One for Help, One for Fun

This month, I’d thought I would highlight a couple of apps that run on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. One app I found to be very helpful and the other I found to be lots of fun. Even if you don’t own an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, it is worth reading about these apps so you can start to get an idea of how you could be using these devices.

One thing I have a lot of trouble with is remembering when to perform routine maintenance on my car. Oil changes are not so bad because they are frequent enough, but things like tire rotations tend to slip my mind. I’m not organized enough to keep a separate car maintenance log. However, I do have my iPhone on me almost all the time. So luckily I found out about the app Car Minder, which helps you manage all your routine maintenance needs as well as a log of repairs and gas fillips. The main feature I like about Car Minder is the fact that it will remind you ahead of time when your next maintenance is due, based on either time or mileage. All the maintenance reminders are customizable so you can modify when your next maintenances are due. Because I have my iPhone on me almost all the time, it will be a lot easier to remember to record when the car is maintained and the reminders will be very helpful. If you’re like me, I would certainly recommend giving Car Minder a try. For a few dollars you could save yourself an expensive problem with your car.

Board games are fun, but seriously, when do any of us have time to sit down to play them with our friends? Luckily, with the help of technology, now we can play virtual board games with many of our friends at any time. For example, I recently started playing the app, Words with Friends, which is basically a Scrabble game. However, rather than sitting down and playing in real-time, the game is turn-based. That means when you take a turn, the other person’s device notifies them that it is their turn. When they have a moment to take a turn, they do so and then you are notified. In this way, you or your friend don’t need to carve out a lot of time to play the game. You each just take turns when you have time and the game progresses over the course of a day or more. I think I’ve played more “Scrabble” in the last few weeks than I played in my whole life combined. There is also a Chess with Friends game that uses a similar turn-based method of play. It’s almost like the old “chess by mail”, but just a lot faster and it doesn’t require stamps.

If you use any useful or fun iPhone apps, let me know about them!