, Limelight, and more

Apps of the Week: Tetris Blitz, Impossible Road, Limelight, and more

Every week, the editors and writers at iMore carefully select some of our favorite, most useful, most extraordinary apps. This week's selections include a few games, an awesome read-later app, an app for keeping track of movies, a guitar tuner, an app dedicated to a famous classic band, and app that that is sure to increase your typing speed on the iPhone.

Pocket - Ally Kazmucha

I've tried many read it later services and up until last year, I had always used Instapaper. Then when RIL (Read It Later) transformed into Pocket and got a major overhaul, I couldn't stop myself from trying it. And I haven't looked back sense.

Pocket is absolutely gorgeous. Not only that, it's super fast and supports almost any browser and platform you could think of. Not only is there a native iPhone and iPad app, but a Mac one too. And for those who like to save things directly from their browsers, yep, there's support for those too. Even reading on the Pocket website is enjoyable.

The way content is laid out is unique and one of the best I've found so far. If you haven't tried it out yet, it's free so you've got nothing to lose.

Free - Download Now

Limelight - Joseph Keller

Limelight is an iPhone app that helps you keep track of movies, not just those in your collection, but also those that you may have just seen in theaters, as well as those you want to see. Create an account and begin searching for movies and mark whether or not you?ve seen them. Movies will then either be added to your Watched or To Watch lists, which can be shared with other Limelight users as well as your friends, through Twitter, Facebook, iMessage, and email. You can also follow the libraries that other users publish, finding new movies that you want to see by doing so. If you see or own a lot of movies, Limelight is a great way to keep track of and share them all. Check it out on the App Store for $1.99.

$1.99 - Download Now

Impossible Road - Simon Sage

If Super Hexagon has taught me anything, it's that I'm a sucker for punishment. Enter the brutally difficult Impossible Road. There are no power-ups, no in-app purchases, and barely any colors or shapes. All you have to do is keep a ball on a downward-spiraling track for as long as possible using left and right tap controls. If you fall off, you've got a moment to land on the track further down, but if you free-fall for too long, you've got to start all over. Players are scored based on how many checkpoints they pass through or skip by falling off the edge and recovering. The high contrast art style and minimalist music keep tension high for the fleeting seconds you manage to stay on the track. If you have any unresolved childhood issues with Rainbow Road from Mario Kart, or have an innate fear of heights to ~~get over~~ revel in, Impossible Road is a good place to start.

$1.99 - Download Now

Guitar Tune - Chris Parsons

After being away for a couple of months, I cam home and decided I wanted to play a little guitar. I quickly realized that before I could do that, it would certainly need some tuning. For the life of me, I couldn't find my tuner so figured it would be a perfect time to try out some of the tuner apps available on iOS. I download 3-4 and began testing them out, in the end I went with a free (ad-supported) one called Guitar Tuna and well, I'm never paying for a tuner app again. Guitar Tuna is awesome, idiot proof and free. Can't really beat it. If you're looking for a basic and easy to use guitar tuning app, look no further.

Free - Download Now

The Doors - Richard Devine

Sadly this week saw the passing of The Doors' keyboard player, Ray Manzarek. So, what better way to commemorate than by kicking back listening to their 'Best of' album and checking out the official The Doors app on the iPad.

Pictures, music, videos, lyrics, all here and only the beginning. The Doors app for iPad is filled with content about the band, how they created their sound, and even an exclusive comic that chronicles Jim Morrison's 'Incident' in Miami. A must have for all The Doors fans out there.

$4.99 - Download Now

TextExpander Touch - Rene Ritchie

Just over a month ago, Text Expander Touch was my pick of the week. Why am I picking it again so soon? Because Smile Software just released Text Expander Touch 2.0.

The basic overall functionality hasn't changed, and everything I used before is still what I use now -- I type in shots bits of text and TE spits out long strings of code or copy. Here's the example I used last time, typing this:

ssocial

Automagically gets me this:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/imore Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/imorecom Google+: http://www.gplus.to/imore YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/imorevideo

But for the higher level nerds among us, here's what's new:

Fill-in snippets, formatted snippets (including copy and send email actions), "Insert?" menu item for macros, %\ selection range macros, and more.

In other words, the power user just got handed a bunch more power.

$4.99 - Download now

Tetris Blitz - Leanna Lofte

I've always been a big Tetris fan, and Tetris Blitz is a new twist to the class game. You have two minutes to clear as many lines as possible, but instead of the traditional gameplay of rotating and dropping each piece, Tetris Blitz gives you options for placement of the pieces. You simply tap the spot you want the piece to go, or cycle through more choices. There are also power-up in Tetris Blitz that help you rack up the points. Tetris Blitz is not traditional Tetris, but I'm enjoying this new, high-paced version.

Free - Download now

Your choice?

Now that we've chosen our favorites for the week, we want to hear yours! Did you pick up a killer app, accessory, or game this week? Let us know in the comments below!