Guide To Phone Apps - September 2013

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U.S. $9.99
September 2013 Display until 9/24/13
Beckett Entertainment
www.beckett.com
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Becketts Guide to Phone Apps 3
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POWER TO THE
As the fall season ramps up, so do our schedules. We get ready for the new
school year, leaf watching, Halloween, and all the other cool-weather fun
the autumn season brings. And through it all, our smartphones are at our
sidethe ever trusty sidekick.
As always, we have loads of apps for you this issue. And these apps are
guaranteed to take you into autumn and make it much more enjoyable
and productive. If you have kids going to school (or youre going yourself )
youll appreciate the bargain finders we uncovered. Everything from the
latest sales on back-to-school clothes to great deals at the nearest college
hot spot.
If youre suffering from empty-nest syndrome, take a trip with us on a
train ride to a friendly bed and breakfast. Youll find out where the best fall
foliage is and where you can locate the nearest flea market for those hid-
den treasures.
On the more serious side, September is National Preparedness Month, and
we have apps to keep you prepared and safe, no matter what disaster
heads your waynatural or man-made. Get alerts, make a plan, and get
ready to go at a moments notice.
But wait, all of these apps keep your trusty sidekickyour smartphone
running and sucking up power. Luckily weve reviewed plenty of battery
packs and rechargers to give your phones and tablets an extra boost when
theyre running low. Plus, we have some great power-saving tips and
power-friendly accessories to help cut down on that power consumption
in the first place.
Enjoy the season, and stay powered up,
Margaret Kavanagh
Editor
46 September 2013 App Buyers Guide
SPECIAL POWER ISSUE!
33 Dont Let that Battery Die
36 Eco-Friendly Accessories
40 Charge! Batteries for Everyone
AWESOME AUTUMN APPS
6 Fall App Round Up
10 8 Apps for School Supply Savings
14 41 Grade-A College Student Apps
18 10 Spooky Halloween Apps
TECH GUIDE
21 Wireless Emergency Alert FAQs
23 Social Media in Emergencies
44 Review: SuperTooth HD
78 5 Senior-Savvy Smartphones
86 SwiftKeyBest Android Keyboard
APPS FOR EVERYONE
24 Free Lifesaving Apps
28 $hopping Apps that Pay!
30 TV + Smartphone = Fun
82 War Against Texting and Driving
89 Lights! Camera! Apps!
92 Take Control of Your Social Media
96 Top 5 Real Estate Apps
98 App Laughs
APPS_1309-EDITORNOTE 6/17/13 12:35 AM Page 3
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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
SPECIAL POWER ISSUE!
33 Dont Let that Battery Die
How to squeeze extra juice out of your phones battery
36 Eco-Friendly Accessories
Great gadgets for environmentally concerned users
40 Charge! Batteries for Everyone
The latest on-the-go battery packs reviewed
AWESOME AUTUMN APPS
6 Fall App Round Up
Leaf peeping, romantic B&Bs, flea markets and harvest moons
10 Stock Up on School Supplies with These 8 Apps
Apps to save on everything you need
14 41 Grade-A Apps for the College Student
Free and cheap resources to make your life easier
18 10 Spooky Halloween Apps
Get your fright on with intriguing apps!
46 September 2013
App Buyers Guide
499 Cant-miss apps to make your
smartphone smile
APPS_1309-TOC 6/17/13 12:45 AM Page 4
Becketts Guide to Phone Apps
September 2013 Issue 15
EDITORIAL
Erin Lang Masercola - Editorial Director
Margaret Kavanagh - Editor
William Bonin, Andy Broome, Sean Cooper, Simon Hill,
Sean Kavanagh, Torrey Kim, Carolyn Koh, Suzanne Leder,
Jan Milliman - Contributing Writers
Alicia Natale - Art Director
Gabby Oh - Cover Design
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This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that
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Apps are trademark and copyright of their respective owners.
This publication is not sponsored, endorsed by or otherwise
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Cover images courtesy of Apple, Android and Thinkstock
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TECH GUIDE
21 Wireless Emergency Alert FAQs
When it comes to safety warnings, your phone delivers
23 Social Media in Emergency Situations
Keeping you connected in todays world
44 Review: SuperTooth HD Bluetooth
Speakerphone
Look, Ma! No hands!
78 Senior Tech Series: 5 Senior-Savvy
Smartphones
Clever device designs for the mature mobile user
86 SwiftKeythe Best Keyboard Youll Ever Use
You may switch to Android just to use it
APPS FOR EVERYONE
24 Free Apps that Will Save Your Life
Get prepared, then let these apps stay vigilant for you
28 $hopping Apps that PayReally!
Get rewarded with points, gifts and even cash
30 TV + Smartphone = Twice the Fun
Make your smartphone interact with your favorite TV shows
82 Wage War Against Texting While Driving
We need YOU and you need these apps
89 Lights! Camera! Apps!
Create bite-sized video masterpieces
92 Take Control of Your Social Media
Apps to organize status updates, tweets, pins, posts and more
96 Top 5 Real Estate Apps
Get smart about buying a home
98 App Laughs
High-tech giggles from Andy Broome
APPS_1309-TOC 6/19/13 1:51 PM Page 5
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F A L L A P P R O U N D - U P F A L L A P P R O U N D - U P F A L L A P P R O U N D - U P
FALL APP
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Leaf Peeping, Romantic B&Bs,
Flea Markets and Harvest Moons
By Carolyn Koh
The days are turning cooler and as the crisp days of autumn bring a
nip to the air, our minds turn to the weekend getaway to watch the
incredible landscape as it changes around us. In our parents time, it was
word of mouth and checking tourist bureaus for best fall foliage routes.
These days, we turn to the internet and apps on our smartphones for
peak viewing days and all the other activities around them. Here are a
few of our favorite apps.
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If youre planning a trip or a hike in an area of fantastic
foliage, then a park and/or trail finder will help.
Where can you find the best fall leaf color when its at its
peak? Foliage Leaf Peepr allows you to make foliage
reports by posting comments and uploading photos of the
locations you visit. You can also check for the best reported
foliage in previous years to help plan your trip.
Oh Ranger! Park Finder is an app with search filters to help you
find parks that suit your needs. If you prefer, have a slow drive for
your leaf watching instead of hikingjust select that category, plug
in your preferred zip code or use your location to pull up the nearby
parks. Many tourism boards and state parks also have their own
apps for activities, so dont ignore thosethey might give you more
in-depth information for your local area.
Windows Phone users try: National Parks by National Geographic, free.
All Trails provides guides to hiking and biking trails with maps,
photographs and reviews. The trails include urban as well as
suburban and wilderness trails, with difficulty measures and
notes as to whether they are dog friendly. Log in to use the
community settings and post your own reviews.
Foliage Leaf Peepr
Free, Yankee Publishing, Inc.
HHHHH
Oh Ranger!
Park Finder
Free, American Park
Network
HHHHH
AllTrails
Free, AllTrails, Inc.
HHHHH
FunTrainRides
Free, Invictus Mobile
Media
HHHHH
What about something different? Check out autumn foliage
from a different perspective, perhaps aboard an old steam or
even a coal fired locomotive? Fun Train Rides finds historic
train rides and train museums around the country.
Descriptions of trains, rides and museum are all in the app,
with links to each website.
Becketts Gui de to Phone Apps 8
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Of course you can find a motel in a nearby town for your weekend jaunt, but you may want to find accommodations
off the beaten path. To help you find that super quaint Bed and Breakfast, theres InnTouch Bed and Breakfast
Locator which also provides recipes from many of the inns and the growing phenomenon of AirBnBa community
marketplace that gives you the ability to meet a local and rent a room from someone with the space in their home.
The community-rated TripAdvisor is a great choice for an all-around travel app which rates almost everything:
attractions, hotels, guidestheyre all in there. (Blackberry users try: Poynt by Multiplied Media Corp., free.)
Thoughts of autumn also turn to harvest time boun-
ties. Luckily, Farmers Markets abound across our
nation. Fresh Food Finder uses data from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture and your location to deliver
all the nearby Farmers Markets on a list or map.
Tapping the market name or map pin gives you the
name, address and information for the market, includ-
ing types of products and payments accepted, as well
as links to the markets website, if available.
InnTouch Bed and
Breakfast Locator
Free, American Historic Inns
HHHHH
AirBnB
Free, AirBnB Inc.
HHHHH
TripAdvisor
Free, TripAdvisor LLC
HHHHH
Fresh Food Finder
Free, Andrew Trice
HHHHH

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Those who enjoy browsing flea markets for unusual finds and
antiques will find Flea Market Finder useful on their
Autumnal jaunts. Enter a location or turn on location services
and it pulls up a list of flea markets with name and address,
and search links on Google and locations on Maps.
Flea Market Finder
Free - $1.99, Zach Levengood
HHHHH
Finally, what about those gorgeous harvest moons and spectacular fall sunsets? Find them
easily with sunrise/sunset and moon phase apps. There are multiple free and paid apps with
all the bells and whistles, including location save, calendars and alerts as well.
HelioStat &
MoonCal
$4.99, Two Roads
Lunafaqt sun
and moon info
Free, Ron Nijsenn
HHHHH
Moonrise
Free - $0.99, AVIA
HHHHH
Moon 3D
Free
Free, Jappi-Soft
Sundroid Free Sunrise
Sunset
Free, Visalia Mobile Ltd
HHHHH
PhotoMoon
$2.99, Rivolu Pte Ltd
HHHHH
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STOCK UP ON SCHOOL SUPPLIES STOCK UP ON SCHOOL SUPPLIES STOCK UP ON SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Amazon Student
Free, AMZN Mobile LLC
HHHHH
Students probably get a lot of mileage out
of the mega-site Amazon.com, but you can
maximize the benefits of Amazon with this
app, which has student-specific features
that will saveand earnyou money. Save cash by scanning the bar-
code of an item youd like to buy, and the app tells you how much
that item is on Amazon, letting you know if you can save money by
purchasing through the site. Earn Amazon bucks by selling your
books, games, electronics, DVDs, and other items through the app,
which can list your used items, sell them, and allow you to ship them
absolutely free of charge.
From clothes to pencils to calculators and
beyond, apps to save on everything you need
By Torrey Kim
School supply lists have gone from the old one box of pencils and a lunchbox requirement to
whats now a laundry list of items that includes everything from paper towels to dry erase
markers. If the thought of tackling your back-to-school shopping list is a bit overwhelming,
check out these eight apps that can make easy work of it.
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STOCK UP ON
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
WITH THESE
APPS_1309-SCHOOL 6/17/13 12:56 AM Page 10
School Supplies
$0.99, Engineered Stuff Education
HHHHH
Making lists doesnt get any easier than this. The app comes pre-loaded
with scores of possible school supply options. You can add, rearrange,
or remove items from your list with a tap of the screen. You can even
make several lists for different kids in your family, then grab your
phone and head to the store, where you can check items off of the list as you buy them so you
can easily keep track of what youve purchased and what you still need.

Campus Special
Free, Campus Special, LLC
HHHHH
College students shopping for bargains should look no further than
this comprehensive app, which locates your college and then shows
you bargains nearby. Whether you need an oil change, a quick bite to
eat or some clothes to look sharp for that internship you snagged, the
app will show you all of the local bargains for college students in your town. Plus, you can order
the discounted food directly from your phone.
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Target
Free, Target Brands, Inc.
HHHHH
If your back-to-school shopping spree involves a trip to Targetor
even if it doesntyou can derive benefit from this free app. It
allows you to make lists, find the closest Target store, and peruse
the weekly ad for deals. But my favorite part is when you tap
Browse, then School and Office Supplies. You can then nail down exactly which products
you want, and the items that are on clearance or on sale are at the top of the list. Either add
the item to your list or directly to a shopping cart to buy it straight from your phone.
Scientific Calculator
Free, Augenth, Inc.
HHHHH
The first time your child tells you that she needs a scientific calculator
for school, your mouth will probably fall open when you see the sticker
prices. Typically costing upwards of $100, these essential tools are not
only pricey, but they can get lost very easily. Instead, try out this handy
app, which wont get lost as long as your child has her phone. It works quickly and accuratelythe
only downside is that it probably cant be used during standardized testing because phones are
forbidden in that environment.
For more calculator options, check out our article, 41 Grade-A Apps for the College Student on page
14 of this issue.
Shopular
Free, AirCrunch, Inc.
HHHHH
If you avoid the mall for back-to-school clothes shopping,
its probably because youre afraid of dropping too much
cash since the stores there are often pricier than big-box
retailers. Shopular culls all of the available coupons and
deals for mall-based stores and funnels them into this simple-to-use app, which will
tell you when you can save 25% at Aeropostale, show you a $10 mobile coupon for
Macys, and alert you to half-price jeans at Hollister, among other great offers.
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Michaels
Free, Michaels Stores
HHHHH
Michaels not only has some of the best bargains on school sup-
plies, but the retailer also knows just how to ensure youll stay
organized. On the app, tap Products, followed by Art Supplies
and then Back to School, and youll find an incredibly compre-
hensive list of shopping options. You can add the items to your list and then check them off
as you shop. My favorite part of the app is that you can tap Coupons and that weeks
mobile coupon will pop up on your phonenothing to print or email to yourself. Just
present your phone in the store and theyll scan the coupon right from your phone.
Wal-Mart
Free, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
HHHHH
As most shoppers know, Wal-Mart can be a great one-
stop-shop for back to school items, letting you buy
clothes, socks, paper towels, notebook paper, pencils,
and everything else you need before heading to the
classroom. When you launch the app, tap Shop by Dept at the top, followed by
Office and then School Supplies to see a comprehensive list of items that the
company offers. You can add each item to a list, or directly to your cart for in-app
purchase. My favorite part is that when I find an item I need, I can tap Check local
store availability so the app will tell me if my location has that item in stock. Very
helpful when I need a product quickly.
iHome is a registered trademark of SDI Technologies, Inc. Lightning is a trademark of Apple Inc. iPhone and iPod are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other marks are trademarks of their respective owners.
i am a multi-tasking charging machine.
Stay fully charged with the iPL10. This dual charging Stereo FM clock radio audio system with the new Lightning Dock
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APPS_1309_13 6/14/13 4:58 AM Page 13
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4 1 A P P S F O R T H E C O L L E G E S T U D E N T 4 1 A P P S F O R T H E C O L L E G E S T U D E N T
GRADE-A
Free and cheap resources to make your life
easierin and out of the classroom
By Carolyn Koh
Summer is over, and its time for young adults to pack up and make the trip to the hallowed
halls of higher learning institutions. As many college students are of the starving student
variety, weve gathered the best free and low-priced apps for the return to campus.
GETTING SITUATED
Youve finally arrived. New town, new friends, new surroundings. Now what? How
do you find your way around? Whats hot and happening? We have apps that tell
you that! In fact, handy free apps are available to help you get around and famil-
iarize yourself with your new surroundings. Some schools have their own mobile
apps or you can check to see if your school participates in OneSchool, which
provides campus maps, news, faculty, student registers and course directories.
Local uses your location to help you find the nearest bank, restaurant, pub and
so on, and then map it and share it. So if youre done studying late on a Saturday
night, fire it up to find a late night coffee house (via voice command even) and
tweet the location to your new roomies to meet you there.
41
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STUDENT
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Local.com
Free, Local.com
HHHHH
UrbanSpoon
Free, UrbanSpoon
HHHHH
OneSchool
Free, OneSchool, Inc.
HHHHH
For students that plan in advance, try shopping
with special deal or coupon services. There are
several options in mobile apps and sometimes its
advantageous to have more than one, as some
companies have offers others dont. Here are
some of the more popular services:
The Coupons App
Free, The Coupons App
HHHHH
Living Social
Free, Living Social
HHHHH
Amazon Local
Free, Amazon Mobile LLC
HHHHH
Groupon
Free, Groupon
HHHHH
What about the best deals and cheap eats? UrbanSpoon
doesnt just do reviews of restaurants, its mobile app
lets you dial in the type of food youre craving and your
budget, or you can lock in your budget and spin for
suggestions at nearby restaurants. Then theres Yelp,
which also reviews businesses. Both apps use your
location and map the restaurants for you with links to
bring up reviews and restaurant details.
Yelp
Free, Yelp
HHHHH
APPS_1309-COLLEGE 6/17/13 1:02 AM Page 14

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EDUCATION
Wikipedia may be the bane of professors everywhere, but it is a font of research resources
the perfect starting point for anyone seeking knowledge. There are a number of mobile apps
to access this popular internet resource. The Wikipanion boasts fast direct connections to the
Wikipedia servers, a slick interface and the paid version offers offline browsing and custom
Wikis. Android users can try Wikidroid which has voice search. Of course if youre familiar with
the original website and enjoy the featured article of the day and Wikinews, theres the recent-
ly released official Wikipedia Mobile app available for most mobile platforms. Free, of course.
Wikipanion
Free - $4.99, Robert Chin
HHHHH
Wikidroid
Free - $1.99, Sirius
Applications, Ltd
HHHHH
Wikipedia Mobile
Free, Wikimedia Foundation
HHHHH
Ahh Spark Notes, generations of students have used them. Now, theyre available as a mobile
application known as what else? SparkNotes. The free app comes with 50 pre-installed study
guides, Facebook integration and the ability to form study groups with other nearby users.
SparkNotes
Free, SparkNotes LLC
HHHHH
Calc Made Easy
Free - $1.99, Lalit Patil
HHHHH
CourseSmart eTextbooks
Free, CourseSmart
HHHHH
BIGWORDS.com
Free, BIGWORDS.com
HHHHH
CampusBooks
Free, CampusBooks
HHHHH
Amazon Student
HHHHH
RealCalc
Free - $3.49, Quartic Software
HHHHH
Kno Textbooks
Free, Kno Inc.
HHHHH
TED
Free, TED
HHHHH
Checking prices of textbooks for the best deal? Buy, sell and/or rent textbooks with these apps.
One does not gain knowledge from textbooks alone and the wise students looks farther afield.
TED started out as a conference bringing together the brightest people from the worlds of
Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TED talks have gained great renown. Check them out
on the free official app. You may also want to familiarize yourself with Wolfram Alphathe
computational knowledge engine. Originally a website, its a bottomless well of knowledge
and has been compared to the fictional know-everything computer on Star Trek.
College textbooks are big, heavy and expensive. E-Textbooks eliminate the weight and space
requirements, but not the expense. Kno Textbooks and CourseSmart are two services with
extensive textbook catalogs. Kno Textbooks is not simply an e-reader, it also provides interactive
features to help students study and better understand the subject matter, whereas with
CourseSmart, students can rent books. Textbook publishers such as Pearson Education and
Houghton Mifflin Hartcourt also have their own mobile textbook reader apps for free download.
For many students, a scientific calculator is an invaluable tool. Check out RealCalc Scientific
Calculator on Android or Calc Made Easy on iOS. Both have free versions with paid versions
offering enhanced features.
Wolfram Alpha
$2.99, Wolfram Alpha LLC
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PRODUCTIVITY AND ORGANIZATION
Keeping your life organized is no easy task when youre in college, but several apps will help you
out. For taking notes, Evernote has to be one of the best apps available on the market, and its
free. Take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists and record voice reminders. It can be synced
across devices and the notes are searchable. Need to keep a budget or keep track of your
finances? Mint.comhas a free mobile app to help with that.
Theres so much to be found on the internet and so little time to read it. How better to access
information than grabbing pages to read later? Save some data usage time and access the
information offline. Several apps are available for that and they are all quite elegant. Youll
have to use your personal preference as each does a great job.
Instapaper
$2.99, Mobeliux
HHHHH
Pocket
Free, Read it later, Inc.
HHHHH
Readability
Free, Readability, Inc.
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Evernote
Free, Evernote Corp
HHHHH
Mint.com
Free, Mint.com
HHHHH
iStudiez
(Lite & Pro)
Free - $2.99, iStudiez Team
HHHHH
inClass
Free, inClass, Inc.
HHHHH
Astrid Tasks &
To Do Lists
Free, Todoroo Inc.
HHHHH
Studious
Free, Braden Young
HHHHH
Schedules can be kept as simply as a calendar, or organized on a planner with projects, notes and
deadlines. Here are some of our favorites to help keep track of all your classes, tasks, important
dates and to-do lists. Some even allow information sharing with friends.
Keeping everything together and synched can be a challenge, but theres always the cloud to
help. SugarSync, DropBox and Google Drive all have PC and Mac compatibility as well as apps
to help you out here, and as long as you arent planning on storing mega-gigs of content in
the cloud, its all free. You can even set it up so synching is automatic. Which is the latest copy
of that paper youre working on? If you set it up right, youll always have the latest copy on all
your devices.
SugarSync
Free, SugarSync, Inc.
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DropBox
Free, DropBox, Inc.
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Google Drive
Free, Google, Inc.
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Finally, the most important app of all. The one that wakes you up and gets you out of bed to
get to your classes. The alarm clock app that works even if your phone is silenced.
Do you prefer a gentle awakening or a loud, rude one? Or even a custom alarmlike your
fathers voice proclaiming hes not paying the next term fees if you fail another class! For some
options, like the custom alarm, you may have to buy an app, but effective free ones that have
volume ramp ups, limited snoozes, etc. are available in all platforms. We think the best of these
for Android is Alarm Clock Xtremeit actually has a solve math to disable alarm feature.
For iOS users, theres Wake N Shake Alarm Clock which requires you to shake the phone until
the meter fills up. No snooze button here, not without filling that meter up, plus gamification to
compete with your friends to become the wake king or queen of the week.
Those with a tendency to slide back into bed after silencing an alarm might want to try Sleep if
U Can, which requires you to take photographs of household objects to silence the very, very
annoying alarm. Register something in a place far away from the bedroom to make this alarm
more effective.
LIFESTYLE AND ENTERTAINMENT
You know what they say about all work and no play. Students also need entertainment. Some
brain-candy, if you will, and a social life. So whats playing at the nearest Cineplex? Flixster on
your smartphone will tell you. Check out reviews, watch trailers and even stream and download
movies with this app. And dont forget the old standards Netflix or Hulu Plus, both which have
mobile apps. The apps are free, but purchases or subscriptions are required for some content.
Flixster
Free, Flixster, Inc.
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Netflix
Free, Netflix, Inc.
HHHHH
First time cooks, check out CookWizMe which has step-by-step photo instructions to help
eliminate the Fail! condition. RecipeSearch comes with voice controls. Say the ingredients you
have and it pulls up the recipes for you. For both apps, logging/ creating an account opens up
more options including favorites, downloading new recipes and uploading your own.
CookWizMe
Free, Farminers, Ltd
HHHHH
Recipe Search /
Allthecooks.com
Free, Allthecooks.com
HHHHH
Alarm Clock
Xtreme
Free - $1.99, Angle Labs
HHHHH
Wake N Shake
Alarm Clock
$1.99, Andres Canella
HHHHH
Sleep if U Can
$1.99, Delight Room
HHHHH
Hulu Plus
Free, Hulu
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10 SPOOKY HALLOWEEN APPS 10 SPOOKY HALLOWEEN APPS 10 SPOOKY HALLOWEEN APPS
Pumpkin Carver
Free, Benoit Renaud
HHHHH
How many of us have spent the
time and elbow grease to carve
a pumpkin, only to create a lop-
sided jack-o-lantern that looks
downright depressing on the front porch? With this app,
you can make as many virtual pumpkin carvings as youd
like. Not only is this a good way to express your creative
sideit can also give you ideas and practice for designs
you want to test out when youre finally ready to try out
carving your real pumpkin from the patch. Android users
try: Pumpkin Carver Pro HD by Simplify Now, LLC, $1.99.
Urban Legends
Free, Avid Apps
HHHHH
Who hasnt stood in front of the
bathroom mirror and said
Bloody Mary three times in a
row to summon the ghost her-
self? Halloween is the best time of year to test this urban
myth and find out if Mary is going to make an appearance
in your home. Or, you could launch this app to learn about
other urban legends that will give you the fright of your
life. This is perfect for sitting around telling scary stories on
Halloween, surrounded by your creepiest decorations and
your most terror-filled friends. iPhone users try: Urban
Legends HD by PiquantGames.com, free.
Get your fright on with innovative and
intriguing Halloween apps
By Torrey Kim
The sights and sounds of Halloween can range from the cute to the terrifyingbut you
dont need to trick or treat just yet to prepare for the seasons spookiest holiday. Rev up
your Halloween spirit with 10 apps that will get you ready to scare and be scared.
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Free Halloween Sounds Pro
Free, Dream Injector, LLC
HHHHH
From croaking frogs to a chainsaw to a witchs cackle and more, the
sounds of Halloween can definitely get you into the holiday spirit.
This app is so simple to use that even a child can launch itand
potentially scare the living daylights out of you. Once you open the
app, click on the sound youd like to hear. You can delay its sound by up to two minutes if you
want to scare someone. Set it to go off at the allotted time, leave your phone where you know
the unsuspecting victim will be walking, and voilfright night! If youd rather stick to a con-
tinuous stream of scary sounds, tap Spooky Soundtrack and the app plays a background of
creepy noises for you. Windows Phone users try: Halloween Sounds by Bang Your Head, LLC, free.
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ZombieBooth
Free, MotionPortrait, Inc.
HHHHH
Even the most innocent among us deserves to get a bit
zombie-fied on Halloween. Snap a picture of yourself or your
loved ones this Halloween, then fiddle with the in-app extras
to give your photo a zombie mouth, red eyes, gray skin, or
open, bleeding sores. Tap OK and the zombie actually comes to life, moving around and
making terrifying sounds. The first time you see yourself animated in motion as a zombie
is kind of freakybut very fun.
Popcorn Horror
Free, Popcorn Horrors
HHHHH
Everyone has a favorite scary movie, but some of us get tired
of watching the exact same plot over and over again. Popcorn
Horror allows you to mix up your fright sources by delivering a
new short horror film every week for you to view. You can also
join the apps community and discuss your favorite scary flicks, or head to the Quotes
page to peruse some of the most legendary horror quotes of film history.
Halloween Coloring Book!
Free, Peep Software Games
HHHHH
For a free app, this packs in quite a few hours of entertainment,
thanks to over a dozen different pictures that kids can color. You
dont have to print out any pages or gather a set of crayonsthe
kids color the pictures using the touch screen. Simply tap on any
color and then use your finger to fill in the lines on the picture. More into making your own
creative Halloween picture? No problem. You can tap the icon of the blank piece of paper and
work on your own masterpiece with the in-app colors.
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Halloween Photo Editor for Blackberry
$1.99, Elena Vinkurova
HHHHH
Forget about having to fiddle with the intricacies of PhotoShop to get your
favorite picture spooki-fied. Instead, load this simple app onto your
BlackBerry, snap a photo, and choose your embellishments. You can make a
spider dip down onto your childs head, have a witch fancifully fly over your
dogs head, or superimpose a jack-o-lanterns face over your own. Add one of the 16 photo frames and
youve got a Halloween-themed piece of art. My favorite? The blood effect that gives your pictures a
particularly spooky hue.
Scary Scream Machine Free
Free, AEON
HHHHH
Want to really freak out everyone in your house? Record your own voice on
this app, add a scary sound effect to it with the built-in enhancements, and
program it to go off at a certain time of day. Sit in the next room and watch
as your voice screams for help from the phone and your family members
scramble to find you. It may seem cruel, but its all in good Halloween fun! Up for another trick?
Ask someone to take the in-app eye test. Halfway through, a terrifying picture will pop up and the
unsuspecting eye tester will be screaming in terror!
Halloween MakeUp
Free, Libii Tech Limited Games
HHHHH
Keep the kids occupied while youre prepping your house for trick-or-
treaters with this creative app that allows you to take a glamorous model
and spookify her completely. Kids can customize her hair, eye makeup,
headgear, clothing, and even how much blood is dripping from the fangs
youve given her. The app has countless numbers of combinations to keep kids busyand it might
even give them a costume idea or two. Android users try: Halloween makeup by Giuseppe Tilli, free.
Scary Camera
Free, ObjectGraph, LLC
HHHHH
When you look into this app, youll instantly jumpnot only will you see
your face with bloody handprints around it, but ghostly faces and figures
will be floating past you. Its a bit off-putting at first when you combine it
with the terrifying ghostly sounds playing in the background. But its also
addictive to add filters and try and determine which is more scary than the next. My favorite feature?
Every time a face in a hockey mask floats past me, I jump. Android users try: Horror Camera by Soda,
Inc., free.
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5 Wireless Emergency Alert Q&As
By Suzanne Leder
Turning on the news today reminds us of the constant threat of dangerwhether its acts of ter-
rorism, weather events, disasters, or kidnapped children. With all the danger out there, its good
news to hear that your smartphone or mobile device can actually be a lifesaver, thanks to WEAs.
Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) are wireless notificationssimilar to text messagesdeliv-
ered to your mobile device as part of a new, national public safety system. Theyre designed to
inform you of imminent threats to your safety or about missing person alerts in your area.
Pre-authorized national, state or local governments may send WEAs regarding public safety emer-
gencies, such as evacuation orders or shelter-in-place orders due to severe weather, a terrorist
threat or chemical spill.
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S AF E T Y WARNI NGS S AF E T Y WARNI NGS S AF E T Y WARNI NGS S AF E T Y WARNI NGS
How Do WEAs Work?
In April 2012, the wireless industry joined the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to offer U.S.
citizens a dependable and wide-reaching wireless
emergency alert system.
WEA works with the existing Emergency Alert System
(EAS), which is implemented by the FCC and FEMA at
the federal level through broadcasters and other media
service providers. WEA and the EAS are part of FEMAs
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).
Alerts from authenticated public safety officials are sent
through FEMAs IPAWS to participating wireless carriers.
These wireless carriers push the alerts from cell towers
to mobile devices in the affected area. WEAs use a spe-
cific technology that ensures they make it to your
phone immediately without getting stuck in normal
cellular traffic.
Will I Get WEA Messages?
If you have a smartphone or feature phone, chances
are youll receive the WEAs that affect your area. Most
wireless providersnearly 97% of subscribers
providersare participating in the program.
Suppose youre in New York City on a business trip, but
you live in Chicago. If theres an emergency in New
York while youre there, your WEA-capable phone will
receive the WEA, even though your phone is roaming
or visiting from another state. However, if theres an
emergency in Chicago while youre gone, you wont
get that WEA.
Important: If you DO receive a WEA, it means that
youre within the geographic location thats affected by
the emergency. You should review the information in
the alert carefully and proceed as directed. Check
other sources, too, like the radio and television for
more information.
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WHEN IT COMES TO
SAFETY WARNINGS,
YOUR PHONE
APPS_1309-PUSHALERT 6/17/13 1:08 AM Page 21
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Will I Be Charged for These
Messages?
You will not be charged for receiving WEAs. They are
free and you are automatically enrolled to receive them
if your phone is capable. And you dont need GPS in
your phone to receive WEAs, either, so dont worry
about having your GPS disabled and missing out.
What Sort of Alerts Will I Receive?
WEAs can be up to 90 characters and may be one of
three types:
Presidential Alerts issued by the President or a
designee.
Imminent Threat Alerts about severe disasters, such
as hurricanes or terrorist incidents when an imminent
threat to life or property exists.
AMBER Alerts that help law enforcement agencies
locate abducted children.
You can opt-out of all alerts except for Presidential Alerts,
but rest assured, WEAs wont be sent without serious
consideration, so its worth staying connected and opted-in.
WEA alerts will be accompanied by a unique attention
signal and vibration, which is particularly helpful to
people with hearing or vision-related disabilities.
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Will I Receive the Alert If Im
on the Phone?
WEAs wont interrupt your voice or data sessions.
They will be re-broadcast at specific intervals in the
targeted geographic locations, in order to reach as
many devices as possible. However, after that interval
is over, or the alert has been overridden by another,
the original alert will no longer be sent.
WEAs are also known as Commercial Mobile Alert
System (CMAS) or Personal Localized Alerting Network
(PLAN). The appearance of the messages will vary
depending on your device, carrier and the sender.
For more
information on
Emergency
Preparedness,
look for our article,
Free Apps That Will
Save Your Life
on page 24 in
this issue.
Do You Have a WEA
Enabled Device?
To receive WEAs, you must have a capable device
and be located in an area targeted by authorized
senders to receive the alert.
Before you run out to purchase a new device, check
with your carrier. You might need to only upgrade
your devices software.
Telltale sign: If your device has the CTIA Wireless
Emergency Alerts logo, its WEA-capable.
For more information, visit FEMA
http://www.fema.gov/wireless-emergency-alerts
Becketts Gui de to Phone Apps
APPS_1309-PUSHALERT 6/20/13 1:46 AM Page 22
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Social media can help keep you connected during
an emergency
By Torrey Kim
If you were in Boston during the Marathon bombing in April 2013, chances are strong that your
loved ones were eager for word that you were okay, and it was impractical to phone each of them
one-by-one. Thats why social media can play such an important role after a disasterone status
update and everyone knows exactly what happened, where you were, and whether youre safe
and sound.
The same can be said about staying secure after the immediate threat passes. Many citizens may
have been unharmed from the initial blast, but the perpetrators were still on the loose, which
made Boston residents heighten their senses and stay inside to remain safe. Social media came
into play once again, allowing people in the surrounding areas to track the latest news about the
bombers and law enforcements efforts to find them. And with cell phone service spotty after
the emergency because so many people were jamming the lines, tapping into social media was
infinitely faster than making phone calls.
Social Media Now A Top News Source
A Pew Research Center report indicated that 56% of Americans aged 18 to 29 got their Boston bombing-related news
through social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Not only were these sites used to track the latest news on the
criminals and the status of bombing victims, but they also allowed medical and emergency personnel to share information
directly with the public without having to go through a middle party such as the evening news.
For example, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Association used Twitter to advise locals that they should share
concern via text rather than by placing phone calls, because texts used less bandwidth (which could be preserved for law
enforcement and tip tracking).
When Boston authorities needed to ask locals to shelter in place, it was Twitter where they posted the information, and the
police departments subsequent tweet Captured! The hunt is over. The search is done. The terror is over. And justice has
won. was shared over 143,000 times via retweets.
Hopefully, you will never be the victim of a terrorist attack like the
Boston bombing. But the odds are pretty good that youll someday
find that your power is out from a storm or that roads will be
impassable due to a flood, and youll want to be tuned into
social media sites to ensure that youre up on the latest news.
As a precautionary measure, its a good idea to Follow (via Twitter)
your local police departments and news outlets and to Like (via
Facebook) the same organizations so youll always have access to
their news dissemination.
In addition, local news outlets may offer their own apps that can
keep you updated on the latest information, and you may want to
download those so you are never far from the most recent facts
concerning your area. Facebook and Twitter apps are free for iOS,
Android, Windows Phone and Blackberry.
YOUR PHONE IS ON HIGH ALERT
EVEN WHEN YOU ARENT
APPS_1309-BOSTON 6/20/13 2:26 AM Page 23
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FREE
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THAT WILL SAVE
YOUR LIFE
Get preparedthen let these apps
stay vigilant for you
By Margaret Kavanagh
Weather disasters are on the rise in recent yearsor that may just be our
perception. (The 1880s actually had more hurricanes on record than any other
decade in U.S. history so far, and the 1970s, the least.) But either way, its clear that
preparation is essential when dealing with Mother Nature. No matter where you
live, youre likely to encounter some type of danger in your lifetimeearthquakes,
floods, hurricane, tornadoes, wildfiresno one is immune.
Since 2004, National Preparedness Month (NPM) is observed in the U.S. every
September. To help you get ready, weve put together the best FREE apps to not
only keep you aware of whats coming, but help you make a plan so youre ready
to react before its too late.
APPS_1309-PREPARED 6/18/13 4:34 AM Page 24
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The Red Cross to the Rescue
The American Red Cross responds to about 70,000 natural and man-made
disasters in the U.S. every year, helping individuals and entire communities.
The Red Cross was chartered by Congress to carry on a system of national
and international relief in time of peace and apply the same in mitigating
the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great
national calamities, and to devise and carry on measures for preventing
the same.
As part of those prevention measures, the Red Cross offers a set of mobile
apps that educate and aid users in smart preparation techniques. The apps
integrate with one another and provide invaluable information that every-
one should follow in an effort to stay safe and be ready.
While checking these apps out, I found them eye-opening. I assumed that
several of the apps wouldnt apply to me in northwestern NYI thought,
the worst we get is a lot of snow. I had the preconception that I wouldnt
find use in the Tornado, Wildfire or Hurricane apps. But, I learned that weve
had 12 hurricanes, 1 wildfire, 3 earthquakes and 61(!) tornadoes in the
recent past. I had no plan for evacuating my own home and no offsite con-
tact to inform we were safe. I didnt know that in case of an earthquake (our
last one was just weeks ago) you should drop, cover and hold on, rather
than stand in the nearest doorway. Lets just say that I didnt know what I
didnt know.
Each of these apps feature:
Explanations of how each emergency or condition occurs
The history of past disasters in your area
Interactive quizzes about proper preparedness for each weather condition
A set of tools, including a Flashlight, Strobe Light, and Alarm
Incredibly thorough checklists of things to do before, during and after,
split into sub-lists with headings like If you do nothing else
Links to other resources relevant to the situation
A one-touch Im Safe message button to let others know youre okay
So while the American Red Cross is there to help in times of need, youd do
yourself a huge favor by preparing to handle an emergency properly so you
dont need help afterwards. Take advantage of all the information these
apps provide and prepare an emergency plan and kit. Youll feel safer and
be ready to act, rather than react.
The Weather
Channel
FEMA App
Other Free Preparedness Apps

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Tornado Warning & Alert App
When the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) issues a tornado warning for your monitored area,
youll know it with this appeven if you dont have it open. Less
severe alerts are silent, while a tornado warning is accompanied
by a siren so youre sure not to miss it.
Let GPS find your location and plug in other towns and cities to monitor the con-
ditions there, as well. Learn about the different types of tornado-related alerts,
how to spot danger signs, and what to do before, during and after a tornado hits.
Hurricane App
The Hurricane App is the best way to protect
yourself from encroaching danger from hurri-
canes and other rough weather. Warnings,
watches, tropical storms and floods are all
monitored for you in the locations you decide.
The app shows you which storms its actively
tracking that might affect your area later on.
Learn how to stay safe, and access the information even if theres
no cellular service available. Take quizzes to learn about storm
history in your area, and access links for even more help when
service is restored.
Earthquake Notification App
Surprisingly, 45 states and territories in the U.S. are at moderate
to very high risk of earthquakes, and theyre all over the coun-
try. While you may have never been near a tornado or hurri-
cane, chances are you reside in an earthquake risk statethis
app will help you prepare if one should happen to hit.
The settings on this warning app are more customizable than in the others
because earthquakes are so prevalent. You can set the magnitude level (up to
10.0) and the radius from your location, up to 500 miles. Learn about what caus-
es earthquakes and how to stay safe during the initial incident and any after-
shocks with in-app information. Notifications are generated by the United States
Geological Survey (USGS).

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Wildfire App
Wildfires can happen anywhere if the conditions are right. Dry landscape,
a heat source and oxygen are the only requirements and if youve got
those, you should also have this app. (In the spirit of prevention, you
should have this app before you have those conditions.) A nationwide map
pinpoints the current and recent fires with red flags, while yellow flags
indicate areas in danger.
As with the other prevention apps, you can monitor the locations you choose, so youre
watching not only your current position but also any areas where you may have friends or
family. Since wildfires are often undetected at the beginning, and move so quickly, every
second counts and warning is essential. The Wildfire App will even walk you through what
to do if youve been ordered to evacuate your areawhat utilities to turn off in your home,
what to wear, how to secure your home and what travel routes to use.
Shelter Finder App
When disaster does strike and you need to make your way
to the nearest shelter, use this app to find out where that
is. The app uses information about open shelters from the
American Red Cross National Shelter System (NSS), which
contains data about 60,000 potential facilities. Shelter
information is updated every 30 minutes and when shel-
ters are open, their populations are updated several times a day. So far,
the app is available for Apple only, but others can view the map online at
http://app.redccross.org/nss.app/.
First Aid App
This app provides a wealth of information about how to deal with
almost every first aid scenario you can imagine, with emergency
preparation information to boot. Lots of videos, animations and
interactive quizzes make learning a fun process and preloaded info
means data is available even if your connection to your cell service
isnt. If you do need to contact EMS, 911 call buttons are integrated into the app in
many locations so you arent searching for the phone app.
The preparation portion has 20 different emergency categories you can browse
(drought, fire, pet preparedness, and more) that lead to instructions on getting pre-
pared, as well as handling and getting past each incident.
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S HOPPI NG APPS T HAT PAY S HOPPI NG APPS T HAT PAY S HOPPI NG APPS T HAT PAY
CheckPoints
Free, inMarket, LLC
HHHHH
Collect Points around town by scanning specific
items at your local stores, and then cash them in for
valuable items, including everything from Amazon
gift cards to an iPad. Dont want to head to the store,
but you still want to collect points? No worries. The app allows you to collect
points right from your armchair by watching videos, downloading apps and
music, and playing instant win games directly on the app. The only downside?
Trying to set it downthe call of staying on the app to reach each new reward
threshold is addictive!
Shop with these apps and get
rewarded with points, gifts and even cash
By Torrey Kim
Its always exciting to find a free app thats fun to useand even better when youre reward-
ed to use it. Weve found some great free apps that give you gift cards, discounts, and even
cold hard cash just to use them.
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$HOPPING APPS
THAT PAY
ibotta
Free, ibotta, Inc.
HHHHH
Forget about spending 30 minutes trying to
process a rebate and then waiting months
for your rebate check to arrive in the mail.
Thanks to ibotta, you can select the partici-
pating products that youve purchased, snap a photo of your receipt,
upload it to the app, and get reward cash deposited into your PayPal
account. You can even collect these cash-back offers if youve com-
bined coupons and sales in the store, which means that sometimes the
app will allow you to get products completely free after your ibotta
reward kicks in.
APPS_1309-REWARD 6/17/13 1:13 AM Page 28
Belly
Free, Belly, Inc.
HHHHH
Youve grown accustomed to presenting your loyalty reward card at vari-
ous retailers, but you can now present your phoneand have a retailer
scan your personalized QR code to give you Belly points every time you
walk into a participating store. You can then cash in the points you earn
at those same shops. I went into one restaurant three days in a row, and by the third day I had
earned a free coffee. You dont have to buy anything to earn the pointsyou just have to scan your
phone. The only downside is that there arent as many participating shops in smaller towns as in
big cities, but Bellys network is growing quickly.

S HOPPI NG APPS T HAT PAY S HOPPI NG APPS T HAT PAY S HOPPI NG APPS T HAT PAY
iPoll
Free, iPoll.com
HHHHH
Put your opinion to good use, and collect rewards while you do it.
iPoll allows you to earn cash by completing polls, but not just generic
ones. Youll be asked to perform missions at retailers like your bank
or movie theater, where youll answer questions about your experi-
ence and collect cash. The reward amounts vary by the amount of time it will take you to com-
plete them, but typically range from $0.10 to $5.00. You can then cash in your rewards with
PayPal or by earning gift cards and other items.
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Shopkick
Free, Shopkick, Inc.
HHHHH
Collect rewards, or kicks, just by walking into a participating store
as long as you have this app open on your phone. Then you can
gather even more kicks by scanning participating items and by
paying with a linked credit card. Keep an eye on the app daily,
since some days you might earn 35 kicks for walking into a store such as Target, whereas on
other days you may get a bonus 500 kicksenough to earn you a $2.00 Target gift card.
Keep earning for more valuable rewards, all the way up to a Vespa scooter.
Endorse
Free, Endorse
HHHHH
Similar to ibotta, Endorse pays you for purchasing products
you need from your favorite stores after you upload an image
of your receipt. You simply browse the offers, decide what you
want to buy, and then follow through. Endorse partners with
DonorsChoose.org to fund local schools. In fact, theyll give you points for every receipt
you upload, even if you havent purchased one of the listed offers. Save money and sup-
port charitieswhats not to love about this shopping app?

APPS_1309-REWARD 6/17/13 1:13 AM Page 29
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TV + SMARTPHONE = 2X FUN TV + SMARTPHONE = 2X FUN TV + SMARTPHONE = 2X FUN
Netflix
Free, Netflix, Inc.
HHHHH
If you have a Netflix subscription ($7.99/mo.)
then you definitely want to grab this app.
Not only can you stream Netflix content to
your smartphone or tablet, you can also use
the app as a remote control for the service on your PlayStation 3 or
Google TV. This means you can browse content while you watch. The
app will also sync across platforms, so you can start watching some-
thing on the TV and finish watching it on your smartphone elsewhere.
If you dont have a PS3 then dont worry because Netflix plans to add
more device support in the near future.
Apps that make your smartphone
interact with your favorite TV shows
By Simon Hill
More and more of us are watching TV with a second screen in our hands or on our laps.
According to recent research, over 80 percent of us use smartphones, tablets, or laptops
while watching TV, and around half of us have engaged in related online activity. It might
be as simple as looking up the name of a familiar face on IMDB, or tweeting our thoughts
about the latest winner of The Voice, but its a trend thats starting to take hold.
There are tons of apps to help you find the latest information about your favorite show,
engage in live voting and competitions, and share your opinions on the TV you love or
hate. Weve brought you a few of our favorites.
2x
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APPS_1309-TV 6/17/13 1:16 AM Page 30
IntoNow
Free, Yahoo! Inc.
HHHHH
With Yahoo behind it you might expect something special from the
IntoNow app and it certainly doesnt disappoint. Load up the app and
with the tap of a button, it will identify whatever you are watching and
offer up some related content that you might be interested in. You can
also use the app to see what other people are saying and share your own thoughts. The nice thing
about IntoNow is that it works for recorded content as well, so theres no need to be watching live.
The Capit feature is like a real-time meme generator which you can use to capture a screenshot
and add your own text for sharing via social media.

Shazam
Free; Shazam Entertainment Ltd
HHHHH
You know that feeling when you hear a tune you simply
must have, but you dont know what it is? Shazam started
out as an app that could identify any song simply by
listening to a few seconds of it. The app returned the
name, artist, streaming lyrics, and even a link to buy it or view it on YouTube.
Since its inception, the developers have added the ability to identify TV shows and
commercials. Supported shows display a Shazam prompt and you can use the app to access
bonus content while you watch. You can also tag and share the TV content you love with ease.
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Viggle
Free, Viggle Inc.
HHHHH
Who says watching TV is a waste of your time? With the Viggle app
you can check in to the shows you love and earn points which can
be redeemed for rewards from brands like Starbucks and Barnes &
Noble. Youll also find chat functionality, including Facebook and
Twitter integration, so you can share gossip about shows. Each show profile has a wide range
of useful links to related information. Theres even a quiz feature to test your TV knowledge,
and a fantasy sports game that you can play while you watch sports.
Xbox SmartGlass
Free, Microsoft Corporation
HHHHH
Anyone using an Xbox 360 as an entertainment hub needs to
get their hands on Xbox SmartGlass. This second screen app
acts as a remote control for your console. You can use it to
browse or play content, or to surf the web. Participating
shows, movies and games offer extra content, including detailed information, interactive
guides, behind-the-scenes commentary, and links to buy whole series in the Xbox cata-
log. The potential for games is even more exciting with extended interactive features,
such as a map for the game youre playing.
APPS_1309-TV 6/17/13 1:16 AM Page 31
ConnecTV
Free, ConnecTV
HHHHH
ConnecTV, another social platform, offers the
chance to engage in huge online chats with
other fans, and even, sometimes, the stars of
the shows you are watching. Youll also find
the usual mix of news, polls, celebrity biographies and tweets. The app
automatically recognizes what youre watching and you can log in via
your Facebook or Twitter account. It serves up relevant advertising
alongside your info and chat, targeted in much the same way that
Google ads areto cater to your needs. Extra content for ads includes
things like the ability to buy a ticket for the movie trailer you just saw,
direct from the app.
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GetGlue
Free, AdaptiveBlue, Inc.
HHHHH
By checking in to your favorite shows and movies with GetGlue
youre joining a huge social network focused on entertainment.
Its all about sharing the buzz with friends and the community
at large, discovering new shows and movies that suit your
tastes, and earning stickers and rewards. Customize your feed with your favorite shows,
add your friends, and youll get a stream of the latest news and chatter. GetGlue covers
sports as well, and it includes a comprehensive TV guide and the ability to see whats
trending in real time at a glance.
zeebox
Free, zeebox
HHHHH
The zeebox app is designed to enhance your TV
viewing experience by providing a television
guide, additional information on what youre
watching, and even interactive fun with polls,
competitions, and games. Participating shows and advertisers use zeetags
to highlight live information about whats on your screen and provide links
to buy products. Theres a substantial social side to it too, with Facebook
and Twitter integration, and a discovery tool that lists TV shows your friends
and others (including celebrities) are enjoying right now, or getting excited
about. You can also set reminders for your favorite shows and even use zee-
box as a remote if you have an XFINITY set-top box.
APPS_1309-TV 6/20/13 2:35 AM Page 32
DONT LET THAT
BATTERY
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How to squeeze extra juice out of
your smartphones battery
By Simon Hill
Frustrated by your smartphones limited battery life?
Youre not the only one.
Poor battery life consistently takes the top spot in consumer polls on
our biggest complaints about mobile technology. As we pack more
features into our devices, we tend to use them more and the drain on
power increases. Combine that with the trend towards larger screens
and its no surprise that our smartphones are often dead before the
day is done.
Battery technology is dated and theres no sign of a power revolution
anytime soon, but you can take steps to prolong your smartphones
battery. Lets run through some general tips that will work for any
smartphone, and then well take a look at advanced tips, and a few
apps that could help.
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DON T LET THAT BATTERY DI E! DON T LET THAT BATTERY DI E! DON T LET THAT BATTERY DI E!
BASIC BATTERY-SAVING TIPS or TURN IT OFF!
Obviously, the #1 battery-saving tip for your smartphone is to just turn it off.
If youre in a dead zone, or you need to conserve some battery for later, then just press that power button.
All of the basic battery-saving tips youll ever see for smartphones are related to this idea.
But, if you cant, or dont want to turn the device off, you should at least turn off some of the functions.
The basics: dont keep WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, or anything else on, when you arent using it. Dont allow
push notifications for email updates. Dont connect to a 4G LTE network when 3G will do. Turn down your
screen brightness and volume. Turn vibrations off. Dont use widgets or animated wallpapers. Whatever
you do, dont play games or watch video.
Of course, no one really wants to hear this.
We remember having (dumb) mobile phones that handled calls and texts and nothing else. The battery
life was amazing, comparatively speaking, but who wants to shell out hundreds of dollars for a phone that
does just calls and texts?
Whats the point in having a smartphone if you cant enjoy the features? What makes sense for you?
APPS_1309-SAVEPOWER 6/17/13 1:20 AM Page 33
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MANAGING YOUR SCREEN
As smartphone screens get bigger, the display is responsible for eating more
and more of the battery life.
On Android go to Settings > Battery, or Settings > About phone > Battery
use and see exactly what ate your battery. Invariably, your phones screen will be
top of the list.
Weve already mentioned reducing the brightness level, but you can also
decrease the screens timeoutthat is, how long your phone stays operational
before it dims and locks itself. Youll find it in Settings > Display or something
similar, depending on your phones operating system. Set it for as short a time
as you can before you find it terribly frustrating that your screen keeps turning
itself off.
On iOS (iPhones) youll find it in Settings > General > Auto-Lock. On Windows
Phones youll find the option in Settings > Lock & Wallpaper > Screen Time
Out. On BB10 its Settings > Display > Screen Lock Timeout.
If you have an AMOLED screen, save battery power by using a dark background.
The technology actually turns off pixels when theyre black, so if you have
predominantly black wallpaper, youll save a lot of juice.
CHANGE THE STATUS QUO
Its actually easy to rack up battery savings without missing out on the features
you love.
For instance, a lot of us never switch from our phones defaults, even if theyre
annoying, but we really should. Turn off vibration and sound feedback for typing
for instant savings.
You may also find that you dont really need to know every time a vague
acquaintance posts something on Facebook or in a Google+ group.
Many apps turn push notifications on by default and they eat a huge amount of
battery juice. They also distract you constantly with a stream of inconsequential
nonsense.
Location tracking is often left on, even though you may not be using it. Watch
out for apps that want to know your location. If youre not actually using the
smartphone for navigation right now, theres little benefit to leaving it on.
Shutting off unneeded features isnt a major chore.
Many smartphones come with quick settings menus that allow you to turn them
off with a tap when you dont need them. If yours doesnt, then youll be able to
find an app that offers this functionality. (Windows Phone has a built-in battery
saver feature which youll find in Settings.)
ROOTING ON ANDROID
Android users may want to consider rooting (or attaining privileged control of the phones
operating system). It definitely falls under the advanced category, but you can underclock
(run at a lower rate) your CPU and freeze annoying bloatware apps. Both reduce battery
consumption.

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BATTERY-SAVING APPS
Youll find various battery-saving apps on all the major
phone platforms.
Some of the best options can help you identify whats using
your battery and allow you to save juice without having to dig
into individual features and do a lot of manual tweaking.
The most popular option for Android is Juice Defender by
Letdroid. Its completely free and you can choose preset
profiles, so theres no need to get your hands dirty, unless
you want to.
Android gives apps more power to influence your battery
drain than other platforms, but you can still use apps on
other platforms to gain an insight and find more tips.
On iOS the free Battery Doctor app (Beijing Kingsoft Internet
Security software Co.Ltd) provides useful insights and
reminders. For Windows Phone 8, theres a free, popular app
called Battery by Enless Soft Ltd., which displays how much
battery life you have left and gives you access to quick set-
tings. Battery Lover by TP Soft (free) is a very similar app for
BlackBerry 10.
ADVANCED POWER-SAVING TIPS
First things first: Keep your apps up to date.
Developers often release updates for apps and games
that improve optimization and this can have a big impact
on battery life. If you discover a battery hog, consider
removing it. Dont use task-killer appsthese are a last
resort, not a solution.
Keep your smartphones physical temperature as cool as
possible. Sitting in direct sunlight on the dashboard of
your car will actually drain the battery faster.
Different batteries respond to different charging sched-
ules, but they all eventually degrade. And leaving your
phone plugged in after it is fully charged makes it
degrade even faster.
If youre going to charge your phone overnight, use a
charger that shuts off once the battery is full. Dont let
your battery fully discharge too often, once a month is
handy to ensure that calibration is correct (so your phone
can tell you accurately how much battery life is left). But
in general, charge it before it drops too low.
Juice Defender Battery Doctor
Battery Battery Lover
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ECO- FRI ENDLY ACCESSORI ES ECO- FRI ENDLY ACCESSORI ES ECO- FRI ENDLY ACCESSORI ES
Great gadgets for
environmentally concerned
smartphone users
By Simon Hill
By buying an eco-friendly gadget, you reduce your negative impact and help drive
further development of environmentally conscious products. Take a look at these
great green smartphone accessories, from biodegradable cases to a solar-powered
stereo system. Youll find something for everyone.
ECO-FRIENDLY
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Theres no need to plug into the grid when youve got
your own source of juice in the form of the SunVolt
Portable Solar Power Station from Gomadic. Its a
lightweight solar panel in a water-resistant carrying
case with a handle and strap. Flip it open, prop the
panel up facing the sun, and you can plug in two
mobile devices at once and let those rays charge
them up.
Your standard USB charging cable plugs into the
SunVolt and the device ships with a lifetime warranty.
For best results consider getting an additional Solar
Cache High Capacity Battery Pack ($39.95) so you can
store the solar power while youre out and about and
then charge up your smartphone when you return.
$99.95 from Gomadic
(gomadic.com)
ACCESSORIES
APPS_1309-ECOFRIEND 6/17/13 1:28 AM Page 36

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Leaving your smartphone plugged in once its fully
charged is not only a waste of power, it can actually
damage your battery. Bracketron addresses the issue
with the Mushroom GreenZero Wall Travel Charger.
This simple, portable device has fold out plug pins and a
circular design for easy cable storage. It has a standard
USB port, so it works with any smartphone.
It is essentially a one-click charger that automatically
shuts off when your device is fully charged. Plug it in, hit
the big green button and it cuts off the power when
your smartphones battery is full.
Youll never be caught without power again if you invest in an SOSCharger. Its a
self-powered battery pack with a built-in generator. Simply pop out the handle and
wind it to generate some juice. Between three and five minutes of winding should
give you enough power for at least five minutes of call time on your mobile.
Its an attractive pocket-sized device and it has a standard USB port so
you can charge any smartphone or tablet. The USB-to-micro-USB cable is
included and you also have the option of fully charging the 1,500mAh
battery before you go on a trip and then using the winding function to
keep it topped up.
If you like to have your favorite tunes, no matter where
you are, then the Rukus Solar is the perfect companion.
This wireless sound system streams music from any
smartphone via Bluetooth. Theres a solar panel in the top
to soak up the power of the sun and when the internal
battery is fully charged it can go for eight hours.
The excellent design includes an e-ink display which is
readable even in direct sunlight, a carrying handle, and a
USB port so it doubles as a way to charge your smart-
phone. Portable stereo sound and a charging system, all
powered by the suna simply irresistible proposition.
Available in black, white, and of course, green.
$149.99 from Eton
(etoncorp.com)
$44 from SOSCharger
(soscharger.com)
$27.95 from Bracketron
(bracketron.com)
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Its time to get on your bike with the ECOXPOWER
Pedal Powered Headlight & Mobile Device Charger.
Youre probably familiar with dynamos which harness
your pedaling power to bring a headlight to life. Well,
the ECOXPOWER goes one step further and allows you
to juice up your smartphone as well. It has a headlight
at the front, flashing safety light at the back, and a
universal fit, water-resistant handle bar case for your
smartphone.
You can still operate your phone when its in the case, so
this is ideal for GPS navigation. In fact it uses a standard
USB cable so any smartphone, or even a GPS unit, will
work with this gadget. Fire up your GPS navigation app,
charge your smartphone as you go and youll never get
lost again.
At first glance Papernomads Gadget Sleeves may not
look like the ideal protection for your smartphone or
tablet. They resemble ordinary padded paper
envelopesbut look a little closer and the quality and
craftsmanship shines through. Papernomad replaces tra-
ditional case materials with paperthe company is
committed to sustainable solutions.
The sleeve range is stitched and combines paper with
other organic materials to create a protective case for
your phone or tablet. The iPhone 5 sleeve also has a
magnetic lock, so your device goes to sleep when its
slipped inside. Each one is fully customizable, so you can
create a unique look by sketching, writing or coloring on
the outside, and theyre tear and water resistant, too.
Reducing the amount of power you use is a great way to
reduce your impact on the planet. The iBamboo Speaker
can help. With precision cuts in a piece of sustainable
bamboo, you can harness the natural beauty of nature to
enhance your iPhone music. It gently amplifies the sound
and it works with the iPhone 4, 4S and 5.
Not only is the iBamboo an eco-friendly product, but it is
also very efficient to manufacture with little waste. They
come in black or original and each iBamboo speaker is
unique.
Starts at $99.99 from Grace Digital (ecoxgear.com)
$25 from iBamboo (ibamboospeaker.com)
Starts at $34 from Papernomad
(papernomad.com)

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How about an acoustic amplifier carved from a single piece of
beautiful, solid wood? The Original Koostik, seen here in African
Makore wood, is available in a range of sustainable wood, including
maple and cherry. It has been designed to cradle your iPhone (it
works with all versions) and amplify the speaker to offer between
two and four times the standard volume without needing any
power at all.
These products arent just eco-friendly, theyre also
astoundingly attractive. If you want an aesthetically
pleasing alternative to plastics then youll love the
Koostik range. The one pictured is $95, but there
are smaller, single chamber docks which are
more affordable.
Youll enjoy the standard dual-protection of a
great smartphone case with the Innovez Life
Series cases, but youll also be pleased to know
that they are crafted from environmentally friend-
ly plastic called EcoPure. Theres a hard outer shell
and a soft, shock absorbing interior to protect
your smartphone when it falls.
EcoPure is made from organic material blended
with plastic. The clever part is that it is durable
and long lasting, but when placed in the right
environment, such as a landfill, it is fully
biodegradable. The cases are offered in a range of
two-tone color designs and you can mix and
match the interior and exterior parts to create the
combination you want.
The Bioplastic Covers from Bioserie are made from plants.
The company aims to produce everything from renewable
materials, to minimize carbon emissions during production,
and to ensure no pollution when the product is eventually
discarded. The result is an impressively durable and colorful
set of cases for your smartphone.
A minimal form factor and a range of colors and styles allow
you to be environmentally conscious without having to
scrimp on your choice of smartphone case. They are the
worlds first USDA-certified biobased smartphone cases.
Starts at $60 from Koostik (koostik.com)
$29.95 from Bioserie
(bioserie.com)
$24.95 from Innovez
(innovezproducts.com)
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C H A R G E ! B AT T E R I E S F O R E V E R Y O N E C H A R G E ! B AT T E R I E S F O R E V E R Y O N E
The latest on-the-go battery packs
reviewed
By Margaret Kavanagh
Regardless of the phone or tablet you use, it drains power any time its on. And the
more actively you use it, the more power it eats up. Many of us have taken to turning
off all the bells and whistles, following every power-saving tip we can find, and actually
limiting our phone time in an attempt to make our energy last until the end of the day.
And while its ecologically sound to conserve power when possible, its also important
to be able to use your phone for its intended purpose when you need it.
Phone manufacturers are constantly working on ways to increase battery life, but
advances arent coming quickly enough to satisfy the demand of the current phones,
especially when loaded with additional features and apps. Luckily, a new accessory
has filled the gap: the external battery. It comes in several different forms and theres a
version thats convenient for almost every occasion. Here are a few models that we had
a chance to check out.
CHARGE!
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BATTERIES FOR
APPS_1309-BATTERIES 6/17/13 1:33 AM Page 40

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Powerocks Magic Cube
www.powerocksusa.com
$75-$110
This small block of power will help you in a pinch. Its a simple, colorful little box that packs a punch.
Pop off one end, and plug in your phone or table to recharge. It comes with one micro-USB cable
built in, and one USB port for you to plug in your own cable. (Its strong enough to charge a USB and
micro-USB device at the same time.) Lights on the other end of the device let you know how much
stored power the Magic Cube has left. It claims to last for up to 500 charges (many more than other
batteries we tested) and we were able to charge our iPhone 4S several times from less than 24%
before we needed to charge the unit again. We were even able to use our phone while charging it,
without any noticeable lag. The battery is about as big as your hand, and depending on the model,
its between 5-10 ounces. It comes with a carrying bag and is easy to tuck into a bag or briefcase.
To recharge, use the built-in USB cord and either plug it into a computer or wall charger adapter. It
does take a while to recharge, so plan on giving it at least overnight.
One note: Youll need your iPhones cable, so dont forget it if youre on the road.
What do the numbers mean?
Dont let the figures confuse you. Basically it breaks down like this.
Capacity: The higher the better. So while a 2500mAh charger will give you a boost,
12000mAh will give you many more boosts. However, it will also take a lot longer to recharge
because it has to store more energy.
Input: Most batteries are about 5V/1 or 2A. That is standard for the rate of energy coming in
to the battery pack while its recharging. If the second number is higher2A versus 1A, that
means the battery will recharge faster.
Output: Again, its the second number that counts, as in 5V/2.1A versus 5V/0.5A. The 2.1A
port will put out more energy, faster. But bewaresome devices will need power at a certain
rate. Check your devices manual for the correct numbers before using a battery pack.
Color Options: Pink, Blue, Black, Silver
Battery Capacity: 6,000/9,000/12,000 mAh
Input: 5.0V/2A
Output: 5.00.25V/2.1A
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iWalk Chameleon/Chameleon Easy
www.iwalkusa.com
$59.99-$64.99
Rather than a battery block that you plug into to recharge, this accessory doubles as an actual case for
iPhone 4/4S and Samsung Galaxy S3 models. Its a form-fitting battery pack that stays with your phone
and nearly doubles its battery life. Youll need to recharge it regularly, like you do
your phone, but you dont need to remove it to do so. The included cable lets
you transfer data and recharge while the case stays on. The name Chameleon
comes from the cases colorful, interchangeable faceplates. 5 come with the
product, so you can easily select one to match your mood: green, red,
white, black or yellow.
Although the front plate feels a bit brittle, we have yet to
encounter any breakage, even though we snap it on and off
at will. The entire case is fairly lightweight (just 78g)
compared to other battery cases weve reviewed, and
its slim fit and bright colors make it an attractive choice.
One downside: if you like to use your iPhone
with a dock accessory (like a bedside clock),
you will have to remove the case.
Tip: pair this with a battery block, and
youre set for travel.
iWalk Link 2500m
www.iwalkusa.com
$54.99
Perhaps the most portable of the bunch is the Link
series of batteries. They are small enough to fit in your
pocket and go anywhere with you. The Link 2500m
holds just 2500 mAh, not a lot compared to the
bigger models, but more than enough to rescue you
when your phone is failing. The micro USB adapter
allows this mini helper to plug right into your phone,
unobtrusively. It worked like a charm for us, allowing
us to continue using our phone while it charged.
Its a bit pricey for the capacity, but youre really pay-
ing for convenience. Charging is easy via a computer
and cable, and its quick, since its lower capacity.
A snag: The cover hinge actually snapped the first
time we opened it because it was a bit awkward. Not
great, but it doesnt change the functionality.
Color Options: Black, White
Battery Capacity: 2,500 mAh
Other models with lower capacity are available.
Battery Capacity: 2,000/2,800 mAh
Input: 5.0V/1.0A
Output: 5.0V/0.5A

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New Trent iCarrier
www.newtrent.com
$69.95
Another high-capacity battery (12,000 mAh) that charges two devices at once. This lit-
tle gem is a great buy, holding a lot of power for a low price. But it does come with a
few little differences that could be upgraded to make it even better. First, its one of
the only devices that cant be recharged using a USB port on a computer. Instead, you
have to use the included adapter and a standard power outlet. Additionally, the bat-
tery has an on/off button, rather than just charging a device as soon as its plugged in.
The power block is about four-inches square and only about 10 ounces. It takes about
11 hours to charge but can charge most devices fully between four and six times. Its
rumored to work through 500 charging cycles.
iWalk Extreme 10,000 Duo
www.iwalkusa.com
$99.99
This battery block, like the others, comes in handy when youre on the go and need to give
your phone that extra battery boost. Its long, slim profile means it slips right into any
carry-on. Its slightly heavier (close to one pound) than the Magic Cube but it packs more
punch and its design is modern and substantial. The Extreme includes two bright red
charging cablesa micro USB and an Apple 30-pin adaptervery convenient so you
never have to worry about bringing your phones cables. This battery has the ability to
charge two devices: one USB port charges at 2.1A (rapid charging) while the other runs at
1.0A. Why not two rapid charging ports? Because some devices need to charge at a lower
amperage.
Color Options: Black, White
Input: 5.0V/1.0A
Output: 5.0V/2.1A, 5.0V/1.0A
Recharging happens in the normal way.
You can plug it into the USB port on your
computer or into a wall adapter. This
charger takes quite a while to recharge, so
plan ahead if youre going to need it.
Bonus(?): The charger also includes an
LED flashlight, accessible by holding down
the power button for a few seconds.
Input: AC wall/100~240V
Output: 5.0V/2.1A, 5.0V/1.0A
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iBattz: BattStation 12000
usa.ibattz.com
$29.90-$49.90
The BattStation is a rugged box with a nice exterior rubber case that
protects it from bumps and drops. It also adds a nice design element that
gives it a gothic feel. However, strip off the rubber case, and its much like
the other battery packs. It comes with a nice set of cables and adapters
more than most, including a 30-pin for the iPhone and an adapter for the
Samsung Galaxy Tab. It even includes a Carabineer clip so you can snap it
onto your belt, backpack, or what have you.
It has a bit of heft to it, but not more than expected for a battery pack
(300g). All in all, its a solid performer, and takes just about 8 hours to
charge using a wall outlet and adapter.
The BattStation also shuts itself off when devices are done charging. A
GREAT feature that more battery packs should employ.
Caveat: Theres no word on how many times you can cycle this battery
pack, but guesses are the lifetime is probably about equal to other similar
products.
Battery Capacity: 7,200/8,400/12,000 mAh
Input: 5.0V/1A
Output: 5.0V/2.1A, 5.0V/1A (5.0V/1A, 5.0V/0.5A
for 7,200 mAh and 8,400 mAh models)
LOOK, MA!
REVIEW: Both hands on the wheel with the SuperTooth HD
By John Bosch
The SuperTooth HD Bluetooth Speakerphone works quite well. The sound quality is above average and the battery life seems
to handle a real life and work schedule. I was able to do a full days travel with many sales calls via the hands-free device, as
well as communicate with friends and family late into the night with plenty of battery left.
The voice commands worked very well the majority of the time and the automatic phonebook transfer worked perfectly.
This device will stream your music, give voice navigation via your smart phone, and works with 6 languagesthankfully
English was one of them. It can also be paired with up to 8 devices (2 phones max).
The noise cancelling worked well and the sound quality was
excellent. I do recommend this hands-free device for anyone
needing to conduct calls while driving. But make sure youre
legally allowed to do so in your region.
The SuperTooth also has an option for a hands-free assistant
(but I did not set that up or use it). This option allows you to
compose and send SMS, emails and much more, all via voice
command. In the war against texting while driving, this
accessory is an ally.
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APPS_1309_45 6/14/13 4:57 AM Page 45
Bad Piggies
$0.99, Rovio Mobile Ltd.
HHHHH
A fresh take on the Angry Bird franchise, but still an addicting
experience!
Angry Birds Star Wars
$0.99, Rovio Mobile Ltd.
HHHHH
Star Wars fans will have a blast as the Angry Birds travel to a
galaxy far, far away.
Angry Birds
Free, Rovio Mobile
HHHHH
Hurl birds and pigs through the air.
Angry Birds Spce
Free, Rovio Mobile
HHHHH
In this edition of Angry Birds, developer Rovio takes the classic
pig bashing gameplay, mixing it with zero gravity action, new
birds and new superpowers to deliver its best so far.
Rayman Jungle Run
$2.99, Ubisoft
HHHHH
Explore new words, unlock new powers and battle new enemies
on your way to victory.
Punch Quest
Free, Rocketcat Games
HHHHH
Simple, yet addictive gameplay has players going toe-to-toe with
skeletons, zombies, cyclops and riding dinosaurs.
Prince of Persia Classic
$0.99 - $2.99, Ubisoft
HHHHH
Relive the adventures of a young Persian hero, who traverses cas-
tles and battles swordsmen in search of the young princess.
Wreck-it Ralph
$0.99, Disney
HHHHH
Three challenging arcade games to enjoy based on the hit Disney
movie.
Nutty Fluffies Rollercoaster
$0.99, Ubisoft
HHHHH
Your goal is simplesafely deliver a bunch of stuffed animals
from the beginning to the end of a wild rollercoaster ride.
GAME APPLICATIONS
APP
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BUYERS GUIDE
2 0 1 3 U L T I M AT E A P P B U Y E R S G U I D E 2 0 1 3 U L T I M AT E A P P B U Y E R S G U I D E
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APPS_1309_BUYERSGUIDE 6/17/13 1:40 AM Page 46
Preschool Educational Games
225 Kid Outdoor Games
$0.99, Paidotribo
HHHHH
Search for fun games to play based on the materials you have
on-hand and the amount of time you want to spend playing.
Bug Games by Busy Bee Studios
$0.99, Busy Bee Studios
HHHHH
With four different games, your children will learn and practice
phonics, numbers, pattern matching, and musical melodies.
Find Them All: Dinosaurs
$1.99, Knbmedia
HHHHH
Dinosaur-related activities and games that teach kids about
dinosaurs and their habitats.
First Words Animals Kids
Free, AZB Soft
HHHHH
A simple and fun game that will appeal to your preschoolers as
they learn to spell the names of familiar animals.
Monster Hunt The Memory Game
Free, Innovative Mobile Apps
HHHHH
Featuring bright little monsters that you search for, kids have so
much fun they wont even realize theyre learning.
Grandmas Garden
$0.99 - $1.99, Fairlady Media/Noodlecake Studios Inc.
HHHHH
Kids will enjoy helping Grandma in the garden as they match,
color, and count vegetables.
Traffic Rush
$0.99, Donut Games
HHHHH
Your goal is to get as many vehicles as possible safely through
the intersection without a collision.
When Balls Drop
$1.99, Joseph Neuman
HHHHH
A mellow game that will keep you glued to the screen as you try
to get the bouncing ball in one of five different point slots.
Doodle Jump
$0.99, GameHouse
HHHHH
Guide a jumping green creature equipped with springs, jet packs
and other gear.
Jetpack Joyride
Free, Halfbrick Studios
HHHHH
Strap on a jetpack and navigate through countless fun-filled lev-
els. Avoid obstacles like electricity fields, lasers and missiles, com-
pleting missions and collecting coins along the way.
Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim
$1.99, HeroCraft LTD
HHHHH
Rule your own fairytale kingdom, defeating enemies and conquer-
ing new lands in this exciting real-time strategy roleplaying game.
Ninjump
Free, Backflip Studios
HHHHH
Youre a strong and proud ninja.
PAC-MAN
$1.99, Namco Networks
HHHHH
Bring the original video game hero to your smartphone.
Plants vs. Zombies
$0.99, Electronic Arts
HHHHH
Use a variety of weapon-laden plants to protect your home from
the Zombie hoard.
Snail Mail
$0.99, Sandlot Games
HHHHH
Race Turbo Snail on an intergalactic runway picking up packages
for him to deliver.
Stickman Golf
Free - $0.99, Noodlecake Studios
HHHHH
Test your golf skills by hitting the ball over mountains, bodies of
water, down slopes, through trees and so much more.
Tap Tap Revenge 4
Free - $2.99, Tapulous
HHHHH
An addictive music gamefollow the on-screen arrows, as you
listen to your favorite artists and bands like Katy Perry, Linkin
Park and Lady Gaga.
2 0 1 3 U L T I M AT E A P P B U Y E R S G U I D E 2 0 1 3 U L T I M AT E A P P B U Y E R S G U I D E
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Memory Fun
Free, Karmic Apps
HHHHH
Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone
A challenging and addictive game to train your
memory capacity, focus and concentration with an easy to use
interface, multiple levels of difficulty, and a wide selection of
card images.
Cogs
Free - $2.99, Chillingo/Lazy 8 Studios
HHHHH
Build increasingly complex machines with gears, pipes, and wheels.
Flow Free
Free, Big Duck Games LLC
HHHHH
Connect matching colors with pipe to create a flow, but the chal-
lenge comes when pipes cross or overlap, causing them to break.
Drop7
$2.99, Zynga
HHHHH
A highly addictive game where you drop discs numbered 1
through 7 into a grid, forming a chain to nab bonuses and stay
alive.
Quell
$1.99, FallenTreeGames
HHHHH
This has to be one of the most soothing games youll ever play.
Jigsaw Mansion 2 Gold
$0.99, SGN
HHHHH
Multi-touch controls, 360-degree piece rotation and more than
20 new, original paintings carved into challenging puzzles.
Relix
Free, Mark Mengelt
HHHHH
Tapping and sliding pieces to match tiles, with challenging
features to make each of the 50 levels increasingly difficult.
Sprinkle Free
Free, Mediocre
HHHHH
Use your crane-mounted water cannon to put out fires, activate
traps, and move boulders and ice blocks.
Draw Something Free
Free, OMGPOP
HHHHH
Put your artistic skills to the real test. Draw something and your
friend (or a random user from around the world) must guess
what it is.
Puzzle Games
77 Logic Games Time Killers
Free, Andrea Sabbatini
HHHHH
Exercise your brain with 70 logic games and be relaxed and
challenged at the same time.
Jigsaw Puzzle
Free, Critical Hit Software, LLC
HHHHH
Use one of the 60 preloaded puzzles or turn one of your own
photos into a jigsaw puzzle to solve.
Green Eggs and Ham - Dr. Seuss
$3.99, Oceanhouse Media
HHHHH
Children learn picture and word association as animated words
are spoken when your child touches each picture of this classic
Dr. Seuss tale.
Kids Numbers and Math
$2.99, intellijoy
HHHHH
Keeps your kids entertained and excited while learning about
numbers.
Preschool and Kindergarten Learning
Games
Free, Kevin Bradford
HHHHH
Your child will learn letters, spelling, shapes and colors, addition
and subtraction, figure out puzzles and play memory games.
TallyTots
$0.99, Spinlight Studio
HHHHH
Your kids will practice counting, receive positive verbal
reinforcement, and encounter fun surprises along the way as
they learn to count to 20.
Word Wagon - by Duck Duck Moose
$1.99, Duck Duck Moose
HHHHH
Spells words by placing the letters for each object shown in the
correct order and earn stars to build animal-shaped constellations.
Zoo Train
$1.99, Busy Bee Studios
HHHHH
Word building meets city building in this fun app.
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Word Genius Lite
Free, Catnip Media
HHHHH
Find as many words as you can in a letter scramble.
Word Seek
Free, Idealix Inc.
HHHHH
Race against the clock as you find words on a 4x4 letter grid.
Hangman Free
Free, Optime Software LLC
HHHHH
With such a wide variety of choices, the whole family will be
learning while having fun playing this classic game.
Word Trick Free
Free, Outplay Entertainment LTD
HHHHH
A crossword-style game with trick tiles to increase your score.
Wordfeud
Free, Bertheussen IT
HHHHH
Play up to 30 games simultaneously, against 8 million of your
closest opponents.
wurdle
$1.99, Semi Secret Software LLC
HHHHH
A fast-paced word game perfect for trips in the car or any time
your kids need a little mind-stimulating entertainment.
Word Games
Word Search +
Free, Sarah Pierce/Megafauna software
HHHHH
This app provides you with word 16 categories. Each word list
teaches you more about subjects such as food and wine, science,
sports, and geography.
Bird's the Word
Free - $0.99, SGN
HHHHH
Create words from random letters while birds swoop in and hin-
der your progress.
Bookworm
$1.99, PopCap
HHHHH
Search for words in a grid of letters.
War of Words
Free, Wolf Studios LLC
5 stars
Crossword puzzle-style game with bombs.
Wheel of Fortune
$2.99, Sony Pictures Television
HHHHH
Transports you into the world of the famous game show.
Cash Cow
$0.99 - $3.95, Plasmaworks LLC
HHHHH
Touch a bunch of coins that equal 5, 10 or 25 cents and then add
up that bunch into a dollar.
Domino Run
Free, Shiny Egg Studios
HHHHH
Stack dominos and topple them over in 70 fun-filled levels
replay levels and try to beat your time.
Wheres My Water?
$0.99, Disney
HHHHH
Swampy the Alligator wants to take a showertoo bad the other
alligators have blocked his water!
Geared
Free - $2.99, PlayfulArt/Bryan Mitchell Games
HHHHH
The object of this game is to line up four different sizes of gears
and connect them to one another.
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Tabletop Games
Battleship
Free - $2.99, Electronic Arts
HHHHH
Destroy the enemy fleet before they destroy you!
Clue
$0.99 - 3.99, Electronic Arts
HHHHH
The classic detective game on your phone and tablet.
LIFE
$0.99 - $6.99, Electronic Arts
HHHHH
Navigate through life in this classic board game.
Flashcards+
Free, Connor Zwick
HHHHH
When youre getting ready for that important exam, you can
make your own flashcards and study them while youre on the go.
Free Graphing Calculator
Free, William Jockusch
HHHHH
With over 100 math functions, the graphing calculator is a clone
of the TI-83 that lets you input data and make graphs and matri-
ces to your hearts content.
Math Pack Flashcards
Free - $0.99, Tititaa
HHHHH
Flashcards cover beginning skills like addition, subtraction, multi-
plication, and division all the way to more difficult skills like
geometry and algebra.
Math Ref
$0.99 - $1.99, Happy Maau Studios LLC
HHHHH
This app functions as a math and physics formula study guide
with figures, tips, graphs, and examples.
MiniMod Reading for Details
$8.99, E Skills Learning LLC
HHHHH
Read a passage of text based on three different reading levels
and answer questions to test your comprehension.
Molecules
Free, Sunset Lake Software
HHHHH
This app allows you to view and manipulate 3D models of differ-
ent molecules.
myHomework Student Planner
Free, Rodrigo Neri/instin LLC
HHHHH
Track your classes and assignments with a calendar and set up
homework reminders.
NASA App
Free, NASA
HHHHH
Great for kids to explore all things space related.
Mathmateer
$0.99, Dan Russell-Pinson
HHHHH
Kids will have a blast learning math as they build their own rock-
ets and fly them to the stars.
EDUCATION APPLICATIONS
Educational Tools
Quick Homework Help
Free, Brightstorm
HHHHH
Select a subject and the app shows tips, videos, and sample
problems to help lead students on their way to success.
Math Workout
Free, Brain Training/Workout Games
HHHHH
Daily brain training exercises and math drills designed to
enhance mental arithmetic.
Blackboard Mobile
Free, Blackboard Inc.
HHHHH
This app allows students and teachers to view course listings,
grades, discussion forums, post announcements, and so on.
Britannica Kids
$4.99, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
HHHHH
With a wide range of subjects available, Britannica Kids is
brought to you with the outstanding quality that Encyclopaedia
Britannica is known for.
Jenga
$0.99 - $2.99, NaturalMotion
HHHHH
Build a virtual structure with wooden blocks.
Monopoly
$0.99 - $9.99, Electronic Arts
HHHHH
The fast-dealing property trading game in smartphone format.
Risk
HHHHH
Try your hand at world domination.
Stratego
$6.99, Keesing Games BV
HHHHH
Capture your opponents flag with strategic moves.
Trivial Pursuit
HHHHH
Test your knowledge of all things trivial.
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College Confidential
Free, Hobsons Inc.
HHHHH
Get the truth about a college by tapping in to this apps 430,000
member community.
SAT Vocab Challenge by The Princeton
Review
$4.99, Modality Inc.
HHHHH
This app can help you with the vocab you need to knowand
uses quick tips to help you remember what the words mean.
College Score Matcher
Free, Rolzer
HHHHH
Matches your students SAT scores with schools to which they
qualify.
SAT Math
$4.99, honeHead
HHHHH
From flash cards to practice tests, SAT Math helps you thoroughly
prepare.
GradeWizard
$1.99, Jarcas Software
HHHHH
Android
Calculate your own GPA by entering your grades into
the GradeWizard app.
iCollege Guide
$0.99, Dorm Mom LLC
HHHHH
From the top colleges offering merit-based aid to those with the
most students living on campus, this app is loaded with data
from the U.S. Department of Education.
Quick Calendar
Free, Jim Blackler
HHHHH
Between college visits, essay deadlines, SAT testing, and senior
year homework, a must-have for staying on top of your dead-
lines.
MyMajors
Free, Moblico
HHHHH
Enter your criteria and take the apps quizzes to discover which
schools meet your needs.
College Research Apps
All College Application Essays
$4.99, All College Essays
HHHHH
Select one of the 600 colleges listed and youll find out the appli-
cation essay topic requirements, due date, and word length
updated with each application season.
Petersons College Guide
Free, Petersons
HHHHH
Jump directly to the colleges you want more information about,
or enter your search criteria and let the app suggest schools for
you.
Solar System Explorer
$1.99, Neil Burlock
HHHHH
Take an interactive 3D trip through the Solar System.
SparkNotes
Free, SparkNotes LLC
HHHHH
Link to the most popular study guides for literature, Shakespeare,
poetry, philosophy, drama, short stories and more.
Spelling Bee
$0.99, Socratica LLC
HHHHH
Study a word, read the definition, hear it pronounced using text-
to-speech and take a quiz to test your knowledge.
Star Walk
$2.99, Vito Technology Inc.
HHHHH
This astral telescope adapts its view to wherever youre pointing
and highlights both constellations and planets.
Tic Tac Math
$1.99, IPMG Publishing
HHHHH
Combines the fun and familiar strategy game of Tic-Tac-Toe with
solving math equations.
Today in History
$1.99, Down-Shift Inc.
HHHHH
Teaches kids all kinds of interesting facts by showing all of the
major events that happened in history on that date.
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News & Magazine Apps
Flipboard
Free, Flipboard Inc.
HHHHH
Turn personalized digital "pages" of your favorite publications
and social media sites.
PressReader
Free, NewspaperDirect
HHHHH
Access to 2,100 newspapers from 95 countries in 54 languages.
The Week
Free, The Week Publications, Inc.
HHHHH
Commentary and analysis online from the popular print magazine.
US Newspapers
Free, Baris Efe
HHHHH
Read major US newspapers and news sites online.
eReader Apps
Audible
Free, Audible, Inc.
HHHHH
Allows you to listen to your latest bookgreat for commuters.
Audiobooks - 2,947 classics for free
Free, Spreadsong, Inc.
HHHHH
Thousands of public-content classics for free with narration
included.
Goodreads
Free, Goodreads
HHHHH
Goodreads connects you to your friends to see what theyre read-
ing and what they recommend.
Spotify
Free, Spotify
HHHHH
Streaming radio with a library of over 15 million songs.
xPiano
Free, cyandroid
HHHHH
A basic, 4-octave piano keyboard on your touchscreen Android
phone.
MEDIA APPLICATIONS
Music Apps
BandNamer
$0.99, Handy Little Apps
HHHHH
Select your bands genre (Garage Rock, Emo, Hip-Hop,
Metal/Hardcore, and Electro-Pop) and Band Name does the rest.
Bloom
$3.99, Opal Limited
HHHHH
From music legend Brian Eno, create your own soundscapes
based on 12 different available moods by tapping on areas of the
colored screen.
Chordbot
$4.99, Lars Careliusson
HHHHH
Musical accompaniment app that allows you to create and play
chord progressions.
Concert Vault
Free, Wolfgang's Vault
HHHHH
Home to legendary concert promoter Bill Graham's massive
collection of live recordings. Listen to a wide range of streaming
concerts.
MicDroid
Free, intervigil
HHHHH
Automatic pitch correction and on-the-fly pitch correction
simply hit record, sing into your phone and the app corrects the
pitch.
Mobile Metronome
Free, Gabriel Simes
HHHHH
An excellent free metronome for musicians of all levels.
Pandora
Free, Pandora
HHHHH
Create and listen to personalized radio stations.
Shazam
Free, Shazam Entertainment
HHHHH
Music identification servicerecognizes songs via your smart-
phones built-in microphone.
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Finding Nemo - My Puzzle Book
$0.99, Disney
HHHHH
Improve your childs problem-solving skills by completing inter-
active puzzles while following the adorable Nemo through his
undersea adventure.
The Lorax - Dr. Seuss
$4.99, Oceanhouse Media
HHHHH
Start with an auto-play option that plays like a movie for younger
kids, and progress to a read-it-aloud option that allows kids to
record their own voices for playback.
My Little Pony- Twilight Sparkle,
Teacher for a Day
$3.99, Ruckus Media Group
HHHHH
Whether your child is a brony or a female My Little Pony fan,
this interactive app will keep them occupied for hours.
Wheels on the Bus
$0.99, Duck Duck Moose Design
HHHHH
You can read and sing along to the popular Wheels on the Bus
song in five languages and even record you and your child
singing so you can play it back later.
Sports Media Apps
ESPN Radio
Free, ESPN Inc.
HHHHH
Instantly listen live to over 17 ESPN radio stations nationwide and
40 exclusive podcasts.
ESPN Scorecenter
Free, ESPN Inc.
HHHHH
Scores and news from TVs leading sports network.
MLS MatchDay
Free, MLS
HHHHH
MatchDay brings the excitement of Major League Soccer (MLS) to
your smartphone.
NHL GameCenter
Free, NHL Interactive Cyberenterprises
HHHHH
The ultimate hockey fans dream appwatch live games and
video highlights so you never miss a moment of the hard-hitting
action.
Google Play Books
Free, Google Inc.
HHHHH
An eReader app that allows you access to your current titles
while on the go.
iScroll
Free, Appsessions LLC
HHHHH
Perfect for students of any age, use this app to have narration
synchronized with your text.
Kindle
HHHHH
Kindle is the crme de la crme of all eReading apps.
Kobo
Free, Kobo Inc.
HHHHH
Kobo goes the extra mile in adding social networking features to
your eReading experience.
Nook
Free, Barnes and Noble
HHHHH
Barnes & Nobles eReader with a more vibrant interface than oth-
ers offer.
Overdrive Media Console Library
eBooks and Audiobooks
Free, OverDrive, Inc.
HHHHH
On-the-go access to eBooks and audiobooks from your local
library.
Wattpad
Free, Wattpad.com
HHHHH
Discover an unlimited amount of free stories from new writers
that you wont find on Kindle or Nook.
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Interactive Storybook Apps
PBS Super WHY
$2.99, PBS Kids and Out of the Blue Enterprises LLC
HHHHH
Kids can play using each of the four main characters from the tel-
evision program as they journey through a story line that they
control.
WatchESPN
Free, ESPN Inc.
HHHHH
Live sports programming from ESPN on your mobile device. A
cable subscription with ESPN included is required.
WNBA Center Court
Free, National Basketball Association
HHHHH
Watch live streaming games, view the latest scores, and check
statistics, news and photos of your favorite team.
TV, Video & Movie Apps
ABC Player
Free, ABC Digital
HHHHH
Watch your favorite ABC shows.
B-Movies
Free, Bubble Pop Software
HHHHH
Connects you to the Internet Archive, home of free content
including such classics as The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, Plan 9
from Outer Space and Night of the Living Dead.
CNN Mobile
Free, CNN
HHHHH
Never miss breaking news againbreaking news notifications as
well as CNN Radio.
Fandango Movies
Free, Fandango
HHHHH
Pay a small fee to reserve movie theater tickets.
GetGlue
Free, AdaptiveBlue
HHHHH
This social network for movies, TV, music, and books allows you
to see what your friends like and recommend, while you add
your own ratings.
HBO Go
Free, Home Box Office, Inc.
HHHHH
Watch HBOs acclaimed series when youre away from the
houseso long as your satellite or cable network gives you
access to this brand new app.
Hulu Plus by Hulu
Free, Hulu
HHHHH
Watch thousands of classic and current TV shows and movies on
your smartphoneHulu Plus subscription required.
IMDB
Free, IMDB
HHHHH
Exhaustive collection of movie and TV information. Also includes
theater times and trailers.
Justin.TV
$2.99 - $4.99, Justin.TV
HHHHH
The Justin.TV app allows you to view live video streams created
by other users.
NBC
Free, NBC Universal, Inc.
HHHHH
Watch your favorite NBC shows.
Redbox
Free, Redbox Automated Retail LLC
HHHHH
Reserve tonights movie from your phone and pick it up at your
local Redbox kiosk.
RunPee
$0.99, polyGeek
HHHHH
Run Pee will tell you when its safe to make a dash to the bath-
roomas in, a boring part is coming up.
SPB TV
Free, SPB TV AG
HHHHH
Watch over 150 live TV channels from over 20 countries around
the world, including news and sports.
TV.com
Free, CBS Interactive, Inc.
HHHHH
Your favorite shows from CBS wherever you go.
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OUTDOOR LIVING APPLICATIONS
Weather Apps
Surfline
Free, Surfline/Wavetrak, Inc.
HHHHH
Surfline will keep you up-to-date on the weather forecast and
surf reports for thousands of the best surf spots worldwide.
Ski & Snow Report
Free, SkiReport.com
HHHHH
Find all the ski areas in your location and the slopes with the best
snowfall.
AccuWeather
Free, AccuWeather.com
HHHHH
This app provides detailed hourly and 15-day forecasts. The
Weather Alarms warn you of any potential snow, ice, rain, wind
speed/gusts in your area.
Photography Apps
LifePics
Free, LifePics Photo App
HHHHH
LifePics app allows users to upload photos and order prints from
more than 13,000 specialty camera and photography stores.
PostalPix Photo Prints
Free, Postal Pix
HHHHH
When it comes to ordering standard or square photo prints on
your iPhone, you cant do much better than PostalPix.
Snapfish
Free, Hewlett Packard
HHHHH
Upload photos to the website in a snap (heh), give access to oth-
ers to view your online albums, and view friends albums on your
phone.
mymosaic
$0.99, MindTrip Studios
HHHHH
Instantly transforms your photos into stunning mosaics.
PicsArt
Free, PicsArt
HHHHH
A brilliant photo-editing app thats proof you dont need to pay a
dime for quality apps.
Pocketbooth
$1.99, Project Box
HHHHH
Project Box brings the photo booth experience to your smartphone.
Pixlr-o-matic
Free, Autodesk Inc.
HHHHH
Finish your photos in style over 100 effects, 280 overlays and
200 different borders.
Photo Editor by Aviary
Free, Aviary
HHHHH
A simple way to let your photos shineedit photos in a few
quick, easy steps.
ComicBook!
$1.99, 3DTOPO Inc.
HHHHH
Now you can transform your average, every day photos into a
comic book superhero or villain.
Photosynth
Free, Microsoft Corp.
HHHHH
The only app that lets you capture the world in 360 degrees.
Adobe Photoshop Express
Free, Adobe Systems
HHHHH
Bring the powerful photo-editing PC software to your smart-
phone.
Photo Editor Ultimate
Free, Ice Cold Apps
HHHHH
Easily edit your photos in seconds and share them with your
loved ones.
PicSay
Free, Shinycore
HHHHH
Youll have a laugh personalizing your photos by adding text and
decorating them with hair, beards and other goofy stickers.
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Living Earth Clock & Weather
$1.99, Radiantlabs LLC
HHHHH
Observe live sunrise and sunset borders around the world, view
snow and ice coverage as well as other seasonal changes around
the globe.
Outside Visual Weather Forecast
$2.99, Robocat
HHHHH
Weather conditions are color-coded, giving you a quick read of
whats happening outside. Manual updates are available simply
by shaking your phone.
Radar Now!
Free, USNaviguide LLC
HHHHH
The most current National Weather Service (NWS) enhanced
radar base images along with current weather conditions and
storm indicators.
The Weather Channel
Free, The Weather Channel
HHHHH
This hearty weather app has everything you need to stay steps
ahead of the weather.
WeatherBug/WeatherBug Elite
Free - $1.99, Earth Networks
HHHHH
Now you can access real-time weather info from around the
world using this apps links to 10,000 weather stations in North
America and thousands of others worldwide.
WeatherEye
Free, The Weather Network
HHHHH
WeatherEye provides detailed weather conditions, and short-term,
hourly and long-term forecasts as well as severe weather alerts.
EPAs SunWise UV Index
Free, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
HHHHH
Provides hourly forecasts of ultraviolet radiation intensity as well
as precautions.
Suntan Watcher
$0.99, David Tessitore
HHHHH
Alerts you when you need to turn over, reapply lotion and check
on your loved ones.
Allergy Alert
Free, Pollen.com
HHHHH
Track the air quality and allergen levels for your exact location
and plan ahead with the apps forecasts.
Allergy Track
Free, PLB Melody/Stallergenes
HHHHH
Allergy Track helps you measure your allergy symptoms and their
intensity.
State of the Air
Free, American Lung Association
HHHHH
Get a real-time and forecasted EPA Air Quality Index for your loca-
tion, including both ozone and particulate pollution counts.
OSHA Heat Safety Tool
Free, OSHA
HHHHH
Calculate the heat index for your location and provides protec-
tive measures you can take to prevent heat-related illness.
Heat Index & Relative Humidity
$0.99, Verosocial Studio
HHHHH
Useful when youre planning to exercise or work outdoors, this
app measures air temperature and relative humidity to calculate
the heat index.
Camping & Hiking Apps
AllTrails Hiking and Biking
Free, AllTrails, Inc.
HHHHH
While most phones lose their signals once youre out in the
wilderness, no signal is no problem since you can save a trail to
your phone ahead of time.
Backpacking Planner Checklist
$0.99, Little Apps
HHHHH
This backpacking checklist/planner app comes pre-loaded with
250+ backpacking trip related items.
Trimble GPS Hunt Pro
$4.99, Trimble Navigation
HHHHH
For the serious hunter, this app contains topographical maps,
waypoint marking, and journaling.
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56 Becketts Guide to Phone Apps
Leafsnap
Free, Columbia University
HHHHH
Identify tree species from photographs of their leaves.
My Fishing Advisor
Free, MyFishingAdvisor.com/Pishtech LLC
HHHHH
Plug in a few details about your fishing trip and this app presents
you with the strategy you need to land the big one.
MyNature Animal Tracks
$4.99 - $6.99, MyNature Inc.
HHHHH
For both hunters and animal lovers, this standalone reference
guide identifies what's lurking in your neck of the woods.
Tiny Flashlight + LED
Free, Nikolay Ananiev
HHHHH
Light up your life by using your phone's screen or its LED light.
Built-in controls let you change brightness, color, and even dis-
play warning- and police-style lights.
Camp Checklist
$0.99, Jimbl
HHHHH
If youre a list maker then this is a must-havea preloaded
camping checklist with a huge array of items.
Woodalls RV & Camping Copilot
Free, Waterfield Technologies
HHHHH
Contains 12,000 campgrounds and RV parks across North
America to help find just the spot youre looking for.
US Army Survival Guide
Free, Milodroid
HHHHH
Based on the US Army Survival Manual, this guide can help you
do anything from identifying a venomous snake to sending a
smoke signal.
ViewRanger Outdoors GPS
Free, Augmentra
HHHHH
Turn your phone into a complete outdoor navigation tool
whether youre camping, hiking or cycling.
Take Ten to the Greater Outdoors
Free, Columbia Sportswear Company
HHHHH
Columbia Sportswear developed this app to introduce users to
the Ten Essential Groupsincluding medical, navigation, sun
protection, tools and fire
Camp Recipes!
$1.99, The App Sack
HHHHH
A compilation of over 700 recipes from campers all over the country.
How to Tie Knots
Free, Sergey Burlakov
HHHHH
Offers animated step-by-step instructions to walk you through
how to tie over 40 different knots.
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Cycling Apps
Bike Gears
$1.99, Bootstrap Apps
HHHHH
This app gets down and dirty with bike gear ratios, gain ratios,
sprockets, fixing skid patches, and more lingo for those in the know.
Bike Repair
$3.99, Atomic Softwares
HHHHH
Fix a flat, bleed your brakes, or un-chink a chain with this
invaluable app.
Cyclemeter GPS Cycling Computer
$1.99 - $4.99, Abvio Inc.
HHHHH
Customizable audio feedback during your cycle trip fills you in on
your stats, and tells you where your competition is when you're
in a racing frame of mind.
EveryTrail
Free, GlobalMotion Media
HHHHH
Find new biking trails right around the corner.
MapMyRide GPS Cycling Riding
Free, MapMyFitness Inc.
HHHHH
Set your workout goals and watch your progress as you select
preplanned rides, or map your own.
Ride the City
$1.99 - $2.99, Ride the City
HHHHH
Maps the safest bike route while avoiding highways, busy streets,
steep hills, and other dangers.
SOCIALIZING APPLICATIONS
Social Networking Apps
Facebook
Free, Facebook
HHHHH
Keep in touch with all your Facebook friends with this free app.
Hoot Suite
Free, HootSuite
HHHHH
Manage multiple social media sites from one convenient app.
Twitter
Free, Twitter Inc.
HHHHH
Keep up with all the latest with this free app from the micro
blogging service.
Dating Apps
101 Relationship Tips
Free, Pazacta
HHHHH
A nice way to read about ideas to build, strengthen, and improve
your relationship.
Call Faker
Free, Rob Franz
HHHHH
Escape a bad date with this appset a time to receive a fake call
and then you can say, Im so sorry, but I really have to go. My
roommate is locked out of the apartment.
Conversation Starters
Free, SusaSoftX
HHHHH
Youll have all sorts of intriguing conversation starters that will
turn any dud of a date into something great.
Dating Ideas
$0.99, Creative Glance
HHHHH
Romantic date ideas: input your zip code, and you get ideas
involving cultural, outdoor, adventurous, romantic, and novel
categories.
FlirtMaps
Free, Neo Network
HHHHH
With this free app you can find all available singles in your area
displayed on a map.
Match.com
Free, Match.com LLC
HHHHH
This free application allows you to search for your love match
with relative ease.
PickUp Lines
Free, Swiss Codemonkeys
HHHHH
This app displays pick-up lines, including the All-Time Top based
on user votes.
PlentyOfFish
Free, PlentyOfFish
HHHHH
Join over 25-million users looking for their soul mate with this
popular dating app.
Phone Call Blocking Apps
Bad Decision Blocker
$0.99, John Genest
HHHHH
Prevents you from making outgoing calls that you might later
regret.
BlackList
Free, AntTek Inc.
HHHHH
Create a blacklist to block unwanted calls and text messages.
Call Blocker
Free, embware
HHHHH
Block unwanted calls and text messages.
Extreme Call Blocker
$5.99, GreyThinker
HHHHH
Hangs up an unwanted call, sends it straight to voicemail, or
mutes the call so it rings as normal for the caller and then goes to
voicemail.
Hide a Caller
$0.99, Smash Software LLC
HHHHH
Hide numbers that you don't want seen in your iPhone
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Cards
$2.99 - $4.99/printed postcard, Apple Inc.
HHHHH
For those special occasions when quality matters, this app
creates and mails folded greeting cards (not just postcards).
Text Messaging Apps
GO SMS Pro
Free, GO Dev Team
HHHHH
Makes texting more fun with emoticons, and fully integrated with
social networking websites like Facebookchat instantly
through Facebook chat.
Handcent SMS
Free, Handcent
HHHHH
Ehanced text messaging that lets you send and receive SMS and
MMS in style.
Tango
Free, Tango
HHHHH
Offers free text messaging, phone calls, and video chat between
other Tango members.
Email Apps
Gmail
Free, Google Inc.
HHHHH
Gmails convenience and robust design for the smartphone.
iPriorityMail
Free, Ahlquist Software
HHHHH
Manage your incoming mail and social networking messages all
from one convenient smartphone app.
K-9 Mail
Free, K-9 Dog Walkers
HHHHH
K-9 Mail is the kingpin of Android email and has all the features
youd ever want.
MailDroid
Free, Flipdog Solutions LLC
HHHHH
Spellchecking, custom signatures, and a powerful search engine
to quickly locate important email.
Info-Sharing Apps
Burst
Free, Burst.it LLC
HHHHH
Captures, stores, and organizes videos and lets you share videos
selectivelyyou even get to decide who can re-share.
Path
Free, Path Inc.
HHHHH
Photo- and video-sharing capabilities but limited to 150 social
connections making it a more intimate network.
NextCall
Free, Nazori
HHHHH
You decide how often you want to call someone and NextCall
sets up a schedule and reminders.
Red Stamp Cards
Free, Red Stamp Cards LLC
HHHHH
The go-to app for sending e-cards with 400 card designs with
customizable features.
Find My Friends
Free, Apple Inc.
HHHHH
Send a request to a friend or relative and once they accept the
request, you can track their location and view it on a map.
Holiday Card Tracker
$2.99, christine reindl
HHHHH
Track when you send and receive cards from people in your
phone's Contacts list, and view your card mailing history from
past years.
Touchnote Postcards
$1.49/printed postcard, Touchnote LTD
HHHHH
Takes your digital image, turns it into a custom printed postcard
and sends it anywhere.
Postagram
$0.99/printed postcard, Sincerely Inc.
HHHHH
Create and send a printed postcard from images on your phone.
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SHOPPING APPLICATIONS
Digital Wallet Apps
eWallet
$9.99, Ilium Software
HHHHH
A one-stop app to organize and remember all of your
passwordsfrom online banking to personal identification
(PIN) numbers to email passwords.
PayPal Mobile
Free, PayPal
HHHHH
Make online purchases, instantly transfer money and locate near-
by businesses that accept PayPal.
Google Wallet
Free, Google
HHHHH
Keep all your credit cards, debit cards, offers, and rewards cards
at your fingertips.
Square Wallet
Free, Square
HHHHH
Enter all your credit card information and youre ready to go
shopping.
LevelUp
Free, SCVNGR
HHHHH
Converts your credit card information to QR codes, which mer-
chants scan with their own smartphones to accept payment.
Lemon Wallet
Free, Lemon
HHHHH
A different kind of digital walletnot only does it keep track of
the contents of your wallet, it also tracks your spending.
CardStar
Free, CardStar
HHHHH
This app allows you to store your reward card numbers and have
cashiers scan your bar codes directly from your phones screen.
Fashion & Clothing Apps
eBay Fashion
Free, eBay Inc.
HHHHH
Peruse designer trends and then tap an item to find similar
listings on eBay.
Feather Report
$0.99, MEDL Mobile
HHHHH
Short for Fashion + Weatheruse your locations weather report
to offer randomized outfit suggestions complete with links to
buy.
Fashion Sense
$1.99, Eighteen Twenty Consulting
HHHHH
Recommends particular looks based on your body type, and tells
you when you shouldnt waste your cash on an outfit that wont
flatter you.
MagicMirror Hair Styler
$2.99 - $3.24, Touch Multimedia
HHHHH
This app gives you the opportunity to find out how youd look in
a particular hairstyle before you plunk down your money.
POPSUGAR Shopping
Free, POPSUGAR Inc.
HHHHH
One-stop shopping for clothing, home decor, and kids & baby
categories from over 300 retailers.
Yoox.com
Free, Yoox.com
HHHHH
An app to help you find and buy fashions for every family member.
Zappos
Free, Zappos.com
HHHHH
Zappos sells clothing, bags, beauty products and, of course, shoes.
FastMall
Free, MindSmack LLC
HHHHH
The app can help you find your way around the shopping mall
and even find parking.
Yahoo! Mail
Free, Yahoo! Inc.
HHHHH
Your Yahoo! Address Book, your phone contacts, and Yahoo!
Messenger in one convenient app.
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FOOD & PARTY APPLICATIONS
Food & Drink Apps
AG Wine Guide
$2.99, Approach Guides LLC
HHHHH
Your complete wine store companion.
Beer Match: Beer, Food and Cheese
Pairings
$0.99, StoneRaven LLC
HHHHH
Beer Match pairs 31 beer styles with over 500 foods to help you
select a beer that always complements your food.
BeerCloud
Free, INsReady Inc.
HHHHH
BeerCloud is the essential app for beer lovers.
Cor.kz Wine Info
$1.99, Applied Ambiguities LLC
HHHHH
A smartphone sommelier.
Drinkspiration By Absolut
Free, The Absolut Company
HHHHH
Drinkspiration provides drink recommendations using classifica-
tions such as weather, location, time and the type of bar.
Harvest - Select the Best Produce
$1.99, Sean Murphy
HHHHH
Harvest contains extensive guidelines to help you select the best
produce available.
How to Cook Everything
$9.99, Culinate Inc.
HHHHH
Contains over 2,000 recipes, menu ideas and how-to illustrations
with built-in timers included in the recipe to guide you.
Mise En Place
$2.99, Derrick Schneider
HHHHH
Plan your dinner party prepping and cooking tasks to the minute
so you can make sure that your 6:00 p.m. dinner doesn't end up
more like a 7:00 p.m. dinner.
Mixology Drink Recipes
Free, Digital Outcrop
HHHHH
The Mixology app claims its the ultimate drink recipe and
bartending guide and with almost 8,000 drinks recipes and over
1,300 ingredients included, its hard to disagree.
Pair It
$4.99, Bandar Interactive
HHHHH
Comprehensive food and wine pairing guide.
Product & Gift Research Apps
ESRB Rating Search App
Free, Entertainment Software Rating Board
HHHHH
Feel safe when giving video game gifts to childrensnap a
photo of the game package or enter the game title, and you get
the rating summaries you need.
GoodGuide
Free, GoodGuide
HHHHH
If you have eco-conscious people in your life, the GoodGuide
mobile app will make gift-giving simpler by identifying, rating
and reviewing products for eco-friendliness.
Grocery IQ
Free, Coupons.com
HHHHH
Make grocery lists by text entry, voice or barcode scans. App
instantly organizes your list into aisles.
ShopSavvy
Free, ShopSavvy Inc.
HHHHH
Scans barcodes, providing reviews and price comparisons
among 20,000 different retailers as well as real-time pricing and
availability among thousands of online merchants.
Gift Ideas
Free, Rosu Gabriel
HHHHH
With a constantly growing database of gift ideas, this app offers
you personalized presents for every occasion.
El Gifto - Gift Ideas Guru
Free, IBKR Analytics LLC
HHHHH
Enter the gift recipient's personality type, their relationship to
you and other details to get creative, appropriate gift ideas from
this app.
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SeatingPlanner+
$4.99, Gobee Labs
HHHHH
Virtually plan your big party's table seating so that everyone has
a place to park and those mortal enemies won't have to glare at
each other from across the table.
Party Planning List
$0.99, Jimbl
HHHHH
Pre-loaded with tasks that apply to virtually all types of parties,
so you dont have to type out every single task.
Party Planner
$0.99, PartyPlannerApp.com
HHHHH
Enter basic information about the type of party, and the app tells
you how much to purchase of each supply itemfrom ice and
cups to garnishes.
Event Planning Tools 2.0
$0.99, Party Aficionado
HHHHH
Packed with loads of useful functions, this app keeps your
budget in check while planning your partys design.
Bar & Restaurant Apps
Happy Hour Finder
Free, Happy Hour Finder, Inc
HHHHH
A great app for finding all the details on happy hours happening
close to your current location.
Citysearch
Free, Citysearch Mobile
HHHHH
Citysearch has local listings and reviews of restaurants, bars, and
just about any other business you can think of.
DrinkOwl
Free, Great Owl Technologies
HHHHH
DrinkOwl currently offers drink specials for 75 cities
(and counting).
LocalEats
$0.99, Magellan Press Inc.
HHHHH
Points you to the best local restaurants in over 50 major US cities,
as well as other local favorites in smaller cities and towns. Over
15,000 restaurants included.
Sushipedia
Free, Tokiolabs LLC
HHHHH
Sushipedia contains an encyclopedia with over 200 sushi entries,
including full color photographs and detailed descriptions.
Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner
Free, Allrecipes.com
HHHHH
Click on what type of meal youre making (dessert, main dish,
etc.), the ingredients you have, and how much time you want to
spend cooking, and the app will show you the matching recipes.
GrillTime
$1.99, Weagle
HHHHH
GrillTime calculates recommended grilling times to give you
perfect timing from flip to finish.
Webers On The Grill
$4.99, Weber-Stephen Products
HHHHH
Gives you instant access to over 250 of Webers tried-and-true
recipes, from appetizers to desserts with lots of marinades, rubs,
and main courses in between.
Omaha Steaks Steak Time
Free, Omaha Steaks International
HHHHH
Get access to over 100 recipes organized by cut, and boost your
grilling know-how with the Steak 101 instructional video series.
Grill-it!
$0.99, Sluice
HHHHH
This offering from the folks at the online magazine Grilling
Companion offers step-by-step instructions for producing a slew
of grilled delicacies.
Party Planning Apps
Evite
Free, Evite
HHHHH
This popular website brings its invitation finesse to your smart-
phone so you can manage guest lists on the go.
Phrase Party! (Catch It)
$1.99, iParty Mobile
HHHHH
Split your guests into two teams and play a game of hot potato.
The team who has the phone when the time runs out loses.
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Travel & Navigation Applications
Automobile Apps
Rev
$39.99, DevToaster, LLC
HHHHH
Monitors real-time vehicle data and can tell you vital details
about how your car is operating, including engine temperature
and actual speed and RPMs, revealing any inaccuracies in your
instruments.
Goby
Free, Goby Technologies
HHHHH
With more than 350 categories of things to do, and more than 6
million events across the U.S., the Goby goldfish will simply not
allow you to be bored.
Happy Houred
Free, Appsolute Media
HHHHH
The search interface lets you look for nearby drink deals or
search by picking your poison, whether its wine, beer, cocktails,
or pubs with grub.
Karaoke Loop
Free, Entourage Entertainment
HHHHH
Find Karaoke shows in your area.
Thrillist
Free, Thrillist
HHHHH
Thrillist brings you hand-picked local restaurants, bars, clubs, and
stores in 14 US cities.
UrbanDaddy
Free, UrbanDaddy
HHHHH
Select which area of the city you prefer, your companion (clients,
mistress), personality type (old and stodgy, from out of town)
and desired atmosphere (next to a fireplace, around hipsters).
Urbanspoon
Free, Urbanspoon
HHHHH
Urbanspoon is fantastic for folks who cant make up their minds
where to eat and the slot machine-style shake feature is perfect
for selecting restaurants at random.
Harrys Lap Timer
$8.99, Harald Schlangmann
HHHHH
Ideal for the automotive enthusiast who enjoys participating in
autocross or track events, this app will give you great information,
including data on where you drove fastest, where you slowed
down, and how quickly you completed your fastest lap.
EZ Care
Free, MobileAppWerx
HHHHH
Tells you when the recommended service intervals are for your spe-
cific make and model, including when to change your oil, when
your brake pads should be evaluated, and how often you should
have your air filters replaced.
AutoGeekOnline
Free, Autogeek.net
HHHHH
Expert advice about detailing your car inside and out, as well as the
best products to use on your cars paint, leather seats, wheels and
windows.
CarBuzz
Free, Wapit, Ltd.
HHHHH
Nonstop news about the latest in the automotive field with pre-
views of new models, photos of upcoming introductions and tech-
nical specifications of various car styles.
Car Locator
$3.99, Edward Kim
HHHHH
Photograph the location of your car when you park and later you
can look at a satellite image that shows your location and your cars
location.
DriveSafe.ly
Free, iSpeech Inc.
HHHHH
Uses text-to-speech functionality so your incoming text messages
and emails are read to you aloud while you drive.
GasBuddy
Free, GasBuddy Organization Inc.
HHHHH
Find the cheapest gas prices wherever you happen to be. Beloved
by cab drivers.
INRIX Traffic
Free, INRIX Inc.
HHHHH
INRIX Traffic gives you real-time traffic conditions, complete with
information on wrecks, construction and other delays.
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iWrecked - Auto Accident Assistant
Free, Vurgood Applications
HHHHH
Record all crash information and add photos to create an
accident report.
PhantomALERT
Free + $29.99 for 1 Year Subscription, PhantomALERT Inc.
HHHHH
With the use of driver generated databases, this app alerts you to
red light cameras, speed traps and DUI checkpoints.
RepairPal: Auto Repair Expert
Free, RepairPal
HHHHH
Helps you get accurate repair estimates based on your location
and includes customer reviews of repair shops in the area.
Speedbump
Free ($9.99 monthly subscription required),
WirelessESP
HHHHH
Monitor your teens driving habits and location and youll receive
an email or text notification if the speed limits you set are
exceeded.
Navigation Apps
Beat the Traffic
Free, Triangle Software LLC
HHHHH
View traffic maps and click on roads to see speeds and any inci-
dents. Up to two hours of traffic predictions, weather informa-
tion, and even traffic camera images in over 34 cities.
Magellan RoadMate North America
$59.99, Magellan
HHHHH
The same turn-by-turn guidance as other navigation apps, but
youll have three voice options, in-app music control, and con-
nectivity to Yelp!
MotionX GPS Drive
$0.99, MotionX
HHHHH
Simplified menu interface. You can also purchase a Live Voice
Guidance with real-time navigation package for $9.99 (regularly
$24.99).
Navigon North America
$59.99, Garmin
HHHHH
Precise spoken announcements, live traffic updates, and lane
assistanceplus quarterly map updates for at least two years.
TeleNav GPS Navigator
Free, TeleNav Inc.
HHHHH
How to get to your destination with vibrant maps, audio alerts,
and even some bonuses such as Facebook check-ins, cheap gas
searches, local restaurant locations and more.
TomTom US & Mexico
$59.99 - $65.99, TomTom
HHHHH
Unique to TomTom is the IQ Routes technology, which takes into
account rush hour, traffic lights, and even shopping crowds.
Waze
Free, Waze
HHHHH
When youre on the go and dont need directions, this social app
allows you to see what other drivers are encounteringsuch as
traffic, accidents, and police sightings.
Maverick: GPS Navigation
Free, Code Sector
HHHHH
Use Google, Bing and Open Street Maps to track where you're
going and where you've been.
Travel Apps
BlackBook City Guides
Free, BlackBook Media Corp.
HHHHH
Covering all the major cities within the U.S. and abroad, this
app helps you locate the best venues and hottest spots in your
location.
Taxi Magic
Free, RideCharge, Inc.
HHHHH
You can do everything from your smartphonefrom finding and
booking a taxi to charging the ride to your credit card.
Spring Break Live
$1.99, EarthCam, Inc.
HHHHH
From Miami to Maui to Cancun, check out whats going on in all
the Spring Break hot spots via live web cams.
Trip Splitter
$1.99, DC Software Arts
HHHHH
Expertly split all types of expensesadd an unlimited number of
participants and create even or uneven splits for each bill.
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Kayak
Free, Kayak.com
HHHHH
Compare flight, hotel, and car rentals from multiple sites in one app.
Packing Pro
$2.99, Quinn Genzel
HHHHH
Youll never forget anything again with Packing Pro.
SitOrSquat
Free, P&G Productions
HHHHH
A travelers bathroom finderSitOrSquat lists toilets by location
and gives them user ratings.
Trip Journal
$2.99, iQapps
HHHHH
Document your vacation experiences and share them with
friends and family.
TripAdvisor
Free, TripAdvisor
HHHHH
Reviews of hotels, restaurants, and attractions from real travelers.
TripIt
Free, TripIt
HHHHH
This app stores your itineraries and gives you the option of dial-
ing numbers straight from these itineraries on your phone.
Disney Mobile Magic
Free, Disney
HHHHH
GPS maps for the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios,
Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, with official wait times.
Walt Disney World Park Hours
$0.99, Minneware
HHHHH
Youll find opening and closing times for all Disney Parks as well
as Magic Hours for guests staying on Disney property.
Disney World Wait Times
Free, Phunware, Inc./UndercoverTourist.com
HHHHH
Check this app to find user-generated wait times that will help
you make your choice.
GateGuru
Free, Mobility Apps LLC
HHHHH
Whether youre looking for a hot meal, a memorable souvenir
or the closest restroom, Gate Guru has you covered.
FlightView
Free, FlightView
HHHHH
Instant updates to your mobile device when theres a flight
delay, including a national map with up-to-date weather.
Airport Life
Free, Airport Life LLC
HHHHH
Developed by a seasoned pilot. Terminal maps provide direc-
tions to gates, services, shopping and restaurants in over 100
airports.
Airport Guide - iFly
Free, Red Cirrus LLC
HHHHH
Information on over 700 airports worldwide with interactive
maps, Wi-Fi access locations and ATMs.
Airport Transit Guide
$4.99, Salk International LLC
HHHHH
Plan your travel to and from airports effortlesslyprovides
rates, schedules and pickup locations.
My TSA
Free, Transportation Security
HHHHH
Its easy to keep track of different airport security requirements
and exactly what you can bring on a flight.
AllSubway
$0.99, carmat
HHHHH
Instead of standing in front of maps in the busy corridors like
an obvious tourist, study the multi-colored lines ahead of time.
FlightTrack
$4.99, Mobiata
HHHHH
FlightTrack can not only show youofflinethe flight path to
your destination but how much longer you have to go.
Globetipping
$0.99, Ivan Karpan & Evgeniy Lebed
HHHHH
Before you pay too much or too little, turn to this helpful app.
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HEALTH & FITNESS APPLICATIONS
Medical Apps
Vision Test
Free, 3 Sided Cube Design Ltd
HHHHH
This app contains a number of eye tests and questions to evalu-
ate your eyes for a variety of conditions including visual acuity,
astigmatism, and color tests.
Cures A-Z
Free, Plum Amazing
HHHHH
Medical conditions are presented in an easy-to-navigate A to Z
format and include both natural and prescriptive remedies.
Doximity
Free, Doximity
HHHHH
Doximitys free social networking software gives you the ability
to connect with other medical professionals and colleagues.
S.O.S. by American Red Cross
Free, Sharecare Inc.
HHHHH
Step-by-step instructions to deal with a wide range of emergen-
cies, from choking to allergic reactions to broken bones.
Pocket First Aid & CPR
$1.99, Jive Media Inc.
HHHHH
Get rapid, concise instructions on how to perform CPR and
respond during an emergency.
iHealthTrax
$4.99, Winkpass Creations Inc.
HHHHH
Give your doctor complete and accurate information with
this calendar based iPhone application that stores your medical
history.
MedicalRadio
Free, ReachMD
HHHHH
MedicalRadio delivers top-flight streaming content through their
exclusive XM-Radio satellite channel as well as access to over
5,000 podcasts. Pandora Radio for Doctors!
Prognosis: Your Diagnosis
Free, Medical Joyworks
HHHHH
This free app presents clinical cases in an interactive format that
you investigate and diagnose.
The Merck Manual - Home Edition
$9.99, Agile Partners
HHHHH
Learn about medical conditions and procedures, medical terms,
and how to handle emergency situations.
Total Baby
$4.99, ANDESigned
HHHHH
Designed to document multiple aspects of your childs care and
development.
WebMD
Free, WebMD LLC
HHHHH
The famous WebMD website is now available for smartphones.
Fitness Apps
Daily Ab Workout
Free, Daniel Miller
HHHHH
This app offers 5- to 10-minute abdominal routines for men and
women that step you through 10 of the best ab-sculpting exer-
cises out there.
Instant Heart Rate
Free, Azumio Inc.
HHHHH
By placing the tip of your index finger on the phones camera,
your phone quickly and accurately registers your heart rate and a
real-time chart shows your every heartbeat.
Couch-to-5K
$1.99 - $2.99, The Active Network, Inc.
HHHHH
If you are feeling like a couch potato and want to get up and get
moving, try the Couch-to-5K app.
Fitocracy
Free, Fitocracy Inc.
HHHHH
By utilizing the addicting leveling system of games and combin-
ing it with your workouts, Fitocracy motivates and empowers you
to succeed at fitness.
Walt Disney World Notescast
$3.99, TimeStream Software
HHHHH
Access to 300 pages of information, trivia and hints for those
notorious hidden Mickeys.
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SECURITY APPLICATIONS
Home Security Apps
Alarm.com
Free, Alarm.com Inc.
HHHHH
Arm and disarm your system, adjust your homes temperature,
and see live video feed from your home security cameras.
Sex Offenders Search
$1.99, LogSat Software LLC
HHHHH
Updates every day with a list of names, addresses, and pictures of
registered sex offenders nearby.
IP Cam Viewer
Free - $4.99, Robert Chou
HHHHH
View any camera for which you have the IP address, including
DVRs and web cams.
Guardian Watch
Free, Guardian Watch LLC
HHHHH
Report an emergency quickly or stream video and audio to
public officials using your smartphone to assist them with
response efforts.
Fooducate
Free, Fooducate Ltd.
HHHHH
Fooducate grades your groceries on nutrition from an A to D,
explains whats really inside each product, and then suggests
healthier alternatives.
LIVESTRONG MyQuitCoach Dare to
Quit Smoking
Free, Demand Media, Inc.
HHHHH
This physician-approved, interactive and easy-to-use app creates
a personalized plan to help you quit smokingevaluate your
current status and set attainable goals.
Endomondo Sports Tracker
Free, Endomondo.com
HHHHH
Track times and GPS distances for running, cycling, swimming,
hiking and even fitness walking.
RunKeeper - GPS Track Run Walk
Free, FitnessKeeper Inc.
HHHHH
Keep track of your runs and share with friends.
Stress Relief Apps
Daily Yoga (All-in-One)
Free, IMOBLIFE Co. Ltd
HHHHH
Through video and voice instruction, this app guides you
through difficulty levels of 36 yoga sessions and over 300 poses.
Relax Melodies
$2.99, Ipnos Software
HHHHH
Select one of the 46 included sounds and youll have an instant
relaxing and calming soundtrack to get you ready for sleep time.
Pocket Yoga
$2.99, Rainfrog LLC
HHHHH
Pocket Yoga has detailed instructions for each yoga pose, includ-
ing both audio and visual descriptions.
Stress Check by Azumio
Free, Azumio
HHHHH
This high-tech app measures your heart rate through your smart-
phones camera and light features to determine your level of
physical and mental stress.
Relax and Sleep
Free, Mizu Software Solutions
HHHHH
The app offers over 30 relaxing sounds that can help you get
your beauty sleep and includes an alarm feature to ensure that
youre awake right on time.
Stress Tracker
Free, AboveStress
HHHHH
Created by leading clinical psychologists and researchers, this
app uses cognitive behavioral therapy and Mindfulness principles
to help you identify and manage your stress.
iStress
$0.99, PSI Apps
HHHHH
iStress teaches you stress-management skills using humor and
positive thinking to reduce stress and promote a relaxed lifestyle.
Anti-Stress Exercise
Free, QUO?TE Developers
HHHHH
Guides you through breathing exercises to reduce your
stress levels.
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SpotCrime Lite
Free, Popvox LLC
HHHHH
Real-time information about crimes based on your location,
including the type of crime, where it occurred, and when it
happened.
K9 Web Protection Browser
Free, Blue Coat Systems Inc.
HHHHH
A free browser that blocks inappropriate content, including
material related to pornography, hate/violence, gambling, and
drugs.
OnCall Defender Advanced Mobile
Protection
Free (with paid subscription plan), AMP LLC
HHHHH
Sends an emergency call to local public authorities on your
behalf that provides critical information to first responders.
ME911
Free, ME911
HHHHH
One-stop access to your familys medical and emergency contact
information, including allergies, insurance information, and med-
ications.
Smartphone Security Apps
Sprite Backup
$4.95, Sprite Mobile
HHHHH
Automatic backup to Box.net or DropBox. Touted as the most
popular mobile backup solution.
SMS Backup+
Free, Jan Berkel
HHHHH
Back up your text messages to your Gmail account with this free
app.
MyBackup Pro
$4.99, RerWare, LLC
HHHHH
This highly praised app backs up all your data in one cloud-
based location via MyBackup Pros web portal.
eyeD Biometric Password Manager
$17.99, Winkpass Creations Inc.
HHHHH
Uses iris scanning based on a picture that you take of your eye to
create an unbreakable password.
Kryptos
Free ($10/month subscription required), Kryptos
Communications
HHHHH
Encrypts all of your phone calls with military-grade encryption to
prevent unwanted eavesdropping.
NQ Mobile Security
Free, NQ Mobile
HHHHH
NetQin Mobile Security is a complete security solution with the
ability to remotely locate, lock or erase a lost phone as well as
real-time virus protection and scanning.
TouchDown for Smartphones
Free, $19.99 license purchase required, NitroDesk
HHHHH
TouchDown provides a full-featured email experience with all
of the functionality you are accustomed to when using email
on a PC.
avast! Mobile Security
Free, AVAST Software
HHHHH
One of the most comprehensive security apps on the Android
platform with no hidden costs.
Lookout Security & Antivirus
Free - $2.99/month, Lookout Mobile Security
HHHHH
A great app for anyone with security concernsscans your apps
for viruses and spyware and includes anti-theft tools.
mSecure - Password Manager
$9.99, mSeven Software LLC
HHHHH
Remember one password as your password list is encrypted and
available for sync to other mSecure enabled devices.
Webroot Security & Antivirus
Free - $19.99/year, Webroot Inc.
HHHHH
Webroots free version of this app scans for viruses and malware,
scans web links and URLs to thwart phishing attempts.
Kaspersky Mobile Security
$14.95/year, Kaspersky Lab
HHHHH
Kasperskys full mobile security suite with anti-virus, anti-theft
and anti-phishing capabilities.
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Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Free, Merriam-Webster Inc.
HHHHH
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary app thousands of words and
definitions at your fingertips and you can conveniently look up
words with voice search.
Productivity Apps
reQall
Free, reQall Inc.
HHHHH
Capture and organize all your tasks and to-do items in one place.
Things
$9.99, Cultured Code
HHHHH
Considered one of the top task-management apps, Things is
easy-to-use and effective at helping you stay organized and
managing your time.
Toodledo
$2.99, Toodledo
HHHHH
Filters and prioritizes your most important tasks, creating an
automatic smart list, configuring the best use of your time, and
generating alarms for tasks due soon.
Cozi Family Organizer: Shared
Calendar & Lists
Free, Cozi
HHHHH
Organize your calendar, grocery list and to-do lists, and much
more in a shared format that the whole family can access and
modify.
Wunderlist
Free, 6Wunderkinder
HHHHH
Organize your daily life with simple to-do lists and basic
task-management.
Remember The Milk
Free, Remember The Milk Inc.
HHHHH
One of the most popular task-management apps, Remember The
Milk allows you to track, prioritize and check off tasks quickly and
easily.
BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT
APPLICATIONS
Writers Apps
FastPencil
Free, FastPencil.com
HHHHH
FastPencil helps make reading, writing and working on books a
lot easier wherever you are.
iA Writer
$0.99, Information Architects Inc.
HHHHH
Let the ideas flow freely onto the virtual pages with iA Writer
without distractions: no spellchecking, auto-correction,
toolbarsonly concentrate on what matters, writing.
Child Safety Apps
Mobiflock
$29.95/year, Mobiflock
HHHHH
Block apps, numbers, camera use, contacts and websites on your
childs phone from your phone or a remote computer.
MamaBear Child Tracker
Free, geoWaggle, LLC
HHHHH
Find out where your children are, with whom they're spending
time, and also monitor texting and social media usage.
Family Tracker
Free, LogSat Software LLC
HHHHH
Use it to track as many devices as you wish, and see where those
devices are at any time.
Life360 Family Locator
Free, Life360
HHHHH
Features include a private family map with check-ins allowing
you to quickly let your family know you've made it to your
appointment, the airport, or a friend's house.
SMS Tracker
Starts at $2/month, GIZMOQUIP
HHHHH
SMS Tracker has everything needed to monitor your child's
device usage.
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Line2
Free, Toktumi, Inc.
HHHHH
Adds a second phone line to your mobile device so you can
separate those business and personal calls.
Vonage Mobile
Free, Vonage
HHHHH
Vonage Mobile lets you make local and international callsall
you need is WiFi and 3G or 4G.
HeyTell
Free, Voxilate, Inc.
HHHHH
Save a bundle in phone minutes: send voice messages as an
email rather than making multiple calls.
Truphone
Free, Truphone
HHHHH
Make and receive calls instantly over the Internet with Truphone.
Finance Apps
RetirePlan
Free, Katherine Philip
HHHHH
Enter your financial data and assumptions, and be dazzled as
your financial plan instantly appears before your very own eyes.
Easy Money Planner Free
Free, In A Day Development
HHHHH
Choose from 12 handy planners: calculate how much to save for
retirement, your investment rate of return, and your loan pay-
ment amount instantly.
Vanguard
Free, The Vanguard Group, Inc.
HHHHH
Keep track of your investments portfolio, research stock, instantly
receive your latest account activity and trade stocks from your
smartphone.
iTrade - Stock Market Simulator
Free, Neon Surge
HHHHH
iTrade lets manage your own virtual stock portfolio.
Dragon Dictation
Free, Nuance Communications
HHHHH
Turn talk into typefrom short text messages to longer email
messages
Producteev
Free, Producteev
HHHHH
To-do-list app that lets you mark priorities, set deadlines, and
receive email reminders. With paid upgrade, this app becomes a
project management system.
Data-Saving & Minute-Saving Apps
3G Watchdog
Free, Richard Gruet
HHHHH
Monitor your data usage daily, weekly, monthly or by billing
period.
Onavo Extend
HHHHH
Uses data compression to allow you to receive more data than
normalup to five times more!
Traffic Monitor
Free, RadioOpt GmbH
HHHHH
Your all-in-one smartphone usage monitor: track WiFi and cellu-
lar traffic, monitor calls, roaming charges and text messages.
Bundler
Free, NexusPC
HHHHH
Bundler is your no-frills data monitoring app for Windows Phone
users.
My Data Manager
Free, Mobidia Technology
HHHHH
Control your data and reduce your phone bill as you manage
your data with up-to-the-minute usage statistics.
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HOME & LIFESTYLE APPLICATIONS
Pets Apps
All Pets Radio Player
Free, Quick Bridge Solutions
HHHHH
This app streams an Internet radio station devoted completely to
pets of all kinds and includes pet news, pet care tips, pet stories,
and more.
ASPCA Action
Free, BlueToad
HHHHH
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA) free quarterly magazine ASPCA Action on your iPhone.
HungryPet
Free, OhmzTech
HHHHH
HungryPet offers a database of "people" food and details on
whether these foods are safe for your dog or cat to eat.
Pet First Aid
$2.99 - $3.99, Jive Media Inc.
HHHHH
Pet First Aid offers instructional videos and how-to's with
illustrations for a variety of cat and dog first aid needs.
Pet Master Pro
$4.99, GF Media Apps
HHHHH
Pet Master helps you keep track of all the maintenance that goes
into your pets.
Petcentric
Free, Purina
HHHHH
Petcentric will find pet-friendly establishments for your animals,
such as hotels, restaurants, and parks.
Petoxins
$2.99, Treviso Media Group
HHHHH
Prevent your pet from eating poisonous and toxic plants with
this searchable database.
PetRescuers
Free, HomeAgain PetRescuers
HHHHH
Search for local missing animals and get alerts when a pet has
gone missing in your area so you can remain vigilant in helping
to find the animal.
CNBC Real-Time
Free, NBC Universal, Inc.
HHHHH
Instantly receive real-time quotes before, during and after
market hours.
StockTwits
Free, StockTwits Inc.
HHHHH
Find out which stocks are being tweeted about the most and
trending worldwide.
Pageonce - Money & Bills
Free, Pageonce
HHHHH
Pay bills, manage and track your cash, credit cards, bills and
investment portfolio all in one app.
Chase Mobile Banking
Free, JPMorgan Chase
HHHHH
Pay anyone with an email address instantly with Chase QuickPay
and make deposits by taking a photo of your check.
Tax Preparation Apps
H&R Block
Free, H&R Block
HHHHH
An income tax encyclopedia from H&R Block.
IRS2Go
Free, IRS
HHHHH
Track the status of your income tax return.
TaxACT Central
Free, 2nd Story Software
HHHHH
Tax preparation, filing, and return status tracking in one app.
TaxCaster by TurboTax
Free, Intuit Inc.
HHHHH
Enter some basic personal information and watch as your tax
refund is instantly calculated.
TurboTax SnapTax
Free to try ($19.99 to file), Intuit Inc.
HHHHH
Tax prep app from the leader in tax prep software.
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Babysitting Apps
iSitter
Free, Dorada Software
HHHHH
A handy substitute for a baby monitor that works on the iPad,
iPhone, or iPod Touch.
Babysitting Guide
$0.99, Phoneflips
HHHHH
Babysitting advice, including what to do if a child gets upset
when his mom leaves, how to swaddle a baby, what to expect
during diaper changes, and much more.
Baby Connect
$4.99, Seacloud Software
HHHHH
The old days of writing in a childs activity journal are overnow
you can log everything the child does in this simple app.
Baby Food Diary
$1.99, Evan L.
HHHHH
When a baby starts solid foods, this app simplifies the process by
tracking when a baby ate a certain food, if it caused a reaction,
and how much of the food the baby wanted.
ScanAvert
$1.99, ScanAvert, Inc.
HHHHH
ScanAvert allows you to pre-program a childs dietary
requirements, and then scan the barcode of a food product to
determine if the ingredients contain anything harmful.
Lifestyle Apps
The American Survivalist
Free, Failsafe Productions
HHHHH
The latest survivalist news, from terrorist attacks to homeland
security alerts, step-by-step instructions on how to pack a
survival bag, all of the info you need to become a survivalist.
Disaster Readiness
$1.99, Phoneflips
HHHHH
This app helps you prepare for a variety of disaster events and
shows you what you should do if they head your way.
Mary Kay Virtual Makeover
Free, Mary Kay, Inc.
HHHHH
Download your own photo or choose a model to try different
combinations of eye makeup, lip colors, hairstyles, hair colors,
accessories and more.
Stylish Girl Fashion Closet
Free, DDN Media Inc.
HHHHH
Photograph each piece of clothing to create a virtualized
wardrobe and then mix and match into different outfits without
ever having to try anything on.
Fashion Kaleidoscope
Free, Inporia Inc.
HHHHH
With hundreds of fashion ideas for clothing, shoes, accessories,
and handbags, this app is sure to inspire your inner fashionista.
Beauty Product Reviews
Free, Total Beauty Media
HHHHH
Actual user feedback on various products, from anti-aging lotions
to hair gel to bath beads.
Chore Pad
$2.99, Nannek
HHHHH
Set chores so they come up automatically every time they need
someone to do them.
Clorox myStain
Free, Clorox
HHHHH
Look it up on myStain to find both on-the-go and at-home
stain-lifting solutions.
Hair Cast
Free, Studio One
HHHHH
This app will ease your hairstyling tension by telling you the
temperature, level of humidity, chance of rain, and projected
wind speed for your area.
Makeover
Free, ModiFace
HHHHH
Take a photo of yourself, and then use this app to see how you
would look with a different hairstyle, a change in makeup, tan,
anti-aging procedures, plastic surgery.
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Natural Beauty Recipe
Free, Kiumiu Soft
HHHHH
Shares beauty techniques using ingredients you have around the
house.
Stylebook
$3.99, left brain/right brain
HHHHH
Log the clothes you have in your closet, and then create different
looks in the outfit editor to test them out.
Trendstop.com Fashion Trendtracker
Free, Amoja LTD
HHHHH
Watch slideshows of the work from specific designers, view
runway videos sorted by collection, or look through a series of
hip street fashions.
TriMirror Fashion Closets
Free, Quakeup Media Production Inc.
HHHHH
Post outfits to your social network for comments.
Wedding Apps
weddinggawker
Free, gawkerverse
HHHHH
Get ideas and inspiration for your own event by viewing
wedding photographs submitted by wedding bloggers
throughout the world.
Wedding Countdown
Free, Sevenlogics, Inc.
HHHHH
A fun and fully customizable way to count down the days and
hours until your wedding day.
The Knot Ultimate Wedding Planner
Free, TheKnot
HHHHH
The Knot offers a variety of tools for organizing the big day,
whether its your to-do list, budget, guest list, dress ideas, and
more.
Wedding Snap
Free, Minglle LLC
HHHHH
Encourage guests to upload photos so you can see your
wedding from their perspective and check out what you missed!
Wedding Registry
$1.00, iListApps
HHHHH
Rather than register at multiple stores, this apps barcode scanner
lets you add an item to your registry from any store in town!
Our Wedding Planner
Free, Wepala
HHHHH
To-do lists, budget planning, seating plans, guest lists (including
pending and received options) and more to assist you with
everything you need to plan your wedding.
Honeymoon Planner
$0.99, Jimbl
HHHHH
Includes more than 275 honeymoon and travel-related checklist
items, such as women sundries, medication, documents and
more.
Fun Wedding
$0.99, Intelligence, Inc.
HHHHH
Create a music playlist for your reception by searching through
millions of songsincluding gems from the 1950s through pres-
ent time.
Maid of Honor Complete Guide
$0.99, KoolAppz
HHHHH
From giving the all-important toast to holding the brides hand
throughout the gown-selection process, you are the go-to gal for
all the tears, laughter and hair-pulling that goes into planning a
wedding.
The Maid of Honor Speeches
$0.99, AppWarrior
HHHHH
With this app, you can choose from 10 complete Maid of
Honor/Bridesmaid speeches that you can personalize, or select a
template to use and fill in the blanks.
Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt
$0.99, KMT Marketing Designs
HHHHH
A scavenger hunt is among the bachelorette party favorites, plan
and organize one without the need for pen and paper.
Dare Devil Bachelorette
$1.99, Forte Development
HHHHH
If you really want to make the bachelorette party interesting, this
app offers an edgier version of the classic game Truth or Dare.
No matter your party location, you can play more than 100 differ-
ent truths or dares, in either competitive or playful mode.
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Group Guess Bridal Shower Game
$2.99, LuPalm Wonders
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Similar to the group game Taboo, this app takes the headache
out of planning the bridal shower games with this app.
Home Dcor Apps
iHandy Carpenter
$1.99, iHandy, Inc.
HHHHH
With five great tools on board, including a plumb bob, a surface
level, a steel protractor, a steel ruler, and a bubble level bar you
can calibrate your measurements quickly and easily.
Carpenters Helper Lite
Free, My Pie
HHHHH
Thanks to Carpenters Helper, you can calculate simple solutions
like a rooms area, as well as tougher measurements such as roof
pitch and stair rise.
Benjamin Moore Color Capture
Free, Benjamin Moore & Co.
HHHHH
Just snap a photo of a particular paint color, and the app will
tell you the color it matches in the companys 3,300-plus paint
spectrum.
Smart Tools
$2.50, Smart Tools Co.
HHHHH
You cant buy 15 individual toolsincluding a metal detector
for $2.50 at your local home improvement store, but you can
with this app.
The Home Depot
Free, The Home Depot, Inc.
HHHHH
Look up a product that youre interested in buying, then find out
which store has it and whether its available in the store invento-
ry, saving you from making unnecessary trips.
HomeSavvy
Free, Service Magic
HHHHH
The HomeSavvy app allows you to keep track of your home
maintenance needs, and even alerts you if youre overdue.
HGTV To Go
Free, Scripps Networks, LLC
HHHHH
In addition to watching the full episodes of HGTV shows, you can
also access photo galleries that offer tips and ideas for re-creat-
ing a design theme in your house.
Handy Construction Calculators
$7.99, Sidetop Software
HHHHH
An app that calculates everything from amps, watts, and volts to
excavation and backfill.
Houzz Interior Design Ideas
Free, Houzz Inc.
HHHHH
The largest database of home design ideas on the internet and
over 700,000 photosbrowse by style, room and location and
save them to your virtual idea book.
3D Room Design Udesignit
$4.99, HB Conception Virtuelle Inc.
HHHHH
This app gives you a 3D animated image of the layout you cus-
tomizefrom the rooms size, paint and wallpaper, down to the
materials and area rugs.
Budget Shopping Locator
$2.99, MapMuse
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With this bargain locator, unearth consignment shops, flea
markets, swap meets and thrift stores nearby, anywhere in the
country.
Christies
Free, Christies Inc.
HHHHH
Participate in an auction to bid on an antique luxury armchair,
20th century chandelier, mahogany armoire or other extravagant
furnishingswithout stepping foot outside.
DcOrganizer
$2.99, Aisling Apps
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Track furniture to purchase, favorite stores and websites, con-
tacts, notes, prices, photos and a wish listall in easy-to-file fold-
ers categorized by room.
Dream Home
$0.99, Apalon
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Leaf through hundreds of home dcor photos, arranged by room
type, color, style or whats popular. Theyre easy to upload, rate
and share.
Fab
Free, Fab.com
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The app version of Fab.com, the website that sells urban designer
goods and art at an on-sale price tag.
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iHandy Level
Free, iHandySoft Inc.
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No need to purchase a leveling tool when you have this free app.
iQila Interior Design Community
Free, Pyronyx LTD
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Are you searching for the perfect coffee table? Post pics or
browse in a virtual interior design community that gives you
feedback.
Mark On Call
$1.99, M.O.C. Interior Designer LLC
HHHHH
Mark, named after interior designer Mark Lewison, is your per-
sonal design assistant and shopping guide in the palm of your
hand.
Palettes
Free, Rick Maddy
HHHHH
Just take a picture, highlight a shade and youve got a whole
color palette on your hands for endless design fun.
Photo Measures
$4.99, Big Blue Pixel
HHHHH
Photo Measures easily stores your rooms measurements in an
orderly fashion.
Remodelista
$2.99, Remodelista LLC
HHHHH
Explore the interiors of homes across the globe, while snuggled
comfortably in yours.
Spiritual Apps
101 Success Tips
Free, Pazacta
HHHHH
This app contains success and self-development tips to develop
strategies to counter your weak points.
Inspirational Quotes
Free, AppFlute
HHHHH
The thought-provoking quotes in this app can help you to keep
moving forward, make an overdue change, or simply help you to
live life to the fullest.
Atheist Pocket Debater
$2.99, JAY-ROC Investments
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An app to assist you the next time you enter a religious debate.
Bible
Free, LifeChurch.tv
HHHHH
This bible app includes over 100 versions, including the King
James Version, the New American Bible, The Message, and more.
Book of Shadows
$3.99, Shadowink Designs Technology
HHHHH
Book of Shadows is a personal spell recipe book of sorts for
pagans and features rituals, rites, spells, traditions, holidays and
much more.
Daily Buddhist Prayers
$1.99, Buddhist Apps
HHHHH
For the practicing or just-learning Buddhist, the app provides
inspirational daily prayers.
eVotions
Free, Little i Apps LLC
HHHHH
Billed as a series of "digital devotions for modern Catholics" and
includes images, videos, prayers and writings, plus push
reminders for praying novenas.
LDS Gospel Library
Free, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
HHHHH
Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone
The Mormon Churchs Gospel Library allows users to
access lesson manuals, general conference addresses and scrip-
tures from just about any phone platform.
Prayer Time PRO
Free, NextWorldMobile
HHHHH
An app to calculate the correct prayer times and proper direction
to face for Muslim worshippers.
Crafts Apps
Blockfab
Free, Mary Kay Podlecki
HHHHH
Ever found fabric that you just know would make a beautiful quilt
but you have no idea how much to buy? This app will help you
with that task.
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Craftgawker
Free, gawkerverse
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A photo gallery that allows you to visually search and discover
handmade arts and crafts to inspire your own projects.
Crafty Gemini
Free, Vanessa Wilson
HHHHH
This app helps users learn about cooking, sewing, crafting and
more through blog posts and video tutorials
Easy Stitch
$2.99, Technical Made Easy LLC
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Tutorials with step-by- step instructions and pictures to get you
started knitting, crocheting, or embroidering.
Knit Counter Lite
Free, Cordless Dog
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Store stitch counters and project information for multiple knit-
ting projects
QuiltingCalc
Free, Robert Kaufman Fabrics
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Numerous quilting calculationshow much fabric is needed for
backing, batting and borders, and many more.
Tip Junkie
Free, Mitchell Applications
HHHHH
Tutorials on how to make homemade gifts, holiday crafts, home
dcor, parties, delicious recipes and more.
Gardening Apps
Home Outside Palette
$1.99, Advanced Data Design, Inc.
HHHHH
Beyond just trees and plants, this app includes 280 hand-drawn
color elements that lets you design with hammocks, patios,
driveways, sheds, and other outdoor elements.
Gardenate
$1.99, Hutchinson Software Pty Ltd.
HHHHH
Android, iOS, Nokia
This app gives you all of the information you need to
plant and harvest your own vegetable garden.
Grow Your Own
Free, The Royal Horticultural Society
HHHHH
Grow Your Own provides planting information for 20 popular
fruits and vegetables and recommends plants based on your
expertise level, and your available time and space.
MyGarden
Free, Trendsco bvba
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MyGarden.org allows gardeners to connect with one another and
share their failures and successes.
Garden 360
$2.49, ATU Software
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Garden 360 allows you to record and organize information
about your plantsupdate your garden journal with both text
and pictures.
Herbs+
$2.99, Daniel Wall
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This reference app provides pictures and information about 40
common herbs and spices and includes planting tips, culinary
ideas and medicinal uses.
The Gardeners Calendar
$1.60, Deraign Solutions
HHHHH
This comprehensive app gives vegetable gardeners useful
gardening guides on composting, gardening techniques,
fertilizer, crop rotation, and soil composition.
When to Plant
$1.99, Growing Interactive Limited
HHHHH
When to Plant helps you set up a planting schedule based on
your location and the plants that you want to cultivate.
Bugs in the Garden
$0.99, Justin Davidson
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This app lists many of the most common North American garden
bugsboth detrimental and beneficialwith great pictures and
easy-to-understand information.
ColdSnap! Frost Alarm
$1.58, Antony Cook
HHHHH
This set-it-and-forget-it app does one thing and one thing only
warns you when the temperature is forecasted to fall below the
temperature you set.
Eden Garden Designer
$1.99, Herbaceous Software
HHHHH
Take a photo of your empty garden (or use a provided image)
and plant photorealistic pics of the flora and fauna you plan to
use.
Garden Buddy
$2.99, Island Apps
HHHHH
A "garden math" app that calculates your supply needs for you:
compute cubic yards of gravel, how much fertilizer you need, or
select materials for the perfect pond size.
iVeggieGarden
$9.99, Moorit Software
HHHHH
Includes everything you'll need to plan, track, and troubleshoot
your vegetable patch (or farm) from pre-seeding to post-harvest.
Landscaper's Companion
$4.99, Stevenson Software
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Great photos and an extensive search tool that lets you look for
planting characteristics (like sun/shade) and ensure you'll find
what you're looking for.
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WHAT DO OUR
ICONS MEAN?
iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch devices
Android smartphones
BlackBerry smartphones
Windows smartphones
Kindle Fire tablets (They use the Android OS)
Nokia Symbian smartphones
Palm OS devices
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SENIOR-SAVVY
Clever device designs for the mature
mobile user
By Simon Hill
One in eight Americans is now over the age of 65, and like the younger crowd, seniors
deserve the latest technology. However, it might not be quite as accessible for them as it
is for the generation who grew up with it. The natural process of aging can bring about
hearing, eyesight and coordination challenges. But, alert manufacturers, realizing the
needs of this growing demographic, have designed and developed smartphones with the
more mature user in mind.
APPS_1309-SENIOR 6/17/13 1:45 AM Page 78

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Fujitsu Stylistic S01
Heres an Android smartphone with a great blend of
features for any technophobes out there. Theres a nice big
4-inch display, solid specs (including a 1.4GHz single-core
processor and an 8MP camera), and it is both dustproof and
water-resistant. Its comfortable to hold, the buttons are big
and clear, and the interface that has been built on top of
Android includes large, clearly marked features and a help
button on each page to explain everything. It also has a
built-in personal alarm in case of emergency.
The phone asks you your age during setup and it even
tweaks the frequency of sounds for older ears incapable of
registering higher frequencies. Theres also a feature that
allows you to slow down the speech of the caller on the
other end. The interface tweaks extend to a web portal free
of ads and a simplified set of camera controls.
Jitterbug Touch
Youll find a 3.2-inch touchscreen that slides
aside to reveal a full, physical QWERTY keyboard
on the Jitterbug Touch. The keys are well spaced
and easy to press and the basic interface is
simple and accessible. However, the 320x240-
pixel resolution is a real letdown and the
Jitterbug user interface is running on top of a
very old version of Android. Overall, it doesnt
offer the best user experience.
On the plus side it does have good battery life,
the interface options are clear, and there are
built-in apps and services for the elderly, such
as the 5Star Urgent Response app and a
LiveNurse service. It is relatively inexpensive
and it wont tie you into a long-term contract
with cancellation fees, but in terms of hardware
and performance, its tough to recommend
unreservedly.
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Doro PhoneEasy 740
This Android smartphone is a slider
designthe touchscreen slides up to reveal
a physical dialing pad with large, clearly
marked keys. The interface, called the Doro
Experience, is unrecognizable as Android. Its
a simple list that scrolls vertically and each
selection is large and descriptively labeled.
Functionality is deliberately basic, theres
a 5MP camera, and the 3.2-inch display is
fairly low resolution at 320x480 pixels. It has
plenty of handy extras, like an extremely
loud speaker, and a magnifying glass app
to enlarge text. There are also built-in
emergency functions which tie in to the
GPS functionality to identify your location.

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Pantech Flex
It simplifies Android, reducing it down to one, easily accessible home screen, but the Pantech Flex doesnt
scrimp on hardware or features. It has a 4.3-inch display, with good 540x960-pixel resolution, an 8MP camera,
and it supports the fastest networks with 4G LTE. All of the interface options are large and clear, the setup
process has been simplified, and the audio quality is enhanced.
This is a solid device, and it represents a thoughtful attempt to make a senior friendly phone. It doesnt cut
corners or dumb things down and the end result offers real value for money. There are lots of pre-installed
apps, from Pulse news, to a pill reminder. It is also possible to choose between the Easy experience and
Standard so if the owner grows more tech savvy, or the phone changes hands, its appeal isnt limited.
Samsung Galaxy Note II
Although Samsung didnt design the Galaxy Note II
specifically for seniors, there are some compelling
reasons that make it a great choice. It has a huge,
5.5-inch display and it comes with a stylus, which
many elderly people prefer over classic touchscreen
gestures. Select Easy mode when you set the Note
II up and it provides a simplified home screen with
handy widgets pre-loaded. Its also easy to increase
the font size on the Note II for those who need
larger print.
Since its a top-of-the-range device, the Note II
is absolutely packed with features. It basically
combines the best of a tablet and a smartphone
in one device. The Galaxy Note II has the latest
technology in spades packaged in a senior-friendly
setup.
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WA R A G A I N S T T E X T I N G WA R A G A I N S T T E X T I N G WA R A G A I N S T T E X T I N G
We need YOU and you need these apps
By Sean Cooper
You probably wouldnt consider drinking and driving, but even though you
dont want to admit it, youve probably texted behind the wheel at least once.
By doing so, youre six times more dangerous than a drunk driver, according
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
There are ways to keep in touch while on the road, if you really have to. Apps
can help you manage your texts, emails and calls while keeping your eyes on
the road and your hands on the wheel.
But first, get the facts about why we need YOU to join the war efforts against
texting while driving.
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TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
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MAINSTREAM MESSAGING
Texting has exploded in popularity over the last decade.
In 2007 texting outnumbered actual calls for the first time. Its
not hard to see the allure of texting versus callingtexting is
usually a lot quicker and easier.
In 2012 a whopping 9.8 trillion SMS messages were sent in the
U.S., up from 7.8 trillion in 2011. In fact, the average person
sends 357 texts per month.
While drinking and driving has been considered taboo for many
years, drivers are just starting to get the message about the
dangers of driving while texting.
DEADLY DRIVERS
How dangerous is driving while texting, really?
Incredibly.
Each time you send or receive a text, you take your
eyes away from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds,
according to NHTSA. While it may not seem like a lot, at a
speed of 55 mph, thats the same as driving the length
of a football fieldblindfolded.
It makes you 23 times more likely to be involved in a
crash when youre texting behind the wheel and 6 times
more likely than drunk driving. Its as dangerous as
driving after 4 beers.
Texting while driving has deadly consequences.
Each year there are over 3,000 deaths and 330,000
injuries related to texting while driving, according to a
Harvard Center for Risk Analysis study.
Texting is most popular among teenagers, and
unfortunately, teenagers are also most likely to obtain
their drivers license at this age.
Heres another scary fact: Texting while driving is
the number one cause of accidents and deaths of
teen drivers.
MESSAGE NOT RECEIVED
Unfortunately, the warnings arent sinking in
for drivers.
Just how widespread is the problem? According to
recent AT&T Commuter surveys, despite the fact that
more than 95% of drivers admitting knowing that
texting while driving is dangerous, 49% of commuters
surveyed admitted to doing soand 43% of teens
surveyed did, as well.
Adults are setting a bad example. 77% of teens said
adults tell them not to text and drive, but then do
it themselves all the time. In fact, 40% referred to it
as a habit.
Most disconcerting is the lack of perceived danger
among teenagers.
High numbers of surveyed teens77%are very
confident or somewhat confident that they can drive
safely while texting. Amazingly, 55% claim its easy to
text while driving.
And it seems that texting while driving isnt just a
problem for teenage drivers, but also for their
passengers. 40% of teens admitted to riding in a car
when the driver was texting while driving in a way that
put people in danger, according to the Pew Research
Center.
AT&T DriveMode
Free, Skype
HHHHH
AT&T has taken a tough stance on driving while texting,
going as far as creating its own app for text-addicted drivers.
This app looks to stop this deadly habit by allowing you to
temporarily limit the features on your phone. This keeps
you focused on the road ahead, instead of the screen below. Theres even a feature
that turns on auto-replies to texts, emails and calls. However, we experienced some
annoying instances when the app turns itself on, even when we werent driving.
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tXtBlocker
$6.99/month, tXtBlocker
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Similar to AT&Ts app, tXtBlocker blocks incoming texting, as well as calls, while
your vehicle is on the road. If your friends or family try to contact you, theyll
receive an automatic message that youre driving and youll reply later.
tXtBlocker isnt just for drivingit comes in handy when you forget to turn off your
mobile phone, including at work, school and the movies. Its important to note that
emergency 911 calls are always permitted.
Starting at $6.99 for a single user and $9.99 for a family plan, this app may be
pricey, but it does a fantastic job.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
We all know the key to driving safely is to avoid
distractions and keep our eyes on the road.
By texting while driving, not only are you putting yourself in
danger, but youre putting a long list of innocent people in
harms way: your passengers, other drivers, their passengers,
and even people on the street.
The next time youre tempted to text while driving, think
twice about all those youre putting in danger.
Is your text more important than someone elses life?
Or your own?
Instead, pull off to the side to attend to that text. Better
yet, check out our apps for managing texts while youre on
the road.
THE LEGAL FIGHT
In the U.S., theres currently a massive campaign against
texting while driving. Government agencies like the U.S.
Department of Transportation and the FCC (Federal
Communications Commission) have created websites to
warn against its many dangers.
Even cell phone service providers like AT&T have jumped on
board and created their own websites. These websites have
hard-hitting statistics, articles and videos about the
dangers of texting at the wheel and the devastating
results it can have.
Texting while driving has been a hot-button issue with
Congress.
U.S. lawmakers have been busy passing texting while driving
bans in over 39 states. However, there isnt yet a federal law
against it.
The main challenge of the law is enforcing it. That
means that drivers themselves must change their habits,
otherwise stopping texting while driving is an uphill battle.
Check out our review of the SuperTooth HD on page
44 of this issue. Its a hands-free accessory that pairs
with your smartphone for safer driving.

Cellcontrol
$89, Cellcontrol
HHHHH
This app works with a small device that plugs into
your carit detects motion and stops you from
texting and talking. Cellcontrol is the most widely
compatible app of its kind. It works on both
smartphone and standard mobile phones and its extremely accurate. While a
lot of the other apps block your phone when youre a passenger, Cellcontrol,
using its DriveID technology, will be able to detect whether youre actually
behind the wheel (due in late 2013). You can fully customize the app to
determine exactly what you can and cant do while driving.
DriveSafe.ly
Free, iSpeech.org
HHHHH
Instead of totally disabling communication while driv-
ing, this unique app actually reads text messages and
email aloud in real time. It also lets you use your voice
to respond to texts and calls without ever taking your
hands off the wheels. Not only does this offer a safer solution, it allows you to be
productive even while youre driving. The app is fully customizable, right down
to the gender of the voice of the sender (with the Pro version, $9.99). The free
version limits each message read to the first 25 words.
Otter
Free, Otter LLC
HHHHH
Otter is so much more than a standard texting-
while-driving solution. Not only does it keep your
eyes on the road (where they belong), it allows you
to quickly manage your texts wherever you are.
Whether youre at home, work, or driving on the highway, Otters by your side.
The apps unique GPS Mode with auto-reply feature kicks in as soon as your
vehicle travels faster than 10 mph, muting those distracting chimes from texts
and ring tones. Best of all you can switch between auto and manual mode, so
you can quickly respond to urgent texts with a preset message.
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Texting & Driving It Can Wait: itcanwait.com
Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving: Distraction.gov
Dont Text and Drive: www.textinganddrivingsafety.com
Federal Communications commission: www.fcc.gov/guides/texting-while-driving
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Watch out iPhone diehardsthis may
convince you to switch to Android
By William Bonin
Lets be honest: for many of us, typing on our smartphones keyboard is a pain. The letters
are small and our fingers are big so hitting the precise letter is often difficult.
Wed all like to be able to enter text on our smartphones quicker and with greater accura-
cy. Unless the keypad gets bigger in the futureand whats the likelihood of that hap-
peningsome other way will have to be invented to improve the speed and accuracy of
smartphone text entry.
INTELLIGENCE IS THE KEY(BOARD)
What if a smartphone could learn from your typing, which words and phrases you most often use, and when you
use them? What if your smartphone offered up the words it thinks youre typing, and not just after youve typed the
first seven letters of an eight-letter word?
Well, with the arrival of SwiftKey 4, an Android keyboard replacement app that will make even the most diehard
iPhone freaks jealous, youll be amazed at how much faster your keyboard is and just how much smarter your smart-
phone will be.
SwiftKey 4 uses what it calls intelligent natural language technology to suggest words it thinks youre trying to
type. SwiftKeys Prediction Engine not only recognizes the words youre typing but also understands how words
are grouped together.
With SwiftKey installed, a row above the keyboard appears with 3 suggestions, or predictions. For example, if you
type I like SwiftKey displays words youre most likely to use, such as you. If the word is correct, press the spacebar
to select the word.
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SWIFTKEY IS THE BEST KEYBOARD YOULL EVER USE SWIFTKEY IS THE BEST KEYBOARD YOULL EVER USE
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SwiftKey and Me
SwiftKey rapidly learned how to work with my typing habits by checking out messages I created.
For example: when I compose a text message or email using SwitfKey, two of the choices Im offered are Hey
and I. I realized that when I start an online conversation, I almost always start with hey rather than hello. And
when I respond to someones emails or text messages, I usually start with I. SwiftKey learned from my writing
habits to offer custom predictions.
When I was exchanging text messages with a friend who gave me a book recommendation I intended to write,
Always on the lookout for a good book. I started to write always and at alw I was shown always. Great, thats
my word, so I hit the space key to autocomplete.
On was the next word offered and thats my next word, so space again, and once again when the is offered.
Thats 6 keystrokes on my part to enter 14 characters. So far, so good.
When I typed lo I was offered lookoutamazing! And then the next two words predicted were for and a.
That means that SwiftKey quickly sorted out what I was intending to write because it understands how the
phrase on the lookout is most commonly used.
< The SwiftKey suggestions
appear above the regular
keyboard while you type.
WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?
So it knows that you is a word that commonly appears
after like. So what? Whats the big deal?
Predictive typing? you ask. Isnt that just a rehash of the
lame autocorrect feature that I already have on my smart-
phone that picks the wrong words at the worst times?
Nope. Far from it. Autocorrect works by checking words as
you type and comparing them to its dictionary. If no match
is found, it offers the closest possibility. But the problem of
context is troublesome.
If you typed unicfrom did you actually mean uniform or
did you mean unicorn? This is when autocorrect leads to
mirth and merriment or horrific red-faced embarrassment.
LEARNING YOUR WAYS
SwiftKey learns about your personal writing habits by look-
ing at your text messages, email, Facebook postings and
Twitter feed. This is done only with your permission, of
course, as part of the Personalization Service. The more of
your writing style that SwiftKey can examine, the sooner it
can start offering user-specific predictions.
SwiftKey also looks at your typing style and identifies where
you most often make mistakes. If you are prone to hitting
the A key when you meant to hit the S key, SwiftKey learrns
that and takes it into consideration in the future.
Youll also find that many times you can let SwiftKey do all
the writing for you, even if its not exactly what you
planned. If you intended to text I am leaving now but
instead decide to just follow where SwiftKey leads you, you
end up with I am on the way to your house. Same meaning
and certainly less typing, correct?
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SWIFTKEY IS THE BEST KEYBOARD YOULL EVER USE SWIFTKEY IS THE BEST KEYBOARD YOULL EVER USE
GO WITH THE FLOW
Another feature new to SwiftKeythats been available for a while in other productsis the
concept of Flow. Flow gives you the ability to drag your finger around the keyboard from letter to
letter to type words.
If youve never used flow-style keyboard entry, often referred to as swiping, youre probably going
to find it rather strange at first. Rather than type each character in a word individually (as in f,
then l, then o, then w), you drag your finger over the letters in succession without lifting it from
the screen.
Youll not only be amazed at how fast you can enter words using Flow but at how forgiving
SwiftKey is when it comes to interpreting your swipes.
With Flow, you can forget about using the spacebar between wordsSwiftKey figures out where
one word ends and the next starts. Swipe style typing is so fun and natural that I often find when
Im using an iPad or an iPhone I immediately start trying to flow around the keyboard!
Caveat: SwiftKeys addition of Flow seems a bit superfluous since its harder to select a suggested
word when youre swiping, and the prediction engine is so good that the Flow feature almost
seems unnecessary. After all, when your next word is shown as a suggestion before you even
type a letter, who needs swiping? Nevertheless, its a nice to have and I find that I still use it quite
frequently.
A NOTICEABLE IMPROVEMENT
SwiftKey continually notifies you of how much its improving your typing experience. SwiftKey
Stats tracks your efficiency (36% more efficient in my case), keystrokes saved (14,398!), typos
corrected (4,074) and my favorite of all, distance floweda measure of how far your finger has
travelled when using Flow (66 meters).
SwiftKey 4 typically sells for $3.99 (www.swiftkey.net). While you may balk at paying for a
keyboardafter all, a free keyboard came with the phoneask yourself this: Will your free
keyboard ever learn all about your verbal and stylistic idiosyncrasies? And will it actually
improve your texting?
When using the Flow
feature, you drag your finger
from letter to letter without
lifting it from the screen.>
Vine
Free, Vine Labs, Inc.
HHHHH
If you have trouble getting through a YouTube video without jumping
ahead on its timeline, Vine is the perfect video platform for you as all its
videos are six seconds or less. That may not sound like much time to get
creative, but explore the networks Vines and youll find everything from
laugh-out-loud time-wasters to elaborate multi-shot scripted clips. Shooting a Vine is a breeze.
Simply press and hold on a devices touchscreen to capture video. Finished clips play in loops similar
to an animated GIF, which can then be shared with Facebook, Twitter, and Vines own social platform,
which bears more than a passing resemblance to Instagram. One gripe: uploads cant be queued,
which prevents shooting multiple videos when a connection is unavailable. Vine wasnt the first
player in the micro-video app niche, but its the current leader thanks in large part to being owned
by Twitter.
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Create bite-sized video masterpieces and
become a short-attention span Spielberg
By Sean Kavanagh
Andy Warhol declared that everyone would be famous for 15 minutes, but even he might
be impressed at how social media and smartphone apps provide a platform that barely
needs 15 seconds to propel people to stardom. These micro video apps demonstrate how
restrictions, like short time limits, can inspire creativity and communication.
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APPS_1309-VIDEO 6/20/13 2:47 AM Page 89
Cinemagram
Free, Cinemagram Inc.
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Capture the world around you on video and transform your clips
into cines that are surreal and sublime. This app sets itself apart by
letting users freeze an image and selectively animate portions of it.
A host of special effect options lets users manipulate the laws of
time and space in clips. Users can change playback speed and alter the video direction. But
the most impressive effect comes courtesy of the Mask options, which lets users selectively
freeze portions of the screen while allowing other parts of the video to continue playing. For
example, reflections or shadows can move independently of a person or leaves can fall in slow
motion while jumping children appear frozen in time. Cinemagram also lets you apply graphic
filters to the continuously looping 4-second recordings. It can take a while to get the hang of
the effect options, but the results are worth the effort. Once again, the iOS versions features
and interface are superior to Androids.
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Viddy
Free, Viddy, Inc.
HHHHH
If you think of Vine as the Twitter of YouTube then Viddy is its
Instagram. Viddy helps users put a personal stamp on their creations
using stylized filters, much like the popular snapshot app. It also lets
users tweak frame rates and includes a library of music snippets to
enhance a clips mood with a soundtrack. Compared to Vines, Viddys seem like sprawling epics
thanks to a generous 30-second cap (recently upped from 15 seconds). In addition to capturing
video, Viddy lets users upload existing clips. Video can be trimmed after recording, which is espe-
cially helpful given the Did it start? lag that often plagues phone video. Viddy began life as an
iOS app, and that platform has a slight edge in terms of feature and interface polish. Blackberry
users try: Snipper by Serramedia BV, free.
Snapchat
Free, Snapchat, Inc.
HHHHH
You wont have to worry about files cluttering your friends phone
storage with this video-sharing app. All the photos and video you
take with Snapchat are set to self-destruct after the time limit you
specify. Just shoot the subject, choose the number of seconds the
clip or photo can be viewed, and send it off to a contact in your Friends list. As soon as a
friend clicks on the notification message for your masterpiece, the countdown starts. When
it hits zero POOF! Its gone. Snapchat has gained a certain amount of notoriety for being
linked to sexting due to the disposable nature of the content. The most disturbing accounts
revolve around teens, but the truth is that most are probably just goofing off and sharing
funny moments with friends. If you are entertaining thoughts that veer into Snapchats
seedier side, heed this warningeven though your message may disappear, recipients have
the ability to grab a screenshot during playback. The app will try to let you know when this
occurs, but by that point you may be on your way to being famous for the wrong reasons.

Facebook Poke
Free, Facebook, Inc.
HHHHH
What do you get when you marry Snapchat with one of
Facebooks most ridiculed features? Facebook Poke. This app
lets users send disposable video, photos, text messages, and
nostalgic poke notifications to Facebook friends. Although it
integrates with users Friends lists, recipients can only view the messages using the phone
app. As with Snapchat, remember that recipients can take screenshots of content before
it expires, so think twice before sending anything racy or potentially incriminating.
Facebook Pokes biggest advantage over its inspiration may simply be that it isnt
Snapchat, sidestepping that apps image perception problems and potentially making it
less creepy when you ask if a friend is using it. The one downside: its limited to the iOS
platform.
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CineBeat
Free, Smule
HHHHH
Think youve got what it takes to be a singing sensation? You
might be well on your way to living out your superstar fantasies
when you showcase your talents with this fun music video
creator. Simply record up to 15 seconds of singing or speaking
and CineBeat adds a soundtrack and auto-tunes your vocals to pop perfection. After
applying visual filters to your video, post it to your social networks and wait for the talent
agents to start calling. Just dont forget who your friends are when you make it big. The
free version of CineBeat comes with just a few visual and sound effects, but once you get a
taste youll be tempted to purchase more filters or expanded clip time within the app.
Vyclone
Free, Vyclone Inc.
HHHHH
Social sharing is a key component of video apps, but usually it just
involves making completed projects public on social networks.
Vyclone integrates social features right into the content creation
process by giving multiple users a way to collaborate and combine
their individual videos of the same event. It offers a unique way to preserve an event from
different views, perfect for gatherings like weddings, graduations, concerts, and sporting events.
Only clips from the same location and time can be synced and users can see the number of other
users who are logged-in nearby when shooting footage. Although the app doesnt allow clip
deletion, it does let users control whats public. Users who are more enamored with editing than
being behind the camera can also remix other peoples projects, making Vyclone a truly social
platform. In addition to the apps functionality, the Vyclone.com website provides online editing
tools where users can fine tune their masterpieces.
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Apps to organize status updates, tweets,
pins, posts and more
By Sean Cooper
If youre feeling overwhelmed by your online social activities, youre not alone. Between
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+ and so on, its challenging to keep up with
all the latest happenings. A social media management app might just be what the doctor
ordered. We found several apps that make following and creating the latest social buzz a snap.
OF YOUR
Janetter for Twitter
Free, Jane, Inc.
HHHHH
Twitter is a great way to follow your favorite celebrities and news feeds, but its more
challenging the more feeds you follow. Janetter for Twitter will save you from Twitter
overload. Its a simple way to get the most out of Twitter. The interface works like a dreamfinger-swipe to update
bookmarks in an instant. The ability to view thumbnails of photo tweets is a great feature, especially if your phone
has a smaller screen. You can even filter tweets by keyword, so you only see the tweets you want to see.
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Tweetings for Twitter
$1.99, RBD Solutions Limited
HHHHH
Tweetings for Twitter was designed with Twitter-aholics (is that
even a word?) in mind. Although it looks fine on phablets and
standard smartphones, the app really shines on large-screen
smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S4. WiFi support means
tweets are up to the second. And never forget to send an important tweet again; this
app lets you schedule tweets for a future date and time. It also takes the pain out of the
140 character limit by splicing tweets.
HootSuite for Twitter & Facebook
Free, HootSuite
HHHHH
HootSuite is your one-stop shop social media management
app. Monitor and manage Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn from
one powerful app. Similar to Tweetings for Twitter, you can
schedule tweets and Facebook status updates for later. Thats
not all. You can upload and share photos, receive notifications, and monitor keywords of
your choosing. HootSuites simple yet powerful interface makes managing your online
social life easy. The app is fully integrated with the HootSuite websites features
seamlessly import an existing account to get started. HootSuite is a great way to build
a following and share with the world wherever you are.
Windows Mobile users try: Rowi Lite by Hidden Pineapple, LLC, Free

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UberSocial
Free, UberMedia Inc.
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This is the jack-of-all trades social media management app
youve been waiting for. UberSocial is fully loaded with
features that put the official Twitter app to shame. You wont
miss Tweets from your best friends with Inner Circle. Are
you tired of hearing the latest celebrity scandal? Mute allows you to block individual
hashtags and users for as long as you like. You can manage all your social media
accounts and schedule tweets for later. Although its a great app, it would be nice
to have more features for Facebook other than cross-posting, liking and viewing
status updates.
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Buffer
Free, Buffer
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Social media is all about
sharing. Buffer makes it
easier to share on Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn, and
App.net. Similar to news apps like Flipboard and
Feedly, Buffer goes the extra mile by offering Twitter
analytics and Facebook insights with the ability to
click, retweet, comment and like. Sharing is made
easywhen you find something you like, simply
add it to your Buffer queue. Schedule your content
to go live when the time is right. Social media is
much easier thanks to Buffer.
TweetCaster for
Twitter
Free, OneLouder Apps
HHHHH
With so many wonderful
Twitter apps to choose from,
whats a smartphone user to
do? TweetCaster is the highest rated Twitter app for
good reason. Its easy-to-use, attractive interface makes
navigating Twitter a snap. Not only is this app reliable,
its ultra-fast and there are a host of amazing features at
your disposal. For instance, Search Party lets you search
your own timeline, and Photo Effects enhances your
images with cool effects before you upload them for
the world to admire.
TweeterLight
Free, Pilchie
HHHHH
Finding a decent Twitter
app for Windows Phone is
like finding a needle in a
haystack, but the search is
finally over. TweeterLight is an enhanced version of
the official Twitter app. It includes a slew of amazing
features, including themes, twitpic uploads, and
geolocation. All your latest feeds are automatically
updated on startup, so theres no need to constantly
refresh, and new tweets are highlighted for easy
reading. It doesnt have all the bells and whistles
of some of the other apps weve mentioned, but it
does the job for Windows users.

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Scope
Free, Scope
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With Scope, youll be the
talk of the town. Its your
social hub and an easy
way to manage your
social life. Manage accounts from all your favorite
websites including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare,
Instagram, Tumblr and Reddit. The app takes the
magic of Flipboard and uses it to enhance social
media. One-click sharing makes communicating
with your friends a breeze. All your favorite features
such as liking, commenting and more are here. The
only downsides are that the app sometimes suffers
from slow connections and you cant register
multiple accounts.
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Get smart about buying a home
with these smartphone apps
By Sean Cooper
House hunting used to be tedious and time consuming, but no longer. There are plenty of
new apps that make the search for your dream home a lot easier. Dont waste your time
walking through house after house when these apps can steer you directly to homes that
meet your criteria. Youre sure to find the one thats perfect for you.
Redfin Real Estate
Free, Redfin
HHHHH
Bring this powerful web-
based home search tool
with you while youre on
the go. Redfin is the only app that lets you view listings
directly from the MLS (multiple listing service). While
some aggregating apps suffer from stale data, Redfin
isnt one of them; current listings are always available.
You wont be left in the dark as Redfin offers the inside
scoop with exclusive information usually available only
to agents. The interface is easy to use and push alerts
make you the first to know when a home in your
desired neighborhood comes up for sale.
TOP
APPS
5
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Homesnap Real
Estate
Free, Sawbuck
HHHHH
Homesnap gives the old adage
a picture is worth a thousand
words new meaning. Snap a
photo of a house for sale and instantly find out useful
information, including list price, lot size and property tax.
Since buying a home is a family decision, you can share
your photo stream with family and friends. Plus,
Homesnap constantly delivers fresh MLS data to your
smartphone. Homesnap is a revolutionary app and theres
no other like it.
APPS_1309-REALESTATE 6/17/13 1:53 AM Page 96

T OP 5 R E AL E S TAT E AP P S T OP 5 R E AL E S TAT E AP P S T OP 5 R E AL E S TAT E AP P S
Zillow Real Estate
Free, Zillow
HHHHH
Zillow instantly delivers the newest home listings to your
mobile device. If youre looking to score a deal, be sure to
browse the foreclosures and for-sale-by-owner (FSBO)
listings. Receive only notifications for the properties that
matter to you by using Zillows filters to customize your search based on price,
neighborhood and your chosen keywords. Push notifications ensure youre always
in the know. Find out when new listings are available or when houses drop in price.
And little beats the convenience of being able to book an appointment to view a house
without picking up the phone.
realtor.com real estate - homes
Free, Move, Inc.
HHHHH
If your home buying is ultra-competitive, get a leg up on the
competition with the app that realtors are using. Quickly
search for houses by browsing individual listings or zoom in on
your desired neighborhood with the handy map. Search for
homes by school districta must-have for parents. Property listings include everything
youll need, including property tax, price history and number of bedrooms. Area Scout is
a unique feature to this app and it lets you view property results and track average home
values in different neighborhoods.
T
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P

5

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5

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5

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5

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A
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Real Estate & Homes by Trulia
Free, Trulia
HHHHH
Trulia is a simple, yet powerful real estate app certain to help
you find your next house. Using GPS, the app determines
your location and shows you houses for sale in your vicinity.
Properties come to life through high-resolution photo
galleries. Trulia is a great app for bargain hunters. A tap on the screen lets you instantly
know properties that have had their prices recently slashed. This app has the same great
push alerts youd expect from other real estate apps, including the latest new listings.
APPS_1309-REALESTATE 6/17/13 1:53 AM Page 97
APP LAUGHS
These arent the droids you
are looking for.
By Andy Broome
Fine. We will try your
Google maps.
I have to have the biggest phone so
people know how important I am.
APPS_1309-APPLAUGHS 6/17/13 1:55 AM Page 98
Guide to Phone Apps & more
is now available on iTunes and Google Play
The Latest Apps for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Tablets.
Smartphone Tips and Tricks to Make Your Life Easier. Hot Free Games and Apps.
Product Reviews, Tech News, and Much More!
Download the FREE Guide to Phone Apps & More app to purchase each issue for only $3.99 today!
For questions on downloading this app contact 800- 764-6278
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APPS_1309_C4 6/14/13 5:02 AM Page C4

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