free

With so many to-do list apps for the iPhone, how do you know which ones are best suited for your needs? For the casual user, a free app is the best option, but there are hundreds of them to choose from, and some offer only marginal improvements over what Apple's Reminders app does. With Plain Tasks, you can enhance your to-do list creation without taking on dozens of tools you'll likely not need with this elementary yet effective, free app.

Plain Tasks operates exactly as you would expect. Upon opening, you are presented with a white screen and … Read more

There are dozens of list-making apps on the App Store, each of them designed to streamline the collation and organization of information. Some focus on packing as many features in as possible while others are all about style. Filing Cabinet Free for iPhone falls into the former camp, but does so with a limiting, poorly-crafted interface that makes the app hard to use.

When you open Filing Cabinet for iPhone, you'll be inside of an existing database that serves as a tutorial on how to use the app. The process is fairly easy but will take time depending on … Read more

InstaEffect FX Free is the lite, trial version of InstaEffect FX HD--an app designed so you can quickly and easily add special effects to the foreground and background of your images. The app is simple, straightforward, and in the trial version, relatively limited, but in many ways exceeds expectations, making it a good option for light image effect editing.

When you first open InstaEffect FX Free you'll notice that it's very similar to other free image editing apps. Load an image from your library or take a new one with your camera and you can start editing it … Read more

Drum Pad Free is one of those apps that gives you exactly what it promises without frills or gimmicks. No hidden menus. Just a simple drum pad app that works as advertised with no unwanted upgrade banners flashing across the screen. Of course because it is free and admittedly very limited in what it allows you to do, Drum Pad (Free) isn't right for everyone.

The app is very easy to use. Open it and you are presented with nine drum pads. Tap each of them to make a noise. They are each labeled with the associated sound they … Read more

Whether it was an amusement park or a stand on the boardwalk, you probably remember those cardboard cutouts that you could put your face into to take on the body of someone else. They are often funny or ridiculous and they work well in any setting. So why not create an app that does the same thing with the photos on your phone or iPad? That's the thinking behind Face in Hole HD, and while it works as advertised there are some limitations.

The idea of Face in Hole HD is elementary, and creating the subsequent photos is as … Read more

Color Splash Life Free is a very easy-to-use app that can create very attractive photos from your photo library or camera. The app is well executed and easy to use, making for a quick and easy filter that will transform photos in your library with a few quick taps.

If you've ever seen a black-and-white photo with a small sliver of color added to it, you know exactly what Color Splash Life is designed to do. When you open the app, you'll be given a stock black-and-white photo. Choose a brush size and you can move your finger … Read more

Combine a touch screen and a basic music app and you can do some pretty incredible things. That is the thinking behind Beat Pad, a free app for the iPhone that features 12 evenly-spaced pads that produce a variety of different beats. The goal of the app is simple enough--provide an easy-to-use beat pad that you can take on the go with you anywhere. While the limitations of the app are certainly an issue, the fun of the interface is enough to make it a good download for any beat boxing or DJ hopeful.

The app is as rudimentary as … Read more

Colors Pro Free promises all kinds of features to take your photos up a few notches. The problem? You can't use any of your own photos unless you want to pay to upgrade. So the "free" part comes at a price.

Colors Pro Free opens with a black-and-white stock photo of a hot air balloon. A pop-up appeared letting us know that if we wanted to load custom images to edit, we would have to pay to upgrade. So we were stuck with the balloon. The app doesn't feature much in terms of editing tools. It … Read more

Users who lack or do not like using the editing program that comes with their Mac need additional options for working with their videos. VideoPad Free Video Editing Software for Mac works well for basic editing and has many features that would be expected from advanced programs.

Installation of VideoPad Free Video Editing Software for Mac requires the acceptance of a detailed user agreement. During startup, the user sees a list of additional programs they can install if they choose. A Web browser toolbar is the only one that is highlighted by default, so users should pay attention before moving … Read more