Best smartphone apps for ______________ (1 Viewer)

[gianmarco]

Sound Profile -- It's great to switch for different volume settings. I have it set as different icons on my screen (night, vibrate, silent, normal) and it changes various volumes along with screen dimming (the nice feature).

Screen Filter -- It's a screen dimmer that goes beyond what your phone can do on the lowest screen setting. Great if using your phone in bed and not wanting it too bright. It can get it so dim you can't even see it's on.

Thuuz Sports -- It's nice in that it gives you alerts for "exciting" games. Someone tossing a no hitter or perfect game through 7? It'll show you. It rates different games based on proximity, how close the score is.

 

[Scoresman]

PaperKarma - Take a picture of your junk mail, submit and never get that in your mail again!

 

[Scoresman]

IFTTT - I copied the description below from another forum.

Essentially, IFTTT is tied into the APIs of about 60 websites and apps, which they refer to as 'channels'. Evernote is a channel, Dropbox is a channel, Twitter is a channel, RSS is a channel, etc.

Each channel has its own set of triggers and actions. An example trigger for RSS would be, "An article has been posted to [x]'s RSS feed." IFTTT can take this trigger and perform an action on another channel, such as Twitter. This whole process is called a 'recipe'; it's always comprised of one trigger channel and one action channel.

Here are some of my own recipes, just to give you an idea:

Whenever I post a new article to my blog, IFTTT automatically tweets that article from a dedicated Twitter account I've set up.
Whenever I post a photo on Instagram, IFTTT automatically saves it to a folder in Dropbox.
If I mark a Youtube or Vimeo video as "Watch Later", IFTTT saves it to my Instapaper account.

This is nowhere near the number of things you can do with it. Some people have IFTTT text them the weather each morning. Some people download all their Gmail attachments directly to Dropbox. Some people make it so that when they change their Facebook profile photo, it changes their Twitter photo as well. Some people schedule a text message to be sent to them while they're in a meeting so they have an excuse to leave.

The number of possibilities is crazy.

 

[Keerock]

Another vote for Dark Sky

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Sound Profile -- It's great to switch for different volume settings. I have it set as different icons on my screen (night, vibrate, silent, normal) and it changes various volumes along with screen dimming (the nice feature).

Screen Filter -- It's a screen dimmer that goes beyond what your phone can do on the lowest screen setting. Great if using your phone in bed and not wanting it too bright. It can get it so dim you can't even see it's on.

Thuuz Sports -- It's nice in that it gives you alerts for "exciting" games. Someone tossing a no hitter or perfect game through 7? It'll show you. It rates different games based on proximity, how close the score is.

gonna check all of these out

PaperKarma - Take a picture of your junk mail, submit and never get that in your mail again!

when I first read this, I didn't see "mail" and was like WTF but this is cool. You've tried it and it works??

IFTTT - I copied the description below from another forum.

Essentially, IFTTT is tied into the APIs of about 60 websites and apps, which they refer to as 'channels'. Evernote is a channel, Dropbox is a channel, Twitter is a channel, RSS is a channel, etc.

Each channel has its own set of triggers and actions. An example trigger for RSS would be, "An article has been posted to [x]'s RSS feed." IFTTT can take this trigger and perform an action on another channel, such as Twitter. This whole process is called a 'recipe'; it's always comprised of one trigger channel and one action channel.

Here are some of my own recipes, just to give you an idea:

Whenever I post a new article to my blog, IFTTT automatically tweets that article from a dedicated Twitter account I've set up.

Whenever I post a photo on Instagram, IFTTT automatically saves it to a folder in Dropbox.

If I mark a Youtube or Vimeo video as "Watch Later", IFTTT saves it to my Instapaper account.

This is nowhere near the number of things you can do with it. Some people have IFTTT text them the weather each morning. Some people download all their Gmail attachments directly to Dropbox. Some people make it so that when they change their Facebook profile photo, it changes their Twitter photo as well. Some people schedule a text message to be sent to them while they're in a meeting so they have an excuse to leave.

The number of possibilities is crazy.

Interesting. Curious how you use it. What apps do you have connected?

Added a few new categories and reorganized a bit. Everything indexed up to this point. Thanks for the suggestions, guys.

 

[Dentist]

My choices:

Finances/Credit Monitoring

Mint

Maps/Navigation/Traffic

• Google Maps [2]

News

• Google News and Weather

Photography/Photo Editing

imgur for easy uploading to websites and stuff.

instagram for following good photographers and ladies

Radio/Podcasts

• TuneIn [2] (podcasts, AM/FM radio stations)
• PocketCast
• Songza for regular streaming. Almost never any ads - playlist based radio

Sports

• The Score [8]
• CBS Fantasy Sports App

Utilities/Helpers for your device

• Google Keep (notes) - great app
• Screen Filter (make your screen extra dim) - probably my favorite app ever for night viewing

TV/Movies

MX Player

Xfinity TV GO

Weather

• ]
• 1Weather [3]

Misc.

Zedge - Ringtones and Wallpapers and text tones

Tweetcaster for Twitter is way better than the stock app

Keyboard:

Swype - once you learn swype typing, there is no going back

Browswer:

Boat Browswer

SMS/MMS:

Handcent

Games:

Chess Time

Quizzup

 

[Northern Voice]

Is TheScore different in the US? I like it but always thought it was fairly Canada centric.

Any good non drunk texting apps

 

[VA703]

Another vote for Dark Sky

this app is exact to the minute on storms.

great stuff

 

[Bogart]

I use both Waze and Google Maps.

I use Waze to places I know how to get to, mainly to and from work. It does a great job of switching up the route if/when traffic occurs on the original suggested route. And the police/hazard/standstill notifications are pretty spot on. The fact that Waze knows where I am going most of the time when I open it (Work in the morning, home at night, my kids daycare every Wed night, etc) is pretty cool/creepy. The scoreboard feature is addicting until you make it to the top level.

I use Google Maps if I am going somewhere I have never been before. Waze sometimes has a hard time with new locations, so I stick with Google Maps. I really like the new feature where if you put in a business, it will tell you if that business is going to be closed at the time of your arrival. I have no doubt Google Maps will surpass Waze pretty soon on the real time updates and then I will probably only use it.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Dentist, tell me more about MX Player (just looks like a regular video player) and Boat Browser (couldn't find it in the app store; what will it do that chrome/safari won't do?)

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Is TheScore different in the US? I like it but always thought it was fairly Canada centric.

Any good non drunk texting apps

TheScore has almost all major sports (NFL, MLB, etc.). The only thing so far they haven't covered that I wanted to see was NCAA baseball.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Is TheScore different in the US? I like it but always thought it was fairly Canada centric.

Any good non drunk texting apps

TheScore has almost all major sports (NFL, MLB, etc.). The only thing so far they haven't covered that I wanted to see was NCAA baseball.

It is a "Canadian" app. theScore (now SN360) is the best sports highlights channel in Canada. It got bought by Rogers Communications a few years back but they never rebranded the app.

 

[sports_fan]

I haven't read through the thread so maybe this has been mentioned but one that I like is My Car Locator. It allows you to set the GPS location for your car so it's easier to find. I've also used it while on vacation and set it at my hotel or while hiking where I didn't know the trails very well.

 

[Dentist]

Dentist, tell me more about MX Player (just looks like a regular video player) and Boat Browser (couldn't find it in the app store; what will it do that chrome/safari won't do?)

I use MX player more on my tablet - not on my phone. Plays all formats of files really well if you are into downloading things like rare movies off of torrent websites and need a player to play everything. It's like the popular VLC player for desktop in its versatility.

I like Boat Broswer (only on android) and it doesn't do anything that much better.. i just like the layout, the customization, and especially the built in URL shortener for sharing links

 

[Jaysus]

Dentist, tell me more about MX Player (just looks like a regular video player) and Boat Browser (couldn't find it in the app store; what will it do that chrome/safari won't do?)

I use MX player more on my tablet - not on my phone. Plays all formats of files really well if you are into downloading things like rare movies off of torrent websites and need a player to play everything. It's like the popular VLC player for desktop in its versatility.

I actually use the VLC android app now

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

I haven't read through the thread so maybe this has been mentioned but one that I like is My Car Locator. It allows you to set the GPS location for your car so it's easier to find. I've also used it while on vacation and set it at my hotel or while hiking where I didn't know the trails very well.

I always just drop a pin on the native Maps app for this. Plus with Maps now, it will give you walking directions from point to point.

 

[Dentist]

Dentist, tell me more about MX Player (just looks like a regular video player) and Boat Browser (couldn't find it in the app store; what will it do that chrome/safari won't do?)

I use MX player more on my tablet - not on my phone. Plays all formats of files really well if you are into downloading things like rare movies off of torrent websites and need a player to play everything. It's like the popular VLC player for desktop in its versatility.

I actually use the VLC android app now

i didn't know they had one. If MX wasn't so good, I'd probably give it a shot

 

[Don Quixote]

For people into craft beer, Untappd is good for checking beer reviews while at the store. Good to keep track of own reviews too.

 

[Jaysus]

Dentist, tell me more about MX Player (just looks like a regular video player) and Boat Browser (couldn't find it in the app store; what will it do that chrome/safari won't do?)

I use MX player more on my tablet - not on my phone. Plays all formats of files really well if you are into downloading things like rare movies off of torrent websites and need a player to play everything. It's like the popular VLC player for desktop in its versatility.

I actually use the VLC android app now

i didn't know they had one. If MX wasn't so good, I'd probably give it a shot

I really only use it for the portrait iPhone movies that my parents send me

 

[Dentist]

Let's keep this going.. anyone else have random apps they use that they couldn't get along without?

Bump

 

[Jaysus]

ES File Explorer for, uh, file exploring

Feedly for RSS

Key Ring for all those stupid bonus cards

MLB AT Bat for beisball

 

[Dentist]

I still prefer Handcent SMS.

Transdroid for managing my PC torrent program while I'm away. Like, out with the guys, someone mentions a movie name, I find it on my phone on Pirate Bay and it's on my PS3 by the time I'm home

1) did you shift to handcent next or did you stick with traditional Handcent? I didn't make the switch to "next" after the original was taken off the play market for copyright violation.

2) holy crap!

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

I still prefer Handcent SMS.

Transdroid for managing my PC torrent program while I'm away. Like, out with the guys, someone mentions a movie name, I find it on my phone on Pirate Bay and it's on my PS3 by the time I'm home

1) did you shift to handcent next or did you stick with traditional Handcent? I didn't make the switch to "next" after the original was taken off the play market for copyright violation.

2) holy crap!

What else will Transdroid do? Just for managing torrents?

And gotta try out that Key Ring one. Good call!

 

[Quez]

You used to be able to type, "*" in Google maps and it would show you everything around, no matter what scale you were at. You have to zoom in to like 1"=200ft to see everything. I wish there was an option to see all businesses at 1"=500ft.

The way to search for types of businesses may be useful for some applications, but sometimes I just want to see all the businesses in a little area.

 

[VA703]

teamview is a nice app that allows you to remote control your home desktop using your phone

 

[VA703]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'
"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

You used to be able to type, "*" in Google maps and it would show you everything around, no matter what scale you were at. You have to zoom in to like 1"=200ft to see everything. I wish there was an option to see all businesses at 1"=500ft.

The way to search for types of businesses may be useful for some applications, but sometimes I just want to see all the businesses in a little area.

I haven't used it in a while, but I have an app called AroundMe that will show you restaurants, points of interests, business, etc. near by you.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

teamview is a nice app that allows you to remote control your home desktop using your phone

interesting... assuming there is some sort of client you have to install on the desktop?

 

[Long Ball Larry]

• Sipsnapp (lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer)

Whoa

 

[VA703]

teamview is a nice app that allows you to remote control your home desktop using your phone

interesting... assuming there is some sort of client you have to install on the desktop?

yep, takes 2 minutes to pair them together. I use to run my diablo bots all day and manage them while at work

 

[VA703]

didn't know it works for wine too

http://www.sipsnapp.com/

 

[Dentist]

teamview is a nice app that allows you to remote control your home desktop using your phone

Fantastic app and desktop suite.

Been using it for a few years and it's truly amazing for remote control

 

[E-Z Glider]

My two faves that haven't been mentioned yet...

1. Anylist - we have a shared grocery list that everyone in the family can access. Whenever you use the last of something (or want something) you just add it to the list. Whenever my wife or I stop by the store, you can quickly and easily see what you need. Its especially nice during school when the kids want/need stuff for their lunches.

2. TVFoodMaps - Locates all nearby restaurants that have been on a TV show. Its great for traveling. DD&D's are always

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

2. TVFoodMaps - Locates all nearby restaurants that have been on a TV show. Its great for traveling. DD&D's are always

Had heard tell of something like this, but hadn't researched it. Definitely gonna check this on out. Added it to Travel.

 

[Sand]

In the travel category easily the best app I use is Tripit. You just send it your email confirmations for plane, hotel, car, and such and it assembles your itinerary, stores your confirmation numbers, flight numbers, gives you maps to your hotel etc.

Absolutely invaluable tool. Often I'll have three trips in the queue and never have to wonder whereall my reservations are.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

Polaris Office. Great for editing all kinds of docs.

 

[Sand]

In the sports category for those of us that do more than just watch I use the RoadID app all the time. Give it a contact person and it will send them a link to track you around and alert them if you stopped for too long, etc. Good safety app.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'

"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

HOLY ####### ####! This is fantastic. :ejaculate:

 

[Bonfire]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'

"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

This just blew my mind. How's it work with different fonts/layouts? Does it do chalk boards, or have to be pretty standard looking font only?

 

[VA703]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'

"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

This just blew my mind. How's it work with different fonts/layouts? Does it do chalk boards, or have to be pretty standard looking font only?

its worked for some odd looking menu's with weird fonts .. I havnt tried a chalkboard but I don't see why it wouldnt

 

[Brony]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'

"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

HOLY ####### ####! This is fantastic. :ejaculate:

ios only. BOOOOO!

 

[Wingnut]

Textra for texting. Ive tried the rest, but to me its the best.

 

[mquinnjr]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'

"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

HOLY ####### ####! This is fantastic. :ejaculate:

ios only. BOOOOO!

Just switched to Android two days ago Might take the old iPhone out on wifi-only just to check this out, did join the waiting list though.

Brewers can't be thrilled about this, some big winners and losers out there if this gains the kind of momentum that it seems like it could.

 

[mquinnjr]

Textra for texting. Ive tried the rest, but to me its the best.

Just got this today on my new Android phone

 

[Wingnut]

For quick, accurate, one touch weather radar: Tempest Radar Weather Free. I use it daily.

 

[mquinnjr]

Have you Score people tried Yahoo Sports? Just downloaded the Score and played with it for a few minutes. Still prefer Yahoo but maybe I'm missing something.

Another vote for Yahoo! Sports, fan on the iPhone and Android.

 

[VA703]

score usually has the breaking news alerts before all other apps ive noticed

 

[Don Quixote]

I first got turned onto theScore because of its highly customized alerts, including being able to set alerts for certain players. Good for fantasy news and setting lineups. I don't think Yahoo allowed that, but maybe that has changed.

 

[East Coast Bias]

I first got turned onto theScore because of its highly customized alerts, including being able to set alerts for certain players. Good for fantasy news and setting lineups. I don't think Yahoo allowed that, but maybe that has changed.

Yahoo doesn't have that.

 

[Brony]

there's a app I have used a few times seems to work pretty well. if you are at a bar and want to try some new beer but don't know which is 'better'

'

"SIPSNAPP" lets you take a picture of the beer menu and it will pull all the rankings from beeradvocate.com giving you the best available beer

HOLY ####### ####! This is fantastic. :ejaculate:

ios only. BOOOOO!

Just switched to Android two days ago Might take the old iPhone out on wifi-only just to check this out, did join the waiting list though.

Brewers can't be thrilled about this, some big winners and losers out there if this gains the kind of momentum that it seems like it could.

I'd like to try the app, but I also try not to get too obsessed with the deluge of restaurant, wine, beer ratings & lists. Takes some of the fun out of experimentation