Acquired some time ago by Amazon, long-time audiobook vendor Audible has released version 2.0 of free its iOS app, now optimized for iPad. The clean, redesigned interface features improved navigation and the ability to sign in with an Amazon account. Finished audiobooks can now be hidden from view, and up to three hours of audio can be downloaded over 3G and 4G networks while on the go.
Cordy 2 (free to try, $5 full game) is the side-scrolling followup to SilverTree Media’s acclaimed iOS action game Cordy. Owing some debt to Sonic the Hedgehog, the fast-moving Cordy makes his way through levels while picking up new abilities along the way, such as a double jump and Bionic Commando-style skyhook. Four levels can be played for free, and all 48 levels become available via a $5 in-app purchase. Multiple “packs” are also available for varying prices, which allow players to customize Cordy with different costumes and colors. If you’re into iOS side-scrollers, Cordy 2 is a fun time with the same style of 2.5-D graphics found in the original title.
Developed by Disney, Letters with Pooh ($3) is a universal iOS game that uses Winnie the Pooh and his friends to teach alphabet letters—primarily tracing, but also letter identification. Happy voices, illustrated pages, and music similar to Pooh’s Birthday Surprise guide kids through drawing letters, matching letters, and other practice games young children will enjoy. While there’s definitely some overlap with the earlier title, the Letters with Pooh-specific animations, illustrations, and activities are welcome here, as is the storybook-like structure, and the reassuring narration. The app’s only problem: its easy setting is so permissive when tracing letters that kids can hardly make “mistakes;” set it on “hard” to actually require learning.
The just-released Traktor DJ ($20) app from Native Instruments brings the company’s pro DJ software to iPad. Traktor DJ uses typical iPad gestures such as swiping and pinching to let DJs “touch the groove.” The app lets users scratch, loop, and create mixes; pro DJ effects including reverb, delay, and dramatic glitch effects are also included. An intelligent browser can recommend songs based on a compatible tempo and key, mixes can be recorded live and shared with friends, and sets created on Traktor DJ can be synced to Traktor’s Pro 2 DJ software, as well.