Lory Gil

Writer of all things app related, traveler of the space-time continuum, baker of really great cookies. Follow me @appaholik

Astro is a Facebook Messenger client for your Mac

I have to admit it. I don’t often connect my third-party OS X chat clients with Facebook. I tend to get really distracted when someone starts messaging me through Facebook, more so than my other chat channels. So, I haven’t tested a lot of Facebook messenger apps.

Astro for Facebook Messenger is an app for your Mac that lets you chat with friends, even when you are offline. It includes native stickers, picture uploads, and even seamless group chat functions. Your productivity levels are about to plummet…

Apps of the week: Wallpaper Fix, Numtris, Feels, and more…

The holidays have officially ended for me. My family has gone home, the decorations are mostly packed away, and my New Year’s hangover is almost gone. Now, it's time to focus on the next year and all of the things I want to improve on.

Whether you are looking for an app to help break bad habits, a way to make your wallpaper finally fit on your iPhone, or a console game you can take on the go, we have a list of apps and games we think you will enjoy…

This app will fix your wallpaper scaling issues in iOS 7

Since the launch of iOS 7, adding custom wallpaper from your photo library has become a complete pain in the back. When you find the perfect pic and assign it to your Home or Lock screen, it always zooms in way closer than you wanted it to be, cutting of heads, or generally ruining a perfect composition.

Wallpaper Fix is an app that corrects that problem, letting you display your family photos behind your list of apps without worrying about cutting little Sarah off at the knees…

Fightback review: old-school fighting action on iOS

Most gamers have played Street Fighter. Even if you weren’t born until after arcades went the way of the dinosaur, the classic fighting game has been ported to so many gaming consoles that it is nearly impossible to avoid. Street Fighter spawned decades of fighting games that, to this day, still include the same basic mechanics.

Fightback is a fighting game that features the tried-and-true punch/kick combos of our youth, but also adds a few fun aspects to make your street brawling adventure just a little cooler…

Outpost Luna review: a city-building board game for sci-fi fans

Leave it to a bunch of MIT guys to make their own board game. According to the email we received at iDB, a group of MIT graduates gets together every Labor Day weekend to play games and finally decided to create their own. Put a couple of brilliant minds in a room together and they could end world hunger… or make a board game.

Outpost Luna is the end result of years of playing and tweaking a city-building game set in outer space, and then turning it in to an iOS game…

Apps of the week: Waterlogue, Wake for iPad, Writer Pro, and more…

Now that Christmas is over, the fun begins. I love thinking about how exciting it must be for new iPhone and iPad owners. I still remember what it was like when I downloaded my first apps. It’s like Christmas is happening all over again, every day.

If you are a brand new iPhone owner or just looking for something to keep you occupied this weekend, we have a list of apps and games that we think you will enjoy…

The 10 best news apps of 2013

How did the world get its news before the Internet was around? When I was a kid, you didn’t know about what was happening across the globe until 5:00. Now, news is reported within minutes of events. With the proliferation of mobile devices, people can even read breaking news from anywhere, anytime.

The writers at iDownloadBlog have come up with a list of what they think are the 10 best news apps of 2013. Check out our favorites and then vote for the one you like best to be added to our Best Apps of 2013 list…

Once Upon a Light review: save the light of your life

I’ve tested dozens of physics-based casual games. Some of them are so hard I don’t like to play them. Others are so simple I get bored. Finding a middle ground isn’t as easy as it sounds. I guess I’m the baby bear of the app testing world.

Once Upon a Light is a pleasantly surprising casual game that requires you to think ahead to your next move, but doesn’t require precise aim or timing skills so you can enjoy a challenge without ripping your hair out from frustration…

Reiner Knizia’s Razzia review: let the bidding war begin

I may not have lived throught the height of the heyday of the Mafia, or even know much about the existence of family crime lords (other than what I saw in the Sopranos), but I’ve seen The Godfather enough times to know that these underground gangs want money, power, and a little bit of fame.

Razzia is an iOS app based on the board game of the same name. Players act as the head of the Family in a bid for all of the stolen goods. The player with the stuff proves to be the biggest Mafia leader around…

The 10 best games of 2013

Games are the most popular downloads in the App Store. On any given day, games make up about 80 percent of the top 10 lists for free and paid apps. Because there are so many amazing and cool titles launched in the App Store every day, this best-of list was hard to narrow down.

After much consideration and deliberation, the writers at iDownloadBlog have come up with a list of what they think are the 10 best games of 2013. Check out our favorites and then vote for the one you like best to be added to our Best Apps of 2013 list…

The 10 best social networking apps of 2013

The Oxford Dictionary just named “selfie” the word of the year. I’d say that just about sums up 2013. This year, social networking took on a whole new meaning and has become an enormous beast that is impossible to contain. Whether you share your personal life on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, or all of the above, the Internet has made it possible for anyone to keep track of how many people like them.

The writers at iDownloadBlog have come up with a list of what they think are the 10 best social networking apps of 2013. Check out our favorites and then vote for the one you like best to be added to our Best Apps of 2013 list…

Waterlogue review: turn your photos into watercolor paintings

Whether you like it or not, filter and effect apps are the most popular (and prevalent) in the photography category in the App Store. Thanks to digital technology, any amateur photographer can make a silly “selfie” look like a magazine shoot.

You haven’t seen filter until you experience the artistic reimagining of your photos using Waterlogue. This is no mere effects app. It turns everything it touches into a watercolor painting…