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Apps That Simplify Your Life?

HappyDude20

HappyDude20

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
3,688
1,479
Los Angeles, Ca
Originally I spoiled myself with an iPod Touch for a simpler life. My cell phone's only purpose is to make calls and send text messages, which I do often but in the end it's just a phone; ie simple.

I'm seriously wondering what apps or features make your life simpler in any terms.

For example, perhaps you found a wonderful finance app thats helped you keep your wallet in check, or a to-do productivity app thats aided in running daily errands and/or tasks. Or an app or feature thats finally gotten you to eat a bit healthier and/or start exercising a bit as you keep track of your progress. Or hey, an app thats seriously assisted you in falling asleep or waking up in the mornings.

Post em', i'm curious.

:apple::D:apple::D:apple::D:apple::D:apple::D:apple::D
 
Pretty simple but very effective.

I use Zenbe Lists both on the iPhone and on the web interface for my weekly shopping list.

If I'm out and about and think of something I'll need in the week's shop I add it to my list, my GF has access to the list on her iPod Touch too so she regularly adds to it if she finds that we've run out of something.

We do our shop on a Tuesday, I have my list in my pocket and check it off as we go round the shop.

Like I said; simple but very effective.
 
For me Remember the Milk has transformed the way I get stuff done. It's a quality service and now they have release a top class native iPhone app. Works brilliantly for me, and I prefer it over the other options, such as Things & SmartTime, as with RTM, I can access my to-do lists from anywhere, mobile or at any PC or MAC.

With the iMapMyRun / iMapMyRide apps, combined with their website www.mapmyfitness.com, I'm now logging all my training runs and bike rides using GPS and uploading the routes to my account for tracking my training progress. I much prefer this to the Nike+ setup I used to use with my old nano, as it's accurate and they listen to their users. However, the apps are still a little buggy, athough they are improving all the time.

Gazette is a great RSS reader, allowing me to read my RSS feeds on the go, while keeping in sync with what I've read on my desktop with Google Reader. Highly recommend this if you use Google Reader.

MobileFiles is a very good solution if you use MobileMe iDisk. I store all my important docs, ebooks etc. on my iDisk, allowing me to view and download my docs to my iPhone.

Then there's Jaadu VNC, which is perfect for remote desktop to my Mac Mini when I'm at home.

I've got various other apps, but these are the key ones for me in terms of productivity.
 
For me the main helped apps are

Pageonce - (Deploy a lot with the navy and this helps with the utilities)

Notes - (shopping lists and other crap that I need to remember)

Quick Bank - (While deployed, I have to keep a fund for 14 people and this is the easiest for me to tell them how much we have left instead of counting the money everytime they ask)


Maps - Don't know how much this saved our asses while deployed and in a city that we don't know where we are at and need to get to that destination.


Other then that, the rest is really just luxury.
 
There are a few that I use all the time:

Evernote - I create to do lists, shopping lists etc. and it syncs to the web, desktop and phone. This is by far my most used app.

MobileFiles - Easy access to my iDisk and even allows me to save files on my phone for those times I'm not in cell range.

Surf Report - Not so useful right now, but it has lots of info and it is easier than checking web pages. This will come in handy during the summer.

Shazam - I tag songs so I can remember to purchase them later.
 
My most indispensable apps in this respect are:

Ledger: For keeping track of my finances (my #1 app for sure)

Noteskinery: For organizing and tracking my work on the go

NList: For keeping simple and quick to-do lists for work and home


Plenty of others I like, but these three have become a necessity
 
Like the OP said, my iPhone is mainly really just a phone to me :p so dialing is what I am most concerned with. I came across this handy little app called Smart Dial, allows me to touch the keypad for letters (2 = A/B/C etc). Makes my contact search a whole lot faster, the qwerty keyboard is too small for dialing imo :p
 
okaive said:
Maps - Don't know how much this saved our asses while deployed and in a city that we don't know where we are at and need to get to that destination.
Click to expand...

- Maps is far and away the one that integrates into my life the most. Especially now that public transit routing is provided. Aside from my one car commute per week (I work in a hospital in Indiana on Tuesdays), I use this almost every single time I leave my neighborhood and go somewhere, and it's been invaluable in learning Chicago in the time since I got here in June. Maps is probably the thing that transforms my iPhone usage out of "it's just a phone" territory.

- Urbanspoon really I do also use a lot, and it's helped me likewise with my goal of much more actively exploring this city while I'm here.

There are others that I use that are the usual -- the iPod saves me from carrying two things (minor), the Calendar (just like the last three phones I had), the alarm clock and stopwatch (again not much different from the last several phones). But those two make the biggest difference for me.
 
Todo and Saisuke both helped manage lists, to-dos, and schedules very well. Todo is now just a list manager.

I've moved to SmartTime so I could see my schedule and to-dos at the same time. I miss Saisuke's month view, but SmartTime has month view coming soon.

All the above apps helped me in that I wasn't searching for papers with schedules or trying to remember To-dos.

MailDash saves me a lot of typing, as I can quickly send a canned message to someone, such as 'sorry, I'm stuck in traffic, I'll be a few minutes late'. Great app to have when I'm driving.

Splashmoney helps me see where my money's coming from and where it's going with graphs (my income fluctuates a lot, and I work at a lot of different places).

Funambol and Mobyko save me from re-entering all my contacts via keyboard if I ever have to restore my iPhone as a new iPhone (I had to do all that a few times before the 2.1 update). My computer no longer syncs Outlook or Google with iPhone anymore, just in case anyone's wondering why I didn't back-up and sync my contacts from Outlook or Google contacts.

American Heritage 4th Edition dictionary. Great when I come across words that I don't know in books.

Wisdom Japanese-English dictionary. I live in Japan, it's a life saver.

And last Gymgoal Lite. Best workout log I've seen so far. Keeps me motivated to workout.

Or wait... the map has helped me get around in Japan. Would never have found some shops or workplaces easily without it.
 
Appigo's ToDo

1Password (on both the iMac and iPhone) for all those pesky account-related numbers

SplashShopper - took an effort to set up all my items with correct aisles, but now that the info is in there makes keeping a shopping list easy
 
My fav apps:

Google Mobile App - I keep all my docs on here and Calendar. And I can update these where ever I am.

Maps - no expanation needed here.

Safari - I can check my favorite websites on the go, so I can spend more time with my family at home (instead of surfing web at home).

iPod - I'm always listening to music. I have a long commute.

I really should get a budget app.

Not bashing them, but I just don't see the fascination of To Do apps. I usually just remember everything (and I do all the grocery shopping too). Hmmm. Maybe I'll give one a test drive.
 
kas23 said:
iPod - I'm always listening to music. I have a long commute.
Click to expand...
Don't we all =] That's why I got mine in the first place
kas23 said:
Not bashing them, but I just don't see the fascination of To Do apps. I usually just remember everything (and I do all the grocery shopping too). Hmmm. Maybe I'll give one a test drive.
Click to expand...
 
The thing is... the iPhone doesn't make your life simpler. If you want the simple life go live in the boonies in a log cabin. That's simple.

The iPhone makes your life more interesting, but at the same time more complicated.

If anything, the one thing that I love is checking my email. Nothing gets by me anymore. It's easier than checking my email on my desktop.

Well, movie showtime are easier to check now while I'm on the go. Before I used to ask, "Anyone got a newspaper?" :D
 
I use calender + MobileMe syncing quite a bit for scheduling and to-do's. having three computers and two iphones all sync'ed up seamlessly is great

Zenbe is great for just about any kind of lists. I use it to track equipements etc. The sync and availability of data offline is great. I sometimes use it for quick note jotting as well.

Evernote is great and also comes with sync but it's lacking a bit when it comes to accessing data offline. this is unfortunate and hopefully they will improve in future updates

Briefcase for easy file access and storage (if you are primarily mac users). it's not as friendly for PC, at least not yet. I love that you can transfer files between iphones pretty easily

Easy Wifi - if you need wifi on the go more than just occassionally, and you have an wifi login (such as with ATT wifi, or T-Mobile wifi etc.) Easy Wifi allows for quick login to your wifi accounts without having to type in your user name and pw every time on a browser. It's great for me when I use ATT wifi at starbucks, mcdonolds, the airport etc.

Wikiamo - I used to google stuff I want more information on when watching TV or reading etc. Wikiamo makes it just as convenient to look up any topic quickly whenever I want

What's On - tv listings in your pocket
 
I, like most people use a few important items. Email, calendar, notes and tasks. But because the iPhone does not have Notes or Tasks (which I think is a horrible mistake), I resort to Remember The Milk for making up the lack of Notes/Tasks. I have their native app on my iPhone and I have their gadget in my Google homepage, so I am always starring at it.
 
Not to toot my own horn but everyone that has given feedback so far raves about my iOwn app. It's one of those apps you really didn't know how useful it is until you have it. :D
 
detz said:
Not to toot my own horn but everyone that has given feedback so far raves about my iOwn app. It's one of those apps you really didn't know how useful it is until you have it. :D
Click to expand...



Looks like a great app. Really. I think I'd utilize it most if I had my own place since I'd love to keep track of where EVERYTHInG is. But I live at home with my pops who doesn't like to keep things organized.

Hopento see your app in a year wheni move out to ucla
 
HappyDude20 said:
Looks like a great app. Really. I think I'd utilize it most if I had my own place since I'd love to keep track of where EVERYTHInG is. But I live at home with my pops who doesn't like to keep things organized.

Hopento see your app in a year wheni move out to ucla
Click to expand...


Yeah looks great but it's not something I have the use for
 
Evernote for lists and definitely AppSniper for finding bargains on the App Store (yeah, I'm a cheap bastard!).
 
Easy Mail is a great app for creating and sending mail messages quickly and its free -- includes spellcheck, landscape keyboard with large font, font types, color, and more.
 
Well, in strict OP reference, an app I find that simplifies things is MyRail Lite. Now, granted this is UK mainland only but, as a daily rail commuter this is indespensible. It pulls all train time info for chosen station from Network Rail and presents it cleanly and quickly. I can see at an instant whether intended trains are running on time or (as is more likely with First Great Western) delayed, and if so, by how much.

VNC Lite also helps me control my Mac Mini, as it's stashed in a cupboard as a media server. No need for keyboard, mouse or screen as everything can be done with VNC Lite.

And loads of other stuff, a lot of which has been mentioned previously. However, one thing I would add is that although there are a lot of apps that make our lives easier, there are still shortcomings that make our lives more complicated - no copy paste/MMS/true vCard support/Bluetooth file transfer/editing of Office docs/ But that is another thread ;)
 
Things is definitelly worth mention with it's syncing over wifi with desktop app.
 
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