Category Archives: iPhone
Best iPhone Apps For Your Next Road Trip
I have taken 5 roadtrips in the last 7 months. Yes, I am nuts. Out of those 7 trips, 4 of them were between Texas and Utah (1,200 miles each direction) and a trip to Park City, Utah at Christmas. During this experience I have learned a few things.
#1 Don’t always believe your GPS
My GPS sent me through Zion National Park, which is a must see place for all it’s amazing beauty, however it cost me an additional $25 just to drive through it when I didn’t need to. My wonderful GPS also sent me through one of the largest Indian reservations in Arizona where I didn’t see a gas station for about 3 hours. Like a scene from a scary movie, almost out of gas, no cell phone service, not another car in sight, no signal of life anywhere except for the hawks and vultures beginning to fly overhead….Anyways….
#2 Gas station coffee is disgusting but sometimes on a road trip, Coca-Cola and Monsters just don’t do the trick.
#3 There are no radio stations. Period. Not even a decent A.M. station to hear the news or weather!
So with my vast experience in road trips lately, I have come up with a few iPhone apps that helped save the day for me. If you have any great ones to share please feel free to comment below and share the love, because I have a couple more coming this summer. Enjoy!
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#1 GasBuddy – This app is fabulous these days especially with gas prices hitting $4.00 a gallon and rising. This app uses your current location to determine the best place to fill up at the cheapest price, and it really works!
#2 Hotels.com – Need a hotel room for the night but not sure where you’re at, the best rates, cleanest hotel, or what’s available in the next town? This app will guide you along the way and get you a great deal, or at least give you some negotiating power 
#3 Waze – Find yourself in some big city traffic? Waze will get you through it by telling you what freeways to avoid and how long you’ll be in traffic.
#4 Yelp – If you’re hungry, this app will tell you by category what’s around you and even has reviews
#5 Starbucks – If you’re looking for something a little better than that nasty gas station coffee, the Starbucks app uses your location to tell you the closest location. It’s does lots of other stuff too but when you’re on a road trip, you just need to know where you can get a quick pick me up!
#6 TuneIn Radio – This app allows you to pick up any radio station you want, from local to not so local. It’s awesome!
#7 Shazam – If you are so lucky to pick up a radio station in the middle of nowhere, there’s a chance you might hear a great song but you don’t know who sings it. Or you may be so bored you create a game with your fellow road trippers to see who can name the song or artist. The Shazam app “listens” to the song and tells you all the info you need about it plus gives you the option to download it right from iTunes!
#8 Spacetime – This app is great for many reasons, it tracks and send your location to whoever you want it to go to. So if you break down or get lost, just send your location! (Also great for tracking teenagers)
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Now what I would like to see a great app do:
( And if you know of an app for these needs, please tell me!)
#1 Rest stop finder – There are several out there, but they all stink from what I can tell.
#2 Police radar – I need to know when to slow down!
#3 Short cut finder – I don’t trust my GPS
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Cool iPhone Apps
I thought I would take some time to discuss iPhone apps. I am always looking for new cool apps to use and I tend to download a bunch, then never use them. A friend said to me the other day (after scrolling through my many pages of apps), “Why don’t you group them together?”, I replied “Because I’ll forget what apps I have”. Am I the only one who worries about this?
I have compiled a list of the coolest apps I use on a frequent basis and made them clickable so you can go right to the iTunes store to get them, but I highly encourage you to tell me what your favorite apps are (so I can download them too!). Enjoy!
Draw Something (Free) – I am so addicted to this game right now! You draw a picture, the other person guesses. Great entertainment!
Facebook Messenger – This Facebook feature is great by itself because now I can message and reply without opening my Facebook app and going through all the steps to get to my messages. Yes, I’m lazy.
Skype - This one is a lifesaver for me! My husband spent the last 2 years working in Afghanistan and of course I can Skype him at home but this is great for on the go. Plus, I don’t have to video call him, I can use it as a regular telephone call!
Instagram – Editing pictures before posting to Facebook is an amazing thing! 
Shazam – Coolest app ever! Have you ever been listening to the radio and can’t remember the name of a song or artist? Click “Shazam” and it “listens” to the song, tells you the name and artist, and allows you to download it from iTunes!
5-0 Radio - Police scanner anywhere, anytime. Yes, I’m nosy!
Domino’s Pizza – I order pizza directly off my iPhone on a regular basis and NEVER have to talk to a person. So cool.
Ghost Radar - Friday night fun! This app picks up signals of “ghosts” and sends you messages. Creepy but fun!!!
TuneIn Radio – Any radio station, anywhere, anytime. Even better that iHeartRadio because you don’t have to share your Facebook info
Gas Buddy – Location based and tells you were the lowest gas is near you. Priceless!
Waze – Your traffic buddy. Tells you where there is traffic, police, construction, accidents, etc near you. Awesome tool!
ScoreCenter (ESPN) – Updates you on YOUR teams as it happens. Makes football season even more awesome!
Square – Accept credit cards with your iPhone…too awesomely convenient. (Paypal is coming out with this as well so stay tuned).
Honorable mentions:
Foursquare Fandango QR Reader EventBrite
WordPress Scriptures Netflix Starbucks
My Verizon Flashlight PayPal Yelp
What are your favorite iPhone apps?
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The iPhone – What’s so great about it?
Happy Girl!
So in the past month I have gone from a Blackberrry to a Droid to an iPhone. Wait. Let me clarify that.
1) Blackberry Curve – Ancient but I loved it
ouch screen before and I like real buttons! It had some apps I could download and as long as I got my emails and could text, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare on it, I was good. But I really really wanted a Droid. So a good friend of mine, Ian Griffith, who just so happens to be a computer genius and owns the computer and technology repair company Epsilon Technology Group, gave me his old Droid when he got the latest and greatest version. I was so excited! It was pretty cool and did a lot more than my Blackberry, but after a while I wanted to throw it against the wall. The problem wasn’t the Droid operating system, it was the phone itself. The Eris is the first version of the Droid so it didn’t have the capabilities or the processors that the new Droids have now. That would explain why it was sooooooo slooooooow.So I’m running errands yesterday and as I am about to throw my Droid out the car window, I see Verizon. Now I have pestered this poor guy at the Verizon store for months because I knew my upgrade date was in May and he was always so helpful. I couldn’t decide on Droid or iPhone. I like the Google based Droid but everyone, everyone, everyone swears the iPhone will change your life. So I found Kyle at Verizon, again, and said I’m ready this time. He persuaded me to go with the iPhone and at the same time assured me that I s
hould not judge the newer Droids based on the Eris I had. So I went iPhone, then he threw me the white one which just shows my coolness factor right?
I couldn’t pass up the deal, with my upgrade, contract renewal, and the ability to put it all on my next bill, it was practically free!
Now the real question…Did it change my life? It has been
less than 24 hours and yes, it has changed my life. I used to make fun of the people raving about it saying it is life changing. IT IS LIFE CHANGING! It is sooooooo user friendly! I love it and now I’m one of the cool kids on the block.
P.S. Thank you Ian for the Droid, I really do appreciate it!
