Archive for March, 2011
Best iPhone Apps: 2011 Edition
There are three things you should know about me when you look at this post: one is that I delayed getting a cell phone until age 20 (2004). I then delayed getting a smartphone (iPhone) until 2008 because I was worried it would kill my productivity. What it ended up doing was making me even MORE productive.
Even though smartphones "can" be huge time wasters, and can very easily distract you due to various apps, pop-ups, and games... but if you are holding off on a Droid or iPhone, you would be amazed at the health and productivity benefits you get when you use the "right" apps.
Here are my top nine iPhone apps for this year...
2011 "Health" Apps
#9: AmbiScience Power Sleep & Nap: If you haven't heard of binaural beats, they're special sounds you listen to using headphones. They emit one tone from the left earphone and another from the right, and when they combine in your head, they create special pulses that (depending on what kind they are) can get you more focused, make you more alert, or even put you to sleep. I use these to fall asleep on airplane flights.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDzfSWBec4U
#8: MyNetDiary: I don't watch what I eat or how much I exercise religiously or anything, but every now and then I like to see how much water I drank today, along with how much sodium, calories, fiber, and protein I've ingested, plus how much weight I've gained or lost this week. You input everything you eat into this app and it charts all your levels for you.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFxL8oYLM6c
#7: 100 Push Ups: Three times a week this app tells you how many sets of push-ups (and how many in each set) to do in order to get you to 100 push-ups in 6 weeks. I started out only being able to do 25 push-ups at a time and by week 3 I was up to 80.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4UbI4jYCjc
#6: Nike+ GPS: Track your runs and walks, what routes you took, how many calories burned, your speed, distance, and all that good stuff. I used this while walking the Zappos.com Las Vegas Rock n Roll Marathon last year.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyphz5H1DSE
2011 "Travel" Apps
#5: Kayak: This finds way better deals on flights and hotels than Expedia. Lance and I were recently able to score flights to Thailand for $4K each (first class) when Expedia told us they would be $10K each.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1tjU04PdUo
#4: Hulu Plus: For 7 bucks a month, you can stream many TV shows and several documentaries over 3G or Wifi. What's even cooler is this app also runs on the iPad, and the Roku (a box that connects to your TV).
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4--ctn4Mpc
2011 "Communication" Apps
#3: Skype: If someone sends you a text message on Skype, or calls you on Skype (even if it's a video call) it rings onto your phone. And yes, when you answer the Skype call on your phone, you can make it a video call with the user-facing camera, even if you're not on Wifi -- the official "FaceTime" app requires Wifi, but not Skype. You can also send Skype texts and make Skype calls right from the phone.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8QLjFdGZYw
#2: Find My iPhone: Locate, lock, and wipe your phone if you lose it anywhere.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vkTCeZN5Ts
#1: Amazon.com: Buy things even when you're not at home. I know I mentioned this one last year but it's still cool to be able to send someone a gift while you're waiting for a plane or buy something you forgot at the store. I've ordered some weird stuff lately from Amazon including supplements, Metamucil and grass-fed beef.
Those were my favorite apps for this year... what were your favorites?
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