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Jot – Notes & Todos ($1.99) by Things That Are Brown is a no-fuss app for taking quick notes and nothing else. In a way, it's the antithesis to Collections, which is another recently released app that I've enjoyed. With Jot, you get quick text and basic lists, nothing more and nothing less.

When it comes to remembering things, I usually end up just jotting everything down on my phone somewhere. For years, I've been using Drafts for all of my note-taking needs, since the app quickly captures and allows you to do a multitude of actions with the text afterwards. I know others who just use Apple's default Notes app, and that's all fine and dandy, but maybe neither of them are for you. After all, one can be rather complicated, and the other is simple enough but has that weird paper texture thing going on, which can be distracting. What if you want an app that is completely distraction-free and super easy to use and has no bells-and-whistles to worry about? Then my friends, Jot – Notes & Todos is the answer.

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Jot has a cute and simple icon, and once you tap it, you're taken to a barebones interface that is designed to get out of your way. You'll find the main screen is a list of existing notes, and a button in the bottom right corner (reminiscent of the "New Task" button in Things 3) lets you add a note with ease. Swiping horizontally on notes in the list reveal actions, and the omnipresent search bar at the top means you can search through your notes at any given moment. On the initial launch, there's a brief tutorial that shows you the ropes, but honestly, the app is so straightforward it's not needed and can be skipped through. Seriously, Jot is incredibly effortless to use, and perfect if that's what you're looking for. It's like dealing with a digital piece of paper that's always ready for you at any given moment.

By default, there's a few introductory notes waiting for you in the main screen. These notes pretty much give you the instructions on how to create a new note, take action on existing ones, and how to use the search. It's easy and there's no hassle involved.

If you swipe left on a note, it reveals the Pin and Archive actions. Pinning makes a note stick to the top so it never gets pushed down in the list, and Archive is for when you're done with a particular note. Even if a note is in the Archive, you can still search for it with the search bar, as the app looks through all text in notes.

When you swipe right, it reveals actions you can take with the text inside of the note itself. You can copy all of the text to paste somewhere else, or share it using the iOS Share Sheet. One nice touch about Jot is the fact that if you swipe and pull the note enough, it defaults to the action on the outside once you release your finger, meaning it's either copied or archived. If you want to share or pin, just swipe enough to reveal the actions in the drawer, and then tap to select.

When you need to create a new note, just tap on that big purple button. You'll find yourself in the note editing screen, which features it's own typewriter-like mode, so that the text shows up in the middle of the screen, pulling in your eye focus. When you move into the next line, or enter those line breaks, your current text just gets pushed up, and the cursor still remains in the center. It's distraction-free at its finest, and I also like the thicker cursor, as it feels more solid than many thinner counterparts I've seen.

Jot is also capable of simple to-do lists. To turn your note into a todo list with checkmarks, just tap on the checkmark toggle box. The clock button allows the app to remind you about your note or list with a few options, ranging from "Soon" to "Tomorrow" or "In a week" or a custom reminder date and time. According to Jot, "Soon" is considered one hour from now.

The search bar in Jot allows users to search their notes for anything, including archived notes. Just type in the words you're looking for, and Jot shows results in real-time. It's fast, responsive, and comprehensive since it searches through all text.

Jot is designed to be simple, barebones, and easy to use. You can access the settings by tapping on the notepad button in the top right corner. This brings up a menu with a few options, like autocorrect, auto-archiving of completed lists, launching in the compose screen by default, and requiring Touch or Face ID for authentication for access to the app. There's no syncing options or extra things to worry about, such as titles or manual saves.

Jot is perfect for those who want a simple and fast, distraction-free note-taking app without the fuss.

The Good

Jot lives up to its name — it's an no-fuss app that lets you quickly dump your ideas, notes, and other text quips, then get back out and carry on with your day. It's fast, simple, and has enough features to make typing easier, without being overwhelming. The swipe-based gestures mean you can take action on a note quickly, and being able to have basic todo lists with reminders is nice.

The Bad

While Jot is good for what it is, this definitely won't appeal to everyone. The lack of syncing options could be a big drawback for certain people, even though Jot wasn't designed to be a long-term text editor or note app. It's for quick things you need to jot down, and then you copy the text for elsewhere while archiving it in Jot.

Also, the lack of titles could be an issue for some, and it's impossible to have a mix of basic text and list in one note. If you want a list, it's all or nothing here. So if you were looking to make a titled list, that's too bad — you just have to live with an untitled list here.

Another thing to note is the fact that longer notes appear truncated i n the note list, and there's no 3D Touch to peek and pop a note. This would be a perfect addition to the app to make it easier to view longer notes. And if you have phone numbers, emails, addresses, or URLs, they aren't clickable within Jot itself. While I understand that Jot is geared towards simple text only, having the option to launch other apps directly from within Jot saves a lot of trouble.

The verdict

I love using my phone to take notes and write, so naturally I had to give Jot a try for myself. While I can see the use case for it, I don't think Jot will be replacing Drafts for me. This is simply because I prefer an app that has a way to save my data in the cloud, as I use it as my notepad for everything I need to reference later. And what if something happens to my phone and I didn't copy the text out of Jot? It might end up gone forever, and I don't want to take that chance.

However, if you're looking for a simple app for quick notes and lists, complete with reminders, and don't need iCloud or Dropbox syncing, then Jot may be for you. If my workflow was different, then this app may have worked for me.

Jot – Notes & Todos is available on the iPhone App Store for $1.99.

8.1

OVERALL

Lasting appeal 8

iPhone Integration 8

User Interface 8

Is engaging 8.5

Does it well 8

$1.99

Jot – Notes & Todos

Things That Are Brown

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

Space Cycler ($1.99) by Sung Liwen is a retro tunnel space shooter arcade game that's as challenging as it is fun. If you enjoyed games like Danmaku Unlimited 3 and AKA TO BLUE, but wish for some classic Tempest shooting action, then Space Cycler is perfect.

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time playing computer games while I was hanging around my siblings' PCs. I ended up playing whatever games were on them at the time, which usually involved Solitaire, Classic Pinball, Asteroids, or Tempest. I loved arcade games back then, and I enjoy them even more now. It's hard for me to find good space shooters on the App Store, let alone a tunnel-style one that's reminiscent of Tempest. So when I was perusing the App Store for some new entertainment, I stumbled on Space Cycler, and am glad I found it.

$4.99

Danmaku Unlimited 3 – Bullet Hell Shooter

Sunny Tam

$7.99

AKA TO BLUE

TANOSHIMASU CO.,LTD.

Visually, Space Cycler has a lot going on for it. The game is rendered in 3D with a quirky and cute cartoonish art style that makes me think of Saturday morning cartoons when I was younger. The space backdrops are what you'd expect from this kind of game, and the textures are nice. Enemies and bosses are pretty detailed and all of them have their own unique appearances and behavior patterns, while your ships have distinctive aesthetics based on the primary weapon type. There's a lot of fun and exciting explosions to witness, and it's easy to spot the incoming enemy bullets and attacks, which tells you when you need to move to dodge them.

Space Cycler is full of bright and vibrant colors, and the animation is smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The upbeat music is quirky and charming, fitting with the rest of the game's eccentric nature. The sounds are also fun and fit the typical space ship noises that you'd expect from cartoons.

You can play Space Cycler solo or with a friend in the local co-op mode, so one device is between two people. There are five planets to fly and fight your way through, but you unlock them in chronological order. So to get to the second planet, you must clear out the first one, and so forth. Each planet counts as the main stage, but there are multiple waves for all of the planets, including challenging boss fights. Once you unlock a world, you can start new games from there, rather than starting from the first world. However, your score won't be as high this way, so keep that in mind.

There are three space ships that you can choose from in Space Cycler, though only the first one, Bullet, is available at first. To unlock the other two styles, you must reach a certain point threshold. Each ship has a different primary weapon type and unique ultimate attack. You earn points by defeating enemies, as well as collecting the stars that they leave behind. The more you get, the better. Fallen foes can also leave power-ups behind, which you want to collect to upgrade your weapon, giving it more firepower.

Controls in Space Cycler are simple and allow for one-handed play. A slider towards the bottom of the screen lets you move your ship clockwise or counterclockwise on the screen, with the enemies coming in from the middle of the circle. When you move, your ship automatically shoots its primary weapon, so you don't need to worry about a separate attack button.

For the most part, the sensitivity on the slider should be decent enough for most people. However, I wish that there was an option to adjust sensitivity, since you can either move too fast or too slow during more intense fights, like with bosses. I felt that sometimes my ship moved too slowly, or I zoomed across the circle and end up hitting something else I didn't notice. Perhaps I just need more practice, but I feel like adjusting the sensitivity would help out most people.

The co-op mode is a neat feature, as it lets two people play on a single device. This is probably better on an iPad than an iPhone, but it works on both. The second player can just tap to jump in, choose their ship, and then you're both off. You can save your partner from the verge of death, but watch out! It's entirely possible to collide on the battlefield, so you need to be careful and coordinate with each other appropriately to defeat the enemies.

Space Cycler is highly entertaining with fun graphics and challenging on-rails tunnel shooting gameplay, and there is an awesome local co-op mode.

The Good

Space Cycler is a lot of fun and has plenty of replay value. The game is full of vibrant, eye-catching visuals and the music is well done. While five worlds doesn't seem like enough at first glance, when you consider the fact that each area is broken up into several challenging waves of enemies, it's actually a lot of content for the price. Plus, the game gets progressively more difficult, so it does take time to master and beat them all.

On top of it all, Space Cycler's co-op mode is a delightful surprise that works, and is perfect for those who enjoy local co-op with friends.

The Bad

For what it's worth, Space Cycler is a hidden gem on the App Store with a lot of good things going for it. However, again, I would like to see options for control sensitivity, as it would help with better reactions to enemy behaviors and attacks. Hopefully the developers can consider this in the future.

The verdict

Space Cycler is not a new game, but it was recently released and a nice surprise for me on the App Store. I love distinctive graphics that separate games from the rest of the pack, and Space Cycler has that. The music and sound are fun too, and the intuitive controls work well for one-handed play. The stages are challenging, and I can definitely see myself playing this for a while, especially with the co-op.

Space Cycler is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.

9.2

OVERALL

Sound/Music 10

Replayability 9

Graphics 9.5

Gameplay 9

Game Controls 8.5

$1.99

Space Cycler

Sung Liwen

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