iDB Top Picks

The best personal finance apps for iPhone

Keeping track of finances may come easy to some people, but not everyone is great with money. Some of us need a little extra help to keep us from coming up short at the end of the month.

If you want to keep track of your finances and that old ledger book is just not cutting it anymore, check out our list of best personal finance apps for the iPhone.

Best travel apps for iPhone

Around this time of the year, families are preparing to hit the road, over the mountains and through the woods. Holidays mean travel. You may be only be a few hours away from the in-laws, or you may be thousands of miles from home.

If you are planning a trip this Thanksgiving, or anytime in the future, you can use your iPhone to take care of pretty much all of the arrangements. Whether you want a great deal on a hotel, recommendations on good eats, or are planning an all-inclusive trip to the Bahamas without the kids, we’ve got a list of the best travel apps that will help make that come true…

How to create custom keyboard shortcuts for Mac apps

Have you ever used a specific menu command in an app and wondered to yourself, "Why is there no keyboard shortcut assigned to this command?" Or "why can't I change that shortcut to something else?" I think we've all been there before. Fortunately, fixing the issue requires little more than a few minutes of your time. Inside, we'll show you how easy it is to quickly create a keyboard shortcut for your favorite apps.

How to speed up animations in iOS and make your device feel faster

iPhone 5S colors running iOS 7

Apparently, the iOS parallax effects and animations can literally make people sick. If that doesn't happen to you, don't discount this as just a phony report. This is real for some people, although I have yet to meet any of them. Apple listened to the complaints from users who were experiencing various degrees of motion sickness while using iOS and drastically increased the motion reduction feature that was already present before iOS 7.0.3.

As it turns out, not only will this feature reduce the motion of the user interface, but it will also make your iOS device feel like it's blazing fast.

How to use Frequent Locations and Maps Destinations features in iOS

A few days ago, I posted a screenshot of my Notification Center showing travel time to my next destination, something iOS had learned about me without any sort of data input of my part. A few people asked me how I managed to get this information in my Notification Center. I believed it was a commonly used feature of iOS, but apparently I was wrong.

In this simple tutorial, I will show you how to use the Frequent Locations in iOS in order to find out information about your next destination. Privacy activists may want to skip this one.

A comprehensive list of iOS 7 features

Since it was unveiled on June 10, 2013, iOS 7 has seen six beta and one final GM releases before it was made available to the general public today. If the overall look and feel of iOS 7 hasn't changed much since Apple first demo'd it on stage during WWDC, the mobile operating system has been constantly improved on with the usual "bug fixes and stability enhancements," but most importantly with new features.

These new iOS 7 features are sometimes obvious, but often very subtle. Over the course of the last three months, we've made it our mission to build a list of features that are new to iOS 7. It is not an exhaustive list, but this is probably as comprehensive as it gets. If you want to know all iOS 7 can do for you, you've come to the right place...

Top 10 endless runner games for iOS

These days, it seems like runner games are a dime a dozen. I guess it is more like they are about $20 a dozen since they are usually between one and three dollars a piece. There are so many auto-run till you die games that it is difficult to know which are the best.

Apple has a list of their favorite “Fun Runner” games, but even that list is too big. We’ve narrowed down a list of our favorites, plus added a couple that Apple didn’t think to include…

The best apps for getting things done

I am a big time list maker. If I didn’t have a list, every single day for things I need to do, I’d be sitting on the couch eating bon ons all day. I need to have practically every hour of my day planned out ahead of time, complete with a time frame and deadline.

Apple has a list of apps that will help people like me get things done in an organized and timely manner. We’ve narrowed down their list to our favorite apps…

The best apps for creating, editing, and sharing documents on the go

When it comes to productivity, Apple’s iOS ecosystem is chocked full of apps to help you get things done. Microsoft has even provided it's Office Suite for our benefit. There are also many different apps that make it possible for you to access and edit your productivity documents and share them with others.

The App Store has hundreds of productivity apps that will make your working life easy. Here is a list of our favorite apps for creating, editing, and sharing documents on the go.

Word and Excel

Microsoft used to have the market on productivity apps. There was a time when you couldn't get though life without having Word on your desktop. Because of the saturation, many of us are just used to the productivity suite and want to keep with the status quo, which is why it was a pleasant surprise when Microsoft finally launched these apps on iOS. You can create and edit documents using the familiar tools of the desktop versions, but with special care and attention paid to use of the mobile screen. Word and Excel are both available for free.

Pages and Numbers

You can't talk about Microsoft's productivity suite without mentioning Apple's version, especially on a website that covers Apple products almost exclusively. Apple's version is tied more directly to the iOS ecosystem, and is therefore better for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users. You can create and edit documents and take advantage of advanced editing tools, like tracking changes, adding comments, and highlights. Your projects are saved in iCloud and you can access them from any iOS device, as well as Mac or PC, via iCloud Drive. Pages and Numbers both cost $9.99.

Google Drive

Google has permeated our everyday lives. There was a time when you needed an invitation to get a Gmail account. Now, practically everyone has one. And, with it comes Google+, which gives users access to the cloud-based document creation services, Google Drive. With the iOS app, you can access all of your files in Drive, including photos, videos, PDFs, spreadsheets, and more. You can also set permission parameters and share your files with others right from the app. All of your work is saved automatically and backed up in Google's cloud, so you'll never lose your edits. This app is available for free.

Notability

Whether you are sitting in the classroom and listening to a lecture on sixteenth century literature, or meeting with your team for a brainstorming session at work, there is no better way to take notes than with this multipurpose app. You can create documents, mark up PDFs, record lectures, tag files, organize notes and save all of your notes in iCloud for easy access anywhere. This app is available for $5.99.

Documents 5

With this file-sharing app you can see your Office documents, read and annotate PDF files, search keywords in documents and edit Text files. You can also view photos, watch movies offline, and listen to music. If you are working on documents with a coworker, partner or friend, share files in Dropbox, Google Drive, and more. This app is available for free.

Docs To Go Premium

Even though there are hundreds of productivity apps that work just as good as Microsoft’s popular Office Suite (some may even say better than), there are still thousands of people who rely on the program in their daily life. If you really can’t give up that ghost, Documents To Go makes it possible to view, edit, and create Word and Excel files from your iPhone or iPad. You can also view PowerPoint, PDF, and RTF files. You’ll even be able to download the free desktop application for two-way file syncing with your Mac or PC using local Wi-Fi. This app is available for $16.99.

Dropbox

This cloud-based application is one of the most popular in the App Store. Long before Apple offered 5GB of free iCloud storage, Dropbox was making it possible for users to save and share folders full of photos, music, movies, and more. You start off with only 2GB of space, but can easily earn an additional storage space by linking your photo sync, getting others to sign up, or adding multiple devices. You can easily share files to others with a Dropbox account, but you can also send a link for your files to people who still haven’t signed up for the cloud storage service. This app is available for free.

SugarSync

Similar to Dropbox, this app lets you sync documents, photos, videos, music and more. You can access your files from any computer or mobile device using either the compatible app or directly through the SugarSync website. You get 5GB free right off the bat. Share files and documents privately by inviting others to see them, or send a link to share your files publicly. This app is available for free.

GoodReader

The GoodReader app is, by far, my favorite productivity apps for downloading, editing, and sharing PDF documents. If you regularly download large PDF or Text files, you will definitely need this app. You can add magazines, manuals, books, player handbooks, and all manner of PDF files. Plus, you can mark up all files with freehand annotation, highlights, sticky notes, lines and arrows, and more. You can also sync your files with Dropbox, Sky Drive, SugarSync, and more. You can even set up a local Wi-Fi server to send books and magazines to a friend’s GoodReader app directly. This app is available for $4.99.

Evernote

This is another app that you really can’t live without. You can easily create and edit text notes, to-do lists and more. Record audio, search for documents by typing in a specific word of phrase, and organize notes by notebooks. Save web pages for offline reading. Evernote is connectable with iPhone, iPad, and desktop browsers so you can add files and sync documents across all devices. This app is available for free.

Scanner Pro

Are you tired of scanning a document in your office printer hub, sending it to your computer or email address, then downloading it on your iPhone or iPad in order to take it with you on the go? Then, you should try cutting out the middleman by scanning multiple page documents directly onto your iOS device. You can scan receipts, notes, and multipage documents, as well as digitally sign forms with the included annotation feature. Share your scanned documents through email or sync on Dropbox, Evernote, and Google Drive. This app is available for $2.99.

Docusign

How many times per day do you have to sign a document? Do you have an office assistant who is constantly interrupting your telephone conversations with files that need your “John Hancock”? If you regularly sign documents that are sent through email, printed, signed, then resent through another digital format, you need an app like DocuSign. You can sign documents, fill out forms, and create a signature that can be used anytime by your office assistant without having to interrupt you. This app is available for free.

What are some of your favorite productivity apps and why? Please share your recommendations in the comment section below.

The best alarm clock apps for iPhone

Waking up in the morning is a very personal thing. You can either get up easily with just a subtle sound to alert you, or you have to be kicked out of bed, and still might fall asleep on the floor for 10 more minutes.

We've got a list of some of the best alarm clock apps that are sure to wake you up when you need to. You’ll never have to worry about being late to work again.

15 apps that look great on iOS 7

Earlier this week, Apple launched the fifth beta for iOS 7. Time ticks by and we get closer and closer to the public launch of iOS’ biggest design change in six years.

To get you ready for the new look, we’ve got a list of apps that will nicely compliment Apple’s new mobile operating system…

How to teach Siri who your mother, father, wife, or friends and family are

Make Siri learn and remember your contact relationships

Siri can do a lot for anyone who wants to ask for the digital assistant's help. Siri can schedule appointments, tell you who's winning a sports match, and get you tickets to the late show, among other things.

One of the useful things that Siri can do is remember your relationships. Once you've told Siri who your wife is, you can ask the assistant to send her a message. Same with your mom, dad, brother, sister, other family members, and friends. This quick tutorial helps you teach Siri who your family and friends are.