Friday, March 4, 2011

Share your iPhone apps!

I finally decided to upgrade my boring LG Shine incapable of even playing a song due to its piss poor quality, to a smartphone. After both my iPod Touch and digital cameras died out on me in late September, I made the bold move to buckle down and go big- I purchased and signed a new 2-year contract with AT&T and went for the iPhone 4.

I haven't looked back since.

Seeing as to how I'd grown so attached to my "iTouch" during the two years I'd had it, I didn't need to think twice about the capibility of the iPhone. I'd also held out for so long, waiting for the day it would be able to offer video calling and a flash on its camera.  (Side note- my iPhone takes much better flash pictures than my friend's ginormous 8 mp HTC Evo.... just sayin'....)


I'll admit however, I wasn't too thrilled about the new design, but I've had it since mid-October, and I haven't been able to let go of it since.  I'm always in search of interesting apps to add to make my phone to use it for everything other than its original intention- a phone.

My three favorite apps are: Pandora, Pinger's TextFree, DataMan.


Pandora: I'm sure most of you know what Pandora does, but just to recap- it's an internet radio where users can enter an artist or song, and the station will play artists that are of the same genre. It's free and unlimited on the iphone, except for a few 20-30 second commercials every few songs or so. (Another similar app is LastFm; however, this station will include photos of the artist as the music is playing)

Pinger's TextFree allows you to text anyone with a US-based cell phone number for free by giving you a number of your own. You are also able to send images from that number, and helps save money by not paying anything to receive/send out texts (and in my case, doing without the $20 charge for unlimited texting plan.)

DataMan monitors your data usage, closely updating every 10 minutes. This is useful for users, like myself, who do not have an unlimited data plan. AT&T decided to forego with their unlimited plans as soon as the new iPhone came out (unless you were already an iPhone user and carried over your contract.) This tracker lets you set limits and will set off an alarm when you are approaching your data allowance for the day, week or month all based on the start date of your billing cycle.

My other useful apps include:
iTorch 4: a flashlight
DailyDeals and Groupon: for discounted coupons and deals
Grocery IQ: a grocery scanner
TV Guide, Flixster, Stumble Upon
Kayak: for airfares
Discover, Chase and American Express
Games: Bejeweled, Spit, Impossible test, Movie Cat (trivia), 4 Steps (timed brain test), Cut the Rope, Words with Friends, Chess, Uno, Dots, Simon Says, Talking Tom, Qrank (trivia)
Music: Last.Fm, iHeartRadio (radio stations from across the US), AmbiSci 100 (ambient noise/music), Shazam, Classic FM, Inception (a cool dream app) Spark Radio (international radio stations)
Air horn, GPS Drive, OkCupid, iLoader (upload albums to Facebook)

And of course, I can't forget about the Otterbox Commuter case from The Cell Guru. At about $23 after shipping and handling, it has been the best case I've purchased to date, and has protected my baby from scratches and dents.

I'm asking now for your suggestions- to share your favorite apps, ones that you think are so cool and have fun using that I need to know about.

2 comments:

  1. I need that dataman one. I don't have unlimited data either.

    My favorite apps: Grocery IQ, where I keep my grocery list, My Fitness Pal, which tracks my calories and exercise and helps me lose weight, and Manuscript, which lets me write anywhere. I also like Dropbox because you can put anything in your dropbox on your computer and it's on your phone. Sort of like an easy jump drive. All you have to do is be near your PC and it pulls your files in.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fake Caller is awesome. If you're on a date, no need to get your BFF to call anymore. Just schedule Fake Caller to call you 10 minutes into the date and BAM! You've got your excuse to leave. :)

    ReplyDelete