Pingchat2!
Price: FREE
I love my iPhone, don’t get me wrong, but it always makes me mad when someone with a Blackberry posts on Facebook their messaging ID with the cute statement, “message me on my Blackberry.” Seriously? How does a single feature make me feel so inadequate when I have the coolest phone ever? Well, I’m proud to say that I will no longer have to feel that way. PingChat2 is a free messaging app. This app is similar to Blackberry Messenger where an iPhone user creates a username and shares it with other iPhone users who have this app. The app was recently upgraded to include multi-media messaging, group chat and more. The app is also in development for Android and Blackberry phones. Woo hoo!
Diners, Drive-in’s and Dives
Price: $1.99
Anyone else into Guy Fieri’s Food Network show Diners, Drive-in’s and Dives? I hope I’m not the only one that is completely enthralled by the greasy goodness he showcases each week. I had a brilliant idea that I would develop an app for this show (you know, in all my spare time) that maps out every diner, drive-in or dive that Guy has visited. To my dismay (and delight), there was already one in the app store! This app is incredible. It tracks your location and you can find the nearest restaurant and get directions. In addition, it features recipes from the restaurant that you can email to yourself or others craving a juicy heart attack.
What To Expect
Price: FREE
This app has become an essential part of my daily routine. Developed from the book What To Expect When You’re Expecting, this app tracks your pregnancy weekly and provides daily updates on the baby’s development. It also has a feature for baby bump pictures so you can track your growth throughout the pregnancy. Okay, so maybe you aren’t pregnant and you are wondering how this app could work for you? Off the top of my head, you could track your friend’s beer belly. Wait… maybe that should be an app too!
iVideoCamera
Price: $.99
I have an iPhone 3G. (Please don’t disregard my entire blog post because I have such an ancient version, I’m an early adopter!) The truth is I want the 3GS, long for the 3GS but my phone still works great and I can’t justify getting a new one yet. How do I manage with this antiquated phone? Well, it was difficult until I found the iVideoCamera app that enables video recording on the iPhone 3G! The app is very simple to use, takes great footage and the sound is perfect. It was a challenge to get the video off my phone and onto the computer but that was totally user-error. Once I mastered that, this app quickly became a must-have for me. There are hi and lo video quality setting s and 16 different effects to enhance your recording like black and white and soft glow. Now I can disguise my 3G iPhone as a 3GS for at least another year. Score!
Shop Savvy Barcode Scanner
Price: FREE
This app is free and I’m not sure when and how often I would use it, however, I like the idea. By using the camera feature on the iPhone, the app searches for a barcode on products. You line it up, it turns green – and BAM – your product pops up. Based on your location, it provides the cheapest price on the web or the cheapest price locally. You can also type the product in manually if the barcode isn’t reading. I was impressed with how quickly the information populated. When you find a product you like, you can add it to a wish list or tag it for a price alert where you can watch the price of the product. LOVE IT!
I’m not going to lie; I found this app today when doing another annoying long search. It’s finding apps like this that gives me the satisfaction to keep searching. It gives me hope that there are worthy apps available outside of the Top 25 in each category listed in the app store. I compare it to when I play golf and I wiff the ball over and over. Has this ever happened to you? I threaten to give up, throw my clubs in the pond and stomp to the clubhouse for a cold drink. It’s always at that point I hit the ball with such grace, the drive is amazingly straight, absolutely beautiful and might as well have been a hole-in-one from the satisfaction I give myself. My heart soars and my sole mission in life at that second is to tell everyone within earshot (and on speed dial) about the perfect drive I just hit. Yeah, that’s what it feels like when I find a really awesome app.