Thursday, April 12, 2012

App-alicious

I've got a second date tonight (which I'm sure will be fun, but don't see myself falling for this one per se), so my time is a bit short. I thought I'd do a non-thinking post on my favorite apps! I love to check out what apps people are in to most, look for articles on the "top" apps of the year, and share my most beloved little icons. I've broken them down by apps that I use on both my iPhone and iPad, and then those that I seem to favor on one or the other. Maybe you'll find a new one to try, and I hope that you will post comments on any that you really dig. Enjoy!

iPhone and iPad

Flipboard
This guy I got involved with at work turned me on to this one (and turned me on in general ;) (sorry, couldn't help it). It's basically an app that takes content out there and turns it into a magazine layout, which I absolutely adore. So, for example, you could add this blog to flipboard and read the blog in a more user-friendly magazine format. You basically choose "blocks" of content. You'll have to download it to see what I mean, but here are my favorite "blocks" for you, most of which are flip-board creations generated from multiple content sources:
  • Cover stories (this compiles the best of all my other blocks...genius!)
  • News (a block that Flipboard creates based on a variety of news sources)
  • People
  • Cool
  • Humor
  • Travel
  • MIX (twitter feed)
  • Time Magazine (twitter feed)
  • sabbaticaljo (duh)
  • Facebook (totally new way to read Facebook)
Facebook
I know, I know. This one's obvious, but I couldn't help it. I'm waiting for them to move to timeline on the app, though. The iPad Facebook app is particularly nice.

iPad

TED
If you know anything about TEDTalks, you already know you have to have this. I have the iPhone app too, but I prefer to watch the talks on the iPad. Seriously, free talks by leaders in their field posted daily? On every topic you could imagine? Brilliant. I love the feature where I can tell it what I want and for how long (there's a sex joke here, but I'm in a hurry). Want to be inspired and only have 8 mins? TED will make a recommendation.

Dropbox
When I want to exchange files between my work computer and my iPad, Dropbox is the way to go. Install it on your computer, throw the files you want on there, and voila! Instant access on my iPad. And if I make changes on my iPad, they'll synch back to my computer. Sweet.

Hulu and Netflix
I put these together since I basically use them the same way for relatively the same thing. Back in the Fall, I finally pulled the plug on my obscene cable bill. And, you know what, I haven't missed it for a single second. I use Hulu for current programming (latest episode of The Office, Glee, or Jersey Shore...done!) and Netflix for back seasons of shows I never got around to watching (entire set of Lost episodes, anyone?), as well as movies. As a result I did change my internet so I had good speeds. While I watch plenty of content on my iPad when I travel and have wi-fi (neither work overseas unfortunately), I stream it straight to my TV via a blue-ray player when I'm home. Sometimes I'll start an episode downstairs on TV and finish it on my iPad upstairs in bed. I am a complete f*ing yuppie. You can watch on the iPhone, but why bother?

Monster.com
Simple interface, easy search capabilities, and no need to log on. I don't need to say any more.

Photos
Now, the reason I love the Photos app is because I bought the adapter for the iPad so that you can connect an SD card directly to your iPad and the pics come right over. I organize mine into albums, and it's fun to scroll through and show others too.

Kindle
Absolutely love to switch between my actual Kindle and the app on my iPad. It bookmarks my pages, which is nice. I wish that my Kindle groups I've created transferred over to the Kindle app, but whatta you gonna do. I read on the iPad a lot, but I still love my Kindle. It's awesome for the beach and anything outdoors, and fits in my purse too.

Splashtop
Want to basically be on your computer's desktop via your iPad? You can! Just hook into Splashtop, leave your computer at your desk, and roll into your meeting with just the iPad. Where I work you can also now use Microsoft Communicator straight from your iPad through the Lync 2010 app, so I may find myself using Splashtop less and less.

iPhone

TripIt
This app has saved my life. Holy shit. If you travel even moderately, you HAVE to have it. You link it to an email address (mine is linked to work since that's where I get most of my travel confirmations). Once it's linked, you just forward travel confirmations (flight, hotel, car service, you name it) to plans@tripit.com and it auto-creates trips based on dates, consolidates all your info, lists it out in sequential order, and more. It really rocks. I haven't gone to the pro version, as I hear it's pretty expensive...but I'm tempted.

Wikipanion
Got this one from a British colleague. We went on a field trip to a brewery and the whole way he was like "did you know we're right by where George Washington..", "did you know we're near the first site of...". I finally asked where the crap he was getting all this info. The answer? Wikipanion. It looks around your location for Wikipedia entries. Very cool.

CNN
I don't watch the news. I don't read the paper. And I don't surf the internet to check the latest. But I do use CNN on my iPhone every morning. I scan the top stories to get a sense of what's going on in the world, delve into articles that interest me, and I probably know more about what's happening when someone mentions it in the office than anyone else around. You don't have to be a news junkie to sound smart :) It'll be our little secret. I also use the Flipboard news content block as well.

WhiteNosie
Traveling and can't sleep because of noises in the hall (or the next room over is going at it?), turn on WhiteNoise. Has some great track options, including waves, rain, etc. Cheap and simple. No noise machine needed.

Withings
Okay, you're going to think I'm nuts. Last year I bought a scale that, every time I get on it, sends my weight and BMI to this app on my iPhone. I don't use this all the time, but there is some value to being able to see trending over time that involves nothing other than just jumping on the scale.

Those are my faves, what are yours? Hasta, sabbaticaljo

2 comments:

  1. so glad you're blogging again. i don't have any apps - i still have a "vintage" flip phone - so i can't contribute much to this conversation, but just wanted to let ya know i'm reading, so keep posting. :) how was that date?

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  2. wow this makes me feel behind on technology!

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