Essential back-to-school iPhone apps to enrich the mind – Part 2

Welcome to the second part of our series that focuses on the essential iPhone apps for students. We continue our list here, offering a blend of apps that serve as study aids, as well as apps that help a student be more productive and have a little fun in the process.

Read on to find out which apps will help with school without breaking the bank. Also, be sure to read Part 1 of this article, and let us know if we’ve missed any gems that should be on the list.

Evernote Free [app store]

Every student needs to take notes, organize them, and access them later for reference. The iPhone’s built-in notes just doesn’t cut it for students. Not by a mile. There are plenty of notes apps available in the App Store, but none are better than Evernote. This application syncs your notes between your desktop and your iPhone or iPod touch, because let’s face it, you aren’t going to be writing class notes on your iPhone. You’ll be typing them into your desktop’s version of Evernote for Mac or PC. Then those notes will automatically sync to your iPhone where you can access them anytime. Your Evernote account also comes with a free, synced web account which means you can get to your notes from other computers as well. One of the best features of Evernote is it’s ability to capture more than text notes. You can send audio, or pictures to it as well. And Evernote is even smart about extracting text out of images so you can search for text within a picture. This is ideal for using your iPhone to snap pics of classroom chalkboards, saving them to Evernote, then recalling those images using Evernote’s universal search feature. Fantastic.

Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day Podcast Free [itunes]

This is a great podcast to subscribe to, and does exactly what it’s name implies. You learn one word per day by listening to the podcast. Listen to the word and definition, then try to work it into a sentence at least once during the day. Before you know it, you’ll be spouting off like a world literature major.

WeDict Free [app store]

When looking for a dictionary app for iPhone, your first instinct will be to turn to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary since it is America’s best selling dictionary in dead tree form. However, iPhone jailbreakers will clue you in on a little secret; save the $25 and get WeDict for free. WeDict was available for jailbroken iPhones long before the App Store and it enjoyed a strong following. WeDict is now available in the App Store so you may as well try it before spending money on a name brand dictionary. WeDict has 149,000 entries in English and 1,000 in Chinese, which is comes in handy for students ordering Chinese take out from their dorm.

Tap Tap Revenge Free [app store]

It’s important for students to take a break from studies to let the mind relax. One way of relaxing is to break the normal routine with something different, allowing the student to work other parts of the brain. Psychologists call this “pattern interruption” and believe it can lead to unexpected and positive results. We see this as a excuse to play casual games on our iPhones. If you’re an iPhone gamer chances are you already have Tap Tap Revenge. This free game is often compared to Guitar Hero in that you have to tap the iPhone screen to the beat of music that plays in the background. As you tap with one hand, you shake with the other. You can also go head-to-head with someone else multiplayer mode. Over 30 music tracks are available, with more added every Thursday. Tap Tap Revenge also includes a leader board for you competitive alpha types that want to boast your skills to the world. Tap Tap Revenge was immensely popular among the jailbreak crowd, and continues its reign as the top iPhone game available in the App Store.

Wikipanion Free [app store]

You’ve got WeDict, the free dictionary we mentioned above. Now you need an encyclopedia. The Wikipanion iPhone app puts Wikipedia right at your fingertips. Sure, you could surf Wikipedia with mobile Safari, but after one time you’ll know why you need Wikipanion. This app reformats Wikipedia pages into an iPhone friendly layout that is easy on the eyes. Wikipedia entries are easy to search, browse, and navigate, and they load much faster here than in mobile Safari. The search function’s auto-complete feature makes it quick to tap in a topic or key phrase. At the price of FREE, this one’s worth every penny. There is a Wikipanion Plus app for $4.99 that enables you to queue pages and save them for offline reading.

Seskimo BatRest $3.95 [web]

Okay, so this isn’t really an app, but it is essential any student that needs to look at their iPhone while reading or writing. Let’s say, for instance, the student is taking notes from Wikipanion or Evernote, and trying to write while viewing the display screen. This can be difficult if the iPhone is laying flat on the desk which creates a neck wrenching viewing angle. This calls for a stand that can hold up the iPhone and is flexible enough to support the device at both portrait and landscape views. The problem here is that most stands we’ve looked at are too bulky for a student to carry around from class to class. This is why we were delighted to discover the BatRest from Seskimo, a polypropylene stand that’s a mere 1.2 mm thick; durable enough to support your iPhone and thin enough to stash in your wallet, school binder, or backpack. Sure, you could go the DYI route and roll your own from a couple of paper clips, but at $3.95, the BatRest is a great deal and you won’t look like you’re slumming it with the accessories. The BatRest comes in three colors and is available only from Sesmic web site.

iBeer $2.99 [app store]

This is the perfect app for the student that is far too disciplined to blow off studying for finals in order to go to the kegger party next door. To those students with unfettering willpower, here’s to you. iBeer will serve as a virtual reminder of the things you sacrifice for school. Tip one back for yourself, or send one to a friend. iBeer turns your iPhone into a frosty cold one that you can enjoy and still make the grade.

If you liked this list, be sure to read
Essential back-to-school iPhone apps to enrich the mind – Part 1.

Add a comment (2 so far)