Intregity Logic creates serious geology apps that provide an excellent refernce tool for the professional geologist and a learning tool for geology students. Each presents a geologic map (from the USGS) of one of many states as a vector image that can be zoomed to a very high level of detail. Additional layers annotate the map with roads, cities, faults, plate boundaries, earthquakes, hydrology, etc. The layers can be enabled or disabled in any combination. Each layer provides additional controls that determine color, transparency and other display elements. (To see the terrain data, make the geology layer translucent.) Tapping the map presents a summary of relevant data including the USGS topo map name. The app makes excellent use of the iPhone user interface.

Serious apps for geology students and professionals. Intregity Logic now has several apps on

Solar Monitor is serious science on your iPhone. Get the near-real-time state of our sun with images and data. The current image of the sun, in several wavelengths, is worth the price alone. I once had a telescope and viewing the sun was very tricky at best. Now, you just need this app! You can zoom the image and count the sun spots. For the professional scientist, the Charts tab has many different data sets that should satisfy the solar wind forecasters and aurora monitors amoung us. Seriously, this app demonstrates the serious scientific possibilities of the iPhone and iPod touch.

For the budding scientist or the professional. Buy it now on

An excellent examle of an educational iPhone app from Tasa Graphic Arts, called pangaea, provides an interactive (and animated) view of the breakup of the supercontinent of pangaea. You can rotate the Earth's globe to select a longitude, then move back and forth in time to observe the movement of the continents. Flicking up and down shows an animation of the continents through time. Significant events are marked on the globe; several of these have pop-up images with additional information about the geology. It is a great tool for teaching geology, getting a feel for geologic time, and understanding continental drift.

You get a lot for just 99 cents. Available now on

This app, geotimescale, from Tasa Graphic Arts is a reference for geologists and students of geology. It displays the Geologic Time Scale with the official names and dates of the Eons, Eras, Periods, Epochs and Ages. A handy reference for field use.

And the price is right, it's Free! on

There are several apps that explore the Periodic Chart. The two selected here are the best, but for different reasons. Elemints wins for its shear volume of information (with a price to match). While The Chemical Touch wins on simplicity, user interface, and a fair amount of information for its price. Elemints can overwhelm with so much information, so it is for the professional. For the average high school and college student, The Chemical Touch provides all of the basic information with an excellent user interface.

Buy Elemints or The Chemical Touch now on iTunes.

Touch Physics was probably inspired by Crayon Physics Deluxe, a more expensive app with a similar concept and user interface While Crayon Physics offers more options for moving objects and for drawing, I think Touch Physics is the better app for learning (not at all obvious learning, but it's there) And since my favorite apps make learning fun, this one fits the bill at an affordable price.

Give it a try. Buy it now on

Brainy Puzzles: CryptArithm is a challenging puzzle app that requires math skills, logical thinking, and deductive reasoning. While not a 'flash card' app it will improve your math skills. In fact, it is a very difficult puzzle even at the lowest levels. But, if you stick to it, you will have some fun and learn some arithmetic! Gamecentric also makes a light version.

Challenge your brain. Buy it now on

You might not think the game of mancala is an educational app, but I believe it is. To play requires counting (number) skills and quite a bit of logical thinking. Again, there are several versions on the Apps Store. I choose Mancala FS5 because of its excellent graphics and fast game play. This version implements the rules as described on Wikipedia. The links to this page are for the free version, which is supported by advertising and can become annoying. The paid version of Mancala FS5 is free of ads.

A game with a long history and it teaches math skills too. It's free on

Sylvius MR: Atlas of the Human Brain is an excellent example of a 'flash card' style app done right. It takes full advantage of the Touch UI and high resolution screen of the iPhone and iPod Touch. The goal, as medical students will know, is to learn vast quantities of anatomical terminology. The more visual the learning the more likely you are to remember. By using software that reviews, then quizzes your knowledge, retention is maximized. Warning: this is an expensive app, as are many of the other medical apps, but no more expensive than many of the textbooks and study guides that cover similar subject matter.

Sylvius MR: Atlas of the Human Brain is available now on

Modality Inc. has many other apps for medical students with similar features.

There are many internet radio apps on iTunes. Finding the best one has been difficult. I believe that Internet Radio Box is probably the best value among many alternatives. It supports many different streaming formats, allows the entry of your own stations (if you have a URL), and has a large built-in directory. The only major draw-back is that the directory lists are not sorted! So, be prepared to explore the lists looking for your stations. The best way to use this app is to get a URL for the stream (from iTunes or by browsing the web) and enter the URL on the "favorites" menu. This has worked for all of the streams I listen to on iTunes.

Listen to the world, learn a new language. Buy it now on