Rocket Science 101, by NASA, is an iPad app for aspiring rocket scientists – or just those who would like to learn more about NASA rockets and to try their hand at building one. I spotted it via a review at iPad Apps for School.

Here’s a little of the App Store introduction to the app:

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to launch a NASA spacecraft with NASA’s Rocket Science 101 (RS101)! Select your favorite NASA mission and build a rocket to send the spacecraft into orbit. As you take the RS101 challenge, you can learn more about thrilling missions and the various components of the launch vehicles, how they are configured and how they work together to successfully launch a NASA spacecraft. NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) does the same things for real rockets and exciting spacecraft missions every day – now it’s your turn!

The app has 3 sections that offer varying levels of challenge in choosing and building one of the included rockets – Have Fun, Challenge Yourself, and Rocket Scientist.

[click to continue reading…]

Paper by 53, the popular and award-winning drawing app, got an exciting new update at the start of this week. Version 1.5.0 brings a handful of new features that support the new Pencil accessory to be used with Paper by 53.

This app is touted as being ‘the easiest and most beautiful way to create on iPad’ and ‘where ideas begin’ – and there are a number of iPad artists out there making those promises ring true. One of them is Michael Acosta, whose brilliant work has been featured in our iPad Art section quite a few times.

Here is the detail on what’s new in this update to Paper by 53:

PENCIL. THINK WITH YOUR HANDS.
Pencil is the most natural and expressive tool for getting ideas on Paper. Order your Pencil, a new hardware accessory for Paper, from our in-app store. Please update to this version to begin using your Pencil.
Palm Rejection— Pencil and Paper work together to produce the most sophisticated and effective palm rejection in any app available today. No setup, no calibration, just natural feeling writing and drawing.
Erase— Pencil’s unique built-in eraser lets you get down to what’s essential. 

Blend— Pencil takes care of the lines so you can use your fingers to blend colors on the page and smooth rough edges without ever picking up a tool.
Kaizen
- Expressive Ink Engine — Rebuilt to feel faster and more responsive across all tools.

I can’t wait to see what Acosta and other iPad artists will do with Pencil and Paper by 53.

FIFA for iPad is the new official app for FIFA.com. It has just been launched officially today and will offer live coverage of the 2014 World Cup draw this Friday, December 6. It also looks like a heck of a nice app for fans of The Beautiful Game.

The app offers a wealth of coverage of all the top football (soccer) leagues round the world – from the best of the Premier League, La Liga, and the Bundesliga to the MLS and more. It covers 197 leagues in total – and of course it features international matches and teams as well.

I’m a huge football fan and the World Cup is one of my absolute favorite sporting events. Next year’s tournament should be a great one – and I can’t wait to see the draw and find out where my favorite nations are placed.

Here’s an App Store link for FIFA for iPad; it’s a free app.

DataMan Pro for iPad has just been updated and is on sale today at $2.99, down from its standard $4.99.

The app was updated yesterday to Version 8.2, with the big new feature being landscape support for the iPad. It has also added a shake gesture to return to the Today view and 24 hour clock support.

DataMan Pro makes it easy to keep track of your data usage and avoid overage charges. It offers far more detail than the built-in information given in the Settings app under Cellular Data. I especially like its ability to give you a breakdown of data usage by individual apps. Other notable features include:

Smart Forecast. The advanced Forecast predicts if you’ll stay within your data cap. And tells you in brilliant colors.
Real-time tracking. Your latest statistics are retrieved directly and immediately from iOS. No more waiting for your carrier to update.

・ Track cellular (LTE/4G/3G) and Wi-Fi
・ Show usage alerts in Notification Center
・ Four custom alert thresholds
・ Auto reset on bill cycle date
・ Red percentage badge on app icon
・ Reliable, installed by millions of users
・ Secure and private, no VPN, no login
・ Support many data plan types
・ Work with all carriers
・ Map where you used data
・ Stunning themes

Here’s an App Store link for DataMan Pro for iPad.