Cool in tech: my favorite iPhone apps

I was asked what apps on my iPhone get used more often. Here’s a brief list, combined with a rant:

1.  ZipCar. How cool that I can reserve my car, unlock it, and find it in a lot by making its horn beep…. all from the iPhone.

2. Zillow. How much is that house actually worth? Ha! As long as I trust Zillow’s occasionally goofy algorithm, I can get the embarrassing answer while I’m standing right in front of it.

3. Pandora, as long as you appreciate its limitations. “Guy Clark Radio” turns up new thoughtful songwriters. “Robert Earl Keen Radio” is set to deliver songs about going to Mexico and getting drunk… not the right algorithm.

4. Yelp. Just plain essential if you ever go anywhere and get hungry.

5. NPR news.

6. Amazon. The other day I went to Walmart to buy a Smokey Joe mini charcoal grill, found they no longer carry it, ordered from Amazon while I was standing in the aisle. I also like that I can take a picture of something and they will try to find it for me (not always successfully).

7. Tiger Woods Golf. I know, I know. But I have learned a lot of golf by stroking my screen with the tip of my finger.

8. My bank’s mobile deposit feature. A problem that my bank is not in town. A solution that I can take a picture by aligning the check with the screen and deposit that way.

9. Email. This is actually the killer app for me. I don’t read much email in detail, but I do know when somebody is trying to get in touch so I don’t have to interrupt what I am doing and find a wireless connection for my laptop.

10. Caterday on YouTube. I said most used apps, not most used by me. For 8 year olds, a few Caterday episodes make a long car ride pass quickly. Then the battery runs out of juice, and that is even better.

And now the rant: why is it that location based apps (including several of the above) must find your location before they will load any of the program information such as your search box? It makes for a frustrating experience, often means that by the time you get to use the app you have passed whatever you were interesting in, and it just doesn’t seem necessary. WTF?

One thought on “Cool in tech: my favorite iPhone apps”

  1. Great suggestions for email apps.
    i get a real kick out of Zillow who tortures us with the .2% ups and downs right now… but at least it’s not 25% down, right?

    I like the idea of Pandora but even though I’ve set it up, I keep forgetting to listen to it. Probably my faves include NYTimes headlines, and Southwest airlines where i can check in from my iphone – E-A-S-Y!!

    Another one I get a kick out of is tag reader – http://gettag.mobi because more and more magazines, including Entertainment Weekly, include colorful little square ‘code’ boxes that, when you take their picture with your phone, will show special offers, movie trailers and more. way cool.

    In the music category, I like Shazam, which can ‘hear’ a song on your radio and tell you what it is. Finally i may learn the names of some newer groups who I enjoy but don’t know who they are!

    And you are so right – that email capability has saved my hide a few times.

    cheers!

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