Out of a bad thing came a good one.
Last week I lost my beloved 3 year old, 1st generation Ipod Touch, which I have used every day since I bought it. I listen to podcasts, use it at work where I have wi fi across campus etc. I bought a new one, a 4th generation . This is one of those things that make me appreciate technology. No, I don't bring it to the mountains and my life seems pretty low tech in some ways, but this little device has improved my life in a number of ways.

Here are the Apps that I have really appreciated and would recommend.

1. iExpenseIt. Probably the best 4.99 I have ever spent. This app. has helped me not only organize and keep track of all my expenses and income, but it has also allowed me to see exactly where my money goes and make the adjustments I needed to make it all work. I am sure many have programs on their computers that do that, but the fact that it's in my hand and I can enter my expenses "right now", has made this work for me. It can be set up as simple as "personal expense" without having to enter the details, or one can set up all the categories from "housing" to "backpacking equipment" to "entertainment" and even break that down more. One can enter individual vendors. At any time you can see any kind of chart of your expenses. Everything can be saved and converted to PDF files. There is a daily reminder to enter the data. This app. has received great ratings from financial institutions as well as from consumers.

2.Living Earth HD. This one is new to me and so far I absolutely love it. Shows you hi def images of the planet, as it rotates to the locations you have set. Shows cloud coverage. Easy tap for current weather and forecast. Sunrise and sunset times. Really beautiful graphics and holding your finger on the current planet view/image saves the picture and allows you to save it and share it immediately with most social media.
I think it's still on sale at 99 cents.

3. Moon Phase. I am mostly aware of what stage our moon is, but I still like to be able to see moon charts and times. Has lots of extra stuff on it that I don't really use.

4. Sleep Cycle. Alarm. I have always thought it would be nice to be woken up at the time my sleep is lighter, instead of during the "deep sleep" stage, even if that is a few minutes earlier. This app. does that pretty well. You set up the window of time you would like, usually half an hour, and how sensitive to your movement you want it. You set in on your mattress close to you and during the window of time you gave it, it will wake you as your stir about, hopefully indicative of being in a lighter phase of sleep.
I think this one was 1.99.

5."This American Life" has an app. as well. Just an easy way to download or steam any of the shows. Anyone not familiar with this great radio program, I highly recommend it, as well as "Radio Lab".

What are your favorite apps and how do they work?

Edited by Kat_P on 10/14/2011 09:36:30 MDT.

List of my most used apps on iPod Touch.

Read It Later in conjunction with the Firefox plugin lets me read saved pages rather than dedicating the time to them right away.

Dropbox, if you use Dropbox on any of your computers this is a very good app to include as well. Dropbox sync's files between all computers that have it installed as well as keeping it in the cloud.

Ebay, Craigslist, and Amazon are also used quite frequently

Google Earth. Right in my hand.

This one is useful for those of us with little functional memory:

http://www.netknots.com/html/iphone_knot_app.html

iPhone:

iCabMobile: web browser that does background tabs. Makes my web browsing on the iPhone doable, unlike Safari. Has lots of other bells and whistles, but I really just use it for the tabs.

TomTom: My Prius has its own nav system, but my Mini does not. With TomTom (and the car kit), my iPhone is a great nav system when I'm cruising in the Mini.

Air Sharing: Allows me to carry a number of documents with me on the iPhone.

1Password: Strong protection across the entire phone.

iConcertCal: Neat program. Looks at the musical artists in my iPhone's music folder, and then presents a list of any of those artists who are appearing locally, where they're appearing, when, and links to the site where I can buy tickets for the performance.

Thompson Reuters News Pro: I don't get news from TV at all, it generally all comes from here on my phone. I peruse each night in bed just before turning out the lights.

Starbucks: Let's me know if there are any Starbucks near me when I'm traveling far. I've never failed to use this app when traveling - I need my mocha!

Gram Weenie: Created by a BPL member (or at least guest), helps organize my gear.

iPad:

Some of the same as above, with the following additions:

The Economist: In my opinion the best source of worldwide news and analysis anywhere.

Machinarium: This is just a really cool, fun game.

Words with Friends HD: Scrabble with anyone, anywhere, any time. My brother, who lives in Seattle, and I play this game as a way to stay connected.

News360: When I'm just looking for quick hit news from a variety of sources, this is the program I turn to.

Solar System: Very well implemented program about our solar system.

On the Road to Woodstock: Very well implemented program about all things Woodstock. Fun to roam around in.

Victoria's Secret: You know, for the articles......


Other Stuff:

I have a Sonos system in my house. Very cool - a number of wireless speakers positioned around the house. With the Sonos app on my iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad I can control each of those speakers: so I can have different music playing in different parts of the house, set alarms to wake to music or streaming radio and more. Very neat.

Doug -

IConcertCal - That's sounds like an awesome app, right up my alley. Definitely will look into that one.

Starbuck's - That's funny, just turn around!

+1 to Words with Friends. I play with my High Schooler while he is in class.

+1 to Machinarium. I have it loaded on my PC and Mac. Beautiful game.