Things I Love Thursday!

Thursdays are going to be all about things I love, things I’ve bought, food I’ve eaten, and places I’ve been.  This week it’s the iPhone app edition of Things I love. People who know me (and people who encounter me casually) know that I am one of those irritating iPhone people. You know the people, the ones who are constantly figeting with their phones and not making eye contact with the real world. I find that my phone is a huge time-waster/life-sucker and I LOVE IT! Anyway in all the time I’ve wasted on my phone I’ve found some super cool totally awesome apps.

My Top Ten Fav Apps (In No Particular Order):

1. Facebook: This does not really require an explanation. I find myself using this app much more since they blocked facebook at work.

2. Shazam/SoundHound: These are both music recognition apps and they work pretty much the same way. When you hear a song you like at a restaurant, bookstore, on the radio, pretty much anywhere you have cell service you open either of these apps point the speaker of the phone in the direction of the music and in roughly one minute you have the title and artist of the song. Both apps provide you a link to iTunes (of course) and both store your previous tags so you can review them later.

3. Words with Friends: Scrabble on crack. This is how I described this to BFFMandy not too long ago. It’s basically an extended Scrabble game. You begin a game with a friend (or a local opponent that the game matches you with) and you play until someone wins or resigns. You can have multiple games at one time and you can play a game in a day or over a few weeks depending on how fast you and your opponent respond to one another.

4. Urbanspoon: You’ve probably seen this app. It was featured in a set of iPhone commercials awhile back. I love love love love this app. It hasn’t really located much but chains (There’s a Chili’s…in Tampa…I had no idea…) but I went to Phoenix earlier this summer and it located a TON of great local places to eat. I keep checking it and hoping that more independently owned restaurants get added for the Tampa area.

5. Epicurious on the Go: I love to eat and I like cooking. This app compiles all (or at least most) of the recipes from epicurious.com. There are lots of recipes for this I’ll never make, but there are also some really cool recipes too. My favorite thing about this app is that the recipe collections change seasonally; you can always search for a specific ingredient but the app gives you recipes for what’s seasonal upfront.

6. Trivial Pursuit: I’m a trivia fanatic so this app is right up my alley. There are two games “Classic” with the standard round board and “Pursuit” which includes a collection of long narrow boards. You can play against yourself, an opponent (real or over Wi-Fi), or the computer.

7. Colorized: Another totally addicting game. This one includes a screen full of tiny blocks in six colors. The goal is to turn the whole screen one color in 25 moves or less. You lose if haven’t completed the round in 25 moves…oh and it’s timed.

8. ESPN ScoreCenter: A must have for a sports fan. You pick your sports and your teams. This app shows you all the past and upcoming games with scores, stats, and line-ups.

9. Groupon/LivingSocial: These apps are both abbreviated versions of the daily websites and e-mails. Each app shows you the daily deal for your current city and how much time there is left to purchase. My favorite thing is that you can switch cities, so if you have family in other areas or an upcoming trip you can see what available.

10. Pandora: I really like Pandora and I have several radio stations that I rotate, usually at work. This app lets me play them on the go. My favorite thing is that I type in who or what I like and it plays that and usually some music I have never heard before.

I’m always looking for interesting new apps. These are my favorites so far.

Smiles. =)