App reviews: Entitle, Pendo

Entitle

It's easier than ever for movie-lovers to get the things they want on demand. But what about readers? With Entitle, a Web service and app, the literati now have an option. Users get two books a month for $9.99, from a library of more than 125,000 books. Plus, you can keep them forever, even if you cancel the service. You can sign up online and have access to bestsellers and some new releases — something that movie services often can't boast. Plans start at $9.99 for two books, and go up to $19.99 for four.

Sure, it's more expensive than the library, but probably cheaper than your bookstore habit. Users can read on iOS and Android devices as well as Nook and Kobo readers — even Amazon's Kindle Fire, if you follow some simple instructions from the site. Free, for iOS and Android devices; does require membership.

Pendo

Note-taking apps taking up all of your time? Pendo is looking to streamline the process by tapping into your iPhone's microphone and calendar to make appointments and other notes easy to do. You can make to-do lists, create notes to share over social networks and include pictures in reminders to yourself.

The real genius, however, is in the scheduling. Tell Pendo to remind you to “check blood sugar every day at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.” and it will automatically set alerts for those times. It will also look at things such as addresses — as long as they're on separate lines — and automatically process them into a contact card. The app has a small learning curve, but once you set it up, it's a huge timesaver. Free, for iOS devices.