Good news came out of Apple today when they pushed an updated version of Apple Remote for iPhone and iPod Touch. The great news is it's optimized for the iPad. The Apple Remote allows users to control iTunes and Apple TV over WiFi from their iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. I've been testing it on the iPad and it's pretty slick.

Just like before, Apple Remote allows complete control of your iTunes library, including music, movies and TV shows. So what's all the fuss about? Well, the biggest upgrade is the iPad version, and it looks great. The new Remote has a few special features to control the Apple TV interface. Via a control page, users can flick, drag, tap and hold to manipulate menus and control playback. This makes moving around Apple TV fun and efficient. Through the Remote, you can also connect to multiple speaker systems and adjust their volumes independently. I connected to my home entertainment system and iMac at the same time and It was very cool. The Remote also allows you to create and update Genius playlists, create and edit iTunes playlists and send music to AirPlay speakers.

The new Apple Remote was released just ahead of the new Apple TV that was announced several weeks ago. Shipments of the new device are on there way. Apple TV has been completely re-designed and optimized to stream media instead of storing and syncing with iTunes. Everything will be accessed over the air using WiFi. If you're a Netflix subscriber, you're in luck as you can access your Netflix movies through Apple TV. The Apple Remote was updated to take full advantage of controlling the new Apple TV.

Of course, Apple Remote is a free download and available now in the App Store. You'll love it!

After 14 long months, Google Voice is finally back in the app store with two great native apps. Under government pressure and increased competition, Apple finally relaxed their developer rules which opened the door for more creative and innovative programs. I've been using GV Mobile + and GV Connect for a week now, and they make making Google Voice calls as seamless as making an iPhone call.

So, what is Google Voice? And why should you bother using it when you have a cell phone with a great plan? For starters, Google Voice is an Internet based phone service that allows you to have one phone number (a Google Voice number) for all your phones. But how many of us have multiple phones these days? Not many. I just have one phone, my cel phone. So here's what I use Google Voice for and how you might use it too.

if you're looking to reduce your plan while still making the same volume of calls, Google Voice can help. When you place a call using Google Voice, it's not using your minutes because you are talking using your data plan. While the data plan is $25 for 2GB of data, that should be enough to place many calls using Google Voice. And you can make Google Voice calls over WiFi or 3G without any fees. The other reason to use Google Voice is for International calling. While it's not free, the cost is minimal. For example, calling Australia to a land line is $0.02 cents/minute and $0.14 cents/minute to a mobile phone. Very reasonable rates. You can buy minutes through your Google Voice account online. And another great reason to use Google Voice is free text messaging. And that's pretty hard to beat.

I primarily use Google Voice for outgoing calls rather than incoming calls. Incoming calls to your mobile phone will always eat up minutes, regardless if they call your Google Voice number or your iPhone number. You can get a simple voice plan for as low as $40/month for 450 minutes. The other added bonus I mentioned is free texting. So how do you get a Google Voice account and set it up? You'll need to request an invite from Google or find someone with a Google Voice account. To enhance Google Voice, I suggest having a Gmail account. You'll be able to see text messages, transcribed voice mail and Google email all in one place. You can set up your Gmail account on your iPhone, making it easy to view all your communications in one place.

When you set-up Google Voice online, just forward your Google Voice number to your mobile number. Doing this forwards all Google Voice calls and texts to your iPhone. Voice mails will be left through your main iPhone voice mail. However, if you don't forward your Google Voice number, you can be sent a text, email and transcribed voice mail to your Gmail account. Earlier I said you can access your Gmail account through your mail tab on your iPhone.

Now you an you see how easily your iPod Touch can become a phone as well using Google Voice. Setting up the Google Voice apps are rather simple. Just login using your username and password. Each app has a phone dialer, SMS, voicemail, history and settings page. One thing you'll need to know is when you place a call using Google Voice, the app first dials out to Google Voice which in turn calls you back on your iPhone. Just answer the call and Google Voice will dial out to the party you called. It's really that simple. The calls are clear and you won't know the difference between using Google Voice or AT&T.

While I've only touched on some of the features in Google Voice, I've given you enough information to get started. I'm still experimenting myself by turning features on and off to see how it all works. If you like technology and want to be an early adopter, Google Voice is a great service that I'm sure one day will be a household name. By then, you'll be telling all your friends how to use it yourself. In the coming weeks, Google will most likely launch a native app well. In the meantime, enjoy these two third-party native apps. They make using Google Voice a lot of fun while saving a a few extra minutes as well. GV Mobile + & GV Connect are available in the app store for $2.99 each.

Blancspot is a cool news app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that captures the world's news in a different way. While many news apps are mere readers of sorts, Blancspot creates an environment that literally captures the essence of the story through professional photography and music.

As the photos zoom in slowly on the screen, they almost create a video-like image. Coupled with background music and small captions, the stories really come to life in the palm of your hand. You can scroll through stories by swiping the screen or let them change on their own. Pressing a little arrow in the bottom right corner brings up the full story. You can access other features by tapping the screen to bring up the top menu.

If you're looking for another way to experience what's happening in the world through amazing photography, check out Blancspot. As they call it, it's "The Art of News." $.99 cents in the app store for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Hungry Shark for the iPhone and iPod Touch is one of those games that keeps you coming back for more. From the time the shark drops down into the water, it's constant mayhem as you try to eat everything in sight...just to say alive. If you don't, your hungry meter gets low and you'll starve to death. However, if you eat everything in sight (well, not everything), you'll begin to see the shark grow bigger, become more ferocious and you'll earn lots of points and stay alive.

To eat, just tilt the device in the direction you want to travel and gobble up the food chain as you go by. Touching the screen gives you a boost of speed to catch up to fast moving prey. If you see a mine or jellyfish, stay away as you could end up on your back. Stingrey's like to fight back, so watch the barb on the end of his tail. And look around at the sea bottom for hidden treasure as you can scoop them up for extra points.

The game gets fun when you see Roy Scheider aboard "Orca" trying to take you out. Feel free to ram the boat and send man overboard...then he's fair game. Schools of fish are great for extra points too when you eat in rapid succession. I like to dive deep as you'll find all kinds of fun prey, including penguins and crabs. Part 1 is free and Part 2 is a mere $0.99 cents.

Skip the free and get Part 2, it's loads of fun!

Album Wall is so simple and clever, it should have been integrated into Apple's native iPod software. This is one of those apps that leaves you thinking...why didn't I think of that!

Here's how it works: Launching Album Wall reveals a mosaic of your album art from your personal iTunes library. Double tapping on an album plays songs from that album. Mini controls appear at the top of the screen to control playback. Double tap the album again plays the next song. You can double tap another album cover to play new songs. And that's it!

On both the iPhone and iPad, music plays in the background. However, to turn the music off, you'll need to close the iPod software or just pause the music. While the screen can't fit all of your album art, just shake the iPhone or iPad to re-launch new art. You'll also see the screen randomly changing album art.

You'll be surprised at how much music you will rediscover with Album Wall. Available now through the app store for $3.99.

I've had Zinio on the iPad and iPhone for some time now. As a professional aviator (and part-time blogger), I was happy to find Flying magazine, Aviation Week and Aviation International News on here. While these magazines may sound boring, it proves that Zinio has done a great job securing a deep level of trade mags for many different industries. It's hard not to give props to Zinio as well when you see magazines like Billboard, The Economist, Rolling Stone, Car & Driver and National Geographic on here too. But how is it to read an entire digital magazine on the iPad or iPhone? And what about the cost? Read on as I give you my take on the practicality of buying and viewing content through Zinio.

When you first load Zinio on the iPad, you're greeted by the 'featured articles' section from some of the top magazines on newstands. They even give you a free article from the latest edition to wet your appetite before you buy. But if you click on the 'shop' tab at the bottom, you'll have a host of categories to click through to find your favorite magazines. One feature I find missing though is a simple search bar. But I think you'll be impressed by how many well known magazines have signed up with Zinio to turn there hard copy counterparts into beautiful e-zines for the iPad. Purchasing is pretty simple, but it does kick you out of the app to the Web to make the purchase. However, once you buy, the 'proceed' button takes you back to the app and the download begins. Over WiFi, the download happens pretty quickly and you can start reading before the download is complete. 3G download speeds will vary and probably take longer.

So how is to read and navigate a digital magazine on the iPad? Simply put...it's great! For starters, this is not a simple PDF conversion. Zinio has done a terrific job of making reading a digital magazine feel natural. While the pages don't curl like in iBooks, you can jump from the contents page to any article in the magazine via the blue underlined text. Pinch and zooming brings everything to life, and tapping the page brings up thumbnail pages at the bottom with additional navigation options at the top. You won't feel lost inside the magazine with no way back. While double-tapping a story increases font size, it won't snap the article to fit the page. You'll just have to move the page around yourself. So, how's the cost? Well, not much different from newstand prices. However, it is the entire magazine, you can read it on the iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, and come back to it as often as you like...just like the real thing. Wait...it is the real thing.

Of all the brick and mortar book stores, I'm still a huge fan of Barnes & Noble. When the Nook device came out, I even paid a few extra bucks to pick one up on eBay. I love the Nook, but when the iPad was released, I just couldn't pass it up. But I still have a soft spot for the Nook and glad B&N updated their eReader and released Nook for iPad.

While the Nook for iPad doesn't sport the page turning animation of Apple's iBooks, the power of B&N gives you over a million titles to choose from. With Nook now on the iPad, iPhone and laptop computer, you'll always have your titles at your finger tips. Free book samples gives you the ability to read a few pages before you buy, and their exclusive LendMe feature allows sharing with your friends.

One feature that's missing from the Nook for iPad is the ability to make in-app purchases. Buying a book kicks you out to the B&N Web site through Safari. But navigating around the Nook is easy and intuitive. Swipe left or right to turn the page; tap the screen to bring up the menu; or hold your finger down on a word to highlight, add notes, and look up words through the apps dictionary or through Google or Wikipedia. The one downside is you'll leave the Nook to look up words using third party sources.

The main menu also offers a host of features to customize the Nook. The top right menu gives the ability to change the font, size and background color, as well as page margins and justification. Adjusting the brightness is easy and a search bar allows simple access to your library. If you already have a ton of B&N eBooks, just tap the top left corner logo, login and you'll have your entire library in seconds.

B&N has done a great job allowing you to customize the Nook. You can even rate your books and sort them by favorites. While the page curling animation of iBooks and in-app purchasing are missing, I'm still a fan of the Nook for iPad. The library is huge and you won't be disappointed when your iBooks store comes up short when searching for new title or obscure ones. The Nook is definitely a great addition to my iPad, and has found a home right next to iBooks.

App Tue, our blog for the latest apps, news and hardware coming out of Cupertino, is now available in the iTunes app store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. We worked really hard over the past few month's to develop the app and we're excited to make our blog available as a stand-alone application for Apple devices.

Now you can access and browse by category the coolest iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch apps recommended by us...a bunch of cool guys that dig their Apple hardware. We'll also provide updates on the latest news, hardware and software without all the deep techie stuff.

For the really cool app, like the new App Tue, we'll do in-depth reviews and tag them as featured. We'll also select an app for the "app of the week."

On occasion, we'll even send out a tweet if we stumble upon a great app or breaking Apple news. You'll find the Twitter link under the 'more' tab, as well as other categories.

And if you're one of us, and want to be a contributor to App Tue, we'd like to hear from you. Any comments, suggestions or bug fixes can be sent to us through our blog.

If you enjoyed using a slingshot as a kid, then you'll enjoy Angry Birds for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. It's quite addictive and will put your trajectory skills to the test.

If you're wondering why the birds are so angry, just ask the green pigs holding the birds eggs' hostage. The birds are so furious that they've set-up a slingshot to propel themselves into the pigs' fortified castles. You control the slingshot by aiming and pulling back on the sling to launch the bird into the pigs - hopefully taking them out. You only get about four birds to launch at each stage, so use them strategically. And don't forget to tap the screen once you launch a bird, they split into three, giving you additional destructive power.

Their are 165 levels that require additional skill and thought as to how you can penetrate the castles and eliminate the pigs. There's definitely a certain amount of pleasure you get when you accomplish a level. Be prepared to have hours of fun that will leave you asking, where did all the time go!

Angry Birds is available for the iPad in HD for $4.99 and $.99 for the iPhone and iPod Touch

The long awaited Chopper 2 hit the app store today and it's on sale for $2.99. It's available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch...in glorious HD!

Chopper 2, which is the highly anticipated sequel to the original Chopper, features 36 missions throughout 12 different locations.

The action packed side-scrolling chopper game received a huge upgrade today that incorporates HD graphics, all new weapons, enemies and missions that make full use of the iPad and iPhone 4. It even uses the internal gyroscope for increased maneuvering and has spatial sound for great affects.

If you own an iPad and iPhone, you can use the iPhone as a remote control to maneuver the chopper on the iPad. And if you really want the ultimate chopper experience, plug your iPad into your TV through a component cable or VGA adapter for large screen play. You'll need to use the iPhone as the remote control.

Chopper 2 is one of the best games I've played. You'll be blown away by the detailed graphics and crazy missions required to get to the next level. A lot of R&D has gone into the sequel and will no doubt remain at the top of the app store game list.