With each passing year, the need for a computer diminishes as enterprising developers contribute additional superpowers to iOS devices. One of the latest to arrive on the iPhone is optical character recognition (OCR), courtesy of Pixter Scanner. While there are plenty of solutions for turning an iPhone into a mobile scanner, few allow captured text to be converted to editable text – let alone translate it into 70 different languages. Pixter Scanner OCR does just that, recognizing typewritten (and in some cases, even handwritten) text in 32 languages. In our tests, OCR worked quickly with nearly 100 percent accuracy, even with a variety of different type styles.

Understanding classic poetry is hard enough, but memorizing it can be downright cruel. With archaic language, tricky rhymes, and unexpected rhythm variations, trying to remember the exact way William Shakespeare felt about the woman he loved can pretty much suck the beauty right out of it. Penguin Classics' Poems by Heart makes it easy (well, easier) to commit the classics to memory by turning the whole tedious process into a game, with level-ups and progress achievements that unlock as you learn.

Looking for the next great iOS brawler? You won’t find it here, but the free Injustice: Gods Among Us is still well worth downloading, especially for comic book fans. Playing as 18 of the DC Universe’s most popular heroes and villains, you’ll battle Flash, The Joker, and company in frantic, surprisingly addictive 2D-style bouts.

For some, there’s nothing cooler than the idea of controlling computer software directly with your mind. No buttons, no keyboard, no mouse—just a link from your brain straight to your computer that translates thoughts into onscreen actions. Technology isn’t there yet, but NeuroSky’s Brainwave Starter Kit is taking us in that direction. Or, at least, it’s trying to.