We do a lot of searching for the best and brightest here at MacTribe and we realized something interesting: we've found a lot of free apps over the years but we've never done a spotlight on them. We'll rectify that immediately: here are our favorite free apps and why we love 'em...read up and make sure to grab these while they're still sans price tag.
Pandora Radio
Multi-tasking complaints aside, this is one of the best free apps ever. Period. It works just like the web version, and if you choose to sign in it'll import the stations you've already created. We love listening to music, and when our friends get sick of hearing us say "Please, you know what I like, just make me one more playlist, I need some new stuff" this is a sure-fire way to pick up some new artists without getting stuck in one genre. Actually, we're going to pull this app up right now.
WordPress
Bloggers everywhere rejoice: you are no longer tethered to your laptop to record the most intimate and private details of your life. Now your loved ones can read about their trangressions, your arguments, your meals and thoughts as they happen, because you can update your blog right from your iPhone. The app itself is free...the time sucking and defending yourself for having your entire life online? That's probably going to cost you.
Lose It!
America is pretty unhealthy, according to all those world health types...whether you're trying to drop a few pounds to get healthier or maintain your weight Lose It! can help. With an extensive nutritional database and an easy interface you can track your calories in and calories out to keep your fitness goals on track. Re-entering food and meals is easy and there's even fast food options so you can make the best choice for you when you're pressed for time. Add friends to stay motivated and enter recipes to divide them into portions with complete nutritional information...this is a robust app with tons of features. For free.
Fluent News
Both The New York Times and CNET have names this aggregator "App of the week," and who are we to argue? Customizable with three sections defined by keyword searches you can go as high brow as you like...or give in and get all the TMZ you're craving. Options abound: pick Top News for a broad selection of filter for technology, celebrity and all the other good stuff out there. It's quick, easy and keeps you informed--articles are even available without an internet connection, crucial for those morning commutes by train or subway.
CardStar
We love saving money, and rewards cards are often a fantastic way to save a couple bucks at your favorite retailers. CardStar's innovative app lets you reap all the rewards of the programs without carrying around a billion plastic cards or fumbling through them at the checkout counter. Load the app and select one of the many pre-loaded retailers (or enter them manually), then put your rewards number in and voila! You have an iPhone barcode that is easy to select and easier to scan...and hopefully a lot harder to lose than all the cards are!
Epicurious
Cooking is so much more than a means to an end for us, but the stress of finding a recipe and making a shopping list only to forget ingredients can really send us over the edge. Thankfully the free Epicurious app takes care of all our problem areas: it showcases delicious recipies, makes shopping lists (so you can't forget to write anything down) and gives you step by step instructions. So if you're cooking for yourself or making dinner for a special someone else, pick this one up; it takes all the opportunities to mess it up out of the equation.
Google Mobile
We know, we know...Google is shaping up to Apple's arch rival. But until war is declared and we have to choose sides, we're going to keep using Google Mobile on our iPhones. Linking you vertically through Google, Google Maps, Images, News and Shopping, this app uses Locations automatically and lets you do voice searches...which is probably the most intuitive thing we've ever heard. Speak your search into your cell phone? Of course we will.
Personal Assistant
This PageOnce app accomplishes several things at one time: it tracks your spending from multiple accounts, tallies your airline miles and and cell phone minutes and allows you to keep tabs on your itineraries...and lets you tell people you need to check with your Personal Assistant. Excellent. This app has won tons of awards and really delivers the content in an easy to use interface, so no more excuses--with this app in your arsenal you'll have no choice but to stay on top of your stuff.
Stanza
While you're waiting impatiently for the iPad to be delivered make use of Stanza for your e-book reading needs. The app itself is free but more importantly it quickly links you to a library of 50,000 free titles from classics to contemporary works. We know you needed a little extra nudge to catch up on all that Jane Austen you've been promising to read for years...we don't know about you but we will literally read anything if it's free.
More Apple
More News
OS 4.0
What with all the iPad speculation, iPhone rumors have mostly been left in the dst We're proud to take up the mantle once more and speculate wildly about what's coming. Aside from a flash for the camera, we've heard more complaining about the lack of multi-tasking than anything (except AT&T's service...). Now, AppleInsider reports that people who are spot on in their Apple predictions say it's coming, and we couldn't be happier. Pandora streaming while browsing the interwebs? Yes please.
The issues here are really user interface and battery life--how do you switch between apps in a way that's easy to do and easy to see? Also, how much of our batteries will be quickly whiled away during our power sucking? That remains to be seen, of course, and along with spyware and malware issues is probably the reason we don't have this capability yet. There are tons of case chargers and battery backup systems available though, and we'd gladly slap a Juice Pack on or carry the Gum Plus if it meant we could use our iPhone more like our Macbook.
Consumer Reports
We don't know about you guys, but we've been reading Consumer Reports since childhood--there was very little to do in our grandparent's hometown over the summers--and we still have a special place in our hearts for them. Now we are happy to tell you that they've names Apple's customer support for laptops and desktops the best in the industry. Apple was judged in four categories for each computer type: problem solved, phone waits, phone staff and online support. It received the coveted "very satisfied" rating from over 7,000 subscribers...
Nice job, folks...thanks for making the upkeep of our machines as easy as using them.
And Now For Something Completely Different
Sure, there are plenty of office "friendly" games out there with escape buttons that quickly switch the screen to charts in the event of an unexpected boss walk-through, but four guys from the Netherlands have taken this a step further and worked their games into charts, graphs, and other office productivity tools. Leadership, Breakdown and Cost Cutter are the titles available free at cantyouseeimbusy.com that use word documents, line graphs and bar charts in games so you look more productive than you're being. The cost calculator (which tallies the cost of your lost productivity) is a nice, if sobering, touch.
Our advice? Just play. Don't think too hard about it.
Like the games? Have other favorites? Tweet us!
