Navigon USA: Apple created a rare backlash this week when the launch of iOS 6 replaced the longtime Google Maps application with its own in-house creation. One big downside of the new Maps? Directions on how to use public transit to get around town have disappeared. Luckily, private app makers have stepped into the breach: Garmin this week updated its $40 Navigon USA navigation app to include urban guidance featuresthe ability to check public transit options while planning your route. The feature is available as a $3 in-app purchase in the Navigon USA and other Garmin apps. If thats too pricey, uou can always bookmark Google Maps in your phones Safari browser and be ready to go.
Kobo: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apples iBooks generally get the most attention on the e-reading front, but theyre not the only products out there. The free Kobo reading app for iPhone and iPad offers many of the same options as those more famous servicesincluding the ability to move seamlessly between iOS and the companys own e-readers. This weeks update optimizes the app for iOS 6, of course, but also adds features like a progress indicator to show how far you are through a book, as well as access to your personal book-reading stats, new font options, and the ability to tap-and-hold book margins to skim quickly through your reading.
N.O.V.A 3: We probably dont have to explain the premise of this $7 game for iPhone and iPad: See the evil space alien, kill the evil space alien. This weeks update, though, makes alien-killing a communal affairthe games new features include the ability to voice chat with your fellow players in multiplayer mode. There are other new features, including a new warehouse map, and an InstaGib mode in which a single hit can mean your character dies. But the voice chat is the most intriguing, and perhaps the most embarrassing: Remember, in space no one can hear you screambut the same is not true of your dorm room.
Pictosaur: This $2 iPhone app lets you track the growth of your young child over timeoffering periodic reminders to take a picture of your child, and then helping you align your new picture with previous shots of the youngster to create the best comparisons. You can take notes about the time and location of the shots, and share the photos with your friends on Twitter.
Other apps of note: PCalc was updated for iOS 6, as was Twittelator Neue & Priceline updated its app to include Express Deals discounts on hotel rooms & Shazams iPhone update lets users tag TV shows in addition to songs & and Netflix overhauled the iPhone version of its universal app with a new user interface.