Can an iPad really take the place of a laptop? For many users, the answer would be: “Not without a real keyboard.” I hear that. Though I’m able to manage some basic touch-typing with the iPad’s onscreen keys, my fingers don’t fly nearly as nimbly as they do with a real set of QWERTYs. Apple’s …

Remember the Babel Fish? As fans of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” will recall, it lived in your ear and immediately translated whatever language a person was speaking into whatever language you could understand. Word Lens for iPhone works just like a Babel Fish, except it doesn’t live in your ear, and it translates only printed text, not spoken …

I’ve often felt that 99 cents is the magic number for iOS games. At that price, it’s an impulse buy; I’ll grab it without a second thought. Even if I wind up not liking the game, hey, it was only a buck. If you feel the same way, you’ll appreciate this: EA Mobile has cut nearly every game in its …

If you’re under the age of 30, the name “Riven” might mean nothing to you. But for us old fogies of PC gaming, it’s instantly recognizable: Riven is the sequel to Myst. Myst, of course, was the groundbreaking, best-selling puzzle/adventure game–of 1993 (and for the next decade, until The Sims came along). That title made its iOS debut back in …

Viewing photos on your iPad is a beautiful thing. Getting photos onto your iPad: not so much. The traditional method requires copying snapshots from your camera to your PC, then from your PC to your iPad. That’s one irksome extra step, and not exactly practical if you’re traveling. Hence Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit, which for $29 gives you two …

Not to be outdone by Rovio’s Halloween- and Christmas-themed Angry Birds Seasons, Chillingo just took the wraps off Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift. That’s right: Om Nom is back, still hungry for candy, and still adorable as can be. The game serves up 75 25 new levels and immediately lives up to its name. Holiday Gift is absolutely free. You …

‘Tis the season to put the smackdown on everybody’s favorite brain-munching undead horde: zombies. Of course, now that AMC’s incredible “The Walking Dead” has ended its first season, you’ll need something to tide you over until the flesh-eaters rise again. Look no further than these three new iOS games: Dead Rising Mobile looks like a PlayStation 1 reject, but it …

Back in September, beloved gadget seller ThinkGeek announced the TK-421 iPhone Case with Flip-Out Keyboard. At the time, I was jazzed about the idea of trading my iPhone’s cramped onscreen keyboard for a roomy set of tactile keys. Now that I’ve had the chance to try them out, I’m still jazzed about the idea–just not the execution. The TK-421 provides …

It was just two months ago that refurbished iPads first hit the Apple Store, bringing a $50 savings to all three Wi-Fi models. (Since then, Apple has added the 3G iPads to the refurb catalog as well, again at a $50 discount.) If those price reductions weren’t significant enough for you, how about this: Apple just lowered refurbished iPad prices …

I’m a huge, huge fan of “The Daily Show.” It’s the single funniest thing on TV, and Jon Stewart is perhaps the smartest guy ever to sit behind a talk-show desk. (The less said about his interviewing skills, however, the better.) Needless to say, it didn’t take a lot of arm-twisting for me to grab the new The Daily Show …