When I buy stuff from Apple, I always, always go the refurb route. Know why? Because the company’s refurbished gear is literally good as new, right down to the warranty. The only real difference: you don’t get the same sexy box. Update: Some have suggested that the warranty is only 90 days. That’s not what …

Lots of people buy iPads under the mistaken assumption that they can scribble notes on them, much like they would on a legal pad. However, because the tablet employs a capacative touch screen, you can’t just grab your old plastic PalmPilot stylus and start writing. You need a special pen, one with a conductive tip that mimics your fingertip. Many …

Have you started compiling your holiday wish list yet? Here’s one item I’m definitely adding: the ThinkGeek TK-421 iPhone Case with Flip-Out Keyboard. (Bonus points for anyone who gets the “TK-421” reference–curious as it may be.) I know plenty of people who don’t like the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard. The TK-421 offers a tactile alternative, one that rotates out from behind …

Having turned more than a dozen Dr. Seuss classics into e-book gold, Oceanhouse Media is heading to Bear Country. The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule, The Berenstain Bears Go To Sunday School, and The Berenstain Bears Say Their Prayers are now available in the App Store for an introductory price of $2.99 each. If you have kids, you probably …

The free VLC Media Player app for iPad can handle just about any video format you throw at it. Screenshot by Rick Broida If you were excited last month by the arrival of CineXPlayer, which lets you view Xvid-formatted videos on your iPad, you’ll love this: uber-popular open-source video player VLC is now available for iPad as well, meaning you …

21-Day Vegan Kickstart eases you into the vegan lifestyle with three weeks’ worth of tasty recipes. PCRM Looking to lose weight? Lower your cholesterol? Control your diabetes? Prevent cancer? These are among the proven benefits of a vegan diet–meaning one free of all animal products (meat, dairy, etc.). OK, but how do you get started? Without your morning cereal, lunchtime …

One of my favorite apps of 2010 just got a major update. Tales2Go, which provides on-demand access to nearly 1,300 children’s audiobooks, updated the app to add multitasking support, story caching for offline listening, new subscription options, and more. Intended for children between the ages of 3 and 11, Tales2Go offers a huge range of listening material–everything from two-minute fables …

MegaReader provides easy access to 1.8 million free e-books. Inkstone Software If I’m ever stranded on a desert island, I hope I’ve got MegaReader on my iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. And, um, a solar charger. And 3G. And a Starbucks would be nice. Because MegaReader, you see, supplies enough reading material to last a lifetime. The app promises access to a whopping …

I was pretty jazzed about Apple’s addition of an HDR-photo mode in the recent iOS 4.1 update–until I learned it was for the iPhone 4 only. No worries. As I should have guessed, there’s an app for that. In fact, a quick check of the App Store reveals there are several apps, all designed to endow the 3GS with HDR …

Admit it: you’ve always wanted to talk like Darth Vader. Alas, your voice has all the deep, menacing bass of Justin Bieber’s. Enter Star Wars: Vader Yourself, a Lucasfilm-licensed app that makes your spoken words sound like the big man’s–in theory, at least. I like the app from a style standpoint: it’s modeled after the control panel on Vader’s chest. …