Tag: Lifestyle »

Yell has a fantastic reputation for helping people find businesses around them. Its app is quick to use and has the additional benefit of offering great deals from local businesses. Such functionality has now been extended with users now able to read and write reviews of any businesses they visit.

The app has had a total redesign, providing Yell's customers with an entirely new look that offers a better way to navigate and a much faster experience overall. There's enhanced mapping too to make sure there's no fear of getting lost while tracking down a location.

The ability to add personal reviews of a place means that users can quickly figure out where is best to visit, whether that place is a restaurant or simply an excellent store for specialist knowledge. For the small business, it particularly helps get the word out which is frequently the best form of advertising.

It's the kind of functionality that's just made Yell even more unbeatable for the business search app world.

Yell is free to download now in the App Store.

Here's an app that easily makes me ravenously hungry. It's Hasbro's Easy-Bake Cupcakes!. It's a cute app that lets people make, bake, decorate, eat and share virtual cupcakes from their iOS device.

All the user needs to do is pick their Easy-Bake cupcake mix, fill the pan with cupcake batter and water then mix and slide the pan into the Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven to cook. A quick shake of the iOS device gets the cupcakes out of the pan (if only reality were that easy) then users can choose from a vast number of frostings and candy toppings to create their perfect cupcake.

9 different cupcake batters are available with 17 types of frosting, 15 types of decorations, 9 kinds of plates and 6 tablecloths. That's a heck of a lot of choice.

As is quickly apparant, Easy-Bake Cupcakes! is an ideal app for kids. Adults may well be cynical enough to notice the corporate advertising within but will still no doubt quite like to eat cupcakes after messing around with the app. For kids though, this is a fun way of 'creating' cakes. They can even share their creations via email or Facebook afterwards.

It's out now and it's free.

Seemingly every time I park my car, I see someone else wandering around looking a little lost as they can't remember where they parked. I'm quite fortunate that most of the time, I don't have that problem. On the odd ocassion I do however, it's pretty embarrassing and very much a waste of time. myPark sets out to stop that problem as well as ensure that its users will always get back in time before their meter runs out.

The app tracks the user's movements from their car to their destination thus working out how long it takes to make the trip for future reference on the way back. It's possible to then set how long it's ok to park for depending on the parking meter or ticket system.

A series of reminders can also be added to ensure that users can always find their car again. These can be a short text description of the location, a photo of the surroundings, an audio note or the color and level of the car park itself.

Most conveniently, myPark informs the user when the parking time expires or when the walking time is equal to the time left on the meter. Finally, a way of always keeping track of the time without losing track during a meeting and getting caught out.

For a meagre price of $0.99, myPark could potentially save a fortune in parking tickets for forgetful car owners.

Dogs are great. Cuddly, sweet, faithful and never judgemental. How intelligent are they though? Dog fans may now be able to figure out this very important question thanks to a new app by the name of Dog IQ.

According to the app, dogs have different kinds of intelligence just like humans do. These types are: problem solving ability, social intelligence, awareness, sense and the ability to learn and adapt. Dog IQ helps determine how mentally adept the user's dog is by providing a well rounded overview of all of these types.

Each test offered by the app consists of 11 simple and fun questions testing the above abilities. Taken from a pool of 30 questions, there's enough room for trying the test numerous times. Indeed it's encouraged with a history page allowing users to monitor their dog's performance over time.

Dog IQ looks to be a fun entertainment app to finally see if dogs really are smart or not. It's out now priced at $0.99.

Long distance relationships are tough. Heck I've been there. It's horrible being away from loved ones for any length of time. An app like JustUs could take the edge off things however.

It's an app that allows users to receive reminders whenever their loved one thinks about them during the day. Fortunately it's not done through reading brain activity or anything like that, it's all down to the couple having their own copy of the JustUs app.

Set up is pretty easy with users having a private code to share between each other. Once they meet up, a bump of iOS devices together and the app imports a picture of the other half. Then, whenever one user opens the app, they see a photo of their loved one and the loved one receives a notification that they're being thought of.

It's that simple and really quite a cute idea. JustUs is out now priced at $0.99 per copy (as of course you need two copies!). Check out the video explaining it below.

We've all been there. Two sports events are on at once and it's a judgement call to figure out which one to watch and which one to just keep an eye on the score of. While sometimes it's the obvious game with the two big leading teams against each other, other times it's a more subtle David and Goliath style conflict that turns out to be the more exciting game. How to figure out which one as soon as possible though? Maybe Thuuz will be able to help there.

It's an app that, using some unique and mysterious algorithms, figures out the excitement of each game in real-time then rates it on a scale of 0-100. Users pick their favorite sports, teams and players, set their excitement threshold and then the app gets to work.

Currently monitoring a wide variety of sports such as NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Soccer, Cricket, Rugby as well as college sports like Football and Basketball, this app should have sports fans pretty covered for figuring out what to watch.

Further functionality is offered with the ability to watch live games when in the US as well as track down the nearest sports bar to catch the action.

It's a free app so give it a shot and why not report back on how it's gone. Initial feedback is looking pretty darn promising. Finally, this predicament could be solved!

Gaining the motivation to make a positive change in life, start working out or simply work towards escaping the vicious circle of debt isn't as easy as it should be. It's all too easy to lose sight of such goals or simply feel as if it's a neverending issue. So how about an app that costs only $1.99 and could help provide the much needed motivation? That's exactly what GroHabit hopes to do.

A personal development app, GroHabit is all about cultivating new habits that will positively improve a person's life. Recently updated, GroHabit introduces two new features in this mission. An interactive logging system uncovers the strengths and weaknesses of each user while Skill Bars allow the user to see their progress in five habit-building skills. A new skill has also been added known as Adapting, focusing on users who are hindered by external events or situations beyond their control.

While willpower is required alongside GroHabit, it helps users decide what behavior will help them reach their goal and how long it will take. A flexible days off system means that users are allowed to vary their schedules as needed but it's easy to track how things are going with a mini-calendar function.

An inspirational picture and quotes section also allows users to always check out motivational bits and pieces to remind them of why they're so determined to complete their goal. Plus GroHabit backs this up with daily messages offering helpful tips and motivational messages.

Why not give it a shot today and see how life can improve?

It's excellent fun and frequently very tasty to eat out at different restaurants from time to time. The problem lies in figuring out exactly which restaurants are worth the time and which need avoiding at all costs. While the App Store loves to offer plenty of recommendation apps, Ness is the newest out there for restaurant recommendations and it's looking pretty good, indeed.

Unlike other apps, Ness learns about the user's tastes by getting them to rate their dining experiences at 10 restaurants they've visited. Using such data, Ness then determines what kind of things the user enjoys about dining out, then uses that information to recommend other establishments. The more places that the user rates, the more Ness learns and in turn the more accurate the predictions become.

There's a social element to the app too with recommendations all connected to similarities between people as well as the user's friends and their preferences. For those who admit that some friends haven't got the same taste as them, there's the option to filter them out so they don't affect the recommendations from within Ness. All this is conducted via Facebook and Foursquare friends so there's no need to sign up to yet another social network just for the purposes of this app.

A Likeness Engine gives each restaurant a Likeness score out of 100 with filtering options abound throughout. Users can choose to hide places they've already rated for instance, ensuring there's always a new experience around the corner. No big chains can be switched off too thus meaning the little guys get noticed more so.

Ness's developers, the appropriately named Ness Computing, don't plan to stop with food either with future releases promising recommendations for music, shopping, nightlife and entertainment. Eventually, Ness could arrange the ideal night out all from this one simple yet useful app.

It's out now and it's a free app. Give it a shot and do report back on how it goes!

Fan of frequenting bars? Single? Live in the US? Then Liquid Fare might just be the ideal socializing app.

Liquid Fare's developers promise that this app is designed to act as a smartphone wingman enabling its users to find a local bar with just the type of people they desire. It relies on local bar data and information submitted by other Liquid Fare users. Users can submit reviews and other details such as the average age group, style and even attractiveness within the bar.

Search results according to these ratings can then pop up using the iPhone's GPS facility and users can see how a bar ranks amongst its local competition.

Liquid Fare could really take out the effort in finding the ideal bar for any individual. It'll certainly be great for those who have just moved to a new area and are trying to figure out where's right for them.

The app is out now and it's a free for all.

I'm a bit of a drifter in life without any set plans. I look at a friend of mine who has everything planned out in her future and kind of envy her. It must be nice to be so driven and focused on doing everything just right. While clearly we're both just different people in how we approach life, an app like 2016 could well keep us both happy.

It's an app focused on helping its users imagine how they'd like their life to be in 2016. It's a self help tool, really, to inspire people to achieve these aims. 2016 goes through some standard questions to assess just how the user wants to be in 5 years time. They cover the likes of what kind of property they want to own, what kind of career they want to have, what their relationship status is plus more. In all there are 80 questions about various spheres of the user's life which should hopefully encompass everything possible.

Users can then record a video letter to themselves in five years time to see how things are going. It's a pretty cool idea backed up by cloud saving functionality. Of course the only way to know if it works is check back in 5 years. I'm certainly keen to give such things a shot.

2016 is available now and it's free with a $2.99 full-featured version available via an in-app purchase. A small price to pay surely for the potential future benefits.

It's really quite easy to get words jumbled up, especially for those not 100% confident with their English language skills when it comes to writing things down. It's not so much the obvious mistakes that are easily made but more the subtle ones. Things like spelling breach as breech or compliment as complement. Small and subtle but it makes all the difference. For those who are keen to ensure that such blips are a distant memory, an app like WordWit has the potential to not only educate and entertain in its mission to decode the secrets of confusing word usage and spelling.

Hundreds of misused words are paired with the incorrect entry with the user needing to figure it out for themselves. Simple explanations are offered for these variances to ensure that the differences are laid out obviously for those learning their way around the language. There are even handy mnemonics offered to ensure that the correct answer is remembered easily for the future. All of WordWit's entries have been written from scratch by their team with even the quotes featured throughout carefully researched and chosen for the purpose of educating. The quotes themselves are frequently educational too which is always a benefit.

Crucially, WordWit maintains the fun factor with quizzes available to keep things entertaining as well as educational. The ideal way for any student to learn in particular. The quiz functionality isn't the only way to learn though with the option to look up specific words or browse the selection too.

For the word addict, it's also possible to suggest words that the developers may have missed out first time thus hopefully ensuring that they feature in future updates.

Fun and a way of learning something. What more could be needed in an app? WordWit is out now for $1.99.

A few years ago, I read the book Yes Man. It's a concept that no doubt many have heard of - simply say yes to everything. EVERYTHING! It sounds simple, but it's not. Just think about all the opportunities that might arise. They're not all things that would be sensible to say yes to. Still, sometimes it's a good idea to bite the bullet and say yes to something unconventional.

The Personal Decision Recorder won't make anyone say yes to anything but it will allow them to keep track of what they said. It's an interesting idea as I know I certainly lose track of things. The app offers more, too, in the guise of a mood indicator and a way of keeping note of the origin of the question. It even works out percentages and graphs too which could be useful for the user who worries that they say yes or no too much.

It's out now priced at $1.99. Potentially that $2 could be a great way of reassessing a person's life!