¶ Byword for iOS | Review

If there is one genre of app that I have more than my fair share of, it’s text editors. Since launching techēse, I have been seeking the perfect writing environment that gives me the least resistance to getting words written. I started with OS X’s TextEdit, and eventually found myself doing my long form writing in TextMate after I began writing in Markdown.

TextMate worked for a time. It is very much a coding environment. And even though Markdown is a syntax that relates to code, it is very much a writer’s syntax versus a coder’s syntax. TextMate is great for coding. But it has never satiated the writer in me.

I started using Byword just about a year ago on my Mac, when it added Markdown syntax highlighting and declared its focus to be the best Markdown editor for writers — which it most definitely is. In fact, nearly every article here has been written in Byword.

Byword is great on the Mac. But often I want to write on my iPad, and even sometimes, though rarely, on my iPhone. I’ve used Dropbox to sync and either Elements or iA Writer, which are both fine writing apps. But I have long wished for Byword on my iOS devices.

Today, the wait is over. Byword for iOS is here.

I’ve been beta testing Byword for iOS since early December last year. It’s a universal app with iCloud and Dropbox support.

Byword for iOS also has a handy keyboard accessory which shows word and character counts (tap it to switch between the two or show both simultaneously). The accessory can also. Be swiped to show quick cursor arrows and common syntax used when writing in Markdown. There are two different parts of the accessory for Markdown, pictured below.

Byword Keyboard Accessory

Byword also allows you to preview Markdown, export as HTML, send as an email, and print. It also includes TextExpander support.

Byword for iOS doesn’t yet have the dark theme like the Mac version, but it is coming in a future update.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the update to the Mac version, which now has iCloud integration. iCloud on the Mac is still pretty clunky when it comes to setting up files to be synced. That’s definitely a limitation of OS X Lion, which should be alleviated this summer by OS X Mountain Lion’s revamp of the Open/Save dialog.

First, on the Mac, you have to save the file locally. Then, while the file is open in Byword, you click the File menu and then click Move to iCloud. Once the file is in iCloud, everything becomes pretty seamless. Setting up a file within iCloud on iOS is straightforward. Just click the + button from the file list and give it a name.

In fact, you can have the same iCloud file open on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad, then type on one device and watch it appear on the other two a moment later. It really feels like magic.

Byword for iOS is a fantastic, well-designed app that gets out of your way and let’s you write. It also has the best Markdown-optimized keyboard accessory I have seen on iOS yet, making it hands-down the best tool for a writer using Markdown.

If you are a serious writer, you need Byword.

Byword for iOS is being introduced at $2.99 $4.99 on the iOS App Store, and Byword for Mac is $9.99 on the Mac App Store.

P.S. This entire review was mainly written on the iPad, with a little bit on the iPhone and Mac, kept in sync the entire time with iCloud.

¶ Clear | Review

I really like lists. Seriously, it’s an OCD obsession, one I believe was passed down from my mother, who is the Queen of 3M Sticky Notes. I sort of picked up that tendency to plaster my desk with sticky notes, even though the clutter created by the act is incredibly annoying to a person who likes to keep things tidy (another OCD obsession).

Ever since I got an iPhone, I have been trying to find a great to-do app to take care of lists of things to do. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Apple released Reminders with iOS 5 because of it’s ability to write once, yet have my lists available across my three devices. And for the most part, it works pretty well.

Though Reminders falls short in two areas:

1. On the Mac, they are currently shoved into iCal, which actually makes it quite difficult to deal with things if you keep multiple lists (this is fixed in Mountain Lion this summer, thank goodness).
2. It’s really hard to sort items in Reminders by priority. It takes many taps, and, even then, you sometimes aren’t able to put the top priority item at the top of the lists.

Because of this, I find myself really using Reminders for items that either need an alarm or location alert. I’ve been using sticky notes for my daily to-do lists again. And my desk has been cluttered because of it, which annoys and distracts me.

Enter Clear by Realmac Software, Milen, and Imending, Inc., released last week. Clear is a new to-do list app for the iPhone that is re-imagined around gestures, instead of check-boxes and buttons.

To start a new list, you just pull down slightly or pinch apart between two existing lists, and type a name. Need to move the list up or down amongst other lists? Just tap and drag to where you need it.

Tap into list, and you are presented with a nice inspirational quote. Pull down slightly to add a new item, and type. Items are limited to holding 30 characters, encouraging brevity. Just like with lists, items can be added by pulling down again, or pinching apart between a couple items. Reordering works the same, too.

Reordering is where the good stuff happens. Put the important stuff at the top, and the less important stuff at the bottom. A visual gradient is applied between the list items to give a sense of priority, much like a heat map (which is, appropriately, the name of the default theme).

Swipe an item to the right to mark it as done, and it grays out and move below the last item of the list with a strike through it. If you decide you don’t need an item anymore, swipe to the left to delete it. As you mark items as complete, you get a progressive tone that is reminiscent of an old NES game about a plumber. When all items are complete, pull up to clear you list with a triumphant jingle to go along with it.

I have found that my favorite things about Clear are how fast I can add items and how easy it is to determine priority at a glance. It has pretty much taken over as my go-to place to jot down items as they hit me. It’s also earned a prominent spot on my iPhone — it sits right next to Twitterrific, so I am sure to see it often and tap into it.

I have one thing I would love for Clear to add in an update, and that is syncing with my iCloud Reminders. I love Clear’s interface, but it would be great if creating a new list in Clear made the change in Reminders across my devices. Then, if I do need an alarm of geolocation alert, I can switch to Reminders and add that, but I can use Clear as my main way to view and act on items.

I highly recommend giving Clear a shot for simplifying your daily tasks. It’s on the App Store for 99¢.

¶ A Big Day for Tweetbot

Tweetbot 2.0

Tapbots released Tweetbot 2.0 for iPhone and iPod touch today. What was already a really well polished Twitter client is now at a high gloss. My biggest pet peeve has been fixed in the timeline. You used to need to tap twice on an account name or link to activate it, and now it is a single tap.

I also really enjoy how Tapbots has relocated the retweeted by icon and text. Direct messages have been overhauled and display much like the Messages app in iOS 5, but with Tapbots’ signature style.

The coolest little touch is the redesigned notification of how many new tweets have loaded. It sticks to the top of the tweet list, and as you scroll it counts down the number of remaining new tweets. Like I said, it’s a nice touch.

Tweetbot for iPad

But that wasn’t all Tapbots was up to today. They also released Tweetbot for iPad, which is a separate app from its smaller-screened sibling.

Tweetbot for iPad is really impressive. Tapbots has paid a lot of attention to detail in the interface and interaction. The layout and flow of the app was designed brilliantly.

If you miss what once was Tweetie, and abhor what Twitter has done with it since acquiring it, you should give Tweetbot a shot. It’s the kind of “everything and the kitchen sink” client that Tweetie was. The iPad experience is fantastic. Most of all, Tweetbot’s polish on both devices makes it feel like a precision instrument.

For $2.99 each, you can buy Tweetbot for iPhone/iPod touch and iPad on the App Store.

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I am a huge Twitterrific advocate. Not only is Twitterrific a universal app, it has a Mac version, and offers the same experience across the board. However, in recent months, Twitterrific has tended to fall behind on the feature list when compared to the competition. I still love Twitterrific and it is my go-to app, mainly because the mindset of its design gels with me. And, after years of using it, I have found that when it starts to lag behind in comparison, it means it is on the verge of a giant update to lap the competition.

‘We are sorry.’

Yesterday, a pretty big fiasco happened with a neat app (that I use) called Path. It was discovered by Arun Thampi:

I started to observe the various API calls made to Path’s servers from the iPhone app. It all seemed harmless enough until I observed a POST request to https://api.path.com/3/contacts/add.

Upon inspecting closer, I noticed that my entire address book (including full names, emails and phone numbers) was being sent as a plist to Path. Now I don’t remember having given permission to Path to access my address book and send its contents to its servers, so I created a completely new “Path” and repeated the experiment and I got the same result – my address book was in Path’s hands.

Arun made sure to point out that he was sure Path did not have nefarious intentions, and in fact, Path’s founder followed up in the comments to Arun’s post to ensure the data is only used to help users find personal friends who are also using the service.

The problem with all this is (1) Path never asks for permission to access your contacts, (2) it doesn’t even use a hash to obscure the data before transmission (though Path says it is sent through a secure channel), and (3) it’s taking your entire address book — names, phone numbers, birthdays, anniversaries, home addresses, and email addresses — not just the email addresses it would need to make the match.

And all that data, while sent through an encrypted channel, sits on a Path server, which could be (not saying it is being) accessed for data mining. It’s an extremely poor practice. It would be much less discomforting if the app one-way hashed the information, then transmitted it, and then those hashes should remain unreadable by people. They could still be matched, but the actual information wouldn’t be reversed for data mining.

And above all, the user should have a say in the matter.

Well, Path responded today on their blog. The pertinent parts, with commentary:

We made a mistake. Over the last couple of days users brought to light an issue concerning how we handle your personal information on Path, specifically the transmission and storage of your phone contacts.

As our mission is to build the world’s first personal network, a trusted place for you to journal and share life with close friends and family, we take the storage and transmission of your personal information very, very seriously.

Through the feedback we’ve received from all of you, we now understand that the way we had designed our ‘Add Friends’ feature was wrong. We are deeply sorry if you were uncomfortable with how our application used your phone contacts.

I believe this is a heartfelt apology. Path knows they screwed the pooch.

In the interest of complete transparency we want to clarify that the use of this information is limited to improving the quality of friend suggestions when you use the ‘Add Friends’ feature and to notify you when one of your contacts joins Path––nothing else. We always transmit this and any other information you share on Path to our servers over an encrypted connection. It is also stored securely on our servers using industry standard firewall technology.

Transparency is good. Path should have been transparent about this from the get-go. I still think they should only take pertinent data after the user gives their blessing, instead of all the data. And that data should be obscured before, during, and after transmission.

We believe you should have control when it comes to sharing your personal information. We also believe that actions speak louder than words. So, as a clear signal of our commitment to your privacy, we’ve deleted the entire collection of user uploaded contact information from our servers. Your trust matters to us and we want you to feel completely in control of your information on Path.

That’s a good move.

In Path 2.0.6, released to the App Store today, you are prompted to opt in or out of sharing your phone’s contacts with our servers in order to find your friends and family on Path. If you accept and later decide you would like to revoke this access, please send an email to service@path.com and we will promptly see to it that your contact information is removed.

Also good news.

This is all a good start to fixing the problem, but this shouldn’t have been a problem in the first place. Path should have had better practices to begin with.

I’m glad to see they responded quickly.

Skitch for iPad

I’ve been a long time user of Skitch on the Mac. It was created by plasq, which pretty much left it in indefinite beta (though it never felt like a beta to me). The app was recently sold to Evernote,which has expanded the product from being on just the Mac to Android, with the promise of Skitch coming to iOS.

Well, half of that promise was fulfilled today with Skitch for iPad. It’s a fantastic little app for marking up a screenshot, website, map, or photo. It exports directly to Evernote, the iPad’s camera roll, email, or Twitter via iOS 5’s Tweet Sheet.

Most often, I want to share a Skitch markup on Twitter, so this is great for me. Especially since I use Twitter mostly on iOS. The iPad version is great, but I really can’t wait to have Skitch on my iPhone.

Apple Store App Update Brings In-Store Pickup & Self-Checkout

Apple updated their Apple Store app to version 2.0 today. Primarily, the Apple Store app acts as a refined interface for purchasing items from Apple’s online store. It also has a nice tie-in with Apple’s retail stores, allowing you to set up Genius Bar appointments or One-to-One training.

Today’s update further strengthens that tie-in to the retail stores.

First, when you are using the app to shop for an item, you have the option to have it shipped to you (the usual method), or you can now see if the item is available for pickup at your local Apple Store. If it is, you can checkout via the app, and your purchases will be set aside and ready to pick up in about an hour.

Second, some items at Apple retail stores are now labeled for what Apple calls EasyPay — basically, self check-out. So far this is limited to accessories. Let’s say you want a Smart Cover for your iPad. You can now pick it up, launch the Apple Store app, then use your iPhone’s camera to scan the barcode. This will bring up more information about the item, and the ability to purchase it. To purchase, you simply sign in to your Apple ID, and the linked credit or debit card is charged. Finally, you can just leave the store.

This move shows Apple is placing a fair amount of trust in its customers. Certainly, theft could very well become an issue, but I am sure Apple has put some sort of process in place to minimize that.

Overall, EasyPay looks to be a way for a tech-savvy, informed customer to walk in, grab the accessory they need, pay for it, and be on their way without having to interact with staff.

I, for one, am quite excited about that.

Pixelmator 2

Pixelmator is my pixel editor of choice. It doesn’t take up too many resources on your computer, it’s fast, and it looks great on your Mac.

Today it looks even better. Version 2 is available on the Mac App Store for a whopping $30 for a little while. The price will go up to $60 soon, so be sure to grab it quick. If you previously purchased it on the Mac App Store, the update is waiting for you free of charge.

Pixelmator 2 is made for OS X Lion, supporting features such as Full-Screen, Versions, and Auto-Save. It also brings other great features to the table, such as a Healing Tool with Content-Aware Fill, vector shape and drawing tools, smudge, sponge, burn, and dodge tools, red eye removal, a pixel-precise tool, revamped eyedropper tool, revamped type tool, and a handy info bar.

Pixelmator is right up there for many people’s Photoshop needs at a fraction of the price. You’d be crazy to not have this in your Mac’s arsenal.

1Password for iOS On Sale

One of my favorite and most useful apps of all time is 1Password. It is the first things I recommend people buy when they get a new computer or iOS device.

Well, the iOS variants of 1Password are on sale for a few days, so if you don’t have 1Password, now is a great time to buy. The iPhone/iPod touch and iPad versions are $7.99 and the universal Pro version is $11.99.

If you were to ask me, I’d say dive in for the Pro version, even you only have one type of device. It’s best to plan for the future and you never know when you may decide to expand your Apple family.

Instapaper 4

One of my favorite apps had a major update today. I’ve been using Instapaper since version 2, and the interface hasn’t changed much. Version 3 brought along an iPad interface, but it really felt like the iPhone interface, except blown up.

All that changes with Instapaper 4. This release really focuses on the iPad, completely changing the interface from just a list of headlines to a grid of headlines, sources, and the first few lines of the story. The new grid layout makes Instapaper on the iPad really feel like a digital newspaper.

Other features I have been wanting for a while are the ability to have the choice of archiving or deleting an article when I tap the trash can (instead of the trash can having one or the other via a preference toggle), and the brightness slider actually controlling the device’s brightness (instead of adjusting contrast as it did previously).

There is so much more in Instapaper 4.

As Shawn Blanc calls Instapaper:

The $5 App That Justifies my $500 iPad

Be sure to buy Instapaper today if you aren’t already enjoying it.

AirPorts, Friends, & Movies

In addition to iOS 5, iCloud, OS X Lion, iWork, and iPhoto updates today, Apple has also released (at least) three other new apps in the App Store.

• AirPort Utility: This is a welcome app for me. You can completely set up and manage a wireless network consisting of Time Capsules, AirPort Extremes, or AirPort Expresses. I’ve been working with my church to build out a building-wide wireless network, and being able to use my iPhone or iPad to manage things around the building will be far easier than walking around with my MacBook Pro.

  This also further opens the door for someone to use just an iPad as their main computer, something I know a few friends are planning to do for their parents.

• Find My Friends: This lets you easily find friends and family who have shared their location with you, either permanently or temporarily. This could be great for impromptu meet ups, but it will be really nice for my wife & I. Let’s say I’m at a meeting, and my wife needs me to stop at the store. Sometimes, I get that text from her right as I’m pulling in the driveway. Now, she could check first to see whether I’m close to home or not.

• iTunes Movie Trailers: Not only does this provide a nice way for you to watch movie trailers, but you can pop them up on an Apple TV with AirPlay, and you can check show times at local theaters, and share those with friends via email or twitter. I’m a movie nut, so having a highly polished app for showtimes and trailers is very welcome.