Welcome to the second installment of great apps that I've tracked down over the past year. Today I'll get right into it.
Audio Flashlight for iPhone 4
The reason I have this is because it is by far the fastest rear LED light I've tested, and I tested about a dozen. When you're in the dark and need to see, you don't want to have to fumble around a few screens to get to your light. You just need it on, and that's where this app comes in handy. It's free so there's no issues there, and there's a bonus too. If you'll notice the name, it starts with audio. That's because this app will also function as a sound induced strobe light. That's kinda cool if you ask me. You could be hanging out with your friends and a really upbeat song comes on.. you get the idea. All in all it's fast, easy and has a nice little bonus tagged onto it.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flashlight-iphone-4-compatible/id380287000?mt=8
So now all of you folks out there with iPads, iPods and anything before the iPhone 4 are probably feeling left out of all the fun. So I have a little something for you.
Just Light Flashlight
Before I got my iPhone 4 I had to find something that got the job done and this one was it. There are no frills, nothing fancy, no secret features. Nope, there is nothing here but raw awe inspiring utility. The thing is just perfect at what it does. You tap, it turns your whole screen white. Works on any and all iDevices. And let me tell you, it's a heck of a light when used on the monster screen of an iPad.
The app store is absolutely flooded with flashlight apps that let you change colors, do flashes etc. But when you need a light and need it now and need it steady, just light is your app.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/just-light-flashlight/id302956392?mt=8
So there you have it, app number two of my home page. If you need a light, get one of those, you won't go wrong. Oh, side-note, neither one of them has ever crashed on me.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
My first apps
Welcome fellow iDevice users. Today is the first day of my new series going through my home screens and first on my iPhone.
I'd like to start with all of the standard apps that I haven't stuck in a folder somewhere. Those first five are, the app store, calendar, messages, photos, and settings. Now I do have others that are in my dock, but those are a secret for now, we will get to those. Now however I'll go through the reasons for those five, and then get on to my first third party app.
App Store
Obviously, I love apps. And the best way to get them is through the app store. Now for all you jail breakers out there... If you wish to read and enjoy this, then fine. If not, then just go away and don't smear up my comments section with noise about how it's better to be unrestricted. If you do, then I will remind you of your freedom when a virus bricks your exposed phone. Ok, enough of my soap box.
The app store has some great features, the featured section has a lot of different areas, even one that has a small list of great free apps. I also like the genius feature. All in all it's nice, and it's always fun to explore the different categories and see what the top apps are.
Calendar
I don't have a lot of reasons for liking this one. Mostly it's the fact that it's a dynamic icon which means it changes to match the day. So if you have it on your home page, then you never have to go very far to see what day it is. Just hit your home button.
Messages
Who doesn't text these days?
Photos
Ok, I'm a doting father and I love to have pictures of my kids at the ready. I also have to travel for work fairly frequently and l like to see my wife too. So it's nice to be able to access those quickly. I also have an iPhone 4 so the display is a visual treat and the pictures are clearer than they are on my iPad.
Settings
I've always been a tinkerer. I like to constantly adjust things, and the main reason I have the setting on my home page and not foldered is because of being able to change the brightness, and access airplane mode. Now if you're wondering what airplane mode is, I'll tell you. Basically it turns all of the wireless antennae off. I like to do that because it also resets them when you are in a low speed coverage area right next to a high speed coverage area. It'll let you switch to 3G faster.
Ok, now finally, my first third party app is dragon dictation.
I LOVE this app. I've always been a voice activation guy ever since I used to watch star trek tng and captain Picard would just say, "computer" and rattle off a command. This is pretty darn close, and the vocal recognition is great. It doesn't care for loud areas too much but it's still very accurate. That however is just the surface. ( you can also throw in punctuation by the way by saying it. Ex. Hey Jimmy comma what's up question mark. It shows up like this: Hey Jimmy, what's up? )
From the app you can take your dictated text and email it, text it, facebook it, tweet it, or copy it ( for pasting elsewhere ). That's pretty cool if you ask me. I love it for when I'm driving and need to respond to a work email or something. ( I'll get into how I read the email in another post ). All I have to do is open, hit record, maybe make an edit and hit email. It opens an email draft where all you have to do is type two letters of the recipients name and it can populate for you ( thanks apple ). If you're in the city, you can hit a red light and open it up and start talking, then hit another one and send it. How's that for productivity? And the whole time you haven't had to take your eyes off the road except when stopped.
So that's why dragon dictation by nuance has a spot on my homepage. Oh and one more thing... IT'S FREE. Link below.
http://www.dragonmobileapps.com/apple/dictation.html
I'd like to start with all of the standard apps that I haven't stuck in a folder somewhere. Those first five are, the app store, calendar, messages, photos, and settings. Now I do have others that are in my dock, but those are a secret for now, we will get to those. Now however I'll go through the reasons for those five, and then get on to my first third party app.
App Store
Obviously, I love apps. And the best way to get them is through the app store. Now for all you jail breakers out there... If you wish to read and enjoy this, then fine. If not, then just go away and don't smear up my comments section with noise about how it's better to be unrestricted. If you do, then I will remind you of your freedom when a virus bricks your exposed phone. Ok, enough of my soap box.
The app store has some great features, the featured section has a lot of different areas, even one that has a small list of great free apps. I also like the genius feature. All in all it's nice, and it's always fun to explore the different categories and see what the top apps are.
Calendar
I don't have a lot of reasons for liking this one. Mostly it's the fact that it's a dynamic icon which means it changes to match the day. So if you have it on your home page, then you never have to go very far to see what day it is. Just hit your home button.
Messages
Who doesn't text these days?
Photos
Ok, I'm a doting father and I love to have pictures of my kids at the ready. I also have to travel for work fairly frequently and l like to see my wife too. So it's nice to be able to access those quickly. I also have an iPhone 4 so the display is a visual treat and the pictures are clearer than they are on my iPad.
Settings
I've always been a tinkerer. I like to constantly adjust things, and the main reason I have the setting on my home page and not foldered is because of being able to change the brightness, and access airplane mode. Now if you're wondering what airplane mode is, I'll tell you. Basically it turns all of the wireless antennae off. I like to do that because it also resets them when you are in a low speed coverage area right next to a high speed coverage area. It'll let you switch to 3G faster.
Ok, now finally, my first third party app is dragon dictation.
I LOVE this app. I've always been a voice activation guy ever since I used to watch star trek tng and captain Picard would just say, "computer" and rattle off a command. This is pretty darn close, and the vocal recognition is great. It doesn't care for loud areas too much but it's still very accurate. That however is just the surface. ( you can also throw in punctuation by the way by saying it. Ex. Hey Jimmy comma what's up question mark. It shows up like this: Hey Jimmy, what's up? )
From the app you can take your dictated text and email it, text it, facebook it, tweet it, or copy it ( for pasting elsewhere ). That's pretty cool if you ask me. I love it for when I'm driving and need to respond to a work email or something. ( I'll get into how I read the email in another post ). All I have to do is open, hit record, maybe make an edit and hit email. It opens an email draft where all you have to do is type two letters of the recipients name and it can populate for you ( thanks apple ). If you're in the city, you can hit a red light and open it up and start talking, then hit another one and send it. How's that for productivity? And the whole time you haven't had to take your eyes off the road except when stopped.
So that's why dragon dictation by nuance has a spot on my homepage. Oh and one more thing... IT'S FREE. Link below.
http://www.dragonmobileapps.com/apple/dictation.html
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