An APPetite

No surfboards for us today. It is snowing in Toronto. Heavily. The weather report a couple of days ago claimed we would get light snow today, that wouldn't stick. Hah! It looks like Christmas outside......which is why I'm staying inside.

Since returning from our winter getaway, I've been checking out new apps for my iPhone. And, surprise surprise, they are not all photographic ones -- although my favourite new app is Instagram. And it's free! One of Instagram's features is the ability to share photos, but that's not why I like it; I love the filters it lets you apply to your shots. The above image was created using Instagram, as was the one below. If you love your iPhone's camera, this is a must-have app.





By the way, that's a Frownie. It's green in honour of St. Patrick's Day, and was mint-flavoured, but normally a Frownie features chocolate icing. King's Family Restaurants is, I believe, a small chain of restaurants in Pennsylvania and that's where we stopped for lunch early this month, just south of Pittsburgh, when we were on our journey home from Florida; Frownies are their specialty. It was delicious.

Back to the apps. MapQuest 4 Mobile is another new favourite of mine, similar to the MapQuest web site I'm sure you've used many times. This app lets you find gas stations, restaurants, lodging etc., but I downloaded it for its ability to provide both driving and walking directions for any routes you want; it will even tell you where to go, just like the GPS you use in your car. Pretty valuable for a free app, wouldn't you say?

Speaking of free apps, and I do mean speaking, don't miss Merriam-Webster Dictionary. This freebie features a dictionary that not only gives you definitions but also provides synonyms, just like a thesaurus. And my favourite feature? You can speak your word rather than type it, which is perfect when you're not sure of a word's spelling. It also has a voice feature giving you a word's proper pronunciation. Neat.

Instant Heart Rate is another free app I've been using. For me, it's ideal, as I have a terrible time finding my own pulse. With this app, you cover the iPhone's camera lens with the tip of your finger and it picks up your pulse from that. There is a paid version with more features, but the freebie suits me just fine.

Finally, an app that's not thrilling me. Sleep Pillow Ambiance is a free app that claims to be a white noise machine. This interested me as I've determined that one of the reasons I sleep so well when we're in Florida is the constant sound of the ocean waves hitting the shore. White noise machines are expensive so I downloaded this app to try and, well, it's a good thing it's free. To me, the app's ocean waves sound doesn't remind me of the ocean at all; it sounds just like water in a bathtub. It certainly doesn't make me sleepy!

Any new iPhone apps that are your favourites? I'd love to hear about them.