What up everyone. Hope you’re doing well. Today we’re continuing with the Grizzly Apps series with a feature on the rad blog turned fancy iPad app, Nalden. Written by Nalden, a Dutch web curator that always manages to find some of the most interesting and eye catching stories from around the web. This app has some neat UX (user experience) features like dynamic background images and differing layout/nav based on the orientation of your iPad. However, it’s really all about the rock solid content. The app also has really great sections serving as sources for stylish iPad wallpapers and recommendations for other bangin’ apps. The advertising is super subtle, sparse, and all really on point, so much so, that it’s more an extension of the content than an interruption – something most billion dollar media organizations haven’t even figured out yet. Sorry ladies, this app is masculine skewing, but much less so than our previous feature WITC. I’m sure there are cool lady apps out there, but I’m just not usually digging into that type of stuff on my free time.

iTunes Description:

“Nalden is all about a lifestyle for digital natives. This blog / app works like an online desktop and includes stories supported by audio, video, snapshots, photo galleries and shop. Some people think this blog is about trends, but it is more about curated observations.”

So there you go. Another little knowledge nugget for y’all. Hope your week goes well!

- Curt

First we covered Flipboard. Second up is one of the better iPad magazines out there for guys – Where Is The Cool? WITC is a mens lifestyle mag designed specifically for the iPad in the slightly chauvinistic “lad-mag” vein of QG, Maxim, and Details, but with less sleazy chicks and more cool boutique brands. It’s a monthly mag into its third issue. It’s not heavy reading, but it’s a great casual Saturday read once I’m burnt out on reading stuff from Umair Haque and over saturated with design.

For me, one of the real benefits of a digital mag over a hardcopy is, as the industry calls it, “integrated commerce” where many of the products featured come with embedded links to the actual seller’s site. That, plus the ability to weave in videos and audio clips make it a richer experience than print. See more screenshots after the jump:

“Where is the Cool? features products, places and services that distinctly define different aspects of the cool, catering not just to a selective audience of the fashionably aware but offering a broad and tangible perspective of what the cool really is.”

And they’ve got a dope Tumblr with all kinds of goodies. More boobies than the mag though. Be warned.

Plus, based on their press kit, it appears that they’re an OC based outfit. Which is cool. Since GBM likes supporting the land of our youth. See. It ain’t all bad behind the Orange Curtain.

- Curt

So we’re starting a new series featuring cool iPad apps. As a perk of the job, my company generously gave all its employees iPads back in February. It’s a pretty rad toy, but I’ve yet to be able to give up my Macbook or office PC for the heavy lifting. However, the iPad is a great consumption device and there are some really cool apps out there that make browsing the web more fun.

As part of my day job, I’ve been doing research on app usability, particularly around social media and news. Meaning I’ve spent a lot of time combing the app store looking for interesting and unique apps. Browsing top rated apps will only get you so far in an app store of half a million apps and counting, so I figured I’d pass along some of the cool things I’ve found.

Flipboard. This will probably be the most popular app I’ll be featuring and that’s for a reason. It’s dope. Flipboard is a highly customizable news and social media “aggregator” that delivers content in a magazine-esque layout and interface. It’s really a vessel to display any RSS feed you can imagine, or link your Google Reader, Facebook, and Twitter. This app’s signature “flip” page turn is unparalleled in ease of use and fun – meaning you literally flip digital pages on the iPad. Rad. But my favorite part is how the app repackages Twitter. Flipboard pulls in everyone you’re following on Twitter and builds a dynamic magazine that makes reading through your feed a thousand times more enjoyable. Flipboard pulls up all the images and articles from the tweets so you never have to click out to launch a browser. With the slide of a finger you’re reading the whole article without leaving the app. I really can’t read tweets any other way now.

If you’ve got an iPad, check out Flipboard for yourself. Download via app store. Enjoy!

- Curt