Wake Up Call: Alarm Clock App For the Android!

To paraphrase Aretha: I have never loved a phone the way I, I love my Android. I like having an alarm better than setting up an appointment ("wake up") on my calendar.  More reassuring.  Can't trust the hotel wake up call 100%, am I right?  In the Android Market, I like twofree alarm apps.  I'll tell you which one I like best:

Alarm Clock Xtreme!  Because all alarm clocks should be extreme, right?  Anyway, the reason I like it is because I can choose songs from my playlists on my phone to wake me up.  OR, I could (and I tested this), record my voice saying "Wake up Elizabeth!"  Not that I want to wake up that way, but knowing I could wake up to just about anything makes me feel very powerful.

I also like AlarmDroid, which has some snazzy features whereby you shake the phone to go to snooze.  It has a power nap mode so that you can set the alarm to go off in 1 hour and 12 minutes and 5 seconds -- if you can't deal with figuring out the time, I guess.  It also let's you record your voice and stuff like that.  Why is this one number 2 in my book?  Honestly, who can remember?  As I write and play with this version, I'm liking it more than Xtreme.

It's FREE!  Get both.

There are paid versions of these apps as well, but you really have to geek out to care.  I just want it to work.  And they do.

Schedule Your Tweets!

So by now, you're using Twitter as a Social Media Marketing tool for your business.  Right?  Instead of having to log into Twitter each day to put forth your wisdom/essence/daily special, you can figure it all out at the beginning of the week/month, write them all out and schedule when they will appear.  By doing them all at once, you will save serious time and energy.

There are many free online tools which help boost your social media productivity.  Additional features include managing more than one Twitter account, keyword searches, see who is mentioning you, and much more. 

If I can offer a comparison, it would be like using email but without Outlook -- so you wouldn't be connected to your calendar, contacts, notes, etc.  (AOL users, I'm talking to you!  More later.)

I've been using HootSuite, but there are many others as well: Tweet Later, Twittertise, Tweet Ahead.  And, if you're the kind of person who leaves no stone unturned, here's a list of more sites to check out.

Skype while traveling abroad!

Want a great way to stay in touch while traveling abroad without worry over international rates or roaming charges?

Take the easy way out and download Skype to your iPhone:  for a very low rate, call back home to the US from wherever you are as long as you can connect to a wifi network.

• If you don't already have a Skype account, go online and sign up.
• Depending on how many calls you plan to make while abroad, buy either a pay as you go plan OR a subscription model
• Go to the iTunes store and download the FREE app onto your iPhone
• Sign into Skype on your iPhone

You're ready to go!

Before you leave on your trip, I would suggest creating or importing the phone numbers that you plan to use while abroad so that you don't have to fiddle with that.

You will also be able to receive calls on your Skype iPhone app, so your friends don't need to endure long distance expenses either.  And remember that you need to connect to a Wifi network.  Soon, the Skype app will be accessible on the 3G network, but not yet.

You're welcome!

Useful iPhone Apps for Travel

For the longest time, I was totally uninterested in iPhone apps.  To me, when I thought of iPhone apps, I thought of video games or iFart or the one where it tells you what kind of cry (sleepy/hungry/wet) your baby was crying.  Useless and a waste of time.

Change that: now, I'm addicted.  What changed?  Well, I actually went to the iTunes app store and started browsing.  And now, I have suggestions.

Yelp:  For those of you who use Yelp religiously on your computer, why wouldn't you also want it on the go?  And it's FREE!  Yelp gives you user reviews of anything you can think of in the city you are visiting:  restaurants, tailors, manicures, parks -- you name it!  Whether it's business travel or a vacation: The bigger the city, the more reviews.  I find the service essential.

Currency Converter Pro: For a mere ninety-nine cents, this app gives you over 220 currencies to convert -- and not just into dollars -- into any other currency.  It's easy to use and it's one less thing you have to concern yourself with.  Especially if you're bad at math and a nervous Nelly while you travel.

Flashlight: This seems a little silly, but it's always good to have a flashlight with you.  Dark hotel room.  Don't want to wake your husband. .  It's a free app that turns your iPhone very very BRIGHT.  Hence, the name.

Sit or Squat:  Bathroom Finder  When I lived in New York City, I prided myself on where to find the most luxurious public bathrooms (Bendel's on Fifth, downstairs -- like a studio apartment!  My god, you have to see this bathroom!) because I was always on the go.  Now, I don't have to work so hard.  When you're in a strange place, you want a stable, clean toilet.  Am I right?

Audiobooks: I just blogged about it recently, but it bears repeating.  This app gets you thousands of free, public domain books that are read by volunteers streamed or downloaded to your iPhone.  For $.99, it's a huge bang for the buck.

Pocket Express:  Also a free app, this one gives you all sorts of general information.  The weather is what I've keyed into.  It's easy to use and you really need to know what to wear in the morning, boots or sandals.

I was also going to tell you about Trip It: it's a free app, but for the past 72 hours, the website that accompanies it is down.  That's a LONG time.  Not sure what's happening.  Well, if it's just a blip, it's a great place to congregate all of your travel plans, no matter where you booked them: hotel, car, appointments, etc.

Go ahead to the iTunes store and start poking around.  I guarantee that you'll find something useful.  Even if it's just a game to while away the time while you're waiting for your delayed flight to arrive.

Not For Tourists: New iPhone App

I was asked to check out the new iPhone app from Not For Tourists. It’s like a mini-Yelp, a self-described “ultimate guide for the savvy city-dweller.” So far, there are three editions: Manhattan, San Francisco and London. My gut reaction was “why is this better than the Yelp iPhone application?” And now I realize that I have to back up: do you know what Yelp is?

Yelp is like a new-fangled Zagat guide of EVERYTHING. Dentists, restaurants, parks — you name it, Yelpers have written reviews about it. (Unless you’re in a city like say, Boise.) And unlike Zagat, Yelp does not edit their users’ reviews so you get the whole shebang of what people thought. Some helpful, some mean, some are friends of the owner of the restaurant being reviewed, some are just having a bad day and taking it out on the coffee shop — but it’s pretty easy to read between the lines with just a little experience.

So, back to NFT.  The organization on the app is well done: you can search by neighborhood, by category (restaurant, hotel, hospital) and then when you figure out where you want to go, you can search for other places nearby.  You can even bookmark your faves.  The one crucial category that they left out is “Bathrooms.”  It’s so key to know where the good bathrooms are in New York, even if you live and work there.  (Free tip:  Best Bathroom is in Henri Bendel’s on 5th, downstairs.  It’s like a studio apartment.)

Here’s why it’s worth $4.99 for the app: you don’t have to be online to get the information, like you do with Yelp.  This is helpful if you’re somewhere in New York and can’t get a signal.  Or don’t want to pay for a signal.  Whenever you sync your iPhone, it will update the information.  That’s nice.  And even when I was an expert on Manhattan, you really can’t know EVERYTHING.  The downside is that there is not a conglomoration of reviews like on Yelp — but then again, do you really need to read 170 reviews about Hotel Gansevoort when you’re on-the-go?  Do that at home.  On Yelp.

I say get it.  At the very least, it’s good entertainment on the subway for all of you closet know-it-alls.  And you know who you are.

BYOW: Free Wifi in Every Hotel!

I was just telecommuting online (webicommuting?) with my boss (project-based, GDI to the end!) who was on vacay. He was at a schnootzy hotel that had crap wifi: couldn't get a signal, had to keep moving around to find his bars. And that's with a $20 internet connection fee! Now, this is a very FANCY hotel. I guess no one really has to work if they go to that hotel, but my boss, he's got a great work ethic.

Now, if you can afford that hotel and you DEPEND on your Internet connection to help you stay productive, you really should look into getting your own, personal wifi bubble. OK, no, I haven't used it, but David Pogue has and you know that I love/trust/want-to-be-the-best-friend-of David Pogue.

Mr. Pogue explains it very well, but here it is in a nutshell: You pay anywhere from $30-$60/month and you get your own personal hot-spot that you can share with up to four other people (children with iPods, co-workers, etc.).

How is it different from a cellular modem? Well, first off, it doesn't have to be plugged in -- it's cordless, small and has rechargeable batteries (and works while it's being charged!) and secondly, you don't need to plug it into your laptop -- you don't even need a laptop at all! It's got a super strong battery that lasts 4 full hours of full use and 40 hours in sleep mode.

Why can't hotels just supply free wifi? Let me answer that question with another question: If you work on your vacation, is it really a vacation?