Every week iDownloadblog brings a roundup of awesome apps for you to check out and enjoy. We try to vary our picks, but a lot of these apps usually come from the App Store. If an interesting web or jailbreak app catches our eye, we’ll include that in our picks as well.
This week, we’ve got three pretty unusual apps from the App Store…
Bandito
If you’re a music lover, chances are that you like to read news about your favorite bands. If you’re passionate about a lot of artists, it can be difficult to keep track of all the news, and that’s where Bandito comes in.
Bandito does something really cool; it takes the music in your iPod’s library and automatically aggregates news feeds based on what artists you already listen to.
“Bandito gives you personalized music news, based on the artists you listen to most on your iPod. On first launch the app asks to scan the music on your phone, and then delivers news, blogs, and related links under Your Artists. You can update the list by re-ordering, starring and un-starring your favorite artists, and by hitting “Refresh Artists” if you’ve added new music to your phone. The Hotlist is a handpicked list of popular and breaking artists to get you started and expand your horizons. Bandito is free, and if you want to see more than 10 articles, news, reviews for your artists you can upgrade to unlimited news for a low one-time fee.”
This is a really cool idea for those of us that like to keep up with what our favorite artists are up to, and Bandito makes it easy by collecting the news based on the artists you already listen to. The app itself has a fun, retro look and feel, and there’s also a Hotlist of popular and new bands for you to check out.
Give Bandito a try for free in the App Store.
Editions by AOL
Editions is a new iPad-only magazine by AOL that’s kind of like a combination of Flipboard and The Daily. The magazine articles are put together in a beautiful layout for you to download and check out each day, and you can bookmark and share content like you would expect.
The main plus of Editions is that it also acts as an RSS reader. You can add other feeds to the app to see your other news alongside Editions. RSS is an interesting feature for AOL to add, as it makes the app much more than a standalone magazine. You can also get local news, weather, and even calendar information inside the app. AOL wants to make Editions your go-to place for your daily news, and they have a compelling product.
We’ve heard very mixed things about Editions on the iPad, so be sure to tell us how you like the app in the comments below. You can pick up Editions by AOL as a free download in the App Store.
FBI Child ID
While this app may not be particularly useful in most cases, it is worth noting that the FBI introduced its first ever iPhone app last week. The app is designed to store information about your child in the event that he/she is abducted or lost. In the event of such an emergency, the Child ID app provides quick access to this information for authorities.
“The FBI Child ID app serves to store child information that could potentially aid parents in an investigation should a child go missing. The app provides a form for entering information about the child, a view that allows parents to access data for different children, an email submission form, access to emergency 911 and NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children), Safety tips for safeguarding children, and multiple checklists that walk users through the use of the app and actions to take in the event that a child goes missing. Suggested actions have been detailed according to guidelines put forth by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice.”
Unless you’re really paranoid that you’ll loose your kid in the mall or something like that, this app is obviously not going to be something you download. However, it’s still interesting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation felt like it needed to release an iPhone app.
You can download FBI Child ID for free in the App Store.
That’s it for this week’s picks! Let us know what you think of these apps in the comments. Better yet, what cool apps have you downloaded recently?