There's an App for That - Tips, Tricks, & Giveaways

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Jan 17, 2012
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Millions of us unwrapped the seasons hottest gifts during the holidays  - the iPhone 4S, iPad 2, Droid RAZR, Kindle Fire, Nikon 1 and more. For many people these new gadgets were also the first they've owned in a whole new generation of touchscreen and voice activation technology. How many of you were excited but found that after 5 minutes you had to set them down and decided to figure out how to use them later?

With technology overload these days, many of us use our electronics on the "easy" setting. We do what we can easily figure out and never end up using the "really cool" settings and getting value from our investment.

There are some basic steps that can help you get the most fun out of your new "toys." Here are our tips for improving your electronic gadget experience:

  1. Set time in your day to read the manual. Even if it is a short manual, we recommend splitting it up reading a few pages at a time. If you read it all at once it can be overwhelming.
  2. Utilize what is at your fingertips - YouTube! YouTube has great 101 videos. Received an iPhone over the holidays? Learn how to use it with the help of the 101 videos on TodaysiPhone's YouTube Channel. Received an Android over the holidays? Learn how to use it with the help of 101 videos on MobileUnlimited's YouTube Channel.
  3. Follow the company of your new electronics on Facebook and Twitter. These are great customer service outlets. Why spend time waiting on hold when you can have a response on twitter before the agent picks up the phone? Most companies also post tips, videos and important software updates on their feeds.
  4. Be brave! Believe it or not, it's pretty hard to break things. Use random settings and see what happens. You can always reset items back to the default.

The trick to getting the most out of your phones and tablets are apps. Here are our five must-have useful, user-friendly apps for 2012:

Apple:

  1. Shopper: This is the best-selling grocery app in the App Store, according to MacWorld. With Shopper you can create multiple lists and organize them to match the aisle layout of the stores you shop in. On a budget? Add prices, quantities, and coupons to track expenses.
  2. Mint.com Personal Finance: With this app you can easily organize all your finances in one place. It provides you with a look at where you spent your money over the month and helps you come up with a budget. Also, with having it on your mobile device no spending goes unaccounted for.
  3. Silent Body Guard: Everyone, every age and gender, should have this app. You hope you will never need it, but if you ever find yourself in trouble this app sends a text message and email with your GPS location to your emergency contacts every 60 seconds. All you have to do is open the app and tap the silent alarm button.
  4. Nike Training Club: This app is a personal trainer with you at all times. You get detailed workouts designed to match your fitness goals with step-by-step instructions. Our favorite feature is the ability to set your music to go with your workout.
  5. allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner: How many times have you looked in your pantry and thought to yourself, "what in the world can I cook with these ingredients?" Now the answer is at your fingertips! Type in what you have to this app and it will search its recipe database for corresponding dishes.

Android:

  1. Grocery King 6 Shopping List: This is the best-selling grocery app in Android Market Store. With app you can create multiple lists and organize them to match the aisle layout of the stores you shop in. Our favorite feature is you can compare product prices to other retailers. Simply scan the barcode of the item you are about to purchase, and it will indicate if it is cheaper or more expensive than other retailers.
  2. Mint.com Personal Finance: With this app you can easily organize all your finances in one place. It provides you with a look at where you spent your money over the month and helps you come up with a budget. Also, with having it on your mobile device no spending goes unaccounted for.
  3. Emergency Panic Button (SOS): Everyone, every age and gender, should have this app. You hope you will never need it, but if you ever find yourself in trouble this app sends a text message and email with your GPS location.
  4. Pocket Trainer: This app turns your phone into a personal trainer. It includes both written and video descriptions of how to perform each exercise. What we really love is that it shows you how to do easy exercises using what you have at home.
  5. allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner: How many times have you looked in your pantry and thought to yourself, "what in the world can I cook with these ingredients?" Now the answer is at your fingertips! Type in what you have to this app and it will search its recipe database for corresponding dishes.

Most importantly, remember the goal of apps is to help you simplify and organize. You can get bogged down by downloading too many apps and actually defeat the purpose. Make a list of things you would like help with and then narrow it down to categories. Then purchase an app for each category.

We want to hear from you and which electronics you find are the most user-friendly? We want your recommendations.

If you share your user-friendly electronics reviews and recommendations this week you'll be entered for a chance to win one of our 4 giveaway prizes - a gift card to either iTunes or Amazon for Android Market. Submit your favorite electronic product to SheSpeaks Reviews OR add a comment to this blog post by 6pm EST on January 23rd, 2012. You can enter a review AND a comment and you will have two entries to win!

review

 Prizes*:

*Winners will have a choice of either an iTunes or Amazon for Android Market gift card. 4 winners total.



Apple iTunes $15 App Store Gift Card



Amazon for Android Market Gift Card

 

The contest starts January 17, 2012 and ends January 23, 2012; at 6:00 p.m. Must be a US resident. No purchase necessary.

GOOD LUCK!

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Comments
SVaughn21 by SVaughn21 | GARLAND, TX
Jan 18, 2012

I'm fairly new to the world of Smartphones and usually they are smarter than me. I don't have any grocery apps, but am looking into getting one. Amazing!

TM2020 by TM2020 | Winthrop, MA
Jan 18, 2012

I use my IPad's great educational apps for my kids, especially my 6 year old son who has serious developmental delays. The apps we use help him identify colors, objects, do puzzles, and even trace letters. It's an amazing learning tool!

brookeblogs by brookeblogs | Barnesville, OH
Jan 18, 2012

I bought an iPod Touch 4th Generation with gift cards that I received for Christmas. I am in love! This is my first experience with apps, and they're awesome! I live in a rural area, and am not able to get an iPhone or other smartphone, since there's no cell service in my town. Since I can use the iPod Touch with my WiFi connection, I am able to use it much like a phone, using apps that allow me to text and call family & friends.

jdilucia by jdilucia | WAYNE, PA
Jan 18, 2012

I haven't jumped on the i-bandwagon yet. I'm loyal to my Blackberry (I even miss the rollerball in my old curve). I do love the Calorie Counter by FatSecret App. But my favorite is the Greattrainer App. It's great for tracking my runs. I even used it to train for a half-marathon.

spoiledbyneil by spoiledbyneil | Clarence, MO
Jan 18, 2012

My husband started the entire family falling in love with smartphones. We could not believe what you could do on them and have put them to great use.

btrfly02 by btrfly02 | Miami Lakes, FL
Jan 18, 2012

I have an Android phone and my fave app is Grocery Pal. I love seeing all the weekly advertised specials available at my local stores and the app even lets me make a shopping list right from the list of specials. I hear the iPhone version includes a price comparison tool as well.

raqueta by raqueta | NORTH CHICAGO, IL
Jan 18, 2012

I have an iPhone. Believe it or not, one of my best apps is the Translate. I can speak any language anytime. It even says the sentence for you, so you can say it to the person. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this app. Its not as great as Rosetta Stone, but close. You gotta try this app. I love speaking different languages or at least trying.

SoccerMomKnits by SoccerMomKnits | GAINESVILLE, FL
Jan 18, 2012

My favorite product is my kindle. I love it. I don't know how I managed to read without it when I was away from home.

hotwhllvr79 by hotwhllvr79 | PORT ST LUCIE, FL
Jan 18, 2012

Thank you for the suggested apps, especially the one for a safety emergency. I just received my first web phone for Christmas, and I feel like an idiot, especially since I'm over 30 but under 40. I feel like I am way behind on technology. At first, I couldn't even answer the phone. I never thought to utilize YouTube.

blueyes211 by blueyes211 | OCEAN, NJ
Jan 18, 2012

continued.... -----Make sure you check for App Updates, the blue App Store icon will have a red number in it. I found if an App isn't working correctly it usually needs an update. -----I also group all of my Apps in folders. So I will have an App named Shopping and then if I press Shopping it will show all of my store and coupon Apps. I made an App for my nephew by naming it Kevin so that when he presses on it all of his game Apps appear.

blueyes211 by blueyes211 | OCEAN, NJ
Jan 18, 2012

I have the iPhone 4s and the iPad 2 and they have opened a whole new world for me. The iPad I received for Christmas, but the iPhone was from an upgrade. A few iPhone & iPad tips I have learned along the way- -you can make the font larger for text messaging under Settings> General>Accessibility>Large Text -when you receive a text message & you don't want the whole message to come up & just the sender's name go to Settings>Messages>and then make sure "Show Subject Field" is turned to OFF. -instead of showing how much longer your battery will last by just the picture of the battery, you can show a percentage of battery life until it has to be recharged Settings>General>Usage>"Battery Percentage" turned ON

dwynath by dwynath | HONOLULU, HI
Jan 18, 2012

I got an iPad2 for Christmas. Not having wifi access for the moment, it is mainly used as an Kindle app e-reader and game center. The games available can be so addicting, especially Harbor Master, Flight Control, Cows & Aliens, Car Crusher, and the Ragdoll series. Reading at night is easier since the device is backlit.. Where wifi is available, I've been able to stream a few tv shows. All in all, the iPad2 is alot more entertaining than I thought it would be.

mfittsj by mfittsj | Olney, MD
Jan 18, 2012

My favorite app is Tiny Tower- not really functionally necessary but such a fun game! It is one of the few free games that you can actually play for free without having to buy the in game purchases. The tower bucks come frequently- so the upgrades to your tower are free if you are patient- I mean it takes you 2 days to upgrade your elevator as opposed to 1 day... so not really that bad at all! :)

dreampeddler by dreampeddler | CHIPPEWA FLS, WI
Jan 18, 2012

I got an iPod Touch for Christmas (I wanted all the fancy apps but not a cell phone, thank you very much!) and I love the SparkPeople app. In fact, it's easier to use than the actual website! Now I can track food on the go, and enter my workout as soon as it's finished at the gym!

Mabrahim by Mabrahim | unsubscribe, MI
Jan 18, 2012

I love love love the Nike Training Club App for iPhone. I've been using it for 7 months now and I have seen great results! It's a mobile gym, gym instructor and exercise class: which gives you no excuse to slack off!