Sunday, March 24, 2013

What are your favorite apps?

This is an idea I flat out stole from writer friend Jay Kogen, but what are the iphone/ipad apps you just can't live without?   There are now something like a million apps.  I know twelve.  And some of the ones I have I never use.  Why did I bother downloading a lightsaber?

So if you would share your favorites, me and the rest of my viewers would greatly appreciate it.  I imagine there should be an app for my blog but who the fuck knows how to make it?   Thank you.

35 comments :

Brian Phillips said...

I rather like The Vinyl District, which tells you if nearby stores that sell records.

Dual Level turns my iPhone into a level in Landscape or Portrait mode.

myLite uses the iPhone's a flashlight.

Lonely Planet has great travel guides.

Thomas Zahler said...

Deliveries by Junecloud will show you your packages and when they're due to arrive (and if they have).

Dropbox, the app and the service, are crazy awesome for sharing files.

If you need to take sales, Square Register is my go to credit card scanning app.

Waze is my favorite GPS app. It gets traffic reports from other users so it knows where delays are and reroutes you when there's a better way. Great for being in LA.

White Noise is (obviously) a white noise generator for sleeping or plane rides, along with some good alarm functions.

1Password manages all my many passwords, and just makes life so much easier.

Stitcher is a great podcast app that lets you strea podcasts in case you haven't had the chance to download them.

For Catholics, the Catholic Directory has churches and their Mass times. Invaluable for someone like me who travels a lot.

And MLB at Bat helps me listen to the Indians underperform wherever I am.

Sheryl262 said...

Instagram & Vine are fun. I have been using My Fitness Pal to track calories & exercise, Nike Running to track my walks & hikes. Love 360 Panorama to take 360 degree pictures!

kbaskins said...

For iOS:

Tweetbot for Twitter

Mr. Reader for news feeds

iBooks and Kindle app for e-book reading

Sky Safari for astronomy (the pro edition if you can afford it)

Snapseed for photos

Dropbox

iTunesU


Thomas said...

Having a good audiobook player is mandatory, Audible and Mortplayer for Audible work for me. That's how I listened to Ken's book!

dgwphotography said...

Airdroid - it allows you to wirelessly transfer files to and from your phone. Oh wait...

Flipboard

Feedly is a great RSS reader.

I love my optimum online app, that allows me to watch TV on my phone, control the dvr, and use my phone as a remote.

Words with Friends is entirely too addictive...

Jefit is a great workout tracking app.

Little Miss Nomad said...

Shazam. There's always songs playing in a restaurant or Home Depot that I fall in love with but can't ID, but Shazam can, and then I can download them later.

And Monopoly Hotels even though it's riddled with bugs and wants to destroy your life.

croquemore said...

Favorite apps:

For video
Huluplus and amazon instant

FinalDraft writer

Twitter

ICue teleprompting software - the best out there for iPad/iPhone teleprompting

And jeopardy....when I need to let loose of all the use
Ed's trivia crap I've stored in my head for years

Scot B said...

Flipboard,
Clear,
Kindle,
IMDB,
Instapaper,
Google Maps,
Weather HD,
OpenTable,
OneBusAway

Larry Asher said...

Well, there's:

Epicurious: A fantastic cookbook in your phone
Google Translate: For impressing waitresses in Korean restaurants
Kayak: So you can get out of town
Lexulous: Kills Words with Friends
Pandora: How else you gonna hear some new music?
TuneIn Radio: I wish I had this when I was a 12-year old radio geek
Yelp!: For finding restaurants when you're on the road
ESPN ScoreCenter: Because why listen to Mariners games on the radio if you're not calling the action?
RunKeeper: Yet another fitness tracker, but a good one
Starbucks: Because I can't find my wallet and I'm thirsty

And finally:
Find My iPhone: Because I'm an idiot

emily said...

My absolute favorite is the app that lets ya make telephone calls. That is so neat.

MomQueenBee said...

Clear, because my life is list-based.

MomQueenBee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
slgc said...

AAA. If you're in an accident, you don't want to have to find their phone number, locate your account number, etc.

Johnny Walker said...

TripIt: Automatically create an itinerary of your trip on your phone, along with all those pesky booking numbers. Makes things SO much easier.

SleepCycle: If you're someone who doesn't do mornings very well, this is a great app that wakes you up at the end of your sleep cycle... so you don't feel so groggy. The most amazing thing about it is that it actually works.

Shazam: Useful for when you're somewhere and you really like a song, and you can't remember/don't know who it is.

DownCast: Until Apple figure out how to write a decent Podcasts app, this is the best alternative.

Google Maps: See above.

Jan said...

Excellent, Emily

Phillip B said...

A strong second vote for TuneIn Radio Pro, which allows you to search radio broadcasts streaming world-wide and listen to them live -- or record them. It also has a useful index of podcasts.

FlightTrack Pro knows the status your flight before you do, and before the airline will tell you.

TripIt is now part of my travel routine, and makes it easy to share my itinerary with others.

The location function on your phone makes TripAdvisor a lot of fun. Amazing to travel through Europe always knowing where the nearest pizza is...

Skytalon said...

My favorite apps are
Stanza for e-books

Waze for traffic reports

Glympse is for my husband to see where I am so he can start cooking dinner as my hour long daily commute is wildly unpredictable!

Reeder for my rss news and where I read your posts.

SpeakIt! Is when a person doesn't understand what I am saying' so I type into the phone and it plays out loud. (I'm deaf, I can speak but not always clearly).

Paprika, a recipe manager and I have it linked to my iPhone, iPad. So I can easily sort out the food for the week and make a shopping list from that. And the ability to see recipe at store to make sure u got the right measurement

Shazam

A couple of games

And the main reason why I got a phone at all to messages(texting).

Colleen said...

If you travel a lot - flightaware - i like that is has the tail numbers of flights/planes (not always exposed by individual airline websites) so you can track your plane backwards throughout the whole day to know if your 10 pm flight will really be on time.

Colleen said...

Oh - and pepperplate! I cook and follow a lot of food blogs as well - this makes it easy to save any recipes I find (some sites are a one click add) and then I can pull it up on the app in the kitchen

ChicagoJohn said...

Sports Tracker.
I have it for my Nokia phone, but its also available for iPhones.

Its simply the best software for tracking workouts that I've run across. Its amazing... and if you buy a compatible HRM strap, you can also use it to track your heart rate.

Even without the HRM app, its great to go on a run, upload all of the info to the website, and then be able to see your workout on a map... either on your own phone, or on the website from your home.

When I bought a new phone, the first thing I did was make sure that it would support the SportsTracker App.

Cap'n Bob said...

I have none, nor have I a device for using them. And get off my lawn!

Anonymous said...

He who dies with the most apps wins.

-faye musselman
www.phayemuss.wordpress.com

Michael Stoffel said...

I have a Tracfone pay-as-you-go phone with no apps.
I seem to get through life fine.

Unknown said...

Sleep Time - Measures what type of sleep you are having, i.e. REM sleep vs. light sleep through your breathing, and then wakes you up at the optimal time so as not to disrupt your sleep schedule.

It's free, take a look at it.

Dan O'Day said...

Golly, I'd have to say my favorite iPhone app is PhotoVoice — the only official app sponsor of Sitcom Room 2012.

John Erickson said...

1...Hourly news. Has the latest top of the hour casts from NPR, BBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, WSJ, and VOA.

2...Wunder Radio. Radio from around the world, organized by continent.

3. Live ATC. So I can identify the jets dumping blue ice on my neighborhood.

4. Cleartune. For tuning my guitar.

5. GPS4Soul. Measures your stress, gives you ways to lower it.

Steve McLean said...

Gas Buddy..I'm on the road a lot so it's nice to find the cheaper prices
Soundcloud...lots of interesting music/mixes
Google Maps...free voice guided navigation, who needs Garmin
Google Translate...voice activated translation
Dragon Search...voice activated search

Anonymous said...

I like the free Overdrive - I use it to download free audiobooks or ebooks from my public library.

C.T.S said...

FRIDAY QUESTION --

You clearly have a good relationship with your kids, but was it difficult to maintain and build those relationship when you were working as a "show runner?" It seems the hours needed at work would hinder a good family life. How many hours a day does a show creator work during the season? Is it significantly different for an hour drama, a half-hour single camera show or a sitcom? It seems a dream for many writers, but how does it affect your family life?

Anonymous said...

Evernote: allows you to enter notes on your iPhone and transfer them to your computer and vice versa.

WeekCal: gives you a week view of iCal and allows searches of your calendar.

Cheers,

Alan Tomlinson

zyphryn9 said...

My favorite iPad app is Garage Band. It's given me the opportunity to write songs, record them, even create my very own album to sell on Amazon. I haven't sold any, though, but it's okay. It's cool just to be able to do it without knowing how to play real instruments.

Wendy M. Grossman said...

I do not now, never have, and likely never will own an iPhone, but the app I wish the maker would port to other systems is VIPOrbit. As it happens, the maker was the original guy behind the very first DOS-based contact management software (whose Windows version is still on the market nearly 20 years later!), and in demonstrations the iPhone app is phenomenal at managing contacts, addresses, phone numbers, etc. The guy's name is Mike Muhney, and I met him when he was doing a demonstration of his software in London back in about 1991.

Cue the credits of VERONICA MARS. I read that the sheriff is played by one Michael Muhney. Yep, the software guy is his dad.

wg



Amanda said...

There aren’t really too many apps I’d say I can’t live without on my phone, but there is definitely one that I love more than the others. It’s called DISH Anywhere and it lets me watch all of my shows from home, live or from off my DVR, everywhere I go in the world! I am a TV lover so when I first started working for DISH and found out about it, I knew I had to have it. Now I use it on a regular basis with all the traveling I do for business and not only is it great for entertainment, but it’s nice to have when I’m stuck half way across the country and want to catch up on a few of my shows!

Skydiva said...

This Month I have to just hoot and toot about the new travel app designed for national express coach users. I am a regular user and they have Never had a comprehensive app which could let you book tickets, see tracking updates etc... The kind of stuff every travel company now days have. Anyway 'coach trackers finally hit the app store and it has just made my day. Very impressed with the design, functionality and super handy tools making travelling with national express 10 times more stress free. I'm even more impressed since it wasn't even their in house developers who made it!