-A GPS on your iPhone-
Most people these days have a GPS in their cars to help them get around these days, but if you're one of the few people who don't have a GPS yet but have an iPhone, you're in luck. MapQuest's new app, MapQuest 4 Mobile, is pretty much a very basic GPS system that works right off of your iPhone.
The app gives the user a map and directions from wherever they are currently to wherever they are looking to go, and also contains some of the other features a GPS would have. You can have the iPhone talk to you and tell you where to turn, get off-route assistance and rerouting, map zoom, and distance and estimated time of arrival estimates. The best part about this app? Unlike a real GPS, it's completely free.
There are some issues with the app, however. One of the biggest complaints that can be gathered from the official iTunes page is the fact that you need to physically push a button on your screen if you go off course to reroute you, as opposed to a real GPS which will reroute you automatically. Users claim this can be a potential safety hazard, and I can totally understand that. However, I feel like this will be fixed in a later version of the app, seeing as how it seems to be a very common complaint. Another issue with the app that people are talking about is the fact that it doesn't seem to give you the shortest route on occasion, which could just be a problem with MapQuest's service and not the app itself.
I think it's fantastic that we are able to turn our smart phones into GPS systems now, especially in such an easy matter. Even though this app has some flaws, it's a great solution to the "don't have a GPS" problem that appears to work fairly well otherwise. The fact that it's free is probably the biggest plus, seeing as how free is quite a bit cheaper than a $100+ GPS. All in all, this seems like a pretty good placeholder in your life for a real GPS if you don't have the money to get one or you rarely go to new places.
You can check out the official iTunes site for MapQuest 4 Mobile here.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
iPad
-Apple's long awaited tablet finally hits stores-
I figured it wouldn't be appropriate to write a blog entry this week that wasn't about the iPad - Apple's latest product - due to the fact that it uses an app for almost everything it does. However, it was hard to pick just one app to focus on, so I figured it would be better to look at the iPad as a whole and whether or not the hype behind it is totally justified.
The Apple iPad, first announced at the end of January, had been long-rumored to be in development by Apple for quite some time. It was revealed to be what is basically a 9.5" by 7.5" iPhone or iPod Touch. It uses the same OS as the previous products, but on a bigger screen, showing a 1024 by 768 resolution. The iPad that launched this Saturday was the Wi-Fi only model, whereas the 3G and Wi-Fi model will be released in another month or so. The Wi-Fi only model comes in three different storage sizes - 16, 32, or 64 GB, costing $499, $599, and $699 respectfully. It has all of the same features as the iPhone and iPod Touch (you can use all of the same apps for both devices), with a battery life of around 10 hours.
Read up on all of the iPad tech specs here.
While Apple refers to the iPad as a "magical, revolutionary device", critics have attacked it as being nothing more than a slightly larger iPhone/iPod Touch (as previously mentioned). This is mostly true thus far, as most apps available for the iPad at the current time are reworked iPhone apps for the iPad screen size. Before I make any personal judgements on the iPad, however, I am interested in seeing what new apps come out of the minds of developers specifically for the iPad to take advantage of its newer large screen. Several developers have already released more advanced games for the iPad than those available for iPhone, but other than that, nothing "revolutionary" is already out for the iPad. I feel that the iPad has a lot of potential to change the way we view and use tablet computers in our lives, similar to the way the iPod did for MP3 players and the iPhone did for smart phones (the influence of both of these is undeniable), however, what exactly the iPad can do for us that's totally new has yet to be seen. As of right now, I would agree that it is mostly an oversized iPhone/iPod Touch, but I think it will be interesting to see where the app development for the iPad has gone a year from now and see what interesting and inventive things developers have come up with to make our lives simpler and more interesting with Apple's new device.
I figured it wouldn't be appropriate to write a blog entry this week that wasn't about the iPad - Apple's latest product - due to the fact that it uses an app for almost everything it does. However, it was hard to pick just one app to focus on, so I figured it would be better to look at the iPad as a whole and whether or not the hype behind it is totally justified.
The Apple iPad, first announced at the end of January, had been long-rumored to be in development by Apple for quite some time. It was revealed to be what is basically a 9.5" by 7.5" iPhone or iPod Touch. It uses the same OS as the previous products, but on a bigger screen, showing a 1024 by 768 resolution. The iPad that launched this Saturday was the Wi-Fi only model, whereas the 3G and Wi-Fi model will be released in another month or so. The Wi-Fi only model comes in three different storage sizes - 16, 32, or 64 GB, costing $499, $599, and $699 respectfully. It has all of the same features as the iPhone and iPod Touch (you can use all of the same apps for both devices), with a battery life of around 10 hours.
Read up on all of the iPad tech specs here.
While Apple refers to the iPad as a "magical, revolutionary device", critics have attacked it as being nothing more than a slightly larger iPhone/iPod Touch (as previously mentioned). This is mostly true thus far, as most apps available for the iPad at the current time are reworked iPhone apps for the iPad screen size. Before I make any personal judgements on the iPad, however, I am interested in seeing what new apps come out of the minds of developers specifically for the iPad to take advantage of its newer large screen. Several developers have already released more advanced games for the iPad than those available for iPhone, but other than that, nothing "revolutionary" is already out for the iPad. I feel that the iPad has a lot of potential to change the way we view and use tablet computers in our lives, similar to the way the iPod did for MP3 players and the iPhone did for smart phones (the influence of both of these is undeniable), however, what exactly the iPad can do for us that's totally new has yet to be seen. As of right now, I would agree that it is mostly an oversized iPhone/iPod Touch, but I think it will be interesting to see where the app development for the iPad has gone a year from now and see what interesting and inventive things developers have come up with to make our lives simpler and more interesting with Apple's new device.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
FoodEssentials Scanner
-Nutrient knowledge right at your fingertips-
Ever been somewhere and needed to know exactly what's in your food at that very moment? A new iPhone app from FoodEssentials lets you do just that - and more. Not only does this app allow you to look up almost any food out there and find out the ingredients and nutrition information (fat, calories, sugars, etc.), it also tells you allergen and additive information and, for the allergens, what actual ingredient in the food causes the allergen. You can look up each and every food by typing in the name of it into your iPhone or scanning a barcode in the grocery store or at home, and browse through the massive directory of brand name foods. All of this information can be saved and organized into a "label" that you see every time you look up the food in order to remind you why you should (or shouldn't, in most cases) be eating the said food. The app also allows you to compare foods side by side and determine which is the most healthy or least offensive, and it also allows you to save your favorite foods into an electronic shopping list, if you're so inclined.
You can view a video of the app in action here: http://blog.foodessentials.com/fe-scanner-app/
Or you can view the iTunes page for the app here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/foodessentials-scanner/id360586367?mt=8
I feel like this is another great little program that it would be helpful if we could all have and use, even if it's just once in awhile. Though not all of us are constantly watching our nutrition information, we should, and this handy little app will make it easier for us to identify what's good and what's bad for us to eat when we're on the go. The same thing goes for allergy information. I actually think this would be most useful for that, as that's something that's not always on people's minds, yet it's extremely important for certain people to be able to identify at all times. The fact that there are so many foods to look up is fantastic, and the fact that you can look them up through barcode is also a nice touch, especially for foods and items that (assumedly) have multiple entries in the app's dictionary. I also like the way you can organize what information you want to see in what order, so you can remind yourself what not to eat with ease. All in all, this is a wonderful idea for those people out there who are trying to watch their weight, their health, or those who have a lot of allergies and need to keep all of these things in check. Go check out the FoodEssentials app if you fall into one of these categories, or if you're just neurotic and need to keep track of your calorie count at all times.
Ever been somewhere and needed to know exactly what's in your food at that very moment? A new iPhone app from FoodEssentials lets you do just that - and more. Not only does this app allow you to look up almost any food out there and find out the ingredients and nutrition information (fat, calories, sugars, etc.), it also tells you allergen and additive information and, for the allergens, what actual ingredient in the food causes the allergen. You can look up each and every food by typing in the name of it into your iPhone or scanning a barcode in the grocery store or at home, and browse through the massive directory of brand name foods. All of this information can be saved and organized into a "label" that you see every time you look up the food in order to remind you why you should (or shouldn't, in most cases) be eating the said food. The app also allows you to compare foods side by side and determine which is the most healthy or least offensive, and it also allows you to save your favorite foods into an electronic shopping list, if you're so inclined.
You can view a video of the app in action here: http://blog.foodessentials.com/fe-scanner-app/
Or you can view the iTunes page for the app here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/foodessentials-scanner/id360586367?mt=8
I feel like this is another great little program that it would be helpful if we could all have and use, even if it's just once in awhile. Though not all of us are constantly watching our nutrition information, we should, and this handy little app will make it easier for us to identify what's good and what's bad for us to eat when we're on the go. The same thing goes for allergy information. I actually think this would be most useful for that, as that's something that's not always on people's minds, yet it's extremely important for certain people to be able to identify at all times. The fact that there are so many foods to look up is fantastic, and the fact that you can look them up through barcode is also a nice touch, especially for foods and items that (assumedly) have multiple entries in the app's dictionary. I also like the way you can organize what information you want to see in what order, so you can remind yourself what not to eat with ease. All in all, this is a wonderful idea for those people out there who are trying to watch their weight, their health, or those who have a lot of allergies and need to keep all of these things in check. Go check out the FoodEssentials app if you fall into one of these categories, or if you're just neurotic and need to keep track of your calorie count at all times.
Monday, March 15, 2010
foursquare
-Let's everyone know exactly where you are. Literally - exactly.-
New social media services like Twitter and Facebook allow users to "check in" online and update a "status" or some other type of update to broadcast to the rest of the world. Many people use these updates to tell people what they're doing and when they're doing it. If that's not enough for you, a new app called foursquare takes this concept to the extreme - it allows you to broadcast your exact location (usually an address or street corner) to all of your followers. Users can acquire "points" for checking in to various locations on weekends and non-business hours, and they can also acquire "badges", which are a kind of virtual trophy, for checking in to certain places or doing a certain number of check ins. Users who check in to an area the most in a certain period of time are promoted to "mayor" of that area or city. You can even sync the service up to your Facebook or Twitter account and have your foursquare updates come up there, as well. Additionally, each user has a "leaderboard" of their friends (much like a lot of modern day online video games, specifically on Xbox Live) that ranks users based on points.
The app for foursquare may be new, but apparently the service is not. It has apparently been around since March of 2009, according the service's Wikipedia page. I have not heard of anyone using this personally, however, so it still sounds fresh and exciting to me.
The app for foursquare is available for iPhone, Android phones, Blackberry, and Palm devices.
Though an app like this seems to only have the practical aspect of telling everyone your exact location at a certain time, the game aspect seems to be essentially useless. However, it seems like an interesting way to make a person's daily travel more interesting, so long as it doesn't become an obsession, which is entirely possible for some people. There will be a handful of users who make it their goal of the day to acquire the most points and check ins and take the game way more seriously than others, but that seems to be the nature of games, especially when your results are broadcasted online for others to see, such as with this service and the previously mentioned Xbox Live. But back to its practical applications, I could very easily see this being useful when your friend is somewhere but they don't know the exact location, but they can get it from foursquare, and you can put that in your GPS in the car and drive their without exploring endlessly or getting lost unnecessarily. Concepts like this make all of the inter-connectivity of everything really shine, and really show how all of these new services and technologies are paying off in a really positive way, and not just as a way to become the virtual "mayor" of Smalltown, USA.
New social media services like Twitter and Facebook allow users to "check in" online and update a "status" or some other type of update to broadcast to the rest of the world. Many people use these updates to tell people what they're doing and when they're doing it. If that's not enough for you, a new app called foursquare takes this concept to the extreme - it allows you to broadcast your exact location (usually an address or street corner) to all of your followers. Users can acquire "points" for checking in to various locations on weekends and non-business hours, and they can also acquire "badges", which are a kind of virtual trophy, for checking in to certain places or doing a certain number of check ins. Users who check in to an area the most in a certain period of time are promoted to "mayor" of that area or city. You can even sync the service up to your Facebook or Twitter account and have your foursquare updates come up there, as well. Additionally, each user has a "leaderboard" of their friends (much like a lot of modern day online video games, specifically on Xbox Live) that ranks users based on points.
The app for foursquare may be new, but apparently the service is not. It has apparently been around since March of 2009, according the service's Wikipedia page. I have not heard of anyone using this personally, however, so it still sounds fresh and exciting to me.
The app for foursquare is available for iPhone, Android phones, Blackberry, and Palm devices.
Though an app like this seems to only have the practical aspect of telling everyone your exact location at a certain time, the game aspect seems to be essentially useless. However, it seems like an interesting way to make a person's daily travel more interesting, so long as it doesn't become an obsession, which is entirely possible for some people. There will be a handful of users who make it their goal of the day to acquire the most points and check ins and take the game way more seriously than others, but that seems to be the nature of games, especially when your results are broadcasted online for others to see, such as with this service and the previously mentioned Xbox Live. But back to its practical applications, I could very easily see this being useful when your friend is somewhere but they don't know the exact location, but they can get it from foursquare, and you can put that in your GPS in the car and drive their without exploring endlessly or getting lost unnecessarily. Concepts like this make all of the inter-connectivity of everything really shine, and really show how all of these new services and technologies are paying off in a really positive way, and not just as a way to become the virtual "mayor" of Smalltown, USA.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Kid Care
-Not sure how to handle a sick kid? Your iPhone may have the answer-
All kids are bound to get a multitude of sicknesses in their short lives. If you're a parent and unsure of how to handle a certain sickness, the iPhone has a new app that may be able to make your life a little bit easier. The iTunes store for apps states " Health problems can arise anytime – evenings, weekends, when you’re at work or traveling or your doctor’s office is closed... Kid Care is designed especially for these times".
Parents can search the app's directory by symptom (to try and figure out what exactly the child has) or by inputting the actual condition itself (to confirm diagnosis and treat the said condition). Symptoms such as a rash, cough, sore throat, and vomiting are included in the app, and conditions such as poison ivy and various viruses are included as well. A detailed list of steps for treatment are included once a condition/symptom is selected, and also tells the parent what and when to take further action (call a doctor, go to the hospital, etc.) if necessary. The app also includes images in order to help further confirm the parents' diagnosis correctly.
You can view the Kid Care page on the app store website here.
I think this is another fantastic smart phone app that make owning one of these devices even more essential. Despite the fact that the information on this app can potentially be found with a Google search, this is an interesting and somewhat more "official" way to combine the medical information from around the web and store it all in one convenient place for parents to access at all times, particularly when they may not be near a computer or if they are on the run somewhere. Additionally, the interface of the app, at least in the pictures I've seen, looks very slick and uncomplicated, which makes it even easier for people who are not computer or smart phone whizzes to use this app successfully. All of the reviews on the app store website rate this app very positively, and one of the people who posted on it claims to be a pediatric nurse and says the app is great, so I would definitely at least give this app a look if I had kids, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of poison ivy.
All kids are bound to get a multitude of sicknesses in their short lives. If you're a parent and unsure of how to handle a certain sickness, the iPhone has a new app that may be able to make your life a little bit easier. The iTunes store for apps states " Health problems can arise anytime – evenings, weekends, when you’re at work or traveling or your doctor’s office is closed... Kid Care is designed especially for these times".
Parents can search the app's directory by symptom (to try and figure out what exactly the child has) or by inputting the actual condition itself (to confirm diagnosis and treat the said condition). Symptoms such as a rash, cough, sore throat, and vomiting are included in the app, and conditions such as poison ivy and various viruses are included as well. A detailed list of steps for treatment are included once a condition/symptom is selected, and also tells the parent what and when to take further action (call a doctor, go to the hospital, etc.) if necessary. The app also includes images in order to help further confirm the parents' diagnosis correctly.
You can view the Kid Care page on the app store website here.
I think this is another fantastic smart phone app that make owning one of these devices even more essential. Despite the fact that the information on this app can potentially be found with a Google search, this is an interesting and somewhat more "official" way to combine the medical information from around the web and store it all in one convenient place for parents to access at all times, particularly when they may not be near a computer or if they are on the run somewhere. Additionally, the interface of the app, at least in the pictures I've seen, looks very slick and uncomplicated, which makes it even easier for people who are not computer or smart phone whizzes to use this app successfully. All of the reviews on the app store website rate this app very positively, and one of the people who posted on it claims to be a pediatric nurse and says the app is great, so I would definitely at least give this app a look if I had kids, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of poison ivy.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
ScanLife
-Camera phones make it easier to send specialized content-
The internet revolutionized how people in our society send information. With email, instant messaging, blogging, message boards, and more, the online realm has recreated the way we interact with the rest of the world. Now, a new app called ScanLife allows smart phone users to scan a type of specialized bar codes that contain a certain message or type of content that the user can see or be brought to.
These specialized barcodes, called "EZcodes", allow the creator of said codes to encode something special into them, which allows the smart phone user to access the special encoded information just by scanning it with their camera. As the ScanLife website says, "Without typing anything, you can automatically link to a specific website, send an SMS, make a voice call and more".
It not sound useful or very exciting at first, but it has a lot of potential. One great use for an EZcode would be on a business card, where someone can put a code for their personal or company website, which will be brought up on the user's phone as soon as the phone camera passes over the EZcode without any typing or searching. This can greatly increase the potential of a website to be viewed after a business card is distributed, since people are inclined to lose a business card or just lose interest after a few hours or even days. These EZcodes can also be placed on personal websites and encrypted with content for others to see, and it can all be accessible with just a quick view of the smart phone camera.
I think we have here another app that can change how we advertise and spread information to each other in general. As smart phones become more popular, this would be a fantastic way for companies and organizations to include a condensed "link" to information right on their flyers or handouts that people can access quickly and easily before they forget and move onto something else in our busy world. Companies and businesses can also use this sort of thing to encrypt certain types of content online to certain people, such as news organizations who want to give exclusive paid content to subscribers without using text that can be copied and pasted and distributed for free by third parties. Additionally, print newspapers and magazines can use these EZcodes to cross-reference online content and other links that readers can then-easily access with, again, a quick view of the camera. All in all, ScanLife opens up a lot of new doors with regard to how we send and receive information with one another.
The internet revolutionized how people in our society send information. With email, instant messaging, blogging, message boards, and more, the online realm has recreated the way we interact with the rest of the world. Now, a new app called ScanLife allows smart phone users to scan a type of specialized bar codes that contain a certain message or type of content that the user can see or be brought to.
These specialized barcodes, called "EZcodes", allow the creator of said codes to encode something special into them, which allows the smart phone user to access the special encoded information just by scanning it with their camera. As the ScanLife website says, "Without typing anything, you can automatically link to a specific website, send an SMS, make a voice call and more".
It not sound useful or very exciting at first, but it has a lot of potential. One great use for an EZcode would be on a business card, where someone can put a code for their personal or company website, which will be brought up on the user's phone as soon as the phone camera passes over the EZcode without any typing or searching. This can greatly increase the potential of a website to be viewed after a business card is distributed, since people are inclined to lose a business card or just lose interest after a few hours or even days. These EZcodes can also be placed on personal websites and encrypted with content for others to see, and it can all be accessible with just a quick view of the smart phone camera.
I think we have here another app that can change how we advertise and spread information to each other in general. As smart phones become more popular, this would be a fantastic way for companies and organizations to include a condensed "link" to information right on their flyers or handouts that people can access quickly and easily before they forget and move onto something else in our busy world. Companies and businesses can also use this sort of thing to encrypt certain types of content online to certain people, such as news organizations who want to give exclusive paid content to subscribers without using text that can be copied and pasted and distributed for free by third parties. Additionally, print newspapers and magazines can use these EZcodes to cross-reference online content and other links that readers can then-easily access with, again, a quick view of the camera. All in all, ScanLife opens up a lot of new doors with regard to how we send and receive information with one another.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
NYC WayFinder
-An app that helps you find the nearest subway station in New York City-
The Apple iPhone might have the largest selection of apps out of call the smartphones currently on the market (around 140,000 is the current count), but it doesn't have the app that most NYC users think is the best, according to the recent NYC "Big App" Competition. That app is the NYC WayFinder, which is only available on the Android platform.
The NYC WayFinder, created by Victor Sima and Steven Lao, uses new "augmented reality" technology to help guide the user from their current position to the nearest subway station. How does it work? It layers map info, which is tied to GPS data, over the camera view of the user's phone. This allows the phone to recognize where exactly in the city the user is and gives them directions to the station that's closest to them.
When the user looks into the camera view of their phone, they will see what's actually in front of them, but the locations of the subway stations are overlayed on the display, and the phone will tell the user exactly how far they are from them, and it also updates in real time, letting the user know how much closer they are with every step. The user can also click on a station on the phone to get a written set of walking directions from where they are currently located.
You can view a video of the NYC WayFinder here.
I personally think this is a great idea. I think most people can agree that New York City can be a little daunting to navigate at times, especially if you're not familiar with the area or if it's your first time in the city overall, and this app is a great way to get "unlost" when you need to find a subway station to get somewhere else in the Big Apple. I know there have been a few times where I've needed at least a hint on how to get to the nearest subway station from wherever I am in the City but I don't have a map. Now we have this fantastic program that will show you in real time how far you are from where you need to go, and even give you direct walking directions if you want. The next step is creating an app that can do this, but with ever other location in the City that people may want to visit, and possibly other locations as well. Despite the fact that that may be a daunting task to take on, it would be a huge step in rendering personal paper maps obsolete. But even then, I'm sure the street vendors will still have the audacity to charge you $8 for a dinky little non-interactive map of the city.
The Apple iPhone might have the largest selection of apps out of call the smartphones currently on the market (around 140,000 is the current count), but it doesn't have the app that most NYC users think is the best, according to the recent NYC "Big App" Competition. That app is the NYC WayFinder, which is only available on the Android platform.
The NYC WayFinder, created by Victor Sima and Steven Lao, uses new "augmented reality" technology to help guide the user from their current position to the nearest subway station. How does it work? It layers map info, which is tied to GPS data, over the camera view of the user's phone. This allows the phone to recognize where exactly in the city the user is and gives them directions to the station that's closest to them.
When the user looks into the camera view of their phone, they will see what's actually in front of them, but the locations of the subway stations are overlayed on the display, and the phone will tell the user exactly how far they are from them, and it also updates in real time, letting the user know how much closer they are with every step. The user can also click on a station on the phone to get a written set of walking directions from where they are currently located.
You can view a video of the NYC WayFinder here.
I personally think this is a great idea. I think most people can agree that New York City can be a little daunting to navigate at times, especially if you're not familiar with the area or if it's your first time in the city overall, and this app is a great way to get "unlost" when you need to find a subway station to get somewhere else in the Big Apple. I know there have been a few times where I've needed at least a hint on how to get to the nearest subway station from wherever I am in the City but I don't have a map. Now we have this fantastic program that will show you in real time how far you are from where you need to go, and even give you direct walking directions if you want. The next step is creating an app that can do this, but with ever other location in the City that people may want to visit, and possibly other locations as well. Despite the fact that that may be a daunting task to take on, it would be a huge step in rendering personal paper maps obsolete. But even then, I'm sure the street vendors will still have the audacity to charge you $8 for a dinky little non-interactive map of the city.
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