Start your week with some really cool apps. Last week we focused on apps which give us cool new ways to access content, proving that sometimes interface can be almost equally important as the content you are presenting. Watch the video and read more about these great apps.

BMW Magazine

We have talked why tablet-optimized apps are better for brand promotion. And one of the takeaways from that post was that if you are making a smartphone app you should focus on features and instant rewards while if you are making an iPad app you should let your creative juices flow and create an interface which will engage your users and keep them focused on the content you are providing.

If you want a good example to see how to engage your users with interesting interface and add value to your brand, it will really be hard to find a better one than this BMW app.

We were amazed.

Both by the car models presented and by the interface.

In essence, BMW Magazine is one of the apps which remind you why you bought iPad in the first place (and make you feel good for doing so).

Virtual Water

But, it doesn’t mean that only iPad apps are good to create awareness. Virtual Water is an app which found the best way to send a message to iPhone users. And they did it by making sure that the content fits the medium.

How?

• They presented info in an easily understandable way, focusing on the key facts, without too much information.

• It’s easy to get ‘the big picture’ in a couple of seconds, so you don’t need too much time or to remember what you have already read (which is very important for phones which are often used in short time bursts).

• Of course, graphs look great – and iPhone users love great-looking things on their phones.

The key to success here is that if you want to get the info about something across, put it in a beautiful interface and make it easy for everyone for understand. If you do that, you’ll have a bunch of people supporting your cause, who always have a tool to raise awareness about it at hand. Literally, at hand – in their phones.

FontBook

The previous app showed how important design is when presenting some information to a lot of people. And who knows this better than designers themselves. So, when making an app to inspire designers you really should make sure that the way in which you present information to them is well-designed and inspiring.

FontBook was up to this challenge. We loved the app the moment we opened it. It got us inspired and it will do the same thing for you. Even if you are not a designer, download it and get some inspiration.

Kobo

When buying iPads, a lot of people mention the ability to read ebooks in a nice interface as one of the reasons to make the purchase. However, reports show that iPad usage is still dominated by gaming and entertainment.

So, people just don’t like to read as much as they like to play games? Nothing new. Not even apps as Kobo, which give you a premium visual experience, will change that anytime soon.

But, for those who love to read these apps will be a new standard others will have to follow. Kobo makes reading more interesting and visually pleasing. Embedded statistics of how much you read make it even more fun.

Have we mentioned that it comes free and has tons of interesting titles. What are you waiting for?

Go and read something.

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Once again, thanx to Mattias Holmgren (http://www.morningdewmedia.com) for great music used in the video.