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(57 posts)

IPHONE LOVE! Share your favorite apps and uses

Started 2 years ago by rockergirl
Latest reply from carter

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rockergirl
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Can't believe I waited so long to get one but now that I do I love, love, love it! Any recommendations on cool apps people can't live without? I know there are lots of iphone users in West Seattle, lets here what you like to use your phone for the most (besides reading the blog!).

Posted 2 years ago #
Lindsey
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Seattle photographer Chase Jarvis just released the "best camera" app that lets you edit your iphone photos with different filter and film simulations. I'm sure there's better language to describe it - http://www.thebestcamera.com/

**I don't have an iPhone... yet.***

Posted 2 years ago #
JayDee
Member Profile

Live without? Tough call...Like they say about diets that make you live longer by restricting calories: Do you live longer, or does it just feel like it?

I have an Touch iPod so it is a close relative...I found AppBox Pro to have a handy collection, and a nice price at $0.99 (I think). It has the level/battery life/unit conversion thing going (among others) and if you've the iPhone, some others that use GPS. I like the WorldView App for the cam shots it offers, from Vancouver (B.C.) to anywhere (I have cams bookmarked in "'Tween Waters"-Florida, Tahiti, and New Zealand).

Skip "Lightsaber" (all sound and fury signifying nothing).

Posted 2 years ago #
cjboffoli
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I've got so many iPhone apps on my iPhone that it is tough to pick just one useful app. But I have been intrigued with the new Starbucks apps since they were released earlier this week. They are pre-loaded with all of the menus. So you can select your drinks beforehand and then walk in to one of the participating locations (which are apparently just a handful in Seattle and San Francisco at this point) and both order and pay for your drink by scanning a semacode on the screen of your iPhone at a little data point on the counter at the Starbucks.

Posted 2 years ago #
saney
Member Profile

i second the AppBox Pro. great price for a LOT of included functions. some other favorites:

TripCase- lets you put in all of your travel arrangements (hotel/car/flights)and it notifies you if flights are delayed or gates change

the Stranger's Cocktail Compass- uses the GPS to tell you were the nearest bar with a happy hour is..and tells you how many minutes are left for specials

SitorSquat- helps you find public restrooms with your gps. and lets you enter the ones that you find that they dont have listed...

VegOut- links into HappyCow.net to use the gps and tell you the closest vegetarian friendly restaurant

HazelMail- you prepurchase post cards..then when you take a picture, you can upload it and they will print it as a postcard and send it to anyone in your hazelmail address book.

All Recipes- pick your ingredients and then it will give your recipe suggestions.

i LOVE LOVE LOVE my iPhone!

Posted 2 years ago #
waterworld
Member Profile

Google Mobile is a must-have app. You can do a voice search, and it's good at voice recognition. Results come up, when appropriate, with a map on the screen, phone number, and link for directions to the place.

Shazam is pretty cool, too. Hear a song you like when you're out and about, and Shazam will identify it and, if you want, download it from iTunes.

On the fun, but hardly necessary, front, I have the zippo lighter app. Turns your screen into a flame so you can do what's required at a really great concert. It even whips around in the wind when you blow on it. Minutes of fun.

Posted 2 years ago #
WSB
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For what it's worth, I adore the iPhone *without* many if any apps ... our son put a few on it but I don't use anything (except Bejeweled on occasion). That said, watch for an experimental WSB iPhone app soon.

Posted 2 years ago #
bluebird
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Will the WSB app allow viewing of the forums? The regular iphone/mobile version doesn't include forums in the drop down menu.

Posted 2 years ago #
CountingCoup
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Another iPhone addict here, like "cjboffili" I have so many its hard to pick the best but here a few that are specialized: *GoSkyWatch; an app that uses the compass and GPS feature to map out the sky with stars and constellation, etc. hold it up against the sky and align the sky map with the real stars if you want to know what your looking at. *Pano; an camera app that allows you to take several photos, aligning the last photo with your next photo until you are ready for the app to stitch them together for a wide shot (could be 360 deg)

Posted 2 years ago #
BookGal
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Here are some that I have...a lot of these apps are free versions, and have full (pay) versions. If there's a free version - and it looks like an interesting app... give it a try. You can always delete it... or upgrade to a full pay version later.

1. Shazam - hold your iPhone up to the radio and find out what song is playing and the artist! It works, and its fun to use.
2. Shop Notes - "grocery" list app (you can customize and add items to the lists too)
3. Sportacular (free) - for those who want to keep track of their sport teams and game scores. Can be customized with your favourite teams.
4. Tipulator - generates how much of a tip to leave.
5. Currency - Dollars to Pounds, Euros, Yuan, Yen...or vice versa!
6. Battery Magic - free version now has annoying ads... pay version is fairly inexpensive. It tells you how much life is left in the battery if you play games, talk, use the internet, play music, etc.
7. Urbanspoon - can't decide where to go out to eat... give your iPhone a shake and see what comes up.

8. Flight (watch those hamsters fly!!) goofy game, but it'll put a smile on your face.
9. 2 Across: NYT (and more) crossword puzzles downloaded on your iPhone!

10. Quickoffice (pay version, but worth it)... Word (document) and Excel (spreadsheet) files can be sync'd to your iPhone; create a document or spreadsheet on your iPhone; or at least read a file (e.g. an email attachment). Bit of a learning curve, but fairly easy to use.

Oh, and a bit of advice for iPhone users: use the Passcode Lock (go to Settings, then General). It may seem a bit of an inconvenience at first, but better than someone being able to access everything on your iPhone just by turning it on!

Can't wait for a WSB iPhone app... for now I have it "bookmarked".

Posted 2 years ago #
BookGal
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Holy cows... AppBox Pro... I just looked into it, and its got a bunch of the same aps that I installed separately... Just downloaded it and will try it out. Thanks for the suggestion!

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
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Watch out, here comes my geeky side: I like the NPR app that lets me stream a bunch of programs. Also, the public radio tuner lets you listen to tons of different public radio channels live.
Shazam is fun; it "listens" to 15 seconds of a song and will identify it. I've used it several times while at Feedback Lounge.

Posted 2 years ago #
pigeonmom
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Curses! I still have a year left @ T-Mobile. <grumble> :@

Posted 2 years ago #
swimcat
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How much does it cost to use all of these applications? I know most are free to put on your phone, but how much does it cost once you start using all this data? I'm envisioning a $200/month phone bill.

Posted 2 years ago #
Smitty
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m - unless it's something like a GPS functionality the cost of the APP itself is generally your only expense.

Granted, the $99/month plan is more expensive then say - blackberry - but the amount of time that we use our APPS MORE than makes up for that data cost.

The iphone is an incredible smartphone that is not just *cool* but actually gains in value as you add APPS.

Every time I see someone with an iPhone I ask them if they like it. 100% (over the last 1+ year) say they love it.

Posted 2 years ago #
Lindsey
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A WSB iPhone app?! Ugh, I'm still waiting for my Verizon contract to expire!

Posted 2 years ago #
Bayou
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I second the nods to Shazam, UrbanSpoon, the Stranger's Cocktail Compass and NPR.

Some of the other ones I use most often are...

-Yelp
-Amazon Mobile
-Amazon Kindle
...if there was a Fresh app, I'd have that too lol
-EtsyAddict
-Geocaching
-Wordpress (if you don't know what this is, you don't need it)
-PhoneFlicks (Netflix app)
-TweetDeck (Twitter)

Posted 2 years ago #
digidoll
Member Profile

Move that useless weather app that came with the phone to the last page, and bookmark the Weather Underground web page for your city (add to home screen). MUCH better, with satellite pictures and 7-day outlook... more accurate by far, and much more interesting. It is formatted for the iPhone, too. Long URL:
<http://i.wund.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=Seattle%2c+WA>

As for the West Seattle Blog forums, I've bookmarked them as well as the WSB home page. The forums are nicely formatted, just like the blog, they're just hard to get to from the blog unless you bookmark it.

Ditto for Shazam, WordPress (a little buggy, but works in a pinch), Google Mobile.

Other apps I can't live without, and I haven't seen mentioned yet:
Pandora - streaming music
Facebook
AccuFuel - tracks fuel consumption, fun if you're into that.

Posted 2 years ago #
Irukandji
Member Profile

FML Pro (a/k/a FmyLife);

Texts From Last Night;

IndieBooks run by independent book sellers, their faves, and store locator;

BNO News (Breaking News Online);

ANd I'm a freak for wordgames: Scrabble, WordWarp, Textropolis and Wordworth.

Agree with others on NPR, UrbanSpoon and Pandora (A Fever Ray Station all my own)?!

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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pigeonmom..

hubby says t-mobile is coming out with a phone that is much like i-phone..may have already..

i am not a big fan of t-mobile but their unlimted internet access package can't be beaten... when combined with a shared plan it makes economic sense for us.

that said.. our contract is up.. so we are looking at options.

right now we have 700 shared minutes plus unlimited internet which we use for about 170/mo.

what to do? what to do?

Posted 2 years ago #
bluebird
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Don't forget to download the patch from itunes today that allows MMS (picture/video messages).

Posted 2 years ago #
ellenater
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Oh this is awesome! Thanks for the suggestions.

I like iBird but would suggest getting pro. We use it to call brids at Lincoln park sometimes. Fun!

I am also a fan of Evernote because it syncs to my Macs. The free version works great, it is really helping me stay organized.

Anything that syncs to my Macs is a plus.

Facebook app. is pretty good.

I have a couple music apps that I like: tempo and iguitar. You can actually strum on that.

Hubby has Katamari which is a fav. game of ours. works pretty well.

I need some games. Any suggestions? For regular games, I like tetris, katamari, super mario. Not a battle gamer, really.

Great thread. :)

Posted 2 years ago #
wundrgrrrl
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Ladies lemme tell ya, "P Tracker" is one of those tools I don't know how I lived without! Even my boyfriend knows now when I'll be <ahem> moody.

For games, I have a few I'm addicted to:
Bejeweled 2 is mindless fun

must.eat.birds - this one is japanese origin, so has great graphics, and sound. You slingshot your monster around the sky eating birds who are after your desserts. It's a 9 on the addiction scale!

Posted 2 years ago #
digidoll
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I forgot to mention my favorite game, GAIA... it's like a falling blocks game where you tap to remove 3 or more matching blocks that are connected, and new blocks fall in to replace them. The twist is that the new blocks fall depending on which way you are holding your phone, so you can manipulate which side you want blocks to fall from, and existing blocks that are not supported can slide around as you rotate your phone. I was addicted for months.

More games: Othello, Connect Four (FourFree), there's even a first-person shooter called Cube, but I'm not coordinated enough to figure it out (no, I'm not a "gamer" obviously :). Oh, and iBowl... hold your phone like a bowling ball, like on the Wii.

Posted 2 years ago #
Bayou
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As far as games go, I'm a geek for the retro stuff- Oregon Trail, Wolfenstein, Monopoly. I also have a number of card games, majong, and labyrinth. And word games, Scramble and WordSearch.

For laughs, FML and I can has cheeseburger.

For foodies, Locavore is a cool one that tells you what's in season and where all the local farmer's markets are.

For Winos, Drync Wine is decent to keep track of favorites or your collection.

For travelers, "Around Me" is good to locate anything that's close by- banks, restaurants, gas stations, etc.

I also forgot to mention Open Table which is nice to book reservations.

Posted 2 years ago #
pigeonmom
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JoB, yes, T-Mobile does have the Google myTouch 3G phone now and I'm considering it.

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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pigeonmom..

hubby told me to wait.. there is a better option coming out.. more like iphone.
if you want to know particulars.. email me at joanne at brayden dot org and i will be glad to forward your query on to him...
i don't talk geek:(

Posted 2 years ago #
beachdrivegirl
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job, if you want an iphone and your contract is truely up you may want to look @ AT&T. My husband and I have a family plan for our iphones through AT&T. We currently (with taxes) pay $189.67 per month. Our plan includes the two phones, the data plan, and 2100 shared minutes. Looking at their site, it looks like plans for 700 shared iphone minutes would start at $69.99 a month and the iphone data plan is only $20!! This would be saving you over $80/month!!!! how cool is that?!?! and you get all of these fancy pants apps we all love! good luck to you in your search! :)

Posted 2 years ago #
jamminj
Member Profile

I have several kid games on my iphone to keep my 2 year old busy, as well as most being educational.
.
ABC Animals - learn alphabet, animals, and tracing the letters as he advances.
.
Bus - Wheels on the Bus song, which you can record in your own voice for your child to listen to.
.
Buddy - Buddy the bus story - also can record your own voice.
.
TappyTunes - Dozens of songs (childrens, classical, holiday, etc), that play as you tap the phone (or play by itself) - with colorful display while playing.
.
Voice Cards - another alphabet app
.
Adventure - several easy toddler games.
.

And for me -

OneBusAway - lets you know when the next KC Metro bus is away from your particular stop.
.
Facebook
.
SportsTap - keep track of all the sports scores
.
WunderRadio - listen to radio stations from all over the world.
.
AOL Radio - almost commercial free radio.
.
As far as any 'iPhone' competitor out there, what you have to remember is that these apps will not run on any other phone. The PalmPre has been getting good reviews, but for me, it always comes to - will it run these apps?
.
Also, my iPhone syncs with my itunes music and movies. Great to turn on Wall*E when my son is getting bored waiting at the dr's office, bus, store...

Posted 2 years ago #
ellenater
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Thanks for the games recs. :) Off to the app. store.

Oh, does anyone have a better version of the alarm clock? I don't love the current version.

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
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Hey -

I'd be interested to know if there are better calendar and contacts apps anybody knows about. Stuff just disappears into the ether too often off the calendar. Baaaad news.

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

beachdrivegirl

we did the cell phone education dance at southcenter mall today...

and either i can't type or didn't know how much we actually pay because t-moblie is still the cheapest at about 110/mo w/o taxes and fees for 700 min + unlimited internet...

but.. the other guys aren't so far behind.. and i think verizon's coverage and internet speeds are substantially better overall... and AT&T has the roll over minutes...

i think we will either be getting androids or i-phones soon.. but left the mall feeling like i had been fed through a pasta machine:(

Posted 2 years ago #
AlkiRagdoll
Member Profile

I dont have an Iphone -- but do have an Itouch. I love the applications. If you have not tried Pandora, its a great way to listen to music that you do not own, and its free. Great aplications are also available to help learn a language.

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Alkiragdoll..

ITouch is the windows version of the new smart phones?

Hubby thinks he wants an android for all the google apps available.. but i am leaning towards Itouch. Are there many apps available?

i was impressed with the speed of the Itouch but am concerned that the new one is too responsive for shaky fingers. do you have the newer version and do you think it too responsive?

Posted 2 years ago #
bluebird
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I think the reference is to the ipod touch. Which is an ipod (not a phone). You can put all your music, photos, videos, games, etc. on it and can download and use almost all the iphone apps through wi-fi. No service or data plan needed, just internet access. But also, of course, no phone.

If your husband is looking at android for the google apps, he might be interested in this blog article.

http://phandroid.com/2009/09/25/eff-google-screw-android-the-backlash-begins/

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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Thanks bluebird..

i sent the link to hubby.
You are right, this might make him think twice.

Posted 2 years ago #
swimcat
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That blog article was interesting but way over-reactive. I'd take it with a grain of salt.

Posted 2 years ago #
andrea
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I don't know how my husband and I could ever manage without our iPhones...we were just in New England for a week and found ourselves endlessly amused with the iPhone while on the plane, on line for a museum or tour, or just waiting for our food...my favs are:

- Sextuple Word challenge -- various word jumbles...super, super addciting!

- Bejeweled 2 -- my go to on traffic jammed bus rides

- Solitaire

- Shazam -- for those random songs you hear out and about but don't know who sings it.

- AroundMe -- we used this many, many times while we were on vacation last week to look for the nearest restuarants, banks, coffee shops, whatever

- Urbanspoon -- local food options for what you're in the mmod for and in your chosen price point

- Whats On -- tells you whats locally on TV, when, and what channel (in case I want to catch the evening repeat of Oprah!)

- 9-Toolbox -- super cool app with '9' apps to it - currency converter, date calculator, days until calculator, each years holidays, inclinometer, loan calculator, unit conversion calculator, tip calculator, and 'girls day' caluculator for the ladies.

- Flixster -- tells you what movies are out, where they are playing and at what times by using your current location. also tells you what will be coming out in the future. plays previews of the films and lists reviews. also tells you what DVD's are recently out.

- MapMyRun -- as a runner this is a great app. It links to my MapMyRun link on their main webpage, and calculates my time, my distance, my course on a map...its been pretty indespensible.

- Pandora -- this is my could not live without app...I love being able to listen to so many different stations of my favorite musicians when I'm running or on the bus...it makes everything so much more worth while!

- Facebook --who doesn't want to have fb at their fingertips? :)

- OneBusAway -- as someone else noted above, this is an invaluable app to have to know precisely when your next bus is coming so you don't leave the warm, cozy, dry confines of your office only to stand in the rain for 20 minutes before a bus comes along again!

I have more, but these are the ones I use the most.

Also, the ability to download movies and vidoes to watch is great for trips/car rides/etc...I watched the lastest season of Weeds on the plane ride and it was a great way to pass the time!

Posted 2 years ago #
rockergirl
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Thanks so much everyone for contributing which iphone apps they use - very helpful and fun to check out. Keep adding more if you discover others. Definitely planning on using them on my phone while traveling to Boston and Rhode Island this week.

Posted 2 years ago #
JoB
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m

he did

Posted 2 years ago #
ellenater
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Bejeweled 2 is going to be the death of me, lol. I am up to level 12. LOVE this game. It's like Tetris but with better music and I love the acid trip tunnels. Great game!

WSD, I love iCal. Never have problems and have it synced with Macs. Same with conctacts. What has been happening with yours?

Posted 2 years ago #
AlkiRagdoll
Member Profile

I was commenting about my Itouch (an Ipod that is NOT a phone). I love the applications, but do not like the keypad on the Iphone or Itouch. As a result, I only use the Itouch for fun and a Blackberry for phone and email. I find the "data entry" very difficult on the Iphone/Itouch... just me, as I perfer a real keypad.

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
Member Profile

Dr. E-nater -

Recall that the patient is a Luddite as you diagnose, 'k?

So.

I just got the software updated a couple of weeks ago (thanks ken) for this gen one phone and the mac. And I am still on mobileme, but my subscription is going to expire in a couple of weeks. Which I am thinking is ok, cuz I'm not really in need of instant updating. I had been doing it daily at eod and Life was good with calendar and contacts syncing pre-
m.m. Christopher isn't going to like this, but mm kind of bites for me. I have tons of contacts and make use of the notes on contacts. But some of the notes have disappeared from the contact page. Hassle and I Can't have that. And calendar entries, not ALL but enough to lose confidence, just don't "stick". I have to double check everything and it is just a hassle. I am planning to clean and edit the contacts off my
laptop before me ends and sync all again. But what happens then? After me acct vaporizes? Ken and sidekick geek Jeff made me a hit list to reorganize and sync and backup to Timemachine on external. Thank God. But, thecalendar and contacts "notes" thing tho' - that is more than my mid-century brain can troubleshoot.

Thx doc ;)

Posted 2 years ago #
ellenater
Member Profile

Ya that would drive me buggy, too. Never had that. I don't like that you can't actually see the items ON the calendar on iPhone. They are listed. There are some quirks. You might check out Evernote. No cal. but awesome syncing and no MM necessary. They might have a calendar on the paid version.

Posted 2 years ago #
SarahScoot
Member Profile

AlkiRagdoll - the confusion comes from the fact that what you are referring to is *not* an "Itouch," as you call it, but an "iPod Touch." No need to keep insisting that it's called an "Itouch."
Although, it does bring to mind that gem of a song from the early '90s, "I Touch Myself." Maybe you're a "touch" confused? ;-)

Posted 2 years ago #
westseattledood
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Thx e-nater,

I'll check evernote out. I have yet to research alternatives at all, other than thinking I would give google a look. So I appreciate the rec.

Aside from all that, I just FEEL so much better having just gotten all that confusion and frustration off my chest. It 's just like therapy! ;). Except no bill! Yay! ;)

Posted 2 years ago #
macjustice
Member Profile

Where even to begin?
I agree with Google Mobile, Evernote, Facebook, Amazon, and Shazam, mentioned above. All great.

I get through my bus commute with Instapaper and the Kindle app. Instapaper lets you store websites using a "read later" bookmark on your computer and clears out all the ads and stuff so you get a nice text-only version to read on your phone. Great for news, articles, and short stories.

I just discovered RedLaser, which lets you scan bar codes to see if you can get a better deal online. Great for Target, Barnes and Noble, places like that.

I have a lot of fun with twitter (@macjustice) and I've used a couple of different apps for it, but Tweetie is the far and away best, and the 2.0 coming up should be even better. $2 seems "expensive" for a Twitter app, but it's worth every penny.

My games of choice: Ramp Champ, Spider, Peggle, GeoDefense, Critter Cruch, Flight Control, and Civilization Revolution.

I had the first generation for two years, and I'm loving my 3GS. I'll probably buy another in 2 years, and one for my fiance soon :)

Posted 2 years ago #
bluebird
Member Profile

I think someone asked about an alarm clock. I use *alarm clock free* by ihandysoft. It's your basic digital clock that we're used to on our nightstand. Can set it for the week. Has a big snooze and off button. When it rings you see the time displayed in large, bright green, readable numbers. Even has the dimmer.

Posted 2 years ago #
ellenater
Member Profile

Oh thanks for that, bluebird! I hate how cumbersome the stock alarm is.

macjustice, red laser sounds cool!

I can't even fathom life without my Apple products. I was playing with the Kindle the other day and it was awesome but not perfect...like a Mac. I was thinking, "this is what a Mac would look like if it was made by Dell" LOL!

Posted 2 years ago #
ellenater
Member Profile

the iPhone continues to rule...

Yesterday I started a new Math class and needed a scientific calculator. After getting ready to go to Radio Shack to buy one, it occurred to me that I could maybe find an app. and that it would probably be cheaper than buying one.... So not only is there an app., it comes on your phone, for free! It's the regular calculator turned to landscape mode. And there is a step by step tutorial on Apple's app. page. Do wonders never cease? lol!

It's kinda fun to play with, too. :)

Posted 2 years ago #