Rural Missouri - March 2011 - (Page 34)

Top Apps for rural Missourians by Kyle Spradley kspradley@ruralmissouri.coop It’s hard to imagine what life was like before cellular phones. We rely on our mobile devices more than ever, and the days of a cell phone being just a phone are about over. According to a recent survey by The Neilsen Company, nearly onethird of all U.S. mobile customers owned a smart phone at the end of 2010. By the end of 2011, Neilsen anticipates the number of smart phones in the market will surpass feature phones. Cell phones now are miniature computers capable of multi-tasking and providing us with a world of information at our ﬁngertips. Phone manufacturing companies are packing these new smart phones with many useful tools, including a GPS locator system, high-resolution camera, Internet browser, media player and so much more. The fast operating systems on these powerful smart phones allow for expansion. Thousands of applications are available through Apple’s App Store or the Android Market, and here are a few we ﬁnd especially practical for our readers. = available on Apple’s App Store = available on the Android Market How to Cook Everything Price: Free (Essentials), $4.99 (Full) Description: Digital cookbook of more than 2,000 recipes and 400 how-to illustrations Why you would want this: Wondering what to cook tonight? This app will help you decide. Not only does it provide one of the largest databases of recipes, but it also includes several tools such as timers, grocery list creator and alerts for daily featured recipes. With suggestions from New York Times columnist Mark Bittman, you are bound to ﬁnd something appetizing here. Weather Channel Price: Free Description: Animated radar and weather forecasts Why you would want this: Using the GPS locator in your phone, the app gives you local weather information including current temperature, radar maps, videos and hourly and 10-day forecasts. Save favorite places for quick access to weather in multiple cities. Audubon Guides Price: $0.99-$29.99 Description: Digital guide books for mammals, birds, trees, ﬁsh, fungi and insects Why you would want this: For decades, the Audubon Society’s Field Guides have been the source for most nature lovers on how to identify a bird, ﬁsh, mammal or plant. Now, the guides go wherever you go with the same vivid identiﬁcation photos, habitat range maps and descriptions on your phone as the printed guides. Costs vary for different guides, but a bundled package complete with multiple guides helps save some cash. Farm Futures Price: Free Description: Market updates and news from Farm Futures magazine Why you would want this: Keep up to date with the latest developments in the commodity markets and recent news in the agriculture industry. The app also highlights trends in agriculture with weekly podcasts. IRS 2 Go Price: Free Description: Aid for ﬁling federal taxes Why you would want this: Access tips for ﬁling your federal taxes. Check the status of your return and ﬁnd information on how to contact the Internal Revenue Service if you experience any problems before the annual ﬁling date. WebMD Price: Free Description: Symptom checker and ﬁrst aid assistance Why you would want this: Find out why you feel under the weather by simply clicking the 3-D body and add symptoms to the affected area. The app then gives sugestions on what you might have and what medication or ﬁrst aid is necessary. PhotoForge Price: $2.99 Description: Photo editing tool Why you would want this: A photographer’s best friend! Take dull photos shot on your phone and turn them into masterpieces. Crop, lighten and darken, sharpen, increase saturation and add other effects to make your photos stand out. iSolunar Price: $4.99 Description: Database of best hunting and ﬁshing times Why you would want this: Plan that next ﬁshing trip or hunting excursion with tables and calendars highlighting peak feeding and activity times of ﬁsh and wildlife. Urbanspoon Price: Free Description: Restaurant review database Why you would want this: Hungry and don’t know what to eat? Use Urbanspoon to locate restaurants in your area. Find what others think of the food and read through reviews. Land Area Calculator Price: $7.99 Description: Calculates the area of a piece of land Why you would want this: Perfect for farmers trying to ﬁgure out how many acres their ﬁelds are or how much land they want to dedicate to each certain crop. Using Google Maps, drop pins around an area to ﬁgure out how many acres, square feet or square yards your tract of land is. The app also tracks the distances between waypoints. Grocery Gadget Price: Free (Lite), $4.99 (Full) Description: Utility tool used for creating grocery lists Why you would want this: Ever been to the grocery store and forgot your list? Your list now goes where you go. Easily add items to your weekly grocery list by entering in a product from the thousands listed or by scanning the bar code of the product. This app will search online for coupons that you can easily print or show at the checkout counter at the grocery store. You also can e-mail your list to your spouse or print it from a computer. 34 WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP http://WWW.RURALMISSOURI.COOP

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - March 2011

Rural Missouri - March 2011
Contents
Comments
Columns
Docent of the Walking Cane Dulcimer
Out of the Way Eats
Mail Bag
The No-Dig (And Less Sweat) Gardening Alternative
Grow a Delicious Landscape
A Recycled Craft
Hearth and Home
News Briefs
The Gainesville Gunner
Marketplace
Around Missouri
Top Apps for Rural Missourians
Neighbors
Just4Kids

Rural Missouri - March 2011