MyFitnessPal (Free. iOS, Android, and Windows) - Food diary, calorie counter, weight tracker, exercise and activity counter, and it has a social aspect so you can share your activity with friends. Most foods and restaurants are searchable within the app. There is a barcode scanner so you can import the nutritional information. I have found the nutritional information for recipes I found in magazines or from Pinterest. The app gives you great nutritional and weight loss progress charts. Informs you how many calories to consume each day to meet your goal and at the end of the day when you select that you are finished for the day it will inform you what your weight will be if you continue to eat that way for five weeks. This is one of my favorite and most used apps.
Fooducate (Free. iOS and Android) This app has a colorful, friendly, easy to use platform that walks you through setup in a thorough step by step fashion. It syncs with the Apple Health app for iOS users. It does a fantastic job of giving in-depth nutritional information for grocery items by giving foods a grade and explaining why. It's weakness is finding restaurant and recipe nutrition information. Excellent exercise calorie burning calculator and nicely developed community section. It calculates BMI and has some really great articles to educate users about how to eat healthier. I disagree with their calculations on the number of calories a person should consume. I dislike the ads at the bottom and the little ways it tries to get you to purchase premium features.
MapMyFitness – Weight tracker, food diary / calorie calculator, and workout journal. It does a good job of trying to walk you through the basic functions of the app when you begin. If you run or cycle it gives statistics on workouts. You can share your activities with an online community. Imports / syncs with a long list of fitness trackers, heart rate monitors, etc. There are "challenges" from different sponsoring businesses that reward users for recording their workouts by entering them automatically in raffles for prizes. It tries to make it more social for you (or advertise to your friends) by automatically linking to Facebook and posting your activity, however you can opt out. I found certain aspects of the layout non-intuitive, find the display cluttered, dislike the ads, and dislike the multiple attempts to sell me premium features. The workout recording / calorie calculator leaves out most anything not running or cycling related. The food diary does not have as extensive a database or as user friendly a display as the others discussed.
Healthy Out (Free. iOS and Android) One of the tough things on a weight loss plan (aka diet) is when your plans fall through or you get incredibly hungry and have nothing to eat. You go out or get delivery, and this app will help you find a restaurant that has things that meet your nutritional requirements: Atkins, Paleo, South Beach, low fat, low carb, gluten free, and many more. It has a very slick display that is very intuitive. You can see what menu items are on your diet and it tell you whether you need to make special request for the item to meet your nutritional needs. It has nutritional information for menu items from certain chains. You can order and pay for food to be delivered to you through the app. Unfortunately, it does not have a good selection of restaurants for our part of Florida, hopefully they will grow and expand.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Best Travel Apps
PackPoint
(Free. iOS and Android) - this app helps you create a packing list, it helps by
asking questions about your trip - it figures in weather, children, purpose of
your trip and then it suggests what you pack but you can customize it, then
when you're ready to pack just check the items off your list.
Sleep Sounds HQ
($1.99. iOS only) 600+ sounds that include city sounds, crickets, white noise,
clothes dryer, babbling brook, fan blowing, and much more so that you can find
something that hotel room feel a bit more like home to help you fall asleep or
meditate before a big meeting.
Google Maps
(Free. iOS, Android, Windows) this app has gotten better and better; quicker
navigation, brighter / cleaner display, reviews of businesses, hours of
operation, maps of indoor spaces for certain venues: stadiums, malls, museums,
etc. It has photos of locations, alerts you to tolls, offers different routes,
and can give pedestrian / bicycle routes for some cities. It sometimes makes
mistakes, on my recent trip I went to an ice cream place that was no longer in
business. I sent them an edit request so it doesn't happen to someone else.
Hotel Tonight
(Free. iOS and Android) Perhaps you need a hotel room tonight because an
emergency or a mistake or just because you are being spontaneous, this app will
get you a room tonight at the best possible price. You can actually book up to
7 days in advance so it can be one of many companies you use to get a good
price, they often have coupons / deals. With a price guarantee and 24/7 service
users have given the app high marks.
City Maps 2Go Offline Maps (Free, $4.99. iOS and Android) One of the issues with
foreign travel is expensive or nonexistent data, with this app you can download
maps of the cities you plan to visit and it will incorporate your GPS to help
you get around. It can still help you find the bars, monuments, restaurants with
out needing to connect to Wi-Fi or cellular data. Only a few maps are available
on the free version, so you may have to pony up for the map you need with the
premium app.
iStone
(Free. iOS only) An app for those without language skills it gives 300 common
phrases in 12 languages giving native pronunciation and does not need a data
connection.
Postagram
(Free. iOS and Android) Do you like to send a postcard or letter from where
your traveling? This app will let you use your own pictures and text to create
a postcard to send. They print and mail it for you, and in many instances it is
cheaper than buying a postcard and mailing it the old fashion way. I have
personally used this app several times and once you import your contacts it is
a fast easy way to send something personal from your travels.
Minube
(Free. iOS, Android, and Windows) Get the scoop from people who know, there
are 24,000 destinations in about 200 countries (and counting). More than
100,000 mini-guides from travelers for free or at a small cost. With tips like
"quickest way to hike from Barcelona to Madrid" or "how to cross
the hills without killing yourself". This social travel app allows you to
make friends and ask questions.
Airports by TravelNerd
(Free. iOS only) real-time flight tracking app that provides
you information on the airport, including gate information, detailed floor
maps, Wi-Fi availability and hours for shops and restaurants. There is a ride
sharing feature where you can find others headed to the same destination and
you can share a taxi.
XE Currency App
(Free. iOS and Android) gives you current exchange rates, allows you to view
multiple currencies at once, gives historic exchange information, downloads
information for use when there is no data connection available.
Waze (Free.
iOS and Android) a social GPS app provides live traffic updates on jams, police
traps, accidents and other hazards. Saves money by comparing the prices of the
gas stations along your routes or around you, they've even partnered with a few
gas stations to provide discounts through digital coupons on the app. Works for
100 different countries.
Expedia
(Free. iOS, Android, Windows, Web) their website provides some of the best
prices for flights and hotels but the app has some unique deals and discounts,
along with a flight tracker it has helpful hotel reviews that you can sort to
see if a bad review truly reflects their service or if it was just a bad
day.
Hipmunk
(Free. iOS, Android, Web) a lot like other flight and hotel aggregation apps
except it includes non-traditional lodging options like Airbnb and Homeaway. It
will show you prices from all of the popular booking sites but you can't
actually book a flight or room with it.
Kayak
(Free. iOS, Android, Windows, Amazon, Web) another car rental, flight, and
hotel aggregation app that scours all the popular sources but it will allow you
to book and pre-pay for your travel arrangements. It also has flight tracking,
videos, price alerts, and much more. This is one of the most popular travel
apps out there, I've used it several times. It has a very easy-to-use design.
Orbitz
(Free. iOS, Android, Amazon, Web) car rental, flights, and lodging; They are
one of the first travel websites and apps, but they have also kept up with all
the upstarts. They have a lowest price guarantee and are known for excellent
customer service. For a lot of travelers they are a go to app.
Skyscanner
(Free. iOS, Android, Windows, Amazon, Blackberry, Web) a great search
for cheap flights. You can choose dates and your home airport and it will
tell you the cheapest flights to anywhere in the world. You can easily adjust
your search with an easy-to-use interactive graph to find the cheapest time to
travel. SkyScanner partners with a site called ebookers.com for the actual
sale.
GateGuru
(Free. iOS and Android) reviews of the bars and restaurants in airports; tips
and tricks to getting around or making your time at the airport more bearable;
hours of the business and services at each airport; along with maps of airports
to get you to your gate fast.
Flight Track
(Free. iOS and Android) real time updates of all your flights, even while you
are in the air. It will color code the flight based on how far behind it may be
delayed so you can decide on a quick bite, another drink, or a whole meal. You
can also share your flights with others so they know if you've arrived or if
your flight is delayed.
Google Translate
(Free. iOS and Android) one of the best apps out there, it has a camera feature
where you can take a picture and it will show it to you in any of 36 different
languages. Overall it supports translation of 90 languages you can use camera,
handwriting, keyboard, or voice. The voice mode has automatic language
detection that can be switched to conversation so you can have words translated
in a natural phrasing. You can save your translations for future use.
Maps.me
(Free. iOS, Android, and Blackberry) downloadable detailed maps for every
country in the world. It allows you to create routes and navigate public
transportation. Claiming to have saved over $50 million dollars in roaming data
charges for users it has been featured in many tech publications and was one
"Google Play Store's 2014 Apps of the Year"
Uber (Free.
iOS, Android, Windows) - if you want to get a ride and you're more tech
inclined Uber provides a ride at a rate that is usually less expensive than a
taxi or car service. You can see the rating of your driver and get an estimated
time of arrival at your destination. The app handles all of the money with a
credit or debit card, both driver and passenger get rated.A third of UBer drivers
are taxis, limos, car services and they increase prices based on demand so
there are times that they are not the cheapest option. In Asia, Uber provides a
more expensive limo / luxury car experience not ride sharing but many travelers
are willing to pay extra for a dependable / safe ride overseas.
Lyft (Free.
iOS and Android) Like Uber it provides a ride and in much the same way but many
find Lyft to be less expensive. They have a million dollar liability insurance
policy on each driver and require them to pass a rigorous background check
(similar to Uber). The app allows multiple passengers to split the fare.
TravelSafe Pro
($1.49, Android only) for traveling abroad this app has emergency contact
numbers, embassy information, and quick dial widget for your emergency contact.
Local emergency contact numbers.
Codegent
(Free - $5.99. iOS and Android) Learn any of 25 languages or select any of the
600 hundred words or phrases spoken by native speakers. It downloads all the
necessary data to your phone so you don't have to incur roaming charges.
Includes tips for travelers and stores your frequently used phrases. Certain
languages and phrases are free while others charge between $4 and $5.99.
Best Parking
(Free. Android only) this highly rated app provides you with the price and
availability of parking garages, meters, and where street parking is available.
It will also inform you of parking regulations for street parking which can be
dicey in large cities like New York or Chicago.
SpotHero
(Free. iOS only) another parking app this one incorporates some other features:
reserve a spot, pay for a spot including most major companies that handle
street parking, show available spots in certain parking lots / garages, gives
you discount rates and coupons for using the app to pay. After a recent trip
where I had problems parking in downtown St. Louis, I'm downloading this one.
Honorable Mentions:
Air France
(Free. iOS only) the stand-out feature about this app is that it has a music
player. You can get unique tracks from the clouds by holding your phone up and
some of the music is available only in that city (it varies from destination to
destination). They also provide perks like airfare discounts and special event
tickets.
Fly Delta
(Free. iPad) explore destinations, read their Sky magazine, reserve your seat,
track your flight, watch in-flight entertainment, but the real attraction is
their "Glass Bottom Plane" feature that allows you to see the view
over different cities.
Flying
(Free. iOS only) share your flying travels with your friends, see all your
travels on a map, rack up miles, create a virtual scrapbook of your travels and
earn badges. It bills itself as Facebook for travelers.
Photosynth
(Free. iOS and Windows) If you love panoramic photos this is the app for you.
Take a bunch of pictures and load them into the app and voila it will stitch
together a panoramic picture. Vertical, horizontal, or 360 degrees it will
create a large high resolution jpeg file from your photos. See other amazing
photos that people have created and shared.
Friday, January 9, 2015
eReader (eBook) Apps
Aldiko (Free. Android only) a very simple eReader that
has the standard customizing option, it has a file manager for uploading your
eBooks and documents, but what's really nice is the large number of file types
and languages it supports
Axis Reader Android(Free. iOS and Android) another library eBooks app it requires you to have or create an Adobe ID; the menu and process for getting set-up is not as intuitive as OverDrive and it's not available for Amazon or Windows phone yet. The actual reader that you use is the same as the Bluefire app. It has one of the most annoying processes for certain items, for certain children's books you have to use the Blio format which means you must also download the Blio app and for audiobooks you must download the Acoustik app. With all that being said, if there because there is a good selection and it's free, it's worth the hassle.
Blio (Free, iOS and Android) This eReader app gives the closest experience to reading an actual book. There are three themes, in text search, multiple color highlighting, and bookmarks which unfortunately do not show on the page. The app allows you to tap either side of the screen to turn the page which is helpful for lefties. Blio is the preferred eReader / format for children's book publishers / authors. You can pay extra and purchase different voices to read the text to you.
Bluefire (Free, iOS and Android) A lot of librarians and reviewers prefer this app because it has the most options for font, spacing, background, etc. The bookmarks do not show up on the page and the progress is only visible if you tap the screen, it has some draw backs. You can make notes but you must do so through a separate menu. One of the nice features is that you can lock the orientation of the screen so it doesn't shift when you tilt / move the device you are reading on.
FBReader (Free. Mac OS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, and Linux) This app has four font choices, three backgrounds, and allows you to change margin and spacing. Page turning animation is realistic, and it has 8 catalogs of books you can purchase from. You can search for books in your library by author, title, series, tag, or recently read. With a file manager built in you can select books from your internal or external memory to load. It supports 30 languages so there are books in the catalog that will show as disabled unless you select those languages as enabled from your settings menu. The app shows chapter and total progress, and you can set bookmarks. You can copy words or phrases to a clipboard and look up word definitions in a dictionary.
Google Play Books (Free. iOS, Android, and web) works on computers, phones, and tablets; the app's major strength lies in its ability to sync ePub books on all devices meaning you can start on your phone and then continue reading on your phone or laptop; read from the cloud or download; customize font, background, and spacing; upload your own books from other sources; get definitions, Wikipedia articles, and search results in-app; text-to-speech on some books (per publisher approval); bookmark pages, highlight text, and add notes; search within books for text.
iBooks (Free. iOS only) This eReader which comes standard on Apple devices has seven fonts, three themes, bookmarks, notes show up in the margin, percent of book read and pages left in the chapter show up in the bottom right hand corner, multiple color highlighting. Many reviewers like that you can view the book as it would appear in real life two pages with a crease in the middle and the page turning when you advance, or if you prefer it can look like most eReaders do with one page at a time, or you can have it read like one giant webpage and scroll through the text like you would online. Syncs across all Apple devices; very nice layout / interface.
Kindle (Free. iOS, Android, Windows, and Amazon) customize background, font, spacing; the strength of the app lies in its library of over a million titles for sale, ability to purchase their Kindle Unlimited where you can borrow any of the eBooks for sale for a monthly fee, and Amazon has Kindle books that are not available in any other format print or electronic.
Kobo (Free. iOS and Android) This is app makes reading social and a game. It allows you to see reviews, notes, highlights, and commentary from other readers. Your bookmarks show as dog-eared pages. There are games and awards for reading. It shows your reading stats: see how fast, how often, and how much you have read. So if you like to be encouraged to read more or you like to make your reading more of a social affair this app is for you.
Marvin (Free. iOS only) Unfortunately this eReader only works on books that do not have digital rights management, basically only books that have passed from copyright like Project Gutenberg books work on the app. It has a lot of great customizing features: fonts, backgrounds, spacing, highlighting, notes, and chapter / total book progress. One of the really neat features is called "Deep Read" which gives you a synopsis of the characters and plot of the book, and allows you to search for articles about the book or author.
Moon+ (Free. Android only)The user interface really makes this app stand out from the pack. You can customize font styles and sizes, backgrounds, spacing, paging modes, autoscroll, multiple view modes, "keep your eye health", share bookmarks, upload to Dropbox, and more. The pro version ($4.99) is also available which removes ads, includes PDF, shake the phone - speak to search, Bluetooth / headset keys control, and much more.
Nook (Free. iOS, Android) similar customization options as other eReader apps; you can highlight text, take notes, and search for text. You can share your eBooks on up to 12 devices; the app boasts more eBooks for sale than any other retailer and have some publishers' eBooks that are not available on Kindle. Barnes & Noble uses ePub format so the books are able to be imported into other eReaders and eReader apps. By selecting a word or phrase you can look it up in a dictionary, on Google, or Wikipedia. Unfortunately you cannot make purchases within the app you have to do it from their website or in a store. (Full disclosure: I work part-time at Barnes & Noble)
OverDrive (Free. iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows, and web) Check out library books for free and read them or listen to them with an app that has gotten better with each update. You can customize your font, background theme, spacing, and margins. You can look-up words in the dictionary and create bookmarks, but unfortunately there is no highlighting or note taking functions.
Oyster (9.99 / mo. iOS and Android) similar to Scribd it has new titles added each week, it syncs across multiple devices, and allows a number of downloads for offline reading; the app's predictive technology recommends titles based on your reading history.
Scribd (8.99 / mo. iOS and Android) Called the "Netflix for books" when it debuted in 2013, Scribd features a library of over 500,000 books from 900+ publishers across a variety of genres; same ability to customize your eReading as the aforementioned apps; as it has gotten more subscribers its library has grown.
Axis Reader Android(Free. iOS and Android) another library eBooks app it requires you to have or create an Adobe ID; the menu and process for getting set-up is not as intuitive as OverDrive and it's not available for Amazon or Windows phone yet. The actual reader that you use is the same as the Bluefire app. It has one of the most annoying processes for certain items, for certain children's books you have to use the Blio format which means you must also download the Blio app and for audiobooks you must download the Acoustik app. With all that being said, if there because there is a good selection and it's free, it's worth the hassle.
Blio (Free, iOS and Android) This eReader app gives the closest experience to reading an actual book. There are three themes, in text search, multiple color highlighting, and bookmarks which unfortunately do not show on the page. The app allows you to tap either side of the screen to turn the page which is helpful for lefties. Blio is the preferred eReader / format for children's book publishers / authors. You can pay extra and purchase different voices to read the text to you.
Bluefire (Free, iOS and Android) A lot of librarians and reviewers prefer this app because it has the most options for font, spacing, background, etc. The bookmarks do not show up on the page and the progress is only visible if you tap the screen, it has some draw backs. You can make notes but you must do so through a separate menu. One of the nice features is that you can lock the orientation of the screen so it doesn't shift when you tilt / move the device you are reading on.
FBReader (Free. Mac OS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, and Linux) This app has four font choices, three backgrounds, and allows you to change margin and spacing. Page turning animation is realistic, and it has 8 catalogs of books you can purchase from. You can search for books in your library by author, title, series, tag, or recently read. With a file manager built in you can select books from your internal or external memory to load. It supports 30 languages so there are books in the catalog that will show as disabled unless you select those languages as enabled from your settings menu. The app shows chapter and total progress, and you can set bookmarks. You can copy words or phrases to a clipboard and look up word definitions in a dictionary.
Google Play Books (Free. iOS, Android, and web) works on computers, phones, and tablets; the app's major strength lies in its ability to sync ePub books on all devices meaning you can start on your phone and then continue reading on your phone or laptop; read from the cloud or download; customize font, background, and spacing; upload your own books from other sources; get definitions, Wikipedia articles, and search results in-app; text-to-speech on some books (per publisher approval); bookmark pages, highlight text, and add notes; search within books for text.
iBooks (Free. iOS only) This eReader which comes standard on Apple devices has seven fonts, three themes, bookmarks, notes show up in the margin, percent of book read and pages left in the chapter show up in the bottom right hand corner, multiple color highlighting. Many reviewers like that you can view the book as it would appear in real life two pages with a crease in the middle and the page turning when you advance, or if you prefer it can look like most eReaders do with one page at a time, or you can have it read like one giant webpage and scroll through the text like you would online. Syncs across all Apple devices; very nice layout / interface.
Kindle (Free. iOS, Android, Windows, and Amazon) customize background, font, spacing; the strength of the app lies in its library of over a million titles for sale, ability to purchase their Kindle Unlimited where you can borrow any of the eBooks for sale for a monthly fee, and Amazon has Kindle books that are not available in any other format print or electronic.
Kobo (Free. iOS and Android) This is app makes reading social and a game. It allows you to see reviews, notes, highlights, and commentary from other readers. Your bookmarks show as dog-eared pages. There are games and awards for reading. It shows your reading stats: see how fast, how often, and how much you have read. So if you like to be encouraged to read more or you like to make your reading more of a social affair this app is for you.
Marvin (Free. iOS only) Unfortunately this eReader only works on books that do not have digital rights management, basically only books that have passed from copyright like Project Gutenberg books work on the app. It has a lot of great customizing features: fonts, backgrounds, spacing, highlighting, notes, and chapter / total book progress. One of the really neat features is called "Deep Read" which gives you a synopsis of the characters and plot of the book, and allows you to search for articles about the book or author.
Moon+ (Free. Android only)The user interface really makes this app stand out from the pack. You can customize font styles and sizes, backgrounds, spacing, paging modes, autoscroll, multiple view modes, "keep your eye health", share bookmarks, upload to Dropbox, and more. The pro version ($4.99) is also available which removes ads, includes PDF, shake the phone - speak to search, Bluetooth / headset keys control, and much more.
Nook (Free. iOS, Android) similar customization options as other eReader apps; you can highlight text, take notes, and search for text. You can share your eBooks on up to 12 devices; the app boasts more eBooks for sale than any other retailer and have some publishers' eBooks that are not available on Kindle. Barnes & Noble uses ePub format so the books are able to be imported into other eReaders and eReader apps. By selecting a word or phrase you can look it up in a dictionary, on Google, or Wikipedia. Unfortunately you cannot make purchases within the app you have to do it from their website or in a store. (Full disclosure: I work part-time at Barnes & Noble)
OverDrive (Free. iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows, and web) Check out library books for free and read them or listen to them with an app that has gotten better with each update. You can customize your font, background theme, spacing, and margins. You can look-up words in the dictionary and create bookmarks, but unfortunately there is no highlighting or note taking functions.
Oyster (9.99 / mo. iOS and Android) similar to Scribd it has new titles added each week, it syncs across multiple devices, and allows a number of downloads for offline reading; the app's predictive technology recommends titles based on your reading history.
Scribd (8.99 / mo. iOS and Android) Called the "Netflix for books" when it debuted in 2013, Scribd features a library of over 500,000 books from 900+ publishers across a variety of genres; same ability to customize your eReading as the aforementioned apps; as it has gotten more subscribers its library has grown.
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