Do you own a smart phone? Does it sometimes make you feel dumb? I know the feeling! I boldly joined the 21st century with my first iPhone a couple years ago. Now, I don’t know how I lived without one as long as I did! I literally couldn’t run Finish Line without it. The amount of information is staggering, and the possibilities of tasks that can be achieved with them is endless. I thought it would be fun to explore the world of apps. Today, we take a look at five free, useful apps which are available on any platform phone, whether you use an iPhone, Android, or Windows phone. Let’s find out what’s ‘appening in the world of smart phones.
The first application we’ll explore is the one that I use the most, the Flashlight app. People who know me know that I’m always in the dark. Not really in the way you’re thinking, but it seems like I’m always working in a poorly lit area. Whether I’m working behind a computer, under a desk, or even trying to find the right key for my front door, I can always use more light. When you launch the Flashlight app, your camera’s flash is automatically illuminated, guiding your way. There is a power button in the app which turns the light on or off, and a slide which adjusts the brightness. Be careful to turn the flashlight off when you’re finished because the phone’s battery will drain quickly if the flashlight is left on. Additionally, you can swipe to the right or left to choose the frequency with which the light flashes, from none at all to nine quick bursts of light for that “migraine headache inducing” flash. In my opinion, Flashlight is a must!
The second most-used app on my phone is the Accuweather app. When we have a race coming up, I’m constantly looking at the weather. I’m borderline obsessed when it comes to the extended forecast. That’s just one reason why I love the Accuweather app: a 15 day forecast! Accuweather has all the information you could ever want in a weather application, including a minute forecast. “Rain will end in 2 minutes” is something you’ll see when you open the app. Believe it or not, it’s quite accurate! The accuracy of Accuweather as a whole is what led me to choosing this app as my weather app of choice. It may not be as flashy as The Weather Channel’s app, but Accuweather wins with the depth of information and accuracy of their forecasts and radar. Give it a try.
I love music. I’ll put my knowledge of song titles, artists, and lyrics up against anyone. Ask my wife how many notes it takes for me to “name that tune.” It’s a little unnatural really, and if only I’d paid the same attention in school that I did to music I might not be stuck fixing computers. Enough about my failures. If you’re like me, check out SoundHound. SoundHound is an app which will tell you the title of the song that’s currently playing and the artist, along with the lyrics. Crazy! The lyrics are displayed as they’re sung in a karaoke style so you can sing along too. Never again will you think “Do the Hustle” is really “Tuna Hot Dog”. (Sorry, Kath I couldn’t resist!) If you have a song stuck in your head but don’t know the name of it, you can sing or hum into the microphone on the phone and SoundHound can identify it. You can also search by song or artist, and play a desired song through apps like Spotify or iTunes.
I might love music, but I hate shopping! If you’ve been reading prior blogs you know this about me. The good thing for me is, there are apps that make shopping easier. One such app is called Slice. Slice is really pretty cool. Simply sign up for a free account, and every time you order anything online using the e-mail address you used to register with Slice, the app will place your receipts into the “Orders” section. It will then alert you when an order has been shipped, provide the tracking number to you, and notify you when a package is delivered and to where. Slice will also give you a notification if the price drops after one of your purchases so you can attempt to get money back, and even more importantly, will tell you if anything you’ve bought has been recalled by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. It’s easy to see how helpful Slice can be if you do even a little bit of shopping online.
If there’s one thing I hate more than shopping it’s parking! That’s where our last app comes in. When traveling to any city, parking your car is probably the most stressful part of the trip. Finding a parking lot or garage is bad enough, and just when you don’t think it can get any worse, you see the price! SpotHero is here to help. With SpotHero you can plug in your destination, date, and time, choose from the amenities options, and reserve your parking spot. All you have to do is get there! SpotHero has deals with the parking lots and garages listed, and can offer savings off the posted prices saving you money in addition to stress. Currently, SpotHero services Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, Newark, and Baltimore, so it’s mostly a northeastern U.S. app, though they’re planning on expanding it in the future.
There are millions of apps across the smart phone landscape. Some are good, some aren’t. I hope you’ll find those listed helpful! Feel free to try all these and more, but always remember to be safe when downloading apps to avoid potential malware and spyware. If you use an iPhone, only download apps from the App Store. An Android phone should only use apps from Google Play. Only download apps for Windows phones from the Windows Store. All of these apps are tested and safe for users from these locations. Otherwise, feel free to download away. The only limitation to how many you can use is the size of your phone’s hard drive!