Posted by: Contributing columnist, CLARION LEDGER FEATURE, BUSINESS, November 19, 2015:
Anyone with a smartphone that has played around with cool apps probably has their favorites. When I find an app that I think is good, I’m probably somewhat annoying in my circle of friends because I become such an evangelist for them. I hope I’m not too bothersome for doing so, but I find that recommendations from others are how I find some of my favorite apps, so I hope I’m doing the same by sharing my thoughts with them. With that in mind, I want to ask you to share your favorite smartphone apps through comments online.
In introducing my favorites, I should probably explain that I’m leaving out apps that connect to social media, like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Those are perfectly functional apps to enable connection to those social media platforms, but those aren’t really doing anything their platforms weren’t already doing. I’m also leaving out company specific apps, like those for specific restaurants, tire stores, etc.
The three apps I like the most have interesting stories behind them as well, which may be part of the reason why I like them so much. Innovate Mississippi works with hundreds of technology entrepreneurs, so it’s not surprising that the entrepreneurial story is part of what makes each app seem so interesting to me.
First, you would think that a weather app would have a hard time making the list – especially a weather app developed by two founders who are not meteorologists and didn’t seem to know much about weather when they started their app. For that matter, it’s frankly pretty amazing that Dark Sky ever even got their Kickstarter campaign funded in the first place. They did, though, with the simple promise: We’re going to tell you very precise weather for your location for the next hour. If you want to know the percentage chance of rain for Saturday’s barbecue, you’re out of luck with Dark Sky, but it will tell you “Light rain starting in 14 minutes, stopping in 21 minutes, and heavy rain starting in 37 minutes.”
If you think about it, the idea of 30 percent or 70 percent rain for the next hour isn’t a particularly useful piece of information if you’re wondering whether or not to take an umbrella into Wal-Mart. Dark Sky fixed that problem and the way they did it is pretty ingenious. I’m probably not the only person that has looked at a line of thunderstorms and calculated how long it will take to hit my location. Dark Sky just does the same thing in a very precise way – measuring the speed that a band of rain is moving and calculating how rain bands will cross your precise area. This provides useful, actionable information,so although it’s one of only a couple of apps I’ve ever paid for, the $3.99 price tag is worth it.
Another really useful app is one that Innovate Mississippi has worked with – iExit. Their app is brilliant because it tells you what is coming up at exits ahead of you on the interstate. You don’t even have to tell it where you are going – it uses your phone’s GPS to determine what interstate you are on and which direction you are going. It then displays all of the future exits, the distance to each, and tells you what gas stations, restrooms, restaurants and other attractions are at each exit.
Have you ever gotten off at a new exit and then discovered the gas station is 2 miles down the road? iExit eliminates that problem by telling which direction and the exact distance each attraction is from the exit. It even displays a small map of the area. You can search for specific restaurants and plan your stops accordingly. The app doesn’t work on highways with no exits, but is a terrific travel tool for road trips.
Finally, an app that I think is the future of nearly all scanner-based technology –CamFind. CamFind is a simple app that allows you to take a picture of literally anything and it identifies it for you – often offering links to purchase the item. Wondering where your friend found that unique table, scarf or purse? Just take a picture and CamFind will find the nearest match and tell you how to get it.
I say that this is the future of scanner-based technology because it is a single scanner platform. CamFind is the only QR and barcode reader you need since it recognizes those automatically as well. Be careful with it when trying to recognize faces, though. It doesn’t do facial recognition – yet – and your friend may not be amused when it pulls up “Older woman in red sweater” instead of your friend’s name. It will give you options to purchase the sweater, though.
In thinking about my choices, I just realized that my favorite three apps have been my favorites for more than 2 years. In the world of technology, that’s an eternity, so I know that others will surely be able to give some good insights into apps that you like the most. I hope that you will share your thoughts in the comments section online.
Tony Jeff is the president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. He can be reached at tjeff@innovate.ms.