Dad Apps

Last week I talked about the apps that sit around on my phone and I don't use, my crap apps if you will. As you can probably figure I have an iPhone, we have a love hate relationship, I love it and I hate when it isn't with me. It has essentially replaced every other piece of technology I use on a regular basis other than my computer that I use for word processing and blogging. So instead of the terrible apps that have no point of being on my phone, lets talk about the apps I use on a daily basis as a dad.


1. Camera- I wish I had the money to get a camera I don't know how to operate, but I don't so instead of packing a camera and extra charger, I don't. The camera on my phone takes relatively good pictures and the majority of the pictures we take come from it. If I want to edit my pictures I have the ability to, if I want to be trendy I can instagram it up. I can instantly upload pictures of my ridiculously cute kids to Facebook. We have more pictures of our kids this year because of this app than my mom has of me, ever.

2. White Noise- This has been a lifesaver on numerous occasions. We use this app to drown out the other sounds while our kids are sleeping. This app has come to our rescue when we forget the kids sound machine and has also been incredible to not have to pack the bulky CD player or sound machine when we go on trips, again, it is in my pocket and good to go.

3. Peekaboo Wild- Kids meltdown, it is inevitable and only a matter of time. Cooper has outgrown this app and gets bored pretty easy but Micah has just discovered how incredible this is. It makes a 15 minute car ride bearable when it could have been a stressful crazy disaster.

Again, I love my phone, and for different reasons but it makes parenting easier and I am able to catch more memories because of it. There are always those times that your phone can be a distraction, so be wary of overusing technology and overusing your phone. Be present when your kids are but if used correctly, can be a great addition to your parenting arsenal.

Here's some fun Coop had on my phone the other day.

Crap Apps

I am a big fan of all things i. I got an iPhone as soon as I could afford one and a Mac before I needed to replace my old computer. I wasn't originally an Apple person, I thought Steve Jobs was creepy in a college guy going to a high school party kind of way. I thought he was trying to show me how to be awesome without in fact being awesome. I don't trust anyone whose neck I can't see, it is just my standard rule.

All that being said, I always have my phone on me, always. Today I wanted to let you in on some of my least favorite apps. I get sick of the apps that people hock all over the internet telling people how awesome Evernote is and how Facebook is now more accessible than ever so today, just the Crap Apps that for some reason are still on my phone.

Compass: I believe this was rolled out in the release of the 3Gs, I was excited to see it and play with it and obviously go exploring with it to find buried treasure. This is the biggest waste of space on my phone, I have literally never used it and Steve refuses to let me delete it off my phone. Good call turtleneck, force me to keep apps that I will never open, Voice Notes falls into the same, I will never ever use you, category.

Magic Piano: As much as I enjoy playing 'The House of the Rising Sun' on my phone over and over again because it is one of the only free songs on this App, it stays in my Entertainment folder and gets opened once every 3 months. It is another incredible app put out by Smule that I never use. It allows me to pretend to play piano without actually pressing any keys but merely tapping my screen over and over and over. I get bored faster than Tim Lincecum pitching to the Dodgers.

Dragon Dictation: I love the concept of this app, speak into it, it writes down what you say, awesome right? Yeah, as awesome as he Dodgers winning a World Series. Here's the problem, it takes longer to speak into the phone, correct the mistakes, and then send your message than it would to just text the message in the first place. It's a great idea, but until it gets a bit further down the developmental freeway, it will sit in my Productivity folder feeding me empty promises about how great it is .

I have a ton of apps that I use and love on a regular basis, Twitter, MLB At Bat '11, Blogger, Zombie Freeway, ZOMBIE FREEWAY. You have an iPhone or Droid? Awesome, whats your Crap App on it? Don't have a smart phone? Congrats, what technology do you have that is a total waste of it existing?