iOS 5: Explaining the changes

With all the buzz about buying the new iPhone 4S and the release of iOS5, a lot of people still don't know what all the new features are or how to use them. They also don't know how their OS has changed! Not knowing about all the new features can be a real drag. So for all of my tech-illiterate fans, I'm going to give you the down and dirty of iOS5.

Notifications: While you may be familiar with the traditional bubble popping up while you're busy working on something on your iPhone or iPad, NO LONGER! A notification box flips up on the top of the screen instead of a message box that interrupts what you're doing. Also, they've added a popular feature seen on Android phones, a pull down notification center where all your recent notifications can be seen. You can also view your stock ticker, the weather, and upcoming calendar events. I give this a big A+ because it makes multi-tasking easier. It's the end of losing your train of thought in an email because Words with Friends is reminding you to play with your mother-in-law. These new features translate to your lock screen, too. Just press a button when your phone is sleeping to wake it up into the locked mode. Then, if anything happened since the last time you played with your phone, it will show you a list of notifications. Just swipe the icon from a notification from left to right to open the app and respond.

iMessage: Most people at this point in time subscribe to some type of text messaging plan. However, if you don't subscribe to unlimited texts, you may be paying a little extra each month for those emergency texts from friend who are late or from children who forgot their lunch at home. iMessage is integrated into the text messaging app and takes the place of a text message when you are connected to wi-fi. It is like having an instant messenger instead of texting, no usage of your text message allotment. You can also see when they're typing, when they've seen your message and when they've received your message. Your buddies can do the same (this feature can be turned off in Setting>iMessage). What do I do if my phone dies? No worries. The iMessaging feature is available on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and syncs across all of your devices. Don't miss any of the conversation, just switch devices while the other charges.

Newsstand: While not an incredibly popular feature with a lot of users at the moment, it's a monumental step towards digital media domination. This app lets you subscribe and download magazines and newspapers straight to your device. The best part, in my opinion, is being able to download magazine I already subscribe to in the app so I don't have to carry magazines or papers onto the airplane. I just need to download the issue ahead of time and bring my mobile device. This feature is only a perk if your favorite paper or magazine is available in Newsstand. I feel that many more will be added to the iTunes store in the future.

Reminders: I searched high and low for a reminder app that worked well for me. I think that Apple really hit the mark on this one. You can add reminders for specific days or just in general. You can set reminders to remind you at certain times or on certain days. It can even remind you to do something when you reach a certain location (as long as location services are on). I have really liked the app in regards to remembering to do last-minute homework assignments or remembering to pick something up from the grocery store on my way home. For the fan of a good list, this one lets you see the list you've written and all the things you've accomplished.

Twitter: There is now twitter integration. You can easily tweet a webpage link, photo or video from your device, YouTube link or a location in Maps. It very easy. Just sign in to Twitter in Settings and your ready to tweet away!

Camera: You can access your camera faster so you don't miss taking a photo of your nephew throwing his face in a cake at his 3rd birthday. Just double-tap the home button and click on the camera icon to open the camera. You can also use the + button to snap a photo instead of touching the screen for added speed and user-friendliness. They also added a red eye remover, auto photo enhancer, and the ability to crop and edit photos.

Safari: They changed the tabbed browsing feature so you can more easily see all the pages you have open. No more clicking the tabs button and scrolling through pages. The Reader now lets you view web pages without the clutter of banners and ads. Very nice if you hate all the extra noise on the page.

iCloud: This is the biggest new feature added by our friends at Apple. With this, you can sync between all of your devices without having to plug in every single time. Just make sure all of your devices are set to sync with iCloud and let the fun begin! One major problem with this feature is that enabling iCloud disables some features that were nice for adding documents from your computer to your device. The way around this is to upload all documents to your iCloud webspace first. This seemed to solve most of my problems with documents in Pages I had started on my desktop.

Other great features: Along with the features listed above, there are new multitasking gestures, new features in Mail and Calendar along with many others.

My advice to anyone is to just play with your phone and figure out how everything works. My parents have learned a lot about their devices from little hints and descriptions from me and working with the apps a lot themselves until they know their way around them. Enjoy and embrace the new iOS. I love it.

Tracking the MONTHLY VISIT! - Period Tracker Lite

 While not the most common app, it's not surprising that there are several apps like this available (both free and paid). The first one I've come across that I use regularly is Period Tracker Lite (available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad). 

The first screen allows you to view how many days are left before your period starts or how late your period is. You can also easily tap to say that you've started your period. It will track the days until you tap again to indicate that your period has ended. Here, you will also see flowers on the days you are ovulating. The app also predicts your future periods. You just enter how long your periods usually are and it will predict when (based on previous period) your next period will be.

It allows you to easily put in your mood, make notes of symptoms, track regular symptoms and how intense they are (light, medium, heavy). It also allows you to mark days of intimacy and shows you when you are likely to ovulate within the month. You can change the setting so that you have to enter a 4-digit passcode in order to open the application (in case your phone ever gets handed around).

The app also has a great feature where you can e-mail the data you have collected to yourself or anyone (i.e. your doctor) in case you need it for any reason. No longer will you have to make marks on your calendar or try to remember what day your periods started and ended when you head into the doctor. 

If your doctor changes your birth control or changes your dose, you can easily make a note on the date it changed and list when you've stopped or started taking the medication and see how that might correspond to its affects on your body. 

A simple app for savvy, busy women. I would download this today and start tracking now. 

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Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder

Keeping up with the traditional festivities, there are few Americans who don't do something for the 4th of July. In honor of recent fire bans (I live in Colorado), I decided to review an app that might make your 4th a happier holiday! The best on this journey is Oh, Ranger! This app (for iPhone and iPad) lets you search your current location (or any location) for local parks. You can browse everything available or just select the activities you want to be able to do at the park. For example, you can select the icon with a bicyclist to find parks with biking trails or the tent icon for camping. The app also give information about park hours, who to call for more information and a link to the park's website should you need some more information. If you end up camping for the holiday and your park is full, try this app to get somewhere you can have a relaxing time at! My iPhone challenged parents loved just using the Maps application on their iPhones to figure out what large bodies of water with fishing were near them. With this app, they get maps and more detailed information about where they can park the RV and stay a while!

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Bop it... Twist it... Bump it... Maybe just bump.

Have you ever wanted to share an app with someone but couldn't figure out how to do it short of e-mailing them a link to the app store or using word of mouth? Well, NO MORE! Now, you can bump apps and more to your friends using an app simply called "bump" for Android and iPhone.

There isn't much to explain, really. Once you open the app, you simply select different items that you want to share with your friend and bump fists (literally) for the files to be transferred. Your friend must also have the app...

I love this app. You won't use it every day (unless you're sharing apps like it's going out of style). However, this is the easiest way to share apps, information and images with friends versus just sharing by e-mail and trying to tell them what it is. You can instantly show they after you bump!

I use this app to share with my fiancé all of the time. We both like exploring new apps once in a while, and this has been useful in sharing anything we've found interesting. It has also been useful to share images with family members when we visit them so they can have a digital copy on hand (instead of just flipping through albums or paying for prints).

Short post today. However, we are getting into summer and a couple of great vacation apps for Android, iPad, and iPhone like Oh, Ranger! and Foursquare.

Social Networking Series: Twitter

I know we all know what Twitter is. Using it, however, is a different story.

Much along the lines of leaving short status updates on Facebook or texting a friend about something that happened during the day, Twitter allows its users to connect in a variety of ways. You can connect via trending topics (denoted by a hash mark, #), sending messages to specific users (using the @ symbol followed by their twitter user name), retweet others' tweets (usually contains RT somewhere in the post), or simply by writing a tweet to put your thoughts out there.

Sharing information is the real bonus of Twitter. You can send a short message, even just a title, and then include a photo or a link to a webpage of interest. Many organizations have taken advantage of this platform to get customer feedback on events and products all over the world. A great example of this can be seen by looking into the political arena. Many news agencies and campaign forums use Twitter to gauge feedback on their candidates and policies. President Obama's staff has used Twitter very effectively by tweeting quotes from his speeches. This allows users to re-port their favorites quotes or respond to certain parts of his speech. Politics is all about creating a forum for speech. I think he's done a great job of this so far.

So, enough about the why's and what's... You want to see what it looks like and how I feel about it, right??? Well, here you go.

First off: THIS IS A GREAT APP! I wouldn't just say that about any app, rest assured. Twitter has a simple website and there is nothing complicated about posting or reading messages. They have translated their website into their app entirely. You open up the app and sign in (you can create your account from here, as well). After that, you see your user name at the top followed by a scrolling list of tweets you subscribe to.

You can select any tweet to read it entirely, retweet, reply, mark as a favorite, e-mail, copy or translate it. Going one step further you can browse their profile to find where they are, see their webpage, and who follows them/they follow. This is where you can directly message a user or post a public reply by clicking the arrow in the top right hand corner of the screen.

What happens when someone messages or replies to you? No problem! You can just click back to the main screen and select the @ symbol on the bottom of the screen. Here, you can see any posts that were made that mention you. You can also reply back! Talk about easy... Messages sent to you can be seen by selecting the icon with an envelope.

The next icon is used to search. You can search by trending topics and by users. From there, it's pretty easy to do everything mentioned above, as well.

On top of all the great features of the app, I have NEVER ONCE had the app crash or freeze. That's a grand slam in app developing. Here's hoping they keep it that way.

You can view your own profile by selecting the icon with three dots. Very easy. Like I said, Twitter made an app that is a walk in the park. Tweeting about your flavorless bubblegum is only a few taps away... literally.

Social Networking Series: Facebook

It would not be a very profitable or marketable phone if it did not include fast ways to connect to the hundreds of social networking sites out there, even if you don't use any of them... Being born of this INTERNET generation, I have used the many forms of social networking offered for over 15 years of my life (which I'm not incredibly proud of being as none of those networks involve a phone call). As is the fashion now, we must rely on messaging and posting and blogging to get our ideas, opinions, and information across the world to friends, family, and colleagues.

The first stop on our social network tour is Facebook. If you don't know what Facebook is by now, you must have been in a coma for the last ten years. Among being able to contact and leave messages that others can check on their own pages at their convenience, Facebook has grown into quite the social networking empire. You can play games, take surveys, ask questions, share images and videos, etc. It really is a one-stop shop for all of your social networking needs (sans blogging). We're not here to talk about the network itself, however. We're here to review the app itself. If you have a smartphone or a feature phone, you should be able to download an app specific to your phone whether it be an iPhone, Blackberry, Windows phone, etc. You can do almost everything there is to do in Facebook with this app... except use any of the website applications (Zynga, etc.). Below is my breakdown of the features of the app and how they work.

1. News Feed: Probably the most important feature of the app because it is the one feature that is unique to Facebook. You can filter your news feed to show only status updates, most recent posts, photos, links, events, and the top news out of everything. This is also where you can post a new status update, post photos from your mobile device, and check-in to where you're at (more on this later).
2. Profile: You can also post your status or images from the Profile section. You can view your information and look down your own wall to check posts and comments. Pretty standard to what you can do online.
3. Friends: One of the best features of the Facebook app is to be able to contact your friends via the information they have included on Facebook. You simply need to click on their name in the Friends section to e-mail to call them. This saves you from having to have everyone's number in your Contacts even though you'll only need to contact them for one group project for Freshman Bio.
4. Messages: Messages works the same way it always has, and there is little to report here. For those who don't use Facebook or haven't figured everything out yet, you can post messages to one friend or a group of friends in a more private setting than your Wall.
5. Places: OKAY! As many smartphone users know, the most popular app used to brag about your present location is Foursquare. However, Facebook has added a similar feature titled " Places." While I applaud Facebook for adding this novelty feature, I would say that it doesn't quite meet the bar that Foursquare has set. Yes, you can post where you are and what you're doing and with whom. However, Foursquare lets you post where you are with photos, tips, and shout-outs. You can also earn neat badges for checking in to certain places or at certain times or to certain places and certain times under certain circumstances... More on Foursquare later. The point I'm making is that Facebook has the feature, but I NEVER use it.
6. Groups: Back in the day (and I mean a year ago), groups on Facebook were simple. You join a group for whatever reason but there was way more hassle is keeping up with the groups. This is something I think Facebook has greatly improved, even in the mobile app. Groups are separated from pages in a big way. A great example can be seen in my wedding preparations. I simply created a group for my wedding party and added everyone who is on Facebook. There, I can post reminders or updates, keep in touch with everyone and their travel plans, even create documents to post to the page that give information about where, when, how and why. When I'm out and about, it's great to have a place I can post a quick question and get feedback quickly.
7. Events and Photos: Events is pretty easy and is nothing different or special when you compare the website to the application. You are invited to events, you can reply and RSVP, etc. Self-explanatory. Photos... This is what I want to talk more about. The #2 best feature of Facebook is the ability to post unlimited albums and photos for everyone to see. This saves printing or e-mailing a million photos that won't even fit into one e-mail. It also saves having to be limited by photo-sharing websites that often limit your uploads to 10 or less a month. You can post photos from your mobile phone, too. It's not as limited as posting to your mobile uploads album either. You can create albums, add information and captions, and add photos to pre-existing albums. Perfect for road trips and weekend adventures! The one problem I did have with the app is that is no longer lets you save images to your device from an album. This would be helpful when you're needing a particular photo to e-mail to someone quickly. This isn't a deal breaker for the app, though. I'm just saying I liked that feature and am sad it's gone.
8. Chat and Notes: Facebook chat is a little obsolete. I say this because you can chat through Facebook using a variety of different all-in-one instant messaging programs like Meebo or Digsby. Using the Facebook app to chat? I'd rather just post to someone's wall or use my Meebo app or AIM. That's my preference, but it's really up to you. As far as Notes go, Facebook is NOT the place to start leaving them. If you want to journey into the blogging foray, I suggest Blogger, Wordpress, Xanga, etc. There are much better ways to start writing posts, even if you're just going to write about what you did today. I have yet to find a good blogging app for iPhone or iPad. If you know of one, let ME know.

That was the Facebook app in a large nutshell. While I think there are some things the app could do with and without, I still think Facebook has created a fantastic mobile app that allows users to Facebook away from their desktop. To be honest, I use the app at my desktop. 

If you have more questions, feel free to ask and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I confused you by referencing other apps, don't worry! I'm going to do posts on those very soon so you have a clearer picture of what I mean. If you just can't wait for my posts, download the app and discover the features for yourself!

What are these app things?

These days, everyone is going on about "apps." You can blog with this one or word process with another. There are apps that create lists, help you shop, organize your life, and check up on your kids. There are even apps that help you share apps. I won't even begin to name the thousands of game applications that exist! Why am I creating a blog about apps? Let me take you back a week.

In a world where your iPod can already sync to your WiFi connection and allow you to video chat and instant message from more places than your office, it would make sense that people would want these capabilities in a phone. Until last week, my entire family had been suffering the unnecessary frustration of the worst phone ever manufactured. We've all had phones that just don't work and aren't worth the money to deal with. We were suffering from a terrible case of the LG EnV Touch.... This particular phone should not be counted on Verizon's best phone deals. This phone reset itself, changed all of the sound and touch settings, dropped calls, told you there was no battery after you just took it off the charger, etc.... When the conversation started that we had upgrades and needed new phones, we all were looking at different ones. My father wanted the Blackberry Storm 2, my mother and I wanted the iPhone 4, and my sister could not make up her mind. After time playing with friends' phones and talking and arguing, three of us got the iPhone 4. My sister bought the Droid 2 Global. My sister and I have owned iPods in the past. Our familiarity with apps comes from months of using the iPod touch and the iPad. We understood what was out there and how to use it. Explaining what apps are and what they are used for to our parents??? That is months of unneeded stress and fighting.

Having parents born over 40 years ago, I understand that some people need apps explained to them in a simple way. They need suggestions instead of doing what most people do: going through a million apps to find the ones that we love (the trial-and-error method). We've taught our parents how to use the preloaded applications on their phones and even shown them how to download and search for other applications they might like. However, they usually just have us find ones that work for them.

So, my proposal is this blog. Here, I will post photos and information about different useful applications that I have found out there. I will explain what it is used for, why you might want it, and different alternatives of the same app should you not like the one I love. I will try my best to include which applications are available for Android and Blackberry, as well. I will also feature apps suggested by YOU, the readers. If you have an application you like that more people should know about, send it my way so I can write about it here!

Which apps will I feature first? Here's a short list to provide you with what's coming!

• TiKL (talk over wifi or 3G like a walkie-talkie)
• Bump (Easy and fun way to share apps, photos, and more)
• Genius Scan (Take photos of documents and send them as PDFs)
• AllRecipes (Your free trip to a world of thousands of yummy recipes)
• Grocery iQ (Grocery List in your pocket, even lets you scan items to add to the list!)