Cooking a Thanksgiving feast can be a messy affair, something to think about if you’re relying on your iPhone or iPad for recipe assistance. When the time comes to swipe pages, start a timer, or the like, are you really going to use that Crisco/flour/pumpkin-covered finger? With the Butterball Cookbook Plus app, you won’t have …

iPhone troubles? Let me guess: an update won’t install properly. Or an app keeps crashing on you. Or you can’t get your Bluetooth connection to work. Problems like these often drive frazzled users to the Apple Genius Bar, which, of course, requires a reservation via the Apple Web site. Before you can make one, however, Apple now suggests this: Screenshot …

Most game bundles have one thing in common: the games have been around awhile. They might be solid titles, sure, but many times they’re so old that most gamers already have them. Not this time. The Humble Bundle 4 for Android comes with five games, four of which are making their Android debut. In fact, they’re not even available via …

I’ll catch some flak for this, but I still like Siri. In fact, I find it extremely useful for things like setting reminders and sending text messages hands-free. It’s not perfect, but neither is it as useless as many people seem to think. That said, Google’s newly updated Voice Search is all kinds of awesome. It’s blazing-fast, amazingly accurate, and …

As much as I’m a fan of Evernote (who isn’t?), I’ve never really liked its companion apps. On my iPhone, for example, I’ve always found the interface confusing and not especially pretty. That’s about to change. According to the company’s blog, Evernote 5 is coming soon for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. And it’s looking mighty sharp. The new Home …

The iPad Mini arrived in Apple stores today, leading many to wonder if it would lead to long lines, early sellouts, tears, riots, plagues, and other situations that typically accompany Apple’s new-product releases. (Actually, as CNET’s Josh Lowensohn just reported, the Mini did sell out in Apple’s big New York City store.) My question for you: Did you go buy …

As Ned Flanders would say: here’s a dilly of a pickle! You’ve probably heard that the iPad Mini went on sale today, with a price tag of $329 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model. What you may not know is that the online Apple Store now sells the refurbished iPad 2 with Wi-Fi (16GB) for $319 shipped. (It’s also available in …

As Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast, it’s time to start thinking about your safety — and that means stocking up on helpful apps. First up, turn your iDevice into a flashlight. CNET’s Lance Whitney just rounded up flashlight apps for the iPhone, which could prove to be the handiest thing you install all day. Next, keep up …

Do you dream of traveling to the stars? Unless you’ve got $20 million and change for a ticket to orbit, Vito Technology’s Solar Walk is about as close as you’re going to get. This jaw-dropping iOS app provides a wholly interactive 3D model of our solar system, one that’s had me hooked for days. It’s the kind of thing you …

Halloween is just over a week away, making this the perfect time to sit down with the kids and read them a spooky story, but not too spooky, of course. Oh, you better believe there are apps for that. I’ve rounded up five Halloween-friendly e-books for young readers, all of them interactive in some way, and all of them able …