Apps of the Week

This week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes a not-so-smart food identifying app, a personal shopper that is an expert at helping you pick out gifts, and a journaling app aimed at helping you improve your mood. And as usual, we have two great new games for you to check out this weekend.

If you're a fan of HBO's TV series Silicon Valley, you probably already know what this is. In last week's episode, budding entrepreneur Jian-Yang demonstrated an app called Seefood, which was supposed to be able to identify different foods using your phone's camera. Instead, all it was able to do was differentiate between hot dogs and non-hotdog items—thus, Not Hotdog was born. That's literally all the app does, but I got a little kick out of taking pictures of random things and sharing them with friends using the 'Not hotdog' caption. And you could too. Not Hotdog is available for free.

Here's a not-so-new app that you may not have known about. It's called GiftHead and it just received a huge update with a major redesign and support for 500 new stores. The app works like this: tell it who you're shopping for, what the occasion is and your preferred price range. Then pick a gift from the curated list of suggestions, and the app will point you to the right store. Rather shop online? The app can do that too. Other features include sale alerts, wish lists and gift reminders, so you'll never miss a birthday or anniversary again. GiftHead is available for free.

Stigma is another not-so-new app that could be useful for folks that don't know about it. It's described as a "mental health" app, with a built-in journal, mood calendar, reminders and a word cloud that allows you to see the types of words you're using most in your journal entries. There's also a support network aspect, with PenPals (supportive peers), Support Groups, and a community you can share your journal entries with. Now the app itself is free, but there is a Pro service that starts at $2.99 per month with premium features like advanced analytics and longer journal entries. Stigma is available for free.

Old Man’s Journey is a soul-searching puzzle adventure game about life’s precious moments, broken dreams, and changed plans. Immerse yourself in a visual narrative as you uncover stories of the old man’s life told through beautiful vignettes of his memories. Interact with the serene, whimsical environment as you solve playful puzzles and shape the landscape around you, growing the hills to create the old man’s path forward. Note that this game has won a ton of awards for its visuals and storytelling, but some of the iTunes reviews complain that the puzzles are too easy and the game is too short. We still think this is worth checking out. Old Man's Journey is available for $4.99.

From the makers of the hit Timberman comes Timber Tennis, essentially a unique take on the game Pong with a lumberjack twist. Take part in the annual Timber Tennis World Championship—beat all your old rivals by upgrading your skills, using super-shots and staying clear of other players' specials. Unlock a slew of characters and balls, and compete in local multiplayer against your friends. Note that this is a freemium title, with an in-app purchase to remove ads, and some of the early reviews complain that the ads are super intrusive. Even so, if this game is half as addictive as Timberman, it's worth checking out. Timber Tennis is available for free.

This week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes a third-party keyboard with extra large keys, a new app for saving money, and a mobile-friendly web browser. And as always, we have two great new games for you to check out this weekend.

Big Keys is exactly what it sounds like: a third-party iOS keyboard with extra large keys. I'm sure this isn't a brand new concept and the third-party keyboard implementation in iOS is pretty rough, but with Mother's Day this weekend, I figured this was worth a mention. Anyone who has trouble typing on (or seeing) the tiny keys on the iOS keyboard will love this. Now it only works in landscape mode, but you get large keys and large emojis. Plus it has a numeric keypad, supports gestures, and it's customizable. Big Keys is available for $2.99.

Get up to 10% cash back when eating out with the app Subtotal. It's simple: at the end of your meal, select your restaurant. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter and pay your bill (supports Apple Pay). Present the on-screen barcode to your waiter—it works just like a gift card. You get your cash back in a few days. Now it's a new thing, so only a handful of restaurants are supported so far (Applebee's, Chili's, Red Robin, etc.), but this seems like an app worth checking out for folks who want to save money with little effort. Subtotal is available for free.

The third-party iOS web browser space is a tough one to get into. Apple's Safari, of course, has a huge head start with prominent placement and performance enhancements. Google's Chrome has solidified itself as the official runner-up. Then there are a bunch of smaller browsers fighting for a distant third. Dazzle throws its hat into the ring with a simple, mobile-first interface. It was built for one-handed usage with a unified search bar located towards the bottom of the app, and the ability to quickly swipe between pages. Dazzle Browser is available for free.

Your favorite fighter plane franchise is back with the ultimate air racing game. Featuring more than 90 highly detailed WWII planes, Sky Gamblers Races tasks players with building their reputation on the air racing circuit. Unique visuals, sound effects, and gyroscope controls make for an immersive gaming experience. There are over 100 races in different environments and 5 game modes: normal, slow down, elimination, timed races and death races. You of course can customize your plane and even race opponents in real time. Sky Gamblers Races is available for $2.99.

If you're looking for something a little different this weekend, Crash City is the anti-racing game. Drive anywhere you want in this big coastal city, break everything and take down other drivers for points to rule the leaderboard! Massively multiplayer action with over 30 players live and real time in every game. Everything can be crashed, with weapons and abilities available in the middle of the action. There are over 25 unique cars that can be customized in both looks and performance. Crash City is available for free (with some IAPs).

This week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes a coloring book featuring your favorite Marvel characters, a photo editor that can draw you, an app that can help you achieve your goals, and two new games for you to check out.

iDB's Apps of the Week column features new and unique apps and games that we think are worth checking out over the weekend.

This week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup includes an app that helps you improve your singing, a fitness app with a new take on running, and a new app from Giphy. And as always, we have two new games for you to check out.

Looking for new apps and games this weekend? iDB has you covered. In the latest edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we have some great selections such as an app for creating unique Instagram captions, a newsletter manager, and a sharp currency converter. And as always, we have two great new games for you to check out.

In this week's edition of our Apps of the Week roundup, we've got a great selection of apps and games for you to check out this weekend. The picks include a new healthy recipe book, a Twitter client for tweet storms, and a fun app for adding animated text to your photos.