Before I got my iPhone I carried an A5 Filofax with me, it was my brain. It contained my calender, contacts, to-do lists, ideas, schedules, term plans, subject ideas, book lists, menu lists, recipies, etc etc etc. Whereever I went my trusty Filofax went likewise, I had to have big handbags to fit it in, and that sucker was heavy!
My I have my iPhone my pretty red Filofax sits dejected in the bookshelf, it implores me from time to time to pick it up and wistfully gaze at it's prettyness, at it's stationary loveliness. And much as I would love to use it again, my iPhone has usurped it's place in my life.
Richard has just got himself an iPhone too, he had phone jealousy.
Here are some of the apps I use in my day to day life and what I think of them:
Calender: well it's obvious isn't it. But it syncs with my Outlook Calender and I never forget appointments, when I go to appointments I don't need to take those silly little cards that tell me my next appointment, I put it in my phone along with a reminder there and then.
Contacts: also synced with Outlook. The really wonderful thing is that I can click on an address in contacts and it immediately opens a map and then I can ask it for directions to get there. Brilliant!!
To-Do: The to-do apps available for iPhone are many and varied, they range from the freebies with a simple tick list, to the very complex ones at $12.99 a pop (all prices in AUD, they are cheaper in USD) I have Ultimate To-Do, I think it's very underrated in the itunes store, it costs $1.19. It allows me to have tags, contexts and projects just like the $12.99 apps. I can prioritise and put in due dates. I use the projects to keep groups of tasks together (like all the things I need to do to for our USA trip) I use tags for sorting different varieties, if I want to know what errands I need to run, I click on the tag "errands" and up pops the list, it sorts by a number of different variables. It's a fabulous app at a bargain price. The only thing it misses compared to its more expensive counterparts is allowing you to have repeat tasks: for instance "clean the bathroom" every Tuesday morning.
Notes: I've recently upgraded from the basic bundled "Notes" app to the much more complex Notebooks. This app syncs with a piece of freeware on the desktop, it allows me to have folders and subfolders (called books for some reason) I can create and edit notes, view and edit word docs and view PDFs and XLS files. This app has allowed me to put my homeschool schedules, booklists, ideas, history schedules etc on to my iPhone, I can refer to them anywhere. At some point I may choose to upgrade to QuickOffice which would give me better XLS functionality (and possibly better Word functionality too but I haven't looked too hard) QuickOffice is usually $24.99 but it's on sale right now for $15.99, now that's a tempting price!
Geocaching: I have both the official Geocache app and GPS Kit, I have used the Geocache one once and it did a decent job.
Blogging: Unlike Wordpress, Blogger does not have their own free app, very slack I think. I've chosen BlogPress, it gets good reviews and talk ups on multiple sites as the best app to use with Blogger. It allows me to post and edit posts, it allows me to post photos. Unfortunately it does not allow me to add tags. So far though, it's worked pretty good.
French: Jordan and Richard are learning French. To aid their studies we have WN French, French Verbs and Collins French Dictionary and Grammar, these have replaced 3 heavy books that Richard used to lug backwards and forwards on the train so he could do his french while commuting.
Other educational: This is not an area I have worried about too much but there are some fabulous maths and phonics apps available. I do have a couple, Shiroku, Bubble Lite and Word Warp, but they are not beginner maths/reading... I use them :)
ebooks: I have the free app Stanza, it's a good little ebook reader. I'm never stuck without something to read in a doctors waiting room now! Lucky US folks can get a Kindle app but they won't sell them to we antipodeans.
Travel: I have Postino in which I can create postcards from photos taken from my phone and then have them printed and mailed anywhere in the world. It's probably dearer than buying a postcard and a stamp but a postcard isn't going to have ME in it is it?? I have all my travel plans in www.tripit.com and I am using the free tripit app which synchs with the online site. There are other paid apps which do the same and possibly in a prettier way, but I'm a cheapskate and I'll stick with the freebie. I also have a few free guide books, I can't say they are particularly good, but again, I'm a cheapskate and I'm not paying $10 or $20 for the paid ones. I also have GF Card, a nifty wee app that gives information on a gluten free diet in many languages, very handy for restaurants where their english is not so hot.
Shopping: Pricebook is $1.19 and allows me to keep track of prices on different items at different supermarkets. Ideally I would like this bundled with a shopping list app but that hasn't happened yet. I'm currently using the free version of Grocery Gadget, the full version is about $5.99 it's pretty good but it doesn't allow me to write notes on an item so I can't keep track of prices in it. For that reason I will likely try some other shopping list apps to see what works.
Other apps:
Soundboard et all are great fun for the kids to use when making plays etc
Metronome for music practice
Torch for light in a dark situation
Mover for quickly moving files between phones
Metlink for train and tram timetables and trip planner
Pandora Box and Appminer for finding the latest bargain apps and searching within different perameters
Sleepmaker for white noise when the short people can't sleep
Cardstar for replacing the million billion store loyalty cards we all end up carrying
Pocket Weather and BOM radar for Aussie weather addicts
Then of course a bunch of games, and photography bits and pieces.
The iPhone can truely revolutionise the way you run your life!
4 comments:
I admit to iPhone jealousy, yet I can do nothing about it. So I will pine away here most dejectedly.
Very cool, I need to use my iPhone for more than just checking email and geocaching. :) One of the reasons I don't use it more, is that I don't get reception where I live in the mountains! But a few of these apps would be very cool when I'm out and about in Boulder.
Angela the vast majority of these apps don't need a data link to work.
I got an iphone right before my trip to Singapore, I love that I can have all my music on it, my phone contacts, and all my 'stuff'! it sounds like you are using yours more fully than I am...! did you know there is a mosquito repellent app? There is one to find public bathrooms too, and people rate them. I didn't know about the metronome, very handy! Check out screen cleaner pro when you get the chance! :)
I had iphone envy after dh got his, then I had to have one.
Post a Comment