By Graham K. Rogers

This week a couple of the more significant apps that I like to use on my iPad were updated: Fotopedia Wild Friends, and Motor Sport. We also saw an update to Genius Scan which is reviewed elsewhere.

Fotopedia Wild Friends

Since that time I have had notification that a number of free in-app downloads with more photos and stories were available for download. These are shown by a number indicator over the icon, in the same way that I am notified of new emails or other messages.

Once downloaded the updated items are shown with a "New" tag on the main page of the app. The most recent four of these were: rodents, France, Ospreys in action, and Continents meet.

While the app is available for the iPhone, its content works best on the larger screen of the iPad. As well as the in-app updates to content, the app has now been updated (version 1.2) correcting some minor bugs

Motor Sport

The arrival was a teaser with the September edition available as a free sample. The first real issue was due on 31 December. When the app was updated in the first week of January I saw that it had been moved into Newsstand. The February cover was visible, but I could not purchase the issue, nor could I subscribe.

I reported the problem, so was not surprised to see this most recent update to Motor Sport (version 1.0.2) a few days after the last release. Three things are covered:

• A problem has been fixed in which some print subscribers could not access content for free;

• The wording in the subscriptions panel has been amended to include a support email address;

• Improved error reporting when making an in-app purchase.

Although my particular access problem does not seem to be covered by these fixes, I was pleased to find that when I pressed the subscribe button, the process was completed: as it should have been in the first place. This was an unnecessary omission and may have lost a number of sales. As it is, the current issue now arrives in my iPad 2 weeks after it was issued (31 December).

As part of the subscription payment, I was asked if my data could be shared. I accept this, but others may wish to decline.

When I have gone through the first purchased issue, I will examine the app again in terms of content.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.