Walt Disney might possibly potentially think about considering putting their sports network's WatchESPN app on the Apple TV and letting us poor dumb users watch it, provided we authenticate with a right-and-proper... with a Pay TV account. Seriously. Bloomberg has the quote:

"We're a platform-agnostic content company," Bratches, the network's executive vice president of affiliate and advertising sales, said today in an interview. "To the extent that in the future there's an opportunity with Apple to authenticate through the pay-TV food chain as we're doing with Microsoft, that's something that we will participate in."

Authenticate through the pay-TV food what-now?

Here's an idea. Just a crazy thought. You know, I'm totally spitballing here. HOW ABOUT JUST RELEASING THE APP AND LETTING CUSTOMERS SUBSCRIBE TO IT DIRECTLY.

Why make it be any more complicated than it has to be? Why make your users jump through hoops and keep them tied to legacy media delivery systems? The cable and other providers might be their customers now, but that won't be forever and the smarter, more future-thinking content providers, the ones who embrace the digital and mobile transition, are the ones that are going to benefit most.

Having to pay for cable to watch ESPN on your TV so you can authenticate to watch ESPN on your Apple TV is "food chain" that makes sense to precisely no one who's not entirely buried beneath what food becomes when it exists that chain.

Launching an app, subscribing, and watching where you want, when you want, on what you want is a simpler, cleaner, better experience.

That Disney of all companies doesn't understand that, and isn't embracing it, is sad. Though at least it does serve as a reminder that old media companies need to be replaced with new media companies that do understand it. And sooner rather than later.

Source: Bloomberg

Just in case we needed any more convincing that people love their iPhones, the American Customer Satisfaction Index has found through recent surveys that Apple's smartphones are leaving customers the happiest. The iPhone scored 83 on their system, compared to to Nokia, LG and HTC who are all tied at 75, Motorola at 73, Samsung at 71, and RIM at a sad 69. The ACSI also looked at U.S. service providers. Topping the list were regional carriers like U.S. Cellular with 76, then Sprint with 71, followed by Verizon with 70, and AT&T and T-Mobile tied at 69.

Lots of other studies have consistently backed up customer satisfaction for the iPhone, but it's always interesting to see just how much of a lead Apple has on the competition. The fact that the competition is nearly ten points suggests it will take a whole lot of work to bring Android and the other platforms up to snuff with iOS.

Do these rankings stack up with the sentiment you see among friends? Is Sprint really ahead of the other three major U.S. carriers?

Source: ACSI via Wired

iMore's authoritative guide to the very best, absolutely free games for your iPad

We're continuing our trip down the bargain aisle to find the very best free iOS games for the iPad. We've already nailed down our current top free iPhone apps and favorite free iPhone games, as well as the best free iPad apps, of course. You'll find the whole gamut of genres here, including the best free strategy games, free shooter games, free sports games, free casual games, free physics games, free action games, free role-playing games, free racing games, free word games, and free simulation games for the iPad!

You can expect this feature to be updated regularly as new games come out of the woodwork and we expand our coverage of categories. We'll also be drilling down into individual categories in future stand-alone spotlights, so be sure to stick around for that.

Although all of the games here are free, most of them are built on in-app purchases. You can absolutely play them for free, but you may get annoyed by "freemium" up-sells. Others are "lite" versions with limited content, and while they're also completely free, you'll be limited in what you can do. Still, they're a great way to test the waters and have some fun before deciding to buy and unlock full versions.

Without further ado, here are our favorite free games for iPad.

• Best free strategy games for iPad
• Best free shooter games for iPad
• Best free sports games for iPad
• Best free casual games for iPad
• Best free physics games for iPad
• Best free action games for iPad
• Best free role-playing games for iPad
• Best free racing games for iPad
• Best free board games for iPad
• Best free word games for iPad
• Best free simulation games for iPad

Best free strategy games for iPad

Spice Bandits

Spice Bandits is probably the best tower defense game I've ever played. You take on the role of an adorable little space pirate who plunders various locations on Earth to gather up as much spice as possible. Of course, pesky humans aren't interested in letting you get away with that, and attack your various strongholds in waves while you defend with all sorts of upgradeable alien towers. Maps have a variety of themes and terrain qualities, making every round a new experience. Over time, you gather spice which can be spent on new kinds of turrets (provided you're a high enough level and have the prerequisite turrets purchased). Spice can also be used to deck out your alien avatar in some swanky threads viewable by friends in competitive and co-operative missions through Game Center.

As you level up, you get upgrade points (which can also be bought with spice) to customize your play style as you see fit - cheaper turrets, faster rate of fire or more mesmerizing disco music are just a few options. Spice Bandits lets you buy spice through in-app purchases, which also eliminates ads between levels.

On the iPad, Spice Bandits makes excellent use of the bigger screen, and the devs have made a lot of user interface changes so you can see more of the action. Spice Bandits also lets your port over your game progress from the iPhone version easily through their Crystal network and cloud saving; it's universal too, so there's only one download to manage across devices. Though the graphics aren't fully optimized for the new iPad, an update which partially optimizes them for the big Retina display is on the way.

• Download now

Battle Nations

Battle Nations is a great mix of real-time strategy with lots of resource gathering and turn-based military combat. The goofy graphic style and hilarious dialog keep things fresh between firefights, and since resources are produced over the hours between sessions, you'll be checking in on your camp often.  Battle Nations hosts player-versus-player combat with select friends, staged as "live fire excerises". You'll probably want to sink a reasonable amount of time into the single player campaign first so you can level up and unlock the advanced structures and units to reduce your buddies to piles of ash.

Battle Nations is monetized with Nanopods, which you can buy through in-app purchases, earn through gameplay, or be rewarded by watching video ads. These are used to hurry up production on particular tasks, like healing troops at the hospital or training new units. Nanopods are also used to to construct unique buildings, which are often just super-charged versions of standard ones.

There's no Retina Display support for the iPad just yet, but when zoomed out all the way, I find the graphics are still very sharp. There's supposed to be Game Center support for sharing achievements and whatnot, but it doesn't seem to be working right now. It would be handy to have that enabled for finding friends to play against, but I'm sure it's coming in due time. Finally, Battle Nations is universal, and syncs up gameplay across iOS devices thanks to the developer's own registration and cloud saving service.

• Download now

Hero Academy is a turn-based, multiplayer-only tactical combat game that pits cartoony armies against one another. Each side gets five actions points every turn to move their troops, kit them out with gear, cast spells and otherwise attack opposing units on the board. Each online player (either random or a designated buddy) has one or more crystals they must defend while trying to destroy the other side's. You can also win by running your opponent out of reinforcements, as each side only gets so many of each type every game.

Hero Academy includes The Council army (humans) for free, but charges for the others, such as Dwarves, Dark Elves and The Tribe (orcs). You can also pay for fancy army-themed avatars as well as taunts to make your soldiers jeer after a turn.

On the iPad, Hero Academy supports cloud saving, Game Center, and is universal. Unfortunately, it isn't fully optimized for the new iPad's Retina display due to the ton of extra effort required to recreate their hand-drawn art assets. Robot Entertainment has their own registration process, so when you log in on other iOS devices, your purchases and current games are loaded in. Not much has changed looks-wise from the iPhone version, so some of the elements feel slightly oversized, but overall, the gameplay is solid as ever.

• Download now

Best free shooter games for iPad

Gun Bros

Gun Bros is a dual-stick shoot-em-up where you and your brother-in-arms (either AI or through online multiplayer) blast through waves of incoming enemies across a variety of themed planets. Each level you earn coins to spend on guns and gear to change your damage output, speed, health, and other characteristics. You also gather up a mineral called Xplodium, which can be refined into coins; you can purchase higher grades of refineries which can provide a higher coin output. A recent update added the ability to turn on your bro and go head-to-head in deathmatch mode if you're feeling less than friendly.

Warbucks are a separate type of currency used to buy particularly high-end gear. You can earn them through in-app purchases, watching video ads, or converting a ton of the regular coins at the bank.

Even though Gun Bros isn't full optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, Game Center integration is great. If you've got friends that play, it's really easy to jump in with them for a few rounds, and you're actually offered greater mission rewards for playing with more friends. Gun Bros supports cloud saving and is universal to boot, which makes playing on both iPhone and iPad a breeze.

• Download now

MetalStorm: Wingman

MetalStorm: Wingman is a flight combat game with full multiplayer support, AirPlay compatibility and accelerometer and swipe controls.  As you play through the campaign mode, head-to-head multiplayer dogfight mode, or endless survival mode, you earn credits which can be used to buy various types of missiles, cannons, and new jets focusing on defense, agility, or firepower. Don't get too trigger-happy, since your ammunition is limited. If you're not into shooting down your buddies, you can also invite Game Center wingmen to play through the campaign levels co-operatively.

A lot of the hardware upgrades require you to use premium coins, which are sold in batches for $0.99 and up or earned through regular gameplay.

MetalStorm: Wingman has full support for the new iPad's Retina display, which is a welcome sight on this list. The co-op nature of the game also gets its hooks into Game Center for matchmaking, though I found cloud saving functions were inconsistent - be warned if you're prone to hopping between your iPad and iPhone a bunch.

• Download now

Frontline Commando

Frontline Commando is an on-rails third-person shooter about a gung-ho military man left behind enemy lines. You dodge behind cover with single taps, and pop out to take aim and eliminate nonspecific middle eastern insurgents. Don't get too attached to that wall you're hiding behind though, since it can be destroyed as a firefight drags on, and grenades can quickly flush you out into the open. When you level up, new weapons are unlocked for purchase, plus you get a few bars of gold, which can be used to buy premium items. Weapon upgrades span assault weapons, sniper rifles, shotguns, and grenade launchers, each with their own set of damage, clip size, reload speed, and accuracy attributes.

You can also increase survivability with medkit purchases and body armor upgrades. When things get too hot, you can buy airstrikes to clear out the immediate area. Both "war cash" and gold can be bought through in-app purchases.

Frontline Commando performs great on the new iPad with full support for Game Center, cloud saving to keep your game synced up with your iPhone campaign, and they've just recently updated with Retina-optimized graphics, a new map, and fresh power-ups.

• Download now

Best free sports games for iPad

Baseball Superstars 2012

Baseball Superstars 2012 is a whimsically exaggerated baseball game with Japanese-style characters and dialog. While the game keeps tabs on minute details, such as batting averages, running speed, stamina, and confidence levels, there are some more cartoony encounters with "super players" that wear outlandish costumes and wield the unlikeliest of powers. As a batter, you can control where you swing by tilting the iPad, but don't worry, you won't actually have to swing it like a bat - just tap the screen at the right moment. Pitching is done through a series of swipes within a target box. You'll encounter plenty of challenges, including injuries which require recuperation in a hospital, managing your team roster, and playing against friends online. Personally, I found this game impossibly hard when set on normal difficulty, but I'm positive baseball fans will appreciate the amount of detail in this game. After putting some time into Homerun Battle 2 Free, it's clear that Baseball Superstars 2012 is the top free baseball game on the iPad, but for more baseball-themed apps, check out our ballgame roundup over here.

Through in-app purchases, you can get G points, which are spent on character items, training sessions to improve your stats, or even buy whole levels for your batter or pitcher.

The pixelation oreplef the old-school graphics are really apparent on the iPad's larger display, but the animation remains high-quality. Game Center integration doesn't extend beyond achievement tracking, and while cloud saving is available, you have to make sure you have a Gamevil account active and manually upload game data to and from your iPhone.

• Download now

NFL Pro 2012

NFL Pro 2012 is a full-fledged football game complete with leagues, playbooks, and extensive rosters based on real players and teams. Your players gain experience and level up as you go, letting you improve their stats in a number of areas, like run blocking, catching, awareness, and agility. Every down, you pick a play available (either offensive or defensive), and while you manually control one player, the AI handles the rest. Controls during play are dead simple, but most of your time will be spent flipping through and picking plays. Unfortunately, your selection is really limited to start, and it takes an obscene number of premium credits to permanently keep playbooks.

Every game you play uses up energy, which you can replenish over time or through in-app purchases. Experience points to level up your players can also be bought, along with credits to buy new playbooks, stadiums, gain access to new teams, divisions, and conferences, and extend quarter lengths.

Unfortunately, there's no cloud saving, though NFL Pro 2012 is a universal app. It doesn't seem like there's any update to Retina graphics, which are likely headed to EA's premium titles first. There isn't even any Game Center support, which makes me think NFL Pro 2012 is due for a big update soon.

• Download now

Real Soccer 2012

Real Soccer 2012 offers a wide variety of gameplay types in a fast-paced, realstic package. The core controls are laid out with a standard virtual joystick and sprint, pass and shoot buttons, but progresses in complexity with fancy gesture-based maneuvers. You can unlock a variety of different cups, starting with International, and working your way to Asian, African, American, and European cups, plus there's regional league play unlocked as you play and level up. Just remember that you're limited by how many matches you can play by a stamina rating, which recovers over time. Loading screens have bits of trivia, and occasionally test your own football, err, soccer knowledge with a multiple choice quiz.

Playing Real Soccer 2012 earns you coins which can be used to purchase new soccer balls that provide a variety of different bonuses, like extra XP per match. "Cash" is Real Soccer 2012's premium currency, which can be traded in for international teams, additional stamina, team stat boosts, access a few select stadiums, and even the ability to clear all yellow cards.

On the iPad, Real Soccer 2012 boasts universal status, but no love with cloud saving, Game Center, or Retina iPad optimization. Real Soccer 2012 is in a tight race with Pro Evo Soccer 2012, which, though "lite" and saving most of its leagues and progression for paying customers, has a really great Flick Soccer-style penalty kick drill.

• Download now

Best free casual games for iPad

Bejeweled Blitz

Bejeweled Blitz is a lightweight version of PopCap's famous gem-matching puzzle game. You're served up a board of colored jewels, and you can swap the position of any two that are next to each other with a tap or a swipe, but only if it lines up three or more of the same type. Matching sets then explode in glitter, serve up points, and as the the gems above drop down into place, more fall in from the top. The catch is that every round only lasts a minute, so the pressure is on to match up as many jewels as possible. PopCap keeps you coming back for more with a shot at a daily giveaway, the value of which increases by how many consecutive days you've played.

You earn coins through gameplay (which can also be bought through in-app purchases), which are spent on various pre-game power-ups and the occasional rare gem which can supercharge your next game in a number of flashy ways. Of course, if Bejewled Blitz isn't enough for you, there's the full iPhone version available for $0.99 with a bunch more game modes.

Bejeweled Blitz has graphics that are optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, is universal, and though there's no Game Center support, the game ties in very closely with its Facebook counterpart and lets you sync up your progress across devices that way.

• Download now

Trainyard Express

Trainyard Express is a routing puzzle game where you simply have to draw down tracks to get trains from point A to point B. Things get tricky once you have to start merging trains, combining their colors to get to the right end-point, and deal with overlapping tracks switching at the right time.

Trainyard Express is one of the few "lite" titles on the list, meaning there's a full version available for $2.99. Even though the 60 stages in the free game might not seem like they have a lot of replay value once you solve them, there's an expert mode unlocked once you beat the game that keeps tabs on how many tracks you lay down and how long it takes for the trains to get to their destination.

Trainyard Express has a great, simple art style with assets that are optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and there are no ads to boot. There's no Game Center support unfortunately, but you can share your unique puzzle solutions at Trainyard's website as well as on Facebook. There's also the option to switch players locally if someone else wants to solve the puzzles without seeing your solutions.

• Download now

Temple Run

Temple Run is a dead-simple platform game where you sprint through ancient ruins while being chased by spirits displeased that you just swiped their idol. You turn corners, duck under obstacles, and leap over pits with swipe gestures while collecting coins along the way. There's a bit of accelerometer control, so you can snag coins in the middle or to the left or right side of corridors by tilting the iPad, but for the most part, you're just relying on twitch reflex swiping. Gameplay can be extremely bite-sized, but still amply rewarding.

The coins you collect while temple-running (or in-app purchasing) can earn you power-ups like speed boosts, new unlockable characters, and even exclusive wallpapers.

On the iPad, Temple Run fares reasonably well, offering the same fast-paced gameplay as the iPhone version, complete with Game Center leaderboards and achievements. The game's universal, and though my upgrade purchases transferred over, the game didn't seem to recognize the achievements I had earned. There's no word on whether the graphics have been updated for the new iPad's Retina display, but Temple Run still holds up extremely well in the looks department for casual gameplay.

Best free physics games for iPad

Cut the Rope: Experiments Free HD

Cut the Rope: Experiments Free HD is a popular game that involves dropping a piece of candy into a hungry green creature's mouth by slicing rope with swipe gestures. While the candy's dangling and swinging, you use nearby tools such as suction cups and air puffers to move it around obstacles, like hungry spiders and destructive spikes. If you can get the candy to pass through any of the three stars on the level before feeding Om Nom, you gain bonus points and bragging rights, but they are strictly optional objectives.

Though you only get 12 levels in the free version, the full game with 125 levels is only $1.99.

Cut the Rope: Experiments Free HD on the iPad supports iCloud sync and Game Center, which might not be particularly useful for such a short game, but at least it's there if you end up shelling out for the full version. We actually experienced some severe wonkiness playing the standard Cut the Rope Free HD game on the new iPad; not only is it not optimized for the high-resolution display, but the game can't even render properly on a big Retina screen. On the plus side, Experiments runs fine, despite also being unoptimized.

• Download Now

Fruit Ninja HD Lite

Fruit Ninja is a well-known slice-and-dice game where you swipe through various kinds of fruit as they sail through the air. You get bonus points for chopping through four or more fruit at once, but you have to make sure to avoid the bombs that get tossed in every now and then.

In the free version, you get Classic mode in which you only get to let three fruit hit the ground. The paid version, available for $2.99 (currently on sale for $0.99), includes a Zen mode where you cut up as much fruit as you can within a limited time frame, split-screen multiplayer, and special fruit like the freeze banana, which slows the movement of everything on the screen, making for easy targets.

The Fruit Ninja experience really excels on the big screen, despite not being a universal app (and thus no cloud sync) and graphics that haven't been updated for the new iPad. The core gameplay is there, and so is Game Center support, which is all you really need to show fruit who's boss.

• Download now

Angry Birds Free

Angry Birds is the quintessential physics game for iOS, wherein a group a birds suicidally fling themselves into rickety buildings so that the pigs inside that stole their eggs can suffer a terrible, terrible demise. Every level you get a selection of birds that you slingshot towards structures at varying angles and velocities. The birds available each level can have different properties - for example, the yellow one dive-bombs when you tap the screen while it's in mid-flight, while the blue one splits into three. You're scored based on how few birds you use to clear the level, as well as how much destruction you cause in the process. The only thing that really matters is that all of the pigs in each level get eliminated.

The free version of Angry Birds gives you a total of 24 levels, but you'll need to drop $2.99 in order to get tons more. Keep mind that there are a lot of different free versions of Angry Birds available, including a seasonal one and one based on the Disney movie Rio. Try 'em both if you're looking for variety. Keep in mind that you'll have to put up with some pretty obnoxious banner ads while you play the free versions.

Angry Birds is a lot easier to play on the iPad since you've got more room to adjust angle and the strength of your slingshot. So far, it looks like only Angry Birds Space is optimized for the Retina iPad, unfortunately. Rovio is particularly bad about charging extra for the "HD" versions of their titles, so don't expect a universal version any time soon.

• Download now

Best free action games for iPad

Jetpack Joyride

Jetpack Joyride is a side-scrolling evasion game with simple one-button controls and a great sense of style. You play as a rebellious bureaucrat named Barry who's tired of the work at his top-secret military lab, and decides to snag the company's experimental jetpack for a jaunt through the facilities. Holding your finger on the screen puts the gas on the jetpack, letting you elevate over obstacles such as laser security systems and incoming missiles. Along the way, you'll also be able to snag other experimental vehicles, including the Crazy Freaking Teleporter, and the Profit Bird which is powered by pure concentrated sarcasm.

You're rewarded coins based on how far you make it through before wiping out, but can also pick up loose coins throughout the level. You even earn more through completing missions, like high-fiving the scrambling scientists on the ground floor. Those coins (which are also available through in-app purchases) are spent on new jetpacks, outfits, and recently gadgets.

Jetpack Joyride will be sharp as a pin on the new iPad thanks to Retina-optimized graphics, plus there's Game Center support for leaderboards and achievements. It's a universal app, but I've had mixed results with cloud sync; it managed to get my rank and cash from my iPhone game, but didn't register some of my previous gadget purchases.

• Download now

Wind-up Knight

Wind-up Knight is a whimsical running game where you're on a gallant quest to save the princess, as is often the case. The hero continually moves forward, while you're in charge of slaying evil chickens, protecting your little toy head from falling debris with a shield, leaping over yawning chasms, and rolling under treacherous traps. You have to make sure to be speedy too, since the knight is only wound up so much, and he'll run out of steam if you dally or don't pick up fresh cranks.

Gathering all of the coins in a level and finding a hidden cards rewards you with notes which can be spent on items like new helmets and swords. As you might expect, those notes are also purchasable through the App Store. Though you're welcome to buy later levels through in-app purchases (and they push a 30%-off bundle deal pretty aggressively in your first play-through), you can unlock them if you absolutely master every chapter in each book. This is really challenging though, which will be a turn-off for casual players that aren't willing to pay for the other books, but a great incentive for hardcore gamers.

Wind-up Knight enjoys seamless iCloud sync and is a Universal app, so you can keep playing on your iPhone while away from the iPad. Game Center is around for the sake of achievements, but there's nothing in the way of multiplayer, which is too bad, because I'd love to see how my friends kit out their knight and their top scores on each level as I'm playing it.

Despite its kid-friendly graphics (which are polished and gorgeous, though only partially optimized for iPad-sized Retina displays), Wind-up Knight has some great grown-up humor; even if you're pretty sure you won't buy the later books, it's worth giving a try just for the GeoCastles gag.

• Download now

Cordy Sky

Cordy Sky is a jumping game where you're an adorable little robot trying to get from the ground of an alien planet to a docked spaceship so you can continue on your intergalactic mission. Small bouncy platforms aid your ascension, but be careful, otherwise you drop down to the earth and have to start all over again. Luckily, you have a fellow robot called Volt that can grab you if you drop too far, but only if you've collected the appropriate token while climbing skyward. Your trip is split up into five sections, the end of each being marked by a fuel cell you need to get the spaceship running again. Controls are are either through virtual buttons, tilt, or swiping. I prefer to use tap controls on the iPad version rather than tilt, but the option's all yours.

As you go, you collect gears, which can buy one-time boosts, permanent power-ups, or vanity costumes. Of course, you can always just buy gears through in-app purchases, but you can get by perfectly well on your own. Don't let the cute graphics fool you, though - this game has plenty of challenge to it.

Cordy Sky on the iPad is universal, and I managed to get the important stuff imported from my iPhone game. A stray forum mention said that the game was updated to optimize the graphics for the new iPad, but I haven't been able to find any official confirmation.

• Download now

Best free role-playing games for iPad

Dark Legends

Dark Legends is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in a modern world of vampires, zombies, and other supernatural menaces. It's made by the same guys behind Pocket Legends, but this iteration is decidedly more gory. The branching quest structure is simple, and has a nice combination of time-based tasks with static rewards, and combat missions that you can enjoy through either online multiplayer or solo gameplay. The control scheme is the standard virtual joystick layout with quick access to vampire powers on one side, including a one that lets you pounce on an enemy and drain them dry once you've worked up enough bloodthirst with your melee weapons. When you're not questing, there are shared areas in which you can hang around and shop, as well as player versus player arenas where you can test your mettle.

Going through missions uses up limited energy, which regenerates over time, or you can instantly recharge with the premium platinum currency. Platinum can also be used to buy some pretty classy-looking vanity items.

Although the polygon count isn't particularly high in Dark Legends, the textures are optimized for the new iPad. There's no Game Center support, but since you're logging on through a separate account whenever you play, you can pick up and drop off between iPad and iPhone as you see fit.

• Download now

Six-Guns

Six-Guns is an open-world multiplayer western. You embark on missions for beleaguered commonfolk, handling the likes of bandits and supernatural nasties to bring some iotum of peace to the wild west. Combat is straightforward third-person revolver shooting with a virtual joystick and a few buttons. You're rewarded for your deeds, of course, and can use the coin you earn to equip new weapons, fresh threads, and buy new horses to expedite your trips between towns.

In addition to being able to buy in-game currency through in-app purchases, you can also get Sheriff Stars, which access high-end gear and auto-complete missions, though you can also earn them through watching ads. You're even able to buy experience points and health boosts, if you're having trouble getting through a particular quest.

Six-Guns is optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, and since you're logging in through Gameloft's service, there's no problem picking up where you left off on any iOS device.

• Download now

Heroes vs Monsters

Heroes versus Monsters is a party-based hack-and-slash fantasy role playing game with simple controls, a cute style, and tons of customizability. You command a party of four heroes with an intuitive drag-and-release control scheme. All of your standard classes are there, like warriors to soak up the damage, clerics to keep them alive, and various kinds of damage-dealers ranging from archers to fire mages. Scouring the world, you find new monsters to slay, more loot to plunder, more heroes to recruit, and along the way you gain experience, level up, and unlock powers best-suited to your playstyle through an extensive tree of powers.

The coins you earn through gameplay let you buy phat new equipment for your party, but you can also buy your gold pieces through in-app purchases. All of the gear you equip is nicely represented on your heroes. The only real downside I've seen so far are that you'll also have to deal with an ad along the bottom which so far as been for the same app time and again. It's also worth noting that Heroes vs Monsters is pretty much a complete clone of a premium title called Battleheart; if you're willing to shell out three bucks, you might rather it go to the those who cooked up the original idea.

There's also a significant border around the outside, which I assume is a relic from the iPhone port, since there's no support for the high-res Retina display on the new iPad. There's Game Center support anyhow, and it's universal, but no cloud syncing, unfortunately.

• Download now

 

Best free racing games for iPad

Forever Drive

Forever Drive is a sharp, polygonal top-down racing game with a cool abstract art style. The controls are simple and fluid, with options for tilt, tap, or d-pad. You're scored based on how many stars you pick up and how tightly you hug highlighted shoulders, but don't get too wild; you have a limited amount of time to get through as many tracks as possible. That means you need to drive smart and avoid the civilian traffic that explode in a Tron-esque display if you so much as nudge them.

One of the core elements of Forever Drive is the track builder. It's pretty simple - you draw a line from one end of a square to the other, pepper some scenery along the sides, and the highlighted turns, varied elevation, stars, and extra traffic are added in automatically. You then have the option to share these tracks online, which then randomly compose the arcade mode of other players. When you play, you get fed a series of user-built tracks which you can rate up or down after you're done driving them.

There are also weekly leagues where you have a chance to win in-game currency, with which you can buy a few unlocks, but the vast majority of car bodies, variations, and paint jobs are earned by gaining experience points throughout gameplay. If you're impatient, you can always buy credits through in-app purchases.

Forever Drive is a universal app with cloud saving, so no worries about saving your progress on the iPhone version. Game Center leaderboards are supported, plus OpenFeint if you're into that kind of thing. There aren't big-screen Retina graphics just yet, as the developer just got the new iPad recently, but maybe we'll see an upgrade soon.

• Download now

Road Warrior Racing Free

Road Warrior Racing Free is a side-scrolling racing game set in a gritty Mad Max-style future. As you race through arid badlands, you try to make use of your car's side-mounted miniguns, missile launchers, and other assorted weaponry to take out the competition, while hoping they don't do the same to you. You don't have to worry about acceleration while playing since the game puts the foot the floor for you automatically; all you have to worry about is blowing up anybody who tries to pass you and possibly doing a sweet frontflip while diving off a mesa. You're offered up a variety of different maps every time you play, each one with a different level of difficulty and special rules, like no weapons.

You earn in-game cash as you play, which can be spent on new weapons, armor upgrades, new chassis, paint jobs, and lots of other items to pimp your ride. Of course, you can also buy the in-game cash to speed up your advancement.

Right now, Game Center support is limited to leaderboards, but the developer is promising live multiplayer soon - it's already on Android. It doesn't seem like there's any cloud saving support even though it's a universal app, but that hardly puts a dent in Road Warrior Racing's badassery.

• Download now

GT Racing: Motor Academy Free+ HD

Motor Academy Free is a more down-to-earth, mostly-realistic racing game. Starting off, you earn various licenses by learning how to drive different classes of cars. After that, you're off to the races, winning tours, special invitation events, and completing contracts. The coins you earn there let you buy a variety of recognized brand-name cars, like Bugatti, BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Ford, Chevrolet, and Audi. They even kindly give you the option to rent cars for a round if you don't have enough to buy it outright. Even this racing game has some RPG mechanics in it, including quests which you complete, and leveling up to unlock new cars and courses.

Coins are earned through regular gameplay, while in-game cash is mostly bought through in-app purchases, which you can trade in for new cars or select upgrades to parts like brakes and suspension.

There's no cloud syncing here, so get comfortable playing on either your iPad or iPhone for the long haul. There's also no Game Center hooks, but Gameloft still does a decent job of handling online multiplayer on their own.

• Download now

Best free board games for iPad

Poker by Zynga

Poker by Zynga is a simple but polished Texas Hold 'em game for iPad and plays cross-platform with folks on Facebook. The game has been out for a long time, so boasts a full feature set - you can add friends, find tables within your comfort range, and even give other players gifts for display, like drinks, or a box of tissues if they're having a particularly rough run. The one downside to Poker by Zynga is that you'll have to have a Wi-Fi connection active in order to play, and as fun as it is playing with real people, they can just as often be aggravating.

Though you're given a stack of chips to start, and can earn more through various ads and daily giveaways, you'll have to shell out real cash for chips when you run out, just like a real casino.

The iPad version of Poker by Zynga doesn't use Game Center since it relies on its well-established Facebook users to keep playing, and there's no mention of Retina iPad support, but it's not particularly needed to enjoy the game. Keeping up with games across iPad and iPhone was easy as pie since they're both connected through your Facebook account.

• Download now

Shadow Era

Shadow Era is an unabashed homage to Magic: The Gathering, a fantasy tradeable card game where two heroes command armies and arcane powers to slay their opponents. Every turn, you're given the option to discard a card, which adds to your resource pile. The more resources you have, the more allies you can summon and spells you can cast from your hand. Creatures under your control have power and health values which can be influenced with enchantments, but the real fight is between each side's individual hero cards. Each one has 20 health, and whoever dies first loses.

Shadow Era sells booster packs and whole decks of cards through in-app purchases, which you can mix and match as you like to create a deck best suited to your play style. You can also earn the premium in-game currency just by playing and leveling up.

On the iPad, there's a ton of screen real estate which allows you to see the whole board at once with minimal camera angle switching. The card graphics have been fully optimized for the new iPad's Retina display, plus on top of standard Game Center support, Shadow Era has its own cross-platform multiplayer network so you can play with your cards no matter which device you happen to be using.

• Download now

BoardBox is a highly-polished collection of classic board games, including chess, checkers, go, tic-tac-toe, reversi and backgammon. There are a bunch of interesting variants, including some more exotic games like Chinese chess, and a handful of very nicely rendered boards and pieces to pick from. There's a handy little sidebar included which lets you save games and look up rules through the Wikipedia article.

On the downside, there's no AI player for those days that you're on your own, and when it's eventually included, it will be an in-app purchase to activate. At least all you really have to put up with are small banner ads at the bottom of the screen, which can be disabled for $5.99 (which seems like a lot to me).

There's no iPhone version of BoardBox, so you'll have to take the whole iPad with you to play on the road. Though there's no Game Center support, online multiplayer is available over e-mail - clunky, but it works.

• Download now

Best free word games for iPad

Charadium II HD Free

Charadium II HD is another take on Pictionary where you try to draw something after picking one of a small group of words, and your partner online has to guess what it is. Both players are rewarded points for how quickly they answer, and can even lose points if it takes too long, but at least you're given hangman-style hints as time goes on. Stars are showcased in your profile, which are given by other players that are particularly impressed with you. Charadium II Free is a really nice alternative to Draw Something, and in my opinion, the better option of the two for a number of reasons. For one, Charadium II replays are viewable online, which allows you to share them on Facebook or wherever else you like. Secondly, Charadium II doesn't try to nickel-and-dime you for individual colors; once you upgrade from the free version, not only do you get a full pallette, but also a bunch of different brushes, letting you get really creative. Finally, there are lots of great game modes, including live public rooms where anyone who's online can jump in and guess what's being drawn, private games with your personal friends, and the standard drawn-out turn-based matches.

Besides having the usual "lite" version trappings of holding features hostage, you'll also have to deal with the occasional video ad and banner. At least they don't harass you for microtransactions.  The full version isn't insanely priced, though a tad high at $2.99.

Game Center is ripe with achievements for this one, and as you plow through them, you go up ranks (which don't seem to do much of anything other than look pretty in your profile). Charadium II HD Free supports the new iPad's Retina display, so your fine artistry and that of others will really pop on the big screen. It's not universal, but I don't think this is the kind of game you really want to be playing on your iPhone anyway.

• Download now

Words with Friends HD Free

Words with Friends pits you against friends on Facebook and elsewhere to a friendly word scramble game where you're given a set  of tiles with letters (each with a corresponding score), and you have to arrange them on a board to make the best word you can. The board is peppred with bonus squares which can multiply the value of letters or whole words if you're lucky enough to land on them. Each side goes back and forth planting words and picking up new tiles until the whole board is full or there are no more new tiles to draw.

Although I understand that Words with Friends is the most popular and polished Scrabble-ish game available for iOS, and as a wordy dude, I should be into these kinds of games, I actually hate them with a burning passion. Why? Because people win by jamming letters together for the highest points, and hoping the server accepts whatever they put in. In that way, I definitely prefer real Scrabble, since you're relying on proper vocabulary skills and only occasionally having to put up with friends pulling seemingly made-up words out of thin air; in Words with Friends and all video games like it, obtuse words outside of any normal vocabulary are the norm. That said, even if you're losing, odds are good you will learn all sorts of new obscure words - just don't expect the round's outcome as any kind of reflection of skill.

Words with Friends HD is monetized through ads and two kinds of in-game purchases: the Word-O-Meter, which helps you find better words, and the Tile Pile, which can let you know which letters are still left to pick up. Of course, they'll also kindly remind you to upgrade to the ad-free pro version for $2.99.

In any case, It's great being able to see the whole board on the iPad version; on the iPhone you're continually zooming in and out. There's no Game Center here, but Words with Friends HD Free is cross-platform with Facebook, which opens up your pool of opponents considerably. Despite not being universal, a common log-in system means you can pick up your matches across devices and stay in sync.

• Download now

Prose with Bros Free

Prose with Bros is best described as online competitive fridge poetry. Two partners, either found through Facebook or a random pairing, are given the same set of 50 words. They have to arrange those words into the most interesting combination possible, and once submitted, other players get to vote on which of the two they prefer. Random pairs show up for you to judge as soon as you launch the game; you can even have a creepy robot voice read the entries out loud to you. After 12 hours of voting, the winner is decided. Even if you don't win, you can still earn Kudos from other users, which are shown off in your profile. Previous prose is saved in the cloud for posterity, just in case you need to show it off later. I'm a huge fan of this game, and have seen some pretty hilarious phrases cobbled together.

The best part about Prose with Bros is that there isn't any catch - no microtransactions, no ads, no nothing, just fun. There used to be a paid and an ad-supported version, but they took out the ads in the last update in April. Why? Maybe they hate money. I'm cool with that.

Prose with Bros is universal and syncs games nicely across devices once you're registered. There's no Game Center support to help you hook up with other iOS bros, but finding them through the Facebook integration is easy enough. The graphics aren't exactly mind-blowing, but you don't need much for a word game.

• Download now

Best free simulation games for iPad

GodFinger All-Stars

GodFinger All-Stars is a fun little world control game where you tend to a little planet full of villagers. By spinning around a cross-section view, you make sure they're happy and productive, and check in on them time to time to collect the gold they generate. That gold goes to upgrading their homes which can house more people, who then, in turn, produce more money. Of course, you have to tend to their needs, like providing rain and sun for the farms, as well as altars to worship you from. To accomplish all of this, you execute gesture-based miracles with long presses and swipes. These miracles burn up Awe points, which regenerate over time, or can be bought through the app store. GodFinger All-Stars recently included a fun little endless climber side-game where you can earn some additional gold by hurling one of your followers through the heavans.

Over time, you complete missions, gain experience points, and expand the surface area of your planet. You can have a lot of fun around your world by raising and lowering the ground, decorating the area, and flinging your hapless devotees beyond the horizon.

Godfinger All-Stars isn't universal, but it saves all of your log-in information on their own network, and lets you visit the planets made by your friends, even without Game Center support. It doesn't seem like things are optimized for the new iPad just yet, but these guys put a ton of emphasis on graphics, so I expect an upgrade soon.

• Download now

The Sims FreePlay

The Sims FreePlay is a classic life simulation game where you tend to a collection of virtual people, each with a variety of needs and colorful spectrum of personality quirks. You do everything from steering their conversations with other Sims, decorating their home, getting them to work, and making sure they bathe regularly. A recent update even added the ability to play as and care for child Sims. As you guide your Sim to accomplish daily tasks, you gain experience points, level up, and unlock new items. Unlike the old Sims games that had a handy fast-forward button, activities in The Sims FreePlay all happen in real-time, so when you put your little people to sleep, they're gone for 8 real hours.

As you play, you earn Lifestyle Points, which can be used to immediately satisfy your Sim's needs and quickly complete tasks. Those can be bought through in-app purchases, alongside the game's currency, Simoleans, which your Sims earn through various kinds of work.

The UI is scaled very nicely to the iPad, but unfortunately the graphic elements aren't optimized for the new iPad yet. Also, I didn't have any luck getting my saved progress from the iPhone version over to the iPad, so don't count on any cloud sync here.

• Download now

My Clinic

My Clinic is a comic hospital business sim where you manage and staff a fledgling facility, treat incoming patients, and research new treatments. The ailments you treat range the whole spectrum of goofiness, such as emergency calls for sore throats and dealing with broken nails of debutantes. At any given time, you'll have a random assortment of patients that you can chose to see, each with varying treatment times, experience rewards, medicine costs, and payment structures. Patients have one or more critical moments throughout their treatment time where you can buy and apply specialty medicine to speed up recovery time. Once treated, you get paid based on how quickly you treat the patient. The more often you treat a particular case, the better your doctors get at it, and can finish them lightning-fast once they become experts. As you complete missions, you're regularly rewarded with various power-ups, which can improve staff efficiency, speed up equipment delivery time of new equipment, help you find new doctors more quickly. Earning experience points and leveling up will unlock new types of patients that visit your hospital, as well as the research paths and equipment to treat them.

The game developers are based in Russia, so every once in awhile you'll see some broken English, but on the whole, these guys have managed to strike a great level of humor and sufficiently tweaked the FarmVille game mechanic to keep things interesting.

You occasionally earn gold coins through gameplay, though they're primarily used as premium currency that you buy with in-app purchases. Coins can speed up task completion, be used to buy vanity items for the front of your hospital, and a few other odd higher-end items.

There's only an iPad version of My Clinic, so no bouncing back and forth with your iPhone, unfortunately. Game Center support is included so you can create medical associations with your buddies, and hire them in your hospital. That way, you earn a cut from their cashflow if they're lower level than you. There's no mention of Retina iPad support, but as is, the game looks just fine.

• Download now

Your favorite free iPad games?

Of course, there's an insane number of free iPad games out there, and we're always looking for more. Feel free to leave a comment with your favorites, as we'll be updating this list regularly. We'll be including some of our top free real-time strategy, rhythm, and location games down the line.

Rene Ritchie and Leanna Lofte contributed photos for this post

Animal lovers, Cutest Paw for iPhone and iPad is for you! It's a fun app that's filled with thousands of photos of cute animals ranging from the common household pet to exotic animals like tigers, orangutans, pandas, and foxes.

Cutest Paw lets you sort photos by newest, popular, random, or animal type. The photos are organized into 3 columns, but each picture is a scaled down version of the original crop ratio, giving each page a collage feel. It's much more interesting than cropping everything to a square like many apps do.

When you tap on a photo, the photo is displayed nice and big with the caption under it. From here, you can "hug" it (similar to "like"), save it to your camera roll, share on Facebook, or leave a comment (must connect to Facebook first).

I have two complaints with individual photo pages. The first is that in order to go back to the results page, I have to scroll to the bottom and tap Back. I wish there was a back button at the top of the screen or even a gesture (like pinching) that took me back. On a similar note, in order to scroll, you cannot have your finger touching the photo (which often times takes up most of the screen). Instead, Cutest Paw requires you to be touching one of the small areas on the outside of the photo in order to scroll.

If you don't want to go back and select a photo, but want to simply browse through them all, swiping left or right on the photo will move to the last/next photo.

To sort the photos by animal type, you must go to the Search tab. From there, you'll see categories for dogs, cats, user submissions, mice, rabbits, squirrels, birds, monkeys, hedgehogs, tortoises, pigs, ducks, foxes, orangutans, pandas, bears, tigers, otters, ferrets, and deers. You can also type in a custom term to search through Cutest Paw photos.

To share your own photo, head to the upload tab. You must have a free account with Cutest Paw in order to upload. Once you upload your photo, you can view in the "Your Uploaded Photos" section so you can easily check on your photos and how many views and hugs they've received.

The good

• Lots of adorable animal photos
• Sort by newest, popular, random, or animal type
• Share your own photos
• Save photos or share to Facebook
• Universal for iPhone and iPad

The bad

• Can't scroll down with finger on picture, must be on the background
• No landscape support
• Performance could use a little work

The conclusion

Cutest Paw is a must-have app for animal lovers and kids. The quality of photos can be hit or miss from the newest and random sections because these include user submissions, but when viewing specific categories, the photos are generally very good.

Free - Download Now

Right on schedule, the reports of Apple slowing down current generation iPhone production are hitting the internet. Just like parts leaks, case leaks, and all types of rumors, production reports are one of the signposts we all must pass coming down the long road to a new Apple product release, and this year certainly won't be any different. At least not now that Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu has claimed Apple has cut back on its iPhone manufacturing between 20% and 25% since last quarter.

This is a trend that we had seen prior to the launch of the iPhone 4S. We're expecting an iPhone 5 launch in the fall, so this would give manufacturing partners a chance to get everything in place for what will no doubt be a busy few months leading up to the holidays. Wu estimates Apple's potential iPhone shipments to be in the neighborhood of 26 to 28 million units. While iPhone shipments may be dropping, Wu said iPad production is set to dial up to around 15 million units.

Although analyst estimates are hardly bulletproof, it's good to see previous rumors of a fall launch for the iPhone 5 being corroborated to some extent. There are plenty of other rumors floating around the manufacturing side of things, from the logical to the farfetched, but Wu's estimates seem a lot more believable to me.

If accurate, could the amount of time before the presumed iPhone 5 launch suggest bigger hardware changes be coming? We've heard Apple hasn't settled on a design for the next generation iPhone yet, but that doesn't mean the design they ultimately settle on won't have significant differences.

It's doubtful iOS 6 at WWDC 2012 will give us any real clues. As always, we'll have to wait and see, and enjoy (or avoid) the rest of the pre-release crazy that'll no doubt keep coming up along the way.

Fall really can't get here fast enough, can it?

Source: CNET

Earlier today one "analyst" published an assumption that Google would be making Chrome for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and would market it extensively, and basically bring the desktop browser wars to mobile. He didn't claim any sources, anonymous or otherwise, or any leaked information, or any good faith basis at all for the assumption. It was purely a flight of fancy, and a poorly reasoned one.

Google hasn't announced Chrome for iPhone or iPad, of course. Chrome for iOS would be very difficult to pull off as anything other than a novelty app under iOS 5.

Now Google does make Gmail and Google+, and other apps for iOS, and they work okay. But their primary function isn't web browsing. And here's the thing: Apple doesn't allow alternate HTML or JavaScript rendering engines. If you want to show a web page in a iOS app, you use UIWebView and that's it. And UIWebView, as far as I understand, doesn't have access to the significantly faster Nitro JavaScript engine that the Safari app or that Web.app (Home screen web apps) enjoy.

If you've ever noticed how much slower web pages seem to render inside an iOS app, that's the reason.

Google prides itself on the speed of Chrome. That's part of its raison d'être. From their own implementation of WebKit to their own V8 JavaScript engine, Chrome is all about speed.

Why on earth would Google want to put the Chrome brand on a much slower thin web client on iOS? Even if they skin it to look more like Chrome (and UI has always been one of the worst aspects of Chrome), it would always be worse than Safari, and that would damage the Chrome brand.

Sure, there are "alternative" web browsers in the App Store, and some people love the extra features they provide, but none of those extra features are better local performance. (And I'd argue proxy performance is minimal at best, and always a trade off.)

Apple takes control and security extremely seriously in iOS. I doubt they'll let third party browser or rendering engines onto the iPhone or iPad in iOS 6 or any time in the near or distant future. Google takes Chrome's reputation for speed just as seriously. I doubt they'll put a frustratingly slow web browser on iOS any time in the near or distant future.

Google could very well be playing around with Chrome on iOS in the labs, but there's nothing to indicate it's coming, at least not based on the information presented to date.

Right now, the only story here is the unfortunate one about how it become a story.

For today only, the iMore iPad Accessory Store has the Ballistic Tough Jacket Series for the new iPad and iPad 2 on sale for only $34.95. That's a big 50% off. Get yours before they're gone!

The Ballistic Tough Jacket Series for the The new iPad or iPad 2 is protection you don't have to think twice about. This case is equipped with three layers of the strongest protection on the market.

An amazing feature in the Tough Jacket Series is Ballistic Corners - which means all four corners have extra shock absorption where you need it the most!

Also included with this amazing case, is a front cover attachment that will help protect the screen during travel. The cover can be removed and placed on the back of your case and used as a kickstand for your The new iPad or iPad 2.

Features:

• Advanced three layer protection
• Layer 1: Inner silicone core absorbs shock
• Layer 2: Impact resistant hard plastic
• Layer 3: Shock absorbent polymer layer
• Ballistic corners for drop protection
• Removable cover that can be used as a kickstand

Shop Ballistic Tough Jacket Series for the new iPad and iPad 2 now!

It's been a week since Apple released iOS 5.1.1 for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad so I'm wondering -- have you updated yet? Now that we're footloose and PC-free, and have over-the-air (OTA) updates, it's easier than ever to make sure your device is always running the latest and greatest version of iOS. The minute a software update hits, we post about it here on iMore and with only a few quick taps you can manually start the update process on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Eventually, Apple will send you a pop-up notification to tell you an update is ready, and you can tap to get it started. Apple will badge the Settings icon as well, so you know you need to go in and look for... something.

But there are still some reasons people may not want to update. At least not yet. Some may be waiting to see how battery life and performance work out (it's fine, according to our readers). This is especially true for users of older devices like the iPhone 3GS.

Others might be jailbroken and be waiting on an iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak before they update. If you rely on certain jailbreak features, there's no reason to lose them just for a minor bug fix or performance fix update, especially if you've been waiting on an iOS 5.1.x untethered jailbreak for your device for months already.

Still others might simply not see any compelling reason to update to iOS 5.1.1. If your device is working fine, if security patches aren't a big deal to your, and since there are no new features to be had, it may not seem worth even the small amount of effort OTA takes.

I've updated my iPad but not my iPhone. My iPhone is jailbroken so I won't be updating any time soon. Even if I wasn't jailbroken, I probably wouldn't update until Apple released a new feature I really wanted. I rely on my phone for my work, and its working, and I won't mess with a stable environment if I don't have to.

How about you? Have you updated to iOS 5.1.1 yet? If you have more than one iOS device, have you updated all of them? If you haven't updated yet, why not? Vote in the poll up top and give me all the details in the comments below!

Clipping and saving coupons is the most classic way of saving money, but in today's digital world, it feels rather archaic. SnipSnap for iPhone lets you say goodbye to physical coupons by taking photos of them to carry with you at all times and store clerks can scan the processed bar code right on your iPhone.

To add a coupon, you simply take a photo of it, or "snip it". SnipSnap will then process the coupon for you by converting the barcode on the photo into one that can be scanned by a store clerk (this process may take a few minutes). SnipSnap will also look at the dates valid and display when the coupon is redeemable or expires on the main Coupons page.

When viewing a coupon, you'll see all the details like minimum spending requirements. You can also look up the important dates, bar code, promo code, offer details, consumer restrictions, and retailer legal. SnipSnap also allows you to mark coupons as a favorite and share to Twitter, Facebook, or email.

When redeeming a coupon with SnipSnap, you have two different options for the clerk. The easiest one is the barcode which can be scanned by a store scanner. If that doesn't work, you can also display the coupon's code in nice, big, easy-to-read text. And if the store clerk is still a little suspicious of your coupon, you can show them the photo you took and allow them to pinch and zoom to see the details.

Another cool feature of SnipSnap is the Discover tab that shows coupons being snipped by other SnipSnap users. You can also use the search field to search for coupons at a specific store. I really like this feature, but sometimes I get coupons that are one-time use only (like on a receipt) and don't want to share it publicly in fear of someone "stealing" it. SnipSnap does allow you to disable sharing snipped coupons to the community pool, but I wish it'd let you do it on an individual basis.

A feature that makes SnipSnap way better than keeping track of physical coupons is that it will remind you when a coupon is about to expire. You can choose the notification to be sent at 1-3 days or 1-2 weeks before expiration. Additionally, when you arrive at a store that you have a coupon for, SnipSnap will send you notification reminding you of your coupon.

The last thing I want to mention is that SnipSnap does not work with "manufacturer coupons". This is not a fault of SnipSnap, however. These coupons require stores to collect coupons and return them to the manufactures. Until manufacturers change their rules about these coupons, I don't expect to see manufacturer coupon support anytime soon.

The good

• Quick and easy to use
• Processing only takes a few minutes
• Reminders when coupon is about to expire
• Location reminders
• Discover coupons being snipped by other SnipSnap users

The bad

• Can't edit sharing options when uploading coupon. Must set a universal setting.
• Not compatible with "manufacturer coupons" (because these types of coupons must be physically collected and turned in to the manufacturer by the store)

The conclusion

Personally, I've never been much of a coupon user unless they come through my email inbox because I can't keep track of them nor remember to bring them. Now that I have SnipSnap for iPhone, I look forward to the savings in my future. But if I'm not careful, I may see myself making unnecessary purchases due to me "not wanting to miss out on a deal" before my coupons expire!

Free - Download Now

Having lots of Gmail, Facebook Twitter, and LinkedIn Contacts on your iPad and iPhone is great, but how do you get them all into your Contacts app where you need them?

I get to use most of the newest devices and test out all the platforms in my job. My "go-to"  phone is the iPhone 4S, but there are features I see on other devices that I really wish were present in iOS. At the top of the list of wants is rich contact integration with my social networks.

WebOS had perhaps the most elegant approach with Synergy.   If you have a contact on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Gmail –- whatever -– just log in and you get a unified contact card with all that information. Doesn't sound so hard, right?

Now, Android does this pretty well, Windows Phone does a great job with the People hub and QNX –- the OS on the BlackBerry Playbook (and the upcoming BlackBerry 10) -- does an amazing job at this contact integration.

So, why is it so hard for iOS to get this one important feature right? Well, we will have to let the boys and girls in Cupertino figure that one out. For now, there is a way to get all this information into the Contacts app... it just takes a little extra work.

Getting your basic information into Contacts

In the old days, you needed to connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC and then sync your contacts from your Outlook, Google or native contacts app on the computer. It was messy and often inaccurate. Now, fortunately, the majority of our contacts get "sucked into" the iPhone through some sort of cloud syncing.

How to get your iCloud Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

If you don't yet have your iCloud contacts on your iPhone, just go to your Settings app and then touch the iCloud tab. Just turn the Contacts switch to the ON position and all your iCloud contacts will be in sync with your iPhone, Mac, iPad, etc.

[/caption]

How to get your Google Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

If you use the standard Gmail setup (IMAP instead of Exchange, see below), getting your Google Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad isn't as easy as it should be.  When you typically sign into a Google account you can choose to sync your email, calendar and notes – but not your Google contacts. The easiest way to do this is either:

1. Export your Google contacts from the Google Contacts web app on your computer.
2. Import then contacts to your iCloud account.

To export your Google contacts

1. Log into your Gmail account.
2. Choose Contacts.
3. Under the More tab, choose Export.
4. Choose which format to export all your contacts and where to save the file.

To import these contacts to your iCloud account for syncing:

1. Log into your iCloud account via iCloud.com and click on Contacts.
2. Click on the Settings gear and then choose Import vCard
3. Navigate to where the exported contact file is located and import it into iCloud.

If that is either confusing or a pain in the rear, the other option is to set up your Google account as an Exchange account which will wirelessly sync all your Google account data –- Contacts, Calendars, Notes, etc with your iphone.

1. Go to your Settings app.
2. Tap the Mail, Contacts, Calendars tab.
3. Under the listing of your accounts, touch the Add Account tab.
4. Choose Microsoft Exchange from the list of options
5. Put your Email address in the Email field (youremail@gmail.com)
6. Leave the Domain field blank.
7. Your Username should be your Email address.
8. Input your password.
9. Add a Description such as "Primary Gmail" or something like that.
10. Touch the Next button at the top right hand corner.
11. On the next screen, in the Server box, type: m.google.com
12. Choose Next.
13. On the following screen, simply turn ON or OFF the things you want to sync with your Google account. For our purposes, make sure that the Contacts tab is in the ON position.
14. Select Save and your Google contacts will now sync with your iPhone contacts.

How to get your Facebook Contacts onto your iPhone and iPad

Most of us have our contacts spread out over our various apps –- especially our social networking apps. I have lots of data for some folks in my Google account, but they are not Facebook friends. The reverse is often true as well. There is a way to get your Facebook contacts into your iPhone – you just have to dig a little to find it.

First off, make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app downloaded from the App Store.

1. Start up your Facebook app and login into your account.
2. Tap the top left hand corner to get into your Facebook options and touch on Friends.
3. Tap the Action button (the one that looks like a Send key) in the top right hand corner.
4. Choose Sync Contacts from the list.
5. Turn the switch next to Syncing to the ON position – this will had (add?) your Contacts, profile pictures and links to your Contacts app.
6. Read the scary message from Facebook saying that all contacts from your device will be sent and stored by Facebook as subject to their privacy policy.
7. If you are comfortable with that, choose Sync Contacts in the lower right hand corner and your Facebook contacts will be integrated into your iPhone Contacts app.
8. If you want to replace the existing photos of your contacts with their Facebook pictures, turn the Replace photos switch to the ON position.
9. You should now see new category in the Contact information for Facebook contacts that says: Facebook and has a link to his/her Facebook page.

NOTE: This is not perfect, after doing this several times I still have some Facebook contacts whose Facebook page is not listed in their iPhone Contact card.

When it does work, just tap the Facebook address and you can launch their Facebook page right from the Contacts app.

How to get your Twitter Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

For many of us, we follow people on Twitter who are not our "friends." For others, we would like to have the Twitter information for our Contacts in case we do want to follow or Direct Message them. Fortunately, this is pretty easy to do.

1. First off, download the official Twitter app from the App Store.
2. Go to your Settings app and look for the Twitter settings.
3. Touch the Twitter tab in settings.
4. Touch the Update Contacts button to get Twitter information for your contacts put into their Contact cards.

NOTE: As with Facebook, there are some privacy concerns here. Twitter essentially takes all the email addresses and phone numbers stored in your Contacts app and cross references them against their database to get you the Twitter contact information.

How to get your LinkedIn Contacts onto your iPhone or iPad

LinkedIn may be where most of your professional contacts are stored. For many of us, this is yet another completely different list of contacts than those stored in Gmail or Facebook.  Fortunately, it is easy to get your LinkedIn data into the iPhone.

1. Download the official LinkedIn app from the App Store.
2. Start up the app and login into your LinkedIn account.
3. Touch the You icon – usually at the top right of the four icons.
4. Touch the gear in the upper right hand corner which is the Settings area for LinkedIn.
5. Touch the Download Connections tab and make sure that Download Connections is turned ON.
6. Touch the Download Now button to bring in all your LinkedIn connections into your iPhone.

NOTE: I experienced some interesting things when I did this; some of my contacts, which had their Facebook page link in the web page section of the Contact card, now had the LinkedIn page instead of the Facebook page.  The Contact photo changed according to which app I used last to sync contacts. In some cases, I really wanted the Facebook photo and not the LinkedIn one, so I had to go back and sync the photos from Facebook to replace the LinkedIn ones.

If at this point you are saying to yourself "this is way too complicated" you may be right, but it is the best way to get all this data into one place – Your Contacts app.

How to deal with multiple contact entries

iOS has the ability to link Contacts, so if you had more than one Contact for the same person, you could combine them into a unify view. However, it doesn't seem to work anymore (or was removed). Hopefully this get restored or fixed in iOS 6. Until then, you will need to go to your computer and go to the web site or app and merge the contacts that then sync with your phone.

Merging your Google contacts

If you sync your contacts via Google, the process of merging contacts is not too complicated.

1. Login in to your Gmail account
2. Across the bar at the top, click on More and then on Contacts
3. Once in Contracts, click on More and then scroll down to Find & merge duplicates.
4. Google will then go through your contacts and merge those that have the same name.
5. It is always a good idea to go and check to make sure it was done correctly – but overall this is pretty easy and seamless and will clean up your multiple entries for the same contact.

Merging your Mac address book

For Mac users, Finding and merging your duplicates in Address Book (Contacts under Mountain Lion) is quite easy.

1. Open up your Mac Address Book app.
2. At the very top, click on the Card menu and then scroll down to Look for duplicates and click.
3. You should then receive a message saying that "X number of duplicates were found."
4. Click on Merge and the cards will be combined so you only have one contact card per individual in your Address Book.

NOTE: If you currently manage your contacts through the iCloud website, there is no way to merge your duplicate contacts from the Contacts app on iCloud.

Conclusion

So, after all this, you should have all your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn contacts along side your Google or whatever other contacts you have on your iPhone. You can launch the Facebook page of your contacts; go to their Twitter page or LinkedIn page right from their Contact card.

This is not a perfect solution as we said at the outset. We wish that you could send a Facebook message or a Direct Message like you can from other platform Contact apps. We wish you could see status updates in the Contact app like the BlackBerry Playbook. Hopefully, these things will be on the horizon for us iOS users.

Do you have other thoughts about the Contacts app on iOS? Have you found other solutions for merging your data? Let us know in the forums.