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10 iPhone Apps I love right now: September 2010

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It’s been nearly seven months since my last post talking about iPhone apps I love. I still use nearly all of those apps regularly (I’m a little burnt out on Bejeweled 2 at the moment), but it’s high time I shared more of my favourites with you*.

Favourite Notetaking App: Awesome Note

$3.99 (free version available)

iTunes link

This is my go-to notetaking app on my phone. I love that you can file the notes in folders by subject. There is also a “quick note” option for those scratchpad-style notes that you may or may not need later (there is an option to save quick notes as full notes until you choose to clear them).

There are multiple views for each folder: thumbnails, list, to do, detailed, diary, photo and calendar. It is also possible to set due dates/alarms for each of your tasks. You can also back up, sync or transfer your notes to Google Docs or Evernote.

I use this app all the time and I really only use the basic features. As you can see, I use Awesome Note to jot down little notes about things I’m thinking about on the go. (There are also folders for Sean and for recipes off-screen.) I still keep a paper notebook in my purse, but I find I use it much less than I did before I got this app. Totally worth paying for.

Favourite Delicious App: Yummy

$1.99 (free, pared-down version available)

iTunes link

This mobile Delicious (the social bookmarking site owned by Yahoo!) client is one of the few (if not only) iPhone app that allows people to sign into Delicious with their associated Yahoo! ID. (If you use a Yahoo! ID with Delicious, you can only sign in with that ID and not with your Delicious ID. I learned that one the hard way.) It’s simple and does the job. View and add your bookmarks on the go, add links to Read It Later (more about that app further down). The Safari bookmarklet makes it easy to send links you’re reading in Safari to Delicious without emailling to yourself to access from your desktop. Simple but very useful.

Favourite RSS Management App: Feeds

$3.99

iTunes link

While I still use Byline for most of my actual feed reading, I didn’t like that it couldn’t add, delete or organize feeds for me on my phone. Enter Feeds. It does all of those things, and is a nice little RSS reader to boot. It syncs with Google Reader or can be used as a standalone reader (nice if you don’t want to use Google as your main reader) Feeds has a clean interface with choice of colours (hey look! I’m using orange!) It also does offline reading, but since I like Byline so much, I haven’t used this feature much yet.

Favourite Offline Reading App: Read it Later

$4.99 (free version available)

iTunes link

Read it Later allows you to save any website for well, reading it later. It is available as a Firefox extension as well as an iPhone app. There is also a web version and unofficial (user-created) apps for Android, Blackberry and webOS, so you’re not out of luck if you don’t have an iPhone/iPad.

This is one of those apps that you don’t realize how useful it will be to you until you start to use it. I use it most when I’m reading something and find a link that I want to read, but don’t really have the time to look at carefully.  Instead of emailling the link to myself for later, I can click on the Read it Later icon in my browser (or from the bookmarklet in mobile Safari, or from Echofon, my Twitter client of choice). Then, when I do have a moment, I can fire up my Read it Later list and catch up on my reading. Another great place to use this is when I am reading my Twitter stream and want to read the posted links. I want to read the links, but also want to catch up on the other 2034 tweets in my stream. Send that link to Read it Later and they’re there when I’m done. Read it Later syncs across all your devices once you have an account and if I make sure all the articles are downloaded before I go offline, I can catch up with my reading on the subway.

Then, once I’ve read the link for myself, I have the option of sharing it with Delicious, Twitter, Facebook, Digg and a whack of other places. I find I use my Read it Later list as a pre-bookmarking list. I may read the article once and decide I’m done and mark it read and never look at it again. Or I may decide I want to keep it and bookmark it to Delicious. Your usage may vary depending on what sites you use. The sharing options only come with the Pro version, and while this is one of the more expensive apps I’ve bought, the price is totally worth it.

Favourite Birthday App: Occasions

$0.99

iTunes link

This app pulls birthday information from your contacts and Facebook friends and puts them into an attractive interface. You can also add occasions for the people in your lives who aren’t in your Contacts or on Facebook (like my two year-old daughter). You can also pull holiday information from 44 countries and six religions – super-useful if you’re like me and never remember exactly what day certain holidays fall on.

The interface is clean and easy-t0-read and you can choose from several backgrounds. Push notifications are available (and customizable) and you can contact the birthday person directly from the app. Great for those “oh crap! it’s so-and-so’s birthday! I need to call/Facebook/text them. Where is their @#$% number again?” The whole app is very customizable. You don’t have to have all of your Facebook friends’ birthday information loaded into this app. (I use it for my nearest and dearest only). The help/troubleshooting and tutorial sections are very well done.

Favourite Diary App: Momento

$2.99

iTunes link

Momento is a diary/journal app that you can input “moments” into – brief thoughts you want to record. It also imports your “social moments” – your Twitter  feed, Flickr pictures, Facebook updates and last.fm songs. While you may not think you need yet another place to track those moments, I’ve been really enjoying the calendar-style interface, which shows me just how social I’ve been. I’ve been using this app as a mini-diary for the things I don’t want to (or shouldn’t) share with the world. You can tag places, people, events or create custom tags. Photos can also be added to your moments. Finally the moment itself can be rated from 1-5 stars. I find I’m not using a lot of these features yet, but I’ve only been playing with this app for a couple of weeks. I’ve heard that beta testing is happening for the next version and I’m excited to see what’s coming in that release. Moments can be backed up into an XML plist file, which is readable by a text editor. You lose the pictures, but if you saved those in your Camera Roll, you should be okay.

Favourite Task Tracking App: Streaks

$1.99

iTunes link

Streaks is a motivational calendar that allows you to track how many times you’ve completed a goal by marking a big red X on a calendar. You can track multiple goals (each gets their own calendar) and there is a push notification option to see what your longest streak currently is. Right now, I’m using this app to track how often I’m blogging but you could use it for tracking exercise, diet or the days since your last smoke. This type of calendar can be very motivating so it’s nice to be able to create one on the go.

Favourite Flickr Upload App: Flickit

Free (pay version available)

iTunes link

The reason I picked up this app was because I wanted to do batch uploads to Flickr – the official app only allows one picture to go at a time. I like that I can control each picture’s set and tags individually. You can also set the pictures to be blogged or Twittered once the photo is uploaded. Simple, easy-to-use, and it works. A great app for all iPhone users who post to Flickr.

Favourite Game: Angry Birds

$0.99 (free version available)

iTunes link

I won’t go into big detail about this incredibly popular game. You fling birds towards pigs with the intent to squash them. It is very addicting and is totally worth the hype. I started with the Lite version and had to buy the full one so I could play more levels. Absolutely worth the 99 cents.

Favourite Dictionary App: Slango

$0.99

iTunes link

I like urbandictionary.com. It keeps me aware of how the kids talking these days. Slango is a portable version of the site that allows you to search for specific terms. I find it helpful when there’s a term in a book or online I don’t understand. It’s also useful if I just heard some kid say something that sounds filthy and I want to confirm it for myself.

That and the random word lookup often makes me giggle.

To all the other iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad users out there: what are your favourite apps? Tell me about them in the comments. I still have money on the iTunes cards I got for my birthday and now that you can use a gift card to pay for apps in Canada, it’s easier not to run up your credit card on iTunes.

*Disclaimer, no one paid me to review these apps, or gave me free apps to try out. These are genuine reviews of apps I use regularly that I paid for myself.

Reaching Out

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March 2010 brings me to my 10th anniversary of blogging. My archives that you see on this site start at April 2000, but my first test posts that seem to be long gone were put up near the end of March 2000. I had a couple of Geocities websites before that, but they were more static in content. Blogging these last ten years has seen me through one free webspace provider, two self-hosted domains (and one domain for non-blog stuff), one blog-specific hosting service and now this site here. I’ve used three platforms (Blogger, Vox and now WordPress) and am now relieved that I don’t have to keep up with the bleeding edge of web design to create an attractive, functional website. When I coded my own pages, I used to spend hours just getting stuff to work – I have never been a professional web designer and I’ve never gotten my head around web programming. I’m grateful to so many people who have spent their time creating great things for other web users to use – and often for free. Thank you to each and every one of you.

I’m not telling you this to brag, to say “Look at me! I’m so cool! I’ve probably been doing this longer than you!” That is truly not my intent. I say this because I feel like after all this time, I am finally starting to come out of the woodwork and since few people realized I was here beforehand, I feel I have to mention my longevity in the medium to prove my legitimacy.

“Hey! I’m worth reading! I’ve been doing this forever! I’m not a flash in the pan!”

Lame, isn’t it? Especially since in all my years of doing this, I’ve never had much of an audience. I’ve always said ‘it’s not about the audience, it’s about me’ but I will freely admit that I would love to have a little bit more interaction. A few more readers that say something. A few more readers, frankly.

I’ve always had a hard time making friends. My mother always told me growing up that I had to reach out first. That people wouldn’t talk to me first. I always thought that if we’re all supposed to make the first move, how come no one is reaching out to me? Cue cycle of feeling lame and loserlike and not reaching out myself. That’s not to say I don’t have any friends. I do, and I love them all dearly. It’s just that none of them do this blogging thing, so it’s hard for them to relate. Some of them still don’t have high-speed internet access. I turned down an apartment when I moved to Toronto ten years ago specifically because it didn’t have high-speed internet, so clearly our priorities are a little different.

Now that I’ve explained myself as a longtime blogger who has a hard time making friends, let’s get to the point of this post.

Over the last few months, I have tried to reach out to the blogosphere at large. Making more replies on Twitter. Leaving comments on other people’s blogs. Going out to events where other bloggers will be – and actually being brave enough to speak up and say hi. These things have not come easy to me. I’m often shy around people I don’t know well, which can make meetups awkward. I also don’t like butting into established conversations, which makes commenting on blogs feel weird sometimes. Twitter has made some of this easier but I want to do better.

In the last two weeks, I’ve met some really great women at two events: PodCamp Toronto and the book launch for Mothering and Blogging: The Radical Act of the MommyBlog. I was so glad that I gathered up my courage and went out to these events. I learned things I didn’t expect to at both places and the social interaction was a lovely bonus.

I’m not sure that I’ll be turning into a social butterfly any time soon, but it’s nice to do more than lurk and wish I had went somewhere after the event has already taken place. I look forward to reaching out to all of you more and more.

My Favourite iPhone Apps Right Now

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Back in October, Sean and I joined the world of iPhone owners. Like so many others before us, once we got the hang of the touchscreens and how the phone worked, we went nuts picking out apps. We have some apps in common, but there really isn’t a whole lot of duplication. If you pick up our phones, you can definitely tell which is Sean’s and which is mine (and not just because of the purple case I use).

Here is a list of apps that I’m using a lot right now. You may find them useful, but one thing I’ve found while searching Apple’s App Store is that when you want an app for a specific purpose, there’s usually lots to choose from. But only one app has the one killer feature you need, or is set up to do things the way you want them to. So this list may help you, or it may lead you to other apps that work better for you. And your phone will look different from mine. Which will make picking it up off a table full of iPhones that much easier.

Echofon Pro screenshotFavourite Twitter App: Echofon Pro for Twitter

Price: $4.99 (Free version available)

Echofon is by Naan Studio and exists as an iPhone app, a Mac app and a Firefox extension. I used the Firefox extension for a while last year back when it was still called ‘Twitterfox’. I find the single-column layout more useful on my iPhone, given the limited screen space. The app works well and can post pictures directly to my Flickr account which was a great bonus. Free and paid versions are available. The pro version does push notifications from other Echofon users. This has been the only Twitter app I’ve had on my phone since I’ve had it and it serves me well.

Ping! app screenshotFavourite Messaging App: Ping!

Price: $0.99 (Free version also available)

Ping! is an iPhone-to-iPhone messaging app that replaces SMS messaging. (For all you Blackberry users, it’s like Blackberry Messenger). Great if you have a low SMS message plan. Sean and I use this to send quick messages to each other when we’re apart and a phone call is overkill or inappropriate.

There is a extra paid option in the pro app to send picture messages, but we haven’t bothered to upgrade to that yet. And it’s made by a fellow Torontonian to boot.

Remember the Milk screenshotFavourite To-do App: Remember the Milk

Price: App itself is free, but requires a Pro Remember the Milk account to use it ($25/year).

I’ve been using my free Remember the Milk web account since 2007 so I knew I really wanted to have it sync with my iPhone so I could take my to-do list with me wherever I went. I haven’t been disappointed. RTM is very customizable, and allows you categorize your to-do lists in all sorts of different ways. Reminders can be received via email, SMS, Twitter and of course, iPhone push notifications. Tasks can be sent to RTM using any of these methods too. I keep all my to-do’s in here: from doctor’s appointments to website ideas. It really works for me. I would definitely recommend trying the web app for free before shelling out the $25 for the Pro account though.

Our Groceries screenshotFavourite List App: OurGroceries

Price: Free

OurGroceries is a very simple app that does something incredibly useful – it syncs lists between multiple iPhones. As you see, we’re using it for our groceries, our Costco runs and Sean’s growing cigar collection (I guess he thinks I’m going to support his habit). Any user can add to the list at any time and it will sync with the other users list when they open the app next. I like being able to add things to the list as I remember them (no missing paper lists), and Sean can do the same. Then whoever goes to the store next has a complete list. Tap the item and it gets crossed off. If the other person has the app on when the other one is shopping, they can see the items being crossed off. (Sean tried to mess with me one night by repeatedly adding garbage bags back to the list after I had crossed them off. Fortunately, I only bought one box of garbage bags.) There is also a saved recipe option where you can add the ingredients for a recipe in one tap, but we don’t use that.

Byline app screenshotFavourite RSS App: Byline

Price: $3.99 (described as a “special price in anticipation of version 3.0)

I must admit, I’m new to RSS and feed readers in general. I’ve tried different readers on my computer and just couldn’t get into it. What made me try Byline out was the fact that I could cache the articles and read them offline. This meant that I could load it up when I was online do some reading on the subway without an internet connection. This allows me to catch up on the blogs and sites I don’t always get to read but enjoy when I do. It syncs with Google Reader, so if you’re already set up there, you can have Byline set up really quickly.

Favourite Game Apps: Bejeweled 2 & Words with Friends

Price: $2.99 each (free version available for Words with Friends)

I feel like showing screenshots of these well-loved games will just fuel my addiction so you can have a look at the screenshots on your own. Bejeweled has several play modes, including Bejeweled Blitz, which hooks up to Facebook if you play there as well. Since I put this on my phone, I’m not sitting at my computer playing Bejeweled. Another great time filler for the subway (the scores sync up when you’re online next). As for Words with Friends, it’s a Scrabble clone that is played asynchronously. I can take my turn now, and my opponent could play in two minutes or two days. Players can have up to 20 games going at a time so it’s helpful to have lots of games on the go to make up for the slower players when you’re ready to play yourself. This game needs an online connection so not a subway timewaster. Good for just about anywhere else though.

I try not to go too crazy with app downloading, but these aren’t the only ones I have (I haven’t even mentioned the ones I got for Flora and I to play with!). What are your favourite apps? Let me know in the comments.

No annoying ringtones yet

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I upgraded my cell phone earlier this week. I moved from an Audiovox 8615 to a Samsung m510. I’ve spent the last few days customizing the phone to my specifications (adding contacts, setting up rings/wallpapers, all that good stuff). I have unlimited web surfing on this, so I have downloaded the mobile version of Google Maps, which is useful, even if there are a lot of “allow this site to do its thing?” messages. I did end up helping Sean with directions when he was in Ottawa and I was sitting on the couch here in Toronto, so the program definitely works – I didn’t even have to get off the couch to go and turn on the computer! I imagine this will settle the arguments Sean and I have about how to get somewhere when we’re in the car.

The phone also has a camera and video capabilities. I’ve only done a quick test of the video to see if it works. I filmed the dog lying around on the bed, and you hear me talking to her. I can’t decide if I am a bad director, or if she is a bad movie star. Here is the link: Leia is a movie star

Oh, and the phone reception seems to be good, but I really haven’t made or taken a lot of phone calls yet. I actually use my cell phone more for text messaging and the mobile web than for actual calls. I’m not sure how much the phone’s camera will substitute my regular camera (since both are in my purse most of the time), but it’s nice to have the option for easy and instant transfer.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in signing up with Virgin Mobile Canada, drop me an email or a message here on Vox and I will send you a link you can use when you are activating your phone to get $10 in credit added to your phone. It adds $10 to my phone too, so it helps both of us.

Cell phones are for calling people? Who does that anymore?

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My cell phone is becoming more and more useful. Not so much for calling people (although it’s capable of that too), but for sending text messages to get information and to update various websites.

I just learned about Google SMS today. Along with finding out restaurants and movie times, this will help with settling bets and questions while out and about. I also just discovered that Facebook and Virgin Mobile Canada now play nicely together so I can send text messages there too. Probably not incredibly useful without cameras and stuff, but could be fun. I’ve been using my cell phone to occasionally update my Twitter page for a while now.

I’ll continue to do most of my various updates from the web (cuz that’s free) versus paying to send a text, but it’s fun to text stuff as I think of it versus waiting until I am in front of a computer. I don’t have web browsing capability on my phone (it seems so expensive for what you get), but all this text messaging should be plenty for now.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
This work by Melissa Price-Mitchell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada.
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