I’m app-addicted and I love finding and sharing new iPhone apps.
So I decided to create “App Friday” — Every friday I’m going to share with you one or more iPhone apps that make life easier, are clever and useful, or are just plain fun!
Whenever possible I will try to include apps that have Android or Blackberry versions as well, but this will be primarily iPhone, as that’s the device I use. I encourage Android/Blackberry users to speak up in the comments and offer similar alternatives though!
A woman’s work is never done, right? I’ve always been an obsessive list-maker because it’s the only way I could keep on top of everything I have to do. I think a lot of other people are the same way. Just recently, I’ve finally found a few apps that worked well enough for me to finally part ways with paper-and-pen. They’re so good … I had to share them with you:
2Do (iOS only)
Pricing: Free (lite version) or $6.99
This is hands-down the best to-do app I’ve used. I started out with the lite version and quickly upgraded to the fully-featured one. You can create different color-coded lists to organize your tasks. (For instance, I have lists for personal, freelance, and work.) Creating a task is fast: click the “+” icon in the top corner, type, and hit add. Done. This is great for me because I can essentialy “jot down” to-do’s whenever they pop into my head, and it’s just as quick as writing them down. If you want to take a few more seconds, you can add reminder alerts, due dates, assign priority, and add notes (voice or text). 2Do has quickly become a big part of my daily routine and I feel lost without it.
Grocery IQ (web-based, iOS and Android)
Pricing: Free!
This is a simple thing but I find myself using it CONSTANTLY. Much like my to-do’s, it seems that thoughts like “Oh shoot! I need to pick up some bread on the way home!” pop into my head at the most inopportune times. Since I always have my phone with me, I also now have my grocery list. Whenever I have a free moment on my way through town, I can pop into the store and grab what I need. It has drastically reduced making special grocery trips. The app allows you to maintain separate lists for different stores (or mark items as “any store”). The app is a spin-off of Coupons.com, so it also has built-in search for coupons. I use the “notes” field to mark items that I have coupons for, so I don’t forget to use them at the checkout. You can even use the barcode scanner to add items to your list!
Pricing: $1.99
I just discovered this one the other day. In past years, I’ve used a spreadsheet in Google Docs to track my shopping and budgeting. It worked well, but I like this interface so much better. Sure, maybe it’s the cute themes and icons that got me (at least partly), but it has great features too. You can create groups (e.g. family, friends, coworkers) to buy for, then add people to those groups. You can add a photo of the person or tie them to a contact in your address book. Then you add the gifts to buy – mark them as “maybe”, “definitely wants” or “must have” to prioritize, and then check off the gfts they’re purchased, wrapped, and mailed (if necessary). I love it.
These three apps have helped this obsessive list-maker cut back drastically on all the folded bits of note paper in my purse. (Not to mention, I’m killing less trees!) Everything is all in one place and quickly accessible. It’s wonderful!
Do you have any organization/list-making apps you’d suggest?
Any great Blackberry or Android alternatives for these? Comment!
February 2nd, 2010 •
Life
I’m very excited to share with you all that I am now part of the management team at 20 Something Bloggers (20SB), as part of their Community Team. If you’re not a member of their site yet, I highly recommend joining. Their community is so fun and welcoming and I’ve met so many fun and interesting bloggers through the site!
I’m sure you’ve noticed the whole “celebrity doppelgänger”-meme that is going around on Facebook by now. I thought I’d share mine here, for the heck of it…
Me (with slightly shorter and un-flat ironed hair)
Jennifer Grey (circa “Dirty Dancing” and pre-rhinoplasty).
Lastly… have I mentioned how much I still am loving my iPhone? No? Well let me reiterate: I LOVE IT.
February 1st, 2010 •
Life
YES, I did it again. Thursday morning I jumped on a plane to Erie. Thankfully I got out of Nashville right before a big storm and into Erie in between the major snowfall. Talk about luck!
The downside: I spent my whole trip miserable with a sinus infection/tonsillitis, taking giant horse-pills (some kick-butt antibiotics and Mucinex DM). Needless to say, that prevented me from visiting with my grandmother (who has emphysema and can’t risk that kind of illness). I was very disappointed about that.
I did get to visit other friends and family though. Ate at a few of my favorite restaurants.
I gave in and got my iPhone. I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner.
I love this thing.
I have barely put it down since I got it. Can’t believe I didn’t give in and get one sooner. I haven’t had any problems so far with the service in Erie, Nashville, or on the drive in between. I’ve been busy tweeting, FourSquare-ing, and Gowalla-ing from my phone. (‘Cause I’m a geek like that.) If you’re on either/any of those sites, connect with me.
This week my mother is staying with me (actually for a week or two, not sure yet…) to work on cleaning and organizing the house so that we can put it up for sale.
I’m telling myself that it is time to downsize immensely. I really long to have simplicity in my life, but I’m a major failure at that. There’s a huge part of me that wants to just go through my stuff like a whirlwind and throw out about 80-90% of it. One area I’m planning on paring down hugely is my arts and crafts supplies. Any more, I mostly just knit; I haven’t done much sewing, painting, scrapbooking, etc. in a long, long time. I’m thinking I can give away/donate/throw out almost everything from that genre of stuff. I’m also getting rid of my aquarium (my friend Cyndi said she’d take it) and some other stuff like that.
I’m just hoping I can keep that attitude and momentum and not get sucked in my sentimental stuff. I need the Clean House gang to come kick my ass–where the heck is Niecy Nash when you need her!?
I’ve been with Verizon Wireless since … oh, the beginning of time practically. My current phone is the Blackberry Curve 8330. It’s cute. It’s pink. It is also discontinued. Verizon has moved on to the Blackberry Curve 8530, which is a lovely shade of lavender and quite a lot smaller than this one.
This wouldn’t be an issue, except my much-loved little 8330 has decided to give me problems (again). A few months ago, it was the screen that screwed up. Because they no longer have my phone in the store, they had to FedEx me a new phone from corporate and then I had to activate it at home and FedEx my old (broken) phone back to them.
Now it’s the trackball. It will scroll every direction except UP. Left, right, and down, I’m good. Heck, I can even do diagonals. But UP? No way.
I took it in to my local Verizon store last night and they told me that sometimes they have extra trackballs laying around and they could pop it out and replace it but that right now they didn’t have any extras and to call or stop in again later. (UGH.) They also told me that as of February 12th, I’ll be down to 1 year left on my previous 2-year contract, which means I could get a new phone at the new 2-year activation discount. (Of course, making my contract period 3 years by doing so.)
So, I’m weighing out the options …
- Go back in and see if they (a) have gotten any extra trackballs and can fix it, or (b) if they can do the FedEx replacement thing again. (Can I tell you how much I don’t want to do this, especially being that I’m going out of town Thursday and would like to have a functional phone?)
Make do with my broken phone till February 12th and trade it in on the Motorola Droid. I’m not a huge fan of the Droid, but I have a few friends and coworkers who seem to love theirs. I am a fan of the Android operating system, I just don’t care much for the Motorola Droid itself. It feels cheaply-made to me (compared to an iPhone, for instance), and it also feels clunky and unpolished. The squared off edges and QWERTY keyboard on it just make me think of my original LG “enV” from 5 or 6 years back.
Take option 1 above, then hold out till the Nexus One comes to Verizon (rumored “spring 2010″). Again, the Android operating system, which is great, but a much more slick piece of hardware. I know there have been some complaints about Google not offering support for the phone, but by the time it comes to Verizon, I anticipate that will have been resolved.- Take option 1 above, then hold out till the iPhone comes to Verizon. It’s been rumored off and on and off and on again. It may never happen. But have I mentioned how much I want a freakin’ iPhone!? (HELLO, Apple-fangirl here!)
Buy out my Verizon contract (currently waiting to hear back from customer service on the exact fee to do this) and move my number to AT&T and get an iPhone. I’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time. I even talked about doing it as a birthday present to myself next month … maybe I ought to just DO IT. (Only problem being, my whole family is on the Verizon network and will be peeved at me for screwing up their “in-calling” … hmph.) The one other bummer being that there’s pretty strong rumors that there will be a new iPhone coming out this summer, though whether it will be on AT&T or Verizon remains to be seen.
So what do I do? I’ve been lusting over an iPhone for … well, since they came out. I’m with Kevin Rose in his assessment that Palm and Blackberry are pretty much dead and that Android and iPhone are going to rule the smartphone marketplace. I’ve been waiting for the little nudge to bite the bullet and get the iPhone. Maybe I’ll just go for it…
