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Daily iPhone App: FunderCloud brings the best of Indiegogo and Kickstarter to your iPhone
We have apps to browse news, music and videos, and now there is one to peruse crowdfunded projects. FunderCloud debuted in the App Store last month and allows you to thumb through projects from both Kickstarter and Indiegogo. The app has an iOS 7-inspired design that pulls in and displays listings from the two most popular crowdfunding websites. The app will list a firehouse of all the most popular projects, but you can filter this list by category, new projects and projects that are ending soon. There's also a search option to find projects by keyword and a favorites list that you can use to track projects you like. When viewing a listing, FunderCloud appears to pull the content from the source website and displays it in the app. On Kickstarter projects, you'll see the link to download the Kickstarter app. Because FunderCloud is only an aggregator, there are no persistent login options within the app. You can back a project from within the app, but it is handled by the KickStarter or Indiegogo website. As a result, FunderCloud doesn't serve as a management tool that tracks your funded projects. It's merely a browser. You can download FunderCloud from the iOS App Store for US$1.99. It's worth a download, especially if you enjoy thumbing through crowdfunding projects in your free time. And, it's a double shot allowing you access to both Kickstarter and Indiegogo at the same time, which is more convenient than browsing each site separately.
Daily iPhone app: Seedio lets you send live music to another iOS device
Ever wanted to send a song to your roommate and have them listen in real time along with you? AirPlay doesn't support iOS-to-iOS device streaming, so you will have to turn to a third-party app like Seedio to simultaneously play a song on multiple devices. It's a slick experience with one song, multiple devices and an exponentially loud beat. Most of the power of Seedio is hidden underneath a no-frills UI that's easy to use. When it launches for the first time, each button on the screen has a label that tells you its function. There are not that many on-screen elements -- one to add music to a playlist, one to set up a device as a broadcaster or receiver, one to share information about Seedio with friends, one to access a tutorial and one over-sized play button to get the music flowing. Using the app is exceptionally easy. Create a playlist from your iTunes library or add them from external sources like SoundCloud or a streaming URL. The option to pull music from an external source requires an in-app purchase. Once the music is selected, just set one device as a broadcaster and the other devices as receivers. The receiver devices will search for the broadcaster and connect to it with just a single tap. The person with the broadcasting device just has to hit play and the audio will be pumped to all connected devices as the same time. It literally takes just a few minutes to configure and connect all the devices. There is one caveat that could disrupt your mobile music party -- all the devices need to be on the same WiFi network. There is a workaround if you have a phone with a WiFi hotspot functionality, though. You can create your own WiFi network by turning on your iPhone's personal hotspot feature. You then can use that mobile WiFi network to connect all the devices together so they can share the beat. Seedio is perfect for people who want to fill a room with sound using only their iPhones. It's also useful for sharing some tunes with nearby people. I've used it to send songs to my husband when he's downstairs and I'm on the main floor of our house. Seedio is normally US$2.99, but the app is free for a short time. At that price, you can't go wrong.
Daily iPhone App: Moves is the fitness app of the future
I've long said that the best feature of the iPhone 5s is the M7 motion coprocessor. It's this small processor that records and stores all your motion data -- and can even determine if you are walking, running or on moving transport (like in a car or on a train). However, by default, while the M7 is always recording and storing your motion data, iOS 7 actually has no way to show you this data. It's up to third-party app developers to write apps that can take advantage of the M7's data. And the best of these apps is Moves, which is our Daily iPhone App. I've put Moves through its paces for the last few weeks and it has quickly replaced my previous favorite fitness-tracking app on iOS (because that app hasn't offered support for the M7 yet). Moves has a simple enough UI: The home screen shows a dot that increasingly grows in size as you move throughout the day. Tapping this dot will cycle through the number of steps you've taken, the number of calories burned, the number of miles walked and the amount of time spent moving. Below the dot, you'll find the Storyline, which is a timeline of your day's activities. Locations are shown in a white pill-shaped icon that lengthens according to the amount of time you've spent there. Location names can be set, like "Home" or "Work," and you can also look up location names thanks to Move's Foursquare integration. When you leave a location, a colored line starts to grow. A pink line means you're running; a green line means you're walking; a blue line means you're cycling; and a gray line means you're on some form of motorized transport. Tapping any of these lines will take you to the map view where you can see the exact route you took plotted out. The best part of Moves is that you don't have to do a single thing to activate it. Since the M7 is tracking your movement all the time -- and Moves accesses that data -- there is no need to open the app to tell it you are about to begin a journey. This ensures that you'll get accurate movement data all day long. Moves is the fitness app of the future, thanks in large part to all the motion data collection being handled on Apple's M7 end. What Moves does is give that data a beautiful UI to turn it into readable information by the human eye. That's not to say Moves is perfect. One annoying thing with it is it can take several seconds to update the movement data each time you launch the app. Other M7-compatible apps I've used don't seem to suffer from this lag. Also, I frequently go on many late-night walks, often spanning the hour just before and just after midnight. Right now, Moves has no way to set when you want a day to end, so my movement stats during that midnight change are actually split across two different days. It would be nice if Moves could give me the option of setting a day to end at, for example, 1 AM, when I know my movement will be done for that day before I go to bed (I keep late hours). But besides the minor drawbacks, Moves is a great app and shows the power of Apple's new M7 chip. Moves is US$2.99 in the App Store.
Daily iPhone App: ShopChat
As a guy, shopping for clothes is about as exciting as deciding what to buy at the McDonald's drive-through. Actually, some of my female friends also feel this way. However, plenty of my female friends also view shopping as a sport and love nothing more than to search for and chat about the "perfect outfit." If you're one of those women, then you should check out today's Daily iPhone App: ShopChat. ShopChat is part Pinterest, part messaging app. With it, a user can search for the perfect item of clothing, be it a little black dress, the right jeans or that killer pair of shoes. Searching by keywords will return image results that the user can then save and organize into outfits. Users can also snap pictures of their existing clothes to add to their profile. In this way, the app works a lot like Pinterest. However, ShopChat allows shopaholics to do their second-most favorite thing after finding the right outfit: talking about the right outfit. Users can message other ShopChat friends within the app, sharing photos over IM, thus allowing friends to chat about and get suggestions on how one piece of clothing may fit with a certain look. If you hate shopping for clothes, ShopChat won't be for you. However, if you love it, then you've just found your new favorite app. ShopChat is a free download.
Daily iPhone App: Pick - The Purchase Tracker is a tool for calculating and tracking discounts
Pick is a shopping assistant that'll allow you to track your purchases and calculate your savings. It's a simple, yet effective app to help you make wise buying decisions this holiday shopping season. Pick allows you to do two primary things while shopping. First, it allows you to enter in the purchase price of an item, apply a percentage discount and then calculate the amount you would end up paying. You can quickly determine whether you should buy the $15 shirt at L.L. bean that is 20% off or the $20 Lands Ends shirt that's 16 % off. Secondly, the app will keep a running list of all the items you purchase so you can tally up your spending and your savings at the end of a shopping trip. If you are traveling, Pick has a built-in currency converter so you can track how much you spend in both your native and the foreign currency. Pick is a small app, but useful for discount shoppers. It's also a helpful tool for those who make purchases while they are traveling on business or vacation. Pick is available for US$0.99 from the iOS App Store.
Daily iPhone App: TimeShutter helps you capture the same image over time
I enjoy taking photos of things as they change over time -- the leaves on a small tree, a building as it's being built or my children's faces. The most challenging part of this process is making sure you get the same shot each time. Inevitably, I take multiple shots at different distances with different angles and lose the continuity of the shot. I recently stumbled upon TimeShutter, which helps you keep that consistency between each photo. TimeShutter is a simple app, but it is effective. The app has a basic camera UI with one important difference -- it has a guideline that is lifted from your last photo or a photo that you choose. It is this guide that is the key to the app's ability to reproduce the same photo over and over again. All you have to to do to take the next photo in your series is line up the guides from the previous photo and snap away. You can adjust the opacity of the guidelines, allowing you to be as precise as you need. There is also a reminder feature so you don't forget to take your photo on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Once you are finished taking photos, you can view the series as individual photos in your Camera Roll or compile them into a movie or an animated GIF. TimeShutter is definitely a unitasker, but it is worth having in your arsenal of photo apps, especially if you are like me and enjoy recording how things change over time. TimeShutter is available for free in the iOS App Store, but plan on paying US$1.99 via an in-app purchase to unlock all the features of the app. You check out the app in this promo video.
Daily iPhone App: TrintMe helps you meet your significant other without worrying about rejection
TrintMe from Social Innovations is one those social dating apps that takes a different spin on the meet-and-greet part of relationships. Rather than let your true romantic intentions be known to the world, TrintMe keeps them private and does the match-making in the background. It's a toned-down version of Bang with Friends (Down) that focuses more on friendship building and romance, less on casual hook-ups. Just like Down, TrintMe ties into your Facebook account and pulls down your list of friends. The app allows you to browse through your extended friends list to find potential romantic interests. Once you find someone you like, you can send out a trint request like "You're cool," "Let's talk" and so on. This is where the TrintMe match-making service steps in and takes over. All trints are processed and stored in the background by the TrintMe service. The recipient never sees your request unless they have sent a similar request to you. If there is no match, the request sits idle and is eventually deleted. You may be disappointed that your potential partner wasn't interested in you, but you can rest easy knowing that you didn't spoil a friendship just because you wanted to take the relationship to the next level. TrintMe is available from the iOS App Store for free. It requires a Facebook account.
Daily iPhone App: Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous is redonkulously challenging
One Man Left Studios scored big with its popular Tilt to Live game. After spending some time working on its Outwitters game, the two-man team is back with a follow-up to its first big hit. Announced earlier this year, Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous is now available in the iOS App Store. Similar to the first version of the game, Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous requires you to move a triangular-shaped vessel around your screen. While gliding along, you must avoid other hazardous shapes. To help you in your journey, you can use power-ups that'll give you weapons to destroy these hazards. It's all about precise control as you steer your vessel perfectly and rack up points. Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous sounds bland, but it is not. The gameplay is fast and furious as you activate weapons, wipe out shapes and play mini-games at the end of a round. Tilt to Live 2 is also harder than it sounds as controlling that vessel takes a subtle touch. It's easy to tilt hard and careen right by a weapon. It's a lot more difficult to glide smoothly and then stop on a dime to hit each item just right. The gameplay is great for a quick pickup while you have a few spare minutes. Each round can last for a a few minutes if you have the right touch, or it can be over in less than 30 seconds if your delicate control resembles a bull in a china shop. Tilt to Live 2: Redonkulous is available for US$2.99 in the iOS App Store. It is a universal app that works on both the iPad and iPhone.
Daily iPhone App: Survival GPS app is the Swiss Army knife of compass app
One of the great things about a Swiss Army knife is that it is packed full of helpful tools, yet it still remains easy to use. This combination of simplicity and utility is one of the reasons why I like the Survival GPS app. The Survival GPS app gives you a bunch of tidbits of data that'll help you get your bearing whether you are in the woods or on a city street. In its very functional layout, the app shows you your precise GPS coordinates, altitude, speed and course/bearing. There's also a compass with two buttons that allow you to switch between magnetic and true north. If you need a more concrete view of your surroundings, you can launch a map that shows your location using a road, satellite or hybrid view. Like any good survival tool kit, there is a button for a flashlight and a slider that allows you to set the light to strobe at different speeds. This strobe light is useful if you want to get someone's attention, especially in the dark. The app has an SMS feature that'll send your coordinates via text messaging. This could be a lifesaver if you find yourself lost in an unfamiliar area and need help from friends or family. Survival GPS packs a handful of useful location features into a lightweight, easy-to-use app. It is available in the iOS App Store for US$0.99.
Daily iPhone App: Pxture will put your photos inside text
Pxture is a very clever free app that does some complex Photoshop-style text effects right on your iPhone. Select a picture from your camera roll, or take a fresh one using the app. Type some text, and the image appears inside the text. All the masking and complex stuff is done for you, and it's a nice effect. The app lets you move the text over the photo, change colors of the text or flip the effect so the letters are solid and appear over your photo. Of course, the app developers will be glad to sell you some additional masks and fonts for US$0.99 each, but I got along fine with what was provided for free. If you wish to explore more effects, the extras may appeal to you. I found Pxture easy to use, although the adjustments for line and letter spacing didn't seem to do anything. The finished product looked great, though. You can save the final images to your camera roll and send them via email or the usual social networks. For the photographer who is looking for something different in terms of effects, this is a nicely done app. It requires iOS 6.1 or later. It's not universal, but is optimized for the iPhone 5.
Daily iPhone App: Voyzee lets you tell your story using photos, videos and personal narration (Updated)
Voyzee is one of many video apps that use the contents of your photo roll to create a photo and video montage. What sets Voyzee apart is the ability to add a personalized narration to your clip. Using the Voyzee app, you can tell a story using both pictures and spoken words. When you first launch Voyzee, you must create an account to save and store your videos. You can use your Twitter or Facebook login or create one using your email. Once you log in, you can start creating your Voyzee video. The app allows you to take new photos or videos or import media from your camera roll. If you want a soundtrack, you can grab music from your iTunes library. Once imported into Voyzee, you can edit the visual media (trim, rotate, add filters) as well as add a caption or a narration to each slide. You can also select a cover slide and rearrange the slides to put them in the order you desire. The killer feature is the ability to add a narration to each slide, which makes the movie you are creating much more personal as well as informative. When you are done, you can publish the clip, which will upload it to Voyzee's servers for processing. When it is done uploading, you can view the clip, and if you don't like your video, you can make changes to it at any time. You also can set the privacy of the clip, allowing you to control who can see it. Once the video is uploaded, you can share it on your social networks, share it via email/messaging or save it to your camera roll. The video is shared as link, which will open in any web browser. The final clip is well done with a few nice touches like automatic fade transitions and blurred background images that'll fill a slide that has a smaller photo. Voyzee does have its own video network so you should make sure you set the privacy accordingly, especially if you don't want the world seeing your videos. The default setting is to share with everyone, and the video will be searchable on the Voyzee website. Unfortunately, the privacy settings are not as flexible as I would like. You can share the video with everyone, select followers on Voyzee or just yourself. If you select the middle option, you can't share the video easily with other people as they have to follow you on Voyzee. If you set the video to private, the recipients won't be able to see the clip at all. It would be nice to have an option that would keep the video private from the Voyzee community, while still allowing you share it with people who have the direct link. if you want to use Voyzee, just be aware that the video network is more public than private. You can download Voyzee for free from the iOS App Store. Update: Voyzee updated its app in November 2013 and improved the privacy options in version 2.1.10. This version lets users keep a story private from the Voyzee community and still share it with people or other networks with a direct link that bypasses the Voyzee community privacy settings.
Daily iPhone App: Topo Maps+ is your best backcountry companion
There's nothing like having a good set of topographic maps when you are hiking in the backcountry. Paper maps are the de facto standard, but they tear easily, get wet in the rain and can easily blow away with a stiff gust of the wind. If you have an iPhone in your pocket everywhere you go and want a more permanent set of maps, then you should check out Topo Maps+ from Glacier Peaks Studio. As someone who spends a lot of time outdoors, I can reliably say that the most important feature of Topo Maps+ is its support for offline usage. You can be deep in the woods, far from any cell signal and still use the app to navigate from waypoint to waypoint. Before you hit the trail, just remember to download the maps in advance. You can then use the iPhone's GPS and compass along with the maps in the field. For planning purposes, there's also a trace route feature that allows you to layout your trip by tracing your path on the map.The traces can be superimposed on a topo map and then viewed on a satellite map, allowing you to get a different view of your path. You can also use these traces to estimate distances and elevations between two waypoints. Topo Maps+ is available for free in the iOS App Store. There is a demo mode that allows you to check out the major features of the app, but you will need to buy a subscription if you want usable maps in your location. Pricing starts at US$4.99 for two months of access to all the maps or six months of access to only the USGS & Thunderforest Topo Maps. Year-round access to all the maps will cost you $14.99. Topo Maps+ include the following maps: USGS 7.5-minute topo maps for the continental USA, Thunderforest Topo maps, MapBox Terrain, MapBox Satellite and Open Street Map maps.
Daily iPhone App: Should you play QuizUp? Hint: The answer is yes
I'm not a fan of quiz games. Actually, let me rephrase that: I didn't think I was a fan of quiz games. When I was first contacted to take a look at QuizUp, I had very little interest in it because, well, it's a quiz game. To me, quiz games are inherently boring, too broad, too long and oftentimes too easy. QuizUp is none of those, which is why QuizUp has been one of the most-played games on my iPhone for the past couple of weeks. QuizUp bills itself as the world's largest trivia game, and with a total of 150,000 questions over a whopping 250 topics, it certainly seems to be earning the title. The actual quiz portion of the game takes place in seven-question bursts that last just a minute or two in total, which is the perfect format for a mobile trivia game. You're always facing off against another player, either a friend you know who has challenged you (or a challenge you are posing to them) or an anonymous online player that the game matches you up against. Whether you win or lose, your score helps you rank up in each category you compete in. Speaking of categories, you can take on topics like science, tech, history and all the standards you've seen in quiz games since the beginning of time... or you can venture in the more obscure areas of knowledge. This is where QuizUp really earns my love. I wasn't expecting to see specific sections devoted to Seinfeld or Futurama, but there they are, complete with questions only the most diehard nerds (like yours truly) would know. This level of care has also been given to individual musical genres, specific bands, various sports, video games and just about any other topic you can think of. Oh, and if you'd like to really show off your knowledge, you can submit your own questions, which will be screened and, if they stack up, could be added to the game itself. At the time of this writing, I am the top-ranked player in the world for Futurama, and the top-ranked player in my home state of Wisconsin for Seinfeld. That's some pretty awesome nerd cred, but it's never guaranteed to stick around for very long. Players are leveling up to catch you all the time, and real-time leaderboards let you see how big of a gap stands between you and the players around you. The QuizUp app also has some added functionality like discussion boards and player-to-player chat which you wouldn't necessarily expect from a trivia game. All-in-all, it's the best trivia game I've ever played on an iOS device, and since it's 100 percent free with the only in-app purchases currently being XP boosts, it's a no-brainer for anyone with a brain.
Daily iPhone App: LVL Cam allows you to take ruler-straight photos
Sometimes when taking a photo, you want to line up the objects in the shot on a perfectly straight plane. Most standalone cameras and even iOS 7's built-in camera app use gridlines to help you line up your shot, but you have to eyeball it to make sure the shot is level. If you want a level line in your camera app, then you should check out LVL Cam. LVL Cam is a lightweight camera app that adds a level line to the camera interface. The app finds the center of the frame and places a circle right in the center. You must move your phone and tilt it so the level lines up with this center circle. Once you are lined up, you can tap the shutter button to snap a shot with the focus on this center point. The app has a few bonus features that allow you to line up your photos and set a different focus point, and a handy ghosting feature that helps you take two photos that are lined up exactly the same. There's also an auto-shutter option that'll automatically snap a photo once you lineup the level. This last feature is a lifesaver if you are using your iPhone camera without a tripod. With unsteady hands, it is difficult to keep a shot lined up perfectly while you fumble to find the shutter button. LVL Cam is available for US$0.99 in the iOS App Store.
Daily iPhone App: Strata is a puzzler that'll challenge your mind while calming your spirit
Strata is a unique puzzler that uses multi-color ribbons as the core element in the game. The game challenges you to weave together these ribbons in a specific pattern to complete each level. Sounds easy, right? I'll let you answer that question after you've spent a few hours with the game. Strata is more than just a test of your ability to create the perfect weave. The game has rules that make mixing the colors of the ribbons in the weave a bit of a challenge. In the early rounds for example, you weave your pattern based on colored squares that are aligned in a grid. Each weave has to end with the ribbon that matches the color of the block underneath it. If you have a purple block, your weave over the block must end with purple. You cannot weave two blue ribbons over that purple block. As your grid expands and your colored blocks start to alternate, you have to really pay attention to what ribbons are going where. One feature I love about Strata is its relaxing environment. The graphics are elegant; the colors in the app are soothing; and the music is very calming. You might be working your brain while playing Strata, but you won't be biting your nails. It's a refreshing change to not have a timer breathing down your back while you try to solve a level. If you are a puzzle game fan, then you should take Strata for a whirl. You might find the game fills your free time with a nice mix of mental exercise and Zen-like relaxation. Strata is available for US$0.99 in the iOS App Store.
Daily iPhone App: Capture and share stunning spherical landscapes using bubbli
Bubbli from Aria Glassworks is a fresh, new photography app that brings you one step beyond the 3D panorama photo. Unlike panorama shots that capture your environment in a straight line, bubbli uses a sphere to record everything around you. It's an immersive experience that can't be captured in flat panoramic photos. Bubbli's recording technique captures elements beyond what you see in front of you and what is hidden behind you. The spherical emphasis of the app allows you to record the dusty road under your feet and the blue skies above your head. Taking a spherical photo is not as easy as taking a quick panorama photo, but it is worth the extra effort as your resulting "bubble" photo is much more immersive. Once you've recorded everything in your sphere, all the captured views are stitched together in a photo that you can share. If ambient sounds are an important part of the shot, bubbli also has a built-in audio recorder. You can share your bubbles on Facebook, Twitter, messages or via email. People who view your spherical photo can move their iPhone or cursor in all directions to view every nook and cranny of the shot. When captured properly (and that's the hard part), it's almost like being there with the person who took the photo. Recipients can view your shared bubbles in a standard desktop or mobile web browser. Bubbli is available for free in the iOS App Store. It's worth a look if you are a shutterbug who enjoys apps that provide a unique angle to a shot.
Daily iPhone App: Wolfify turns your lovely face into canine evil
Wolves don't smile and you shouldn't smile when you are using Wolfify from Apptly, which also produces the popular Stacheify and Oldify. As its name implies, Wolfify allows you to turn yourself into a werewolf. The app uses the front-facing camera to snap a photo of your face or you can grab a selfie from your camera roll. Special effects added by the app turn your facial features into one horrible-looking wolf that growls and sneers. The app cleverly adds a makeup layer, teeth and sounds to turn your beautiful face into a sneering snout filled with evil. You can turn into a full werewolf, but you have to wait until a real full moon or buy an in-app allotment of potions to transform early, There are a handful of different wolf effects. Some are free, and some require you to invite friends or share on Facebook in order to unlock them. When you are done with your wolfen photo, you can export it to the camera roll, share it social networks, email it to friends or upload a video of your growling to Youtube. Wolfify is available for free from the iOS App Store. It's harmless and fun for Halloween, so why not download it and check it out.
Daily iPhone App: Magisto takes your best camera roll picks and turns them into an eye-catching video
If you want to quickly fire off a montage of your favorite photos and videos, then you should check out Magisto, the magical video editor. Magisto lets you choose photos and videos that you want to compile into a shareable clip. Instead of having to splice the video and add all the snazzy effects yourself, Magisto does it on your behalf. You mark off your photos and videos, select some background music, pick a theme and the app does the rest. It'll chop up your video, mix in some photos and glue them all together with a handful of fancy effects and filters. Each clip takes less than five minutes to process. While you wait, you can check your email or browse the web, and Magisto will alert when your clip is completed. The end result is a compilation that you can share publicly with the Magisto community or privately with family and friends. Quality-wise, the final clip is creative enough to be entertaining, but it won't win an Academy Award for its effects. I tested the app with a handful of my iPhone 5s photos and videos and overall was pleased with the output (view my sample clip), with a one caveat. I liked how the app chose to mix the video and photos with the just right balance of media types. Some of the transitions, though, are a bit too choppy for my taste and don't smoothly flow a video into a photo or vice versa. The beauty of Magisto, though, is that you can start over, choose a new theme and have another clip in just a few minutes. Magisto is available for free in the iOS App Store. The app allows you to create a clip with five photos and 10-minute/10 video clips for free. If you want additional photos or longer videos, then you must upgrade to the paid version. Subscription plans include a one-month subscription for US$4.99 or a year subscription for $17.99. The service also requires you to sign up for an account if you want to share your clip. If you just want to play around with the app, you can do so as a guest.
Daily iPhone App: Distress Signal alerts authorities when you are in trouble while traveling
Distress Signal is an essential companion for adventure travelers who are concerned about their safety. The app stores your contact details and then sends them to local emergency services when you are in distress. Distress Signal is more than just a fancy address book that allows you to enter the contact information for the local police or fire station. The app tracks your location and knows the numbers for emergency services for every country in the world. If you are in trouble in place like Latvia, the app will send your contact information and location to local authorities in the language of the country you are visiting. The app can also be configured to send your location to your family or friends so they can find you using these coordinates. They can also use Distress Signal app to find you if you are nearby. Other useful features include a torch with the ability to send out an SOS signal, a compass, an alert siren, a guide to show you where you last had cellular signal and a map to help you to find the local hospital and police station. Adventurers looking for another layer of protection can download Distress Signal from the iOS App Store. It is available for US$1.99. Right now, the SMS emergency text-messaging service works in the UK, Ireland, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, France, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Latvia, Austria, Luxembourg, Portugal, Philippines and Iceland. It is coming soon to the US and other parts of Europe.
Daily iPhone App: Everest is a beautiful and effective goal-tracking app
Everest is more than just your typical goal tracking app with a calendar and a fancy to-do list. It's a goal tracker that is part life-logger and part social network. It's designed to help you focus on a goal and achieve it along with the help of others. When you launch Everest for the first time, you are prompted to create a login so you can track your progress and share with other Everest members. Once the technical stuff is out of the way, you can add a dream or goal that you want to reach. The initial setup is straightforward and easy. All you have to type in is your goal and and set its visibility to private or public, depending on how social you want to be. Hit save, and you are ready to start taking steps towards achieving your goal. Steps towards your goal can be added as you need them. Conveniently, each one includes a repeating reminder so you don't forget to do them on a regular basis. As you progress towards your goal, you can add new steps and check them off as completed. Everest will track your progress and display your achievements front and center in the app. If you are the social type, you can follow other people and encourage them along the way. You can also receive encouragement if you share your dreams with the community. The app has a pleasing UI that's intuitive and easy to use. It only took me a few minutes to set up my goals, and add some steps. Then I was free to browse through the goals of other Everest users. This simplicity is a major bonus for Everest as ease-of-use is critical to a goal tracking app. Achieving a lofty goal is hard enough, you don't need an app to make it even more difficult. Everest is available for free from the iOS App Store. Everest is perfect for people who want to do some goal planning, especially they could use some support from other goal-oriented people.
