Essential Apps For Fathers

Many Dads devote a lot to time on family-related activities from coaching sports teams to attending school events to cooking dinner at night.  It’s no wonder that Dads (like Moms) could use some tech help to keep on schedule.  In honor of Father’s Day, here are some apps that busy dads would appreciate:

The App: Team Snap
The Cost: Free (paid version available)
The Expert: http://www.parents.com
The Skinny: If you’re coaching Little League this year, you’ll want to snap up TeamSnap.  Both a website and app, TeamSnap features include the ability to message team members about last minute changes, track game and practice attendance, view player availability, keep your team’s contact schedule and much more.  For serious coaches, it may be worth paying for a Basic or Premium plan ($55/year for Basic; $79/year for Premium). The Premium plan offers a team archive for viewing past seasons, Facebook integration, ability to customize individual and team stats/scores and more!

Read the Full Review
Available on your iPhone and Android

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The App: Task Rabbit
The Cost: Free
The Expert: Babble
The Skinny:  Need someone to mow the lawn or research travel plans? Just load your chore to the TaskRabbit app (or website) and you’ll find someone who can do your chores for you.  Currently available in 10 cities for in-person chores, it can also be used to handle remote tasks from anywhere in the U.S.  The app is free, but of course, you do have to pay the person for doing the task.

Read the Full Review.
Available on your iPhone.

 

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The App: Family Tracker
The Cost: Free to download
The Expert: http://www.parents.com
The Skinny:  Did your teenage son really go to basketball practice? Want to make sure your family can find you in case of emergencies? Then you’ll need to download the Family Tracker app, a must-have for parents who are often worried about the whereabouts of their kids and other family members.  The other person has to accept a one-time tracking request so you need to be sure everyone in your family is onboard with this idea!

Read the Full Review.
Available on your iPhone and Android.

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With hundreds of thousands of apps available, it’s hard to find the mix that best meets your needs. That’s why we created the “Get the Skinny” series.  We compile the experts’ picks in a variety of categories so you can choose your apps from only the best.

 

 

For the Love of Apps: Wedding Season Edition

It’s that time of year again. Love is in the air. A quick peek at any social media site shows that wedding season is well under way. You know that saying “everyone and their mother…?” Well, it seems that everyone and MY mother decided that 2013 was the perfect time to exchange vows. I seem to be the lone holdout. But enough of my “always the bridesmaid” woes….afterall, who has time to be a bridezilla and a maiden of honor at the same time?  Regardless of which side of the aisle you find yourself on, here are a few useful apps that help with wedding planning.

The Knot

I first got wind of The Knot when my newly engaged mother sent me a list of all of my Maid of Honor duties. It quickly became a very integral part of our planning experience. The Knot  Ultimate Wedding Planner app is pretty much a one-stop-shop for all of your wedding planning needs. This app has everything from a task manager, wedding count down, budget and even a look book for wedding dress options.  For the very minimal cost of FREE, this app is an invaluable tool that helps keep brides, and their minions, from losing their wedding-loving minds.

Available only for Apple devices.

Wedding Scan

Aside from the whole “getting to spend the rest of your life with your one true love” deal, I’d imagine the best part of the wedding process would have to be the gifts.  That’s where Wedding Scan comes in. Wedding Scan is a nifty $2.99 app that works as a barcode scanner and allows you to scan gifts wherever you are and add them to your registry. The app, which also has a companion website, weddingscan.com, allows you to shop at any store you want, large or small…and even online. No barcode? No worries! In those instances, wedding Scan allows you to take a picture of the item and add a brief description.

Available only for Apple devices.

Party Planner

This $.99 app is another handy little planning tool. It comes complete with pre-populated party check lists in a variety of themes, to ensure that you’ve thought of everything. You can also create your own custom lists from scratch. This intuitive and easy-to-use party planning tool helps take all of the stress out of planning your next bridal shower or bachelorette party. We used this app to share tasks lists among the bridesmaids and ensure that we’d all completed our set tasks for my mom’s upcoming bridal shower. It truly made the planning easy-breezy.

Available for Apple and Android devices.

Wedding Party App

This was probably my favorite app, simply for its novelty. The Wedding Party app doesn’t seem to have a ton of bells and whistles, but it is a very functional and fun way to share your big day. This free app allows you to upload your engagement pictures, stories and wedding details via an online dashboard. Once created, you can invite all of your friends to download the app. Once downloaded, they can upload pictures from your wedding and other events directly from their cellphones. The app then takes all of the pictures and stores them on its companion website, mywedding.com, where you can see all of the different pictures that people took at your wedding in one place.  Much like everything else on the planet, the app is connected to Facebook and allows you to share your pictures on the site.

Inspired by an idea that another one of the app users shared, we’ll be using this app to play a scavenger-hunt type game at my mom’s bridal shower. Attendees will get a list of things to watch out for (ie. The bride looking at her ring, someone hugging the bride, etc) and at the end of the party the person who was able to capture the most moments on the list will get a gift. Again, novelty. This app is so simple that you can easily create new uses for it that the developers might not have even thought of.

Available for Apple and Android devices.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother. The receiver of home-made gifts. The bearer of “my kid is a genius” bumper stickers. The warden and the best friend, all wrapped up into one. Being a mom is quite rewarding, but is also one of the hardest jobs in the world. Whether you’re a mom who has it all together or one who’s still trying to figure out how to take a shower and cook dinner, all while keeping the baby alive, this article is for you. We’ve compiled a list of helpful apps to make your life as a mom just a little bit easier…and let’s be honest, more fun.

The Early Years

The app: Seemail

The cost: Free

The skinny: There is nothing family and friends, particularly those without children, love more than to see than pictures of your beautiful  bundle of joy at every stage of their development. With Seemail you will not disappoint. Plus, with this fun app you can take it one step further by adding your baby’s voice! Tell your baby to get those goo goo’s and ga ga’s ready.

Available for Apple devices

The Toddler Years

The app: Giggle Registry

The cost: Free

The skinny: Here’s a great way to avoid having your child open a new set of tambourines for thier birthday. Giggle registry allows busy moms a quick and easy way to build a list of gifts that their bambino wants or needs….ones that won’t drive her insane. The best part: registries can be created and edited right from your cell phone, wherever you are. It’s also a great way to plan your gift registry for baby #2…or 3…or….well, you get the point.

Available for Apple devices

The “Teens and Tweens” Years

The app: FourSquare/Hashtag mom

The cost: Free

The skinny: If ever there were a point in motherhood where you had to question how much you truly even like your kid, it’s when they’re a tween/teen. The adorable little creation who you once relished over somehow morphed into a seemingly possessed time-bomb waiting to explode at any minute, over any little thing. Well, there’s an app for…part of that.

Foursquare has partnered with the app Hashtag Mom to resolve at least one of those arguments. With Foursquare/Hashtag mom, no longer will you have to debate over whether or not your kiddo needs to call as soon as they get where they’re going. You’ll also know that they’re exactly where they said they would be. This app allows them to check-in at a location and sends you a text message or calls you to let you know they’ve arrived safely. Oh, and it’s also great for the adult “kiddos,” like me, whose  parent’s will expect an “I made it” message until we’re 80. We’d say it’s a practical spin on new technology.

Available for Android and Apple devices

 The “Now what…” Years

The app: Stylish Girl

The cost: Free

The skinny: Now that those pesky kids are out of the house, you’ll have plenty of time on your hands to do whatever you want. And while you might not know what “whatever you want” is just yet, you can still look great while figuring it out. Stylish Girl-Fashion Closet is a neat little app that helps you create your own style based on the clothes that you currently have in your closet. Simply take pictures of your clothes and add them to your “virtual closet” where you can mix and match them to create a fun new personal style. You can also create a catalogue of your “wish list” outfits and shop online! Plan ahead for a big event or travel by picking out your outfits using this nifty app.

Available for Android and Apple devices

 

10 Great Apps To Power Up Your BlackBerry Z10

The BlackBerry App store now has over 100,000 apps and is growing fast. If you’re the owner of the highly-rated BlackBerry Z10 or curious about the app options, here’s a list of some top choices available.

The App: LinkedIn
The Cost: Free
The Expert: Engadget
The Skinny:  BlackBerry means business, so you’ll want to download the app version of this popular networking site.  With the LinkedIn app, you can stay updated with your contacts and read industry news on the go.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.

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The App: Spotcast
The Cost: Free
The Expert: http://www.crackberry.com
The Skinny:  Built for BlackBerry’s new 10 operating system, the Spotcast app uses location-based technology to find deals near you. Designed to be a social platform as well, it’s ideal for sharing good deals and finds with other Spotcast users.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.
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The App: WhatsApp
The Cost: Free (first year)
The Expert: Wall Street Journal
The Skinny:  Already popular on other platforms, WhatsApp is a messaging app that recently launched for BlackBerry Z10.  The apps allows you to send and receive messages, pictures, audio and video messages to both BlackBerry and non-BlackBerry users.  Once you and your friends download the application, you can use it to chat or send messages for free to other WhatsApp users.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.

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The App: Angry Bird Star Wars
The Cost: Free
The Expert: Wall Street Journal
The Skinny:  The Angry Birds game seems tailor-made for the Star Wars saga and this game has Rebel birds battling the Evil Imperial Pigs.  Now available for BlackBerry, this addictive game promises to be hours of fun.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world

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The App: Waze
The Cost: Free
The Expert: http://www.crackberry.com
You’ll be glad to know that this popular GPS app is available for BlackBerry.  Waze provides turn-by-turn directions with the added benefit of a large social-network that contributes crucial info like accidents and real-time info to other fellow users.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world

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The App: GasBuddy
The Cost: Free
The Expert: http://www.crackberry.com
The Skinny:  No phone would be complete without this popular gas-finding app.  Use GasBuddy to find the cheapest gas stations near your current location.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world

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The App: Stocks+
The Cost: $4.99
The Expert: http://www.blackberryrocks.com
The Skinny:  Regional winner of the BlackBerry Super Apps Challenge, the Stocks+ app brings real-time stock quotes from 20 different stock exchanges to your phone. phone would be complete without this popular gas-finding app.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.

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The App: Slacker Radio
The Cost: Free
The Expert: Wall Street Journal
The Skinny: The Slacker Radio app is touted as the most complete music service on BlackBerry.  With millions of songs and hundreds of stations, Slacker makes it easy to enjoy music from around the world.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.

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The App: Navita Translator
The Cost: Free
The Expert: http://www.digitaltrends.com
The Skinny: Get transaltion help in over 60 languages with the highly-rated Navita Translator app.  Simply type in the text you want translated and the app will show you the same word or sentence in your native language.  If you’re not confident with  your pronunciation, you can even click on a loudspeaker icon and the translation will be read aloud.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.

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The App: Sayit
The Cost: $3.99
The Expert: www.digitaltrends.com
The Skinny:  Built specifically for the BlackBerry 10 operating system, the Sayit app is a voice-activated personal assistant that rivals iPhone’s Siri in terms of performance and quality. Features include a built-in encyclopedia, language translator, and ability to provide reliable answers on math, science, history and much more.

Read the Full Review.
Available at BlackBerry app world.

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With hundreds of thousands of apps available, it’s hard to find the mix that best meets your needs. That’s why we created the “Get the Skinny” series.  We compile the experts’ picks in a variety of categories so you can choose your apps from only the best.

Tale A Bite Out Of Taxes With These 3 Apps

Last year we highlighted three useful apps to help you with filing taxes: SnapTax, IRS2Go and Taxcaster.  This year, we thought we should start with apps that help you to get prepared for filing day, plus an app that actually lets you file for free.  After all, you can’t show up at your CPA appointment with a shoe box of receipts!

The App: Shoeboxed Receipt Tracker
The Cost: Free; Premium version starts at $9.95 per month
The Expert: MSN Money
The Skinny:  Shoeboxed is a must-have app for anyone who needs to manage and categorize receipts for tax deductions and/or business expenses. Once you’ve downloaded the app, all you have to do is snap a photo or download your receipt.  The app will let you easily store receipts, generate expense reports and more.

Read the Full Review.
Available on your Android or iPhone.

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The App: AskACPA
The Cost: Free
The Expert: Washington Times
The Skinny:  This app offers extremely valuable information with an extensive archive of previously asked questions and answers. Users can ask new questions via the app if the information in not otherwise available, although a timely response is not guaranteed.

Read the Full Review.
Available on your Android or iPhone

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The App: H&R Block 1040 EZ
The Cost: Free
The Expert: MSN Money
The Skinny:  Have a fairly simple tax return and are ready to file? The H&R Block’s 1040EZ app lets you complete your U.S. federal and state returns with easy, step-by-step Q&A.  Best of all, it’s free to prepare and -e-file your federal and state tax returns,

Read the Full Review.
Available on your Android or iPhone.

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With hundreds of thousands of apps available, it’s hard to find the mix that best meets your needs. That’s why we created the “Get the Skinny” series.  We compile the experts’ picks in a variety of categories so you can choose your apps from only the best.

March APPness!

From money savers to time wasters, we’ve collected 16 of the top apps around and we want to know which one you think deserves to wear the crown of “Best Mobile App!” Vote each week in our bracket-style competition so that your favorite app will reach #1. The March APPness winner will be announced Monday April 8, 2013. Here are the contenders:

Communication Apps

Music Apps

Photosharing Apps

and finally, Money Saving Apps

Cast your votes here!

Want Some Fun Apps For St. Patrick’s Day? Today Is Your Lucky Day!

St. Patrick’s Day is not all about drinking but there’s a good chance that you’ll end up celebrating your dubious link to Irish culture at a bar somewhere. In honor of this upcoming holiday, here are some apps that will make you want to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland!

The App: Pocket Cocktails
The Cost: 0.99
The Expert: Los Angeles Times
The Skinny:  Want to impress friends with your drink mixing skills? Pocket Cocktails is one of the most comprehensive apps out there with lots of photos to help you visualize the final concoction.  It originated as an app for iPhone and iPads, but is now available on Android as well.  If beer is your thing, you might want to check out the free Beer Cloud app, which lets you keep a list of your favorite beers, recommends new beers, check out local events and more.

Read the Full Review.

Available on your Android or iPhone.

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The App: St. Patrick’s Day Recipes
The Cost:: $1.99
The Expert: http://www.mainstreet.com
The Skinny:  If your idea of Irish food is limited to corned beef, you may want to expand your repertoire with the St. Patrick’s Day Recipes app. This app has 41 traditional Irish recipes with catchy names like “End of Rainbow soup” and “Tad of Green Irish Salad”.

Read the Full Review.

Available on your Android or iPhone.

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The App: Call A Taxi or Cab4Me
The Cost: $1.99 / free
The Expert: http://www.mainstreet.com
The Skinny:  Download the Call A Taxi or Cab4Me app to your smartphone and you and your friends can get home safely after your pub crawl. The main difference is that Call A Taxi is for Apple and Cab4Me is free for Android devices.

Read the Full Review.

Available on your Android or iPhone.

 

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With hundreds of thousands of apps available, it’s hard to find the mix that best meets your needs. That’s why we created the “Get the Skinny” series.  We compile the experts’ picks in a variety of categories so you can choose your apps from only the best.