OT: - What's your favorite PHONE app? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

OT: What's your favorite PHONE app?

huskyrob1 said:
I use Android Auto, and I don't know what I would do without it, and it's free. It's a real timesaver if your commute to work is a long one.
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Bought a 2016 Mazda and Android Auto only works (spottily) if you hack the system. It's the most infuriating thing ever. Your post made me check to see if they made it backwards compatible yet (rumors were they might). And it looks like late this year they will!

Huge downside is it cost $500 to retrofit. WTF. I can see Apple Carplay, as it requires more hardware, but AA only needs software to work.

I want it integrated to my car so bad I can't even tell you, so I might pay up. Still pisses me off. I might try to hack it when it's out.
 
8893 said:
Much better, imo.
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Depends. Actual navigating with Waze is a PITA in a place like Boston with all the winding snakey roads.
 
NYC_HUSKY22 said:
I purchased a OBD2 wireless car sensor that plugs into my cars computer, and then use a tablet that connects to it via wifi produced by the device. I use TORQUE I believe that creates a customized dashboard that gives real time outputs from the cars computer (boost, fuel pressure, mph, rpm, engine temp, etc etc etc.). If, of course that is what you are referring to by the cars computer.
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That's dope. I might try this. YOu think it can work via Bluetooth?
 
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intlzncster said:
Depends. Actual navigating with Waze is a PITA in a place like Boston with all the winding snakey roads.
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Just used it last week to get to Moakley Courthouse in Boston and thought it was fine, except at the very end, where it seemed to be confused within the Seaport streets. I wondered if the layout was too new and hadn't been updated in their maps yet.
 
8893 said:
Just used it last week to get to Moakley Courthouse in Boston and thought it was fine, except at the very end, where it seemed to be confused within the Seaport streets. I wondered if the layout was too new and hadn't been updated in their maps yet.
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I mean, it obviously depends where you're driving. I don't need it for any of the main roads, but if I'm navigating the streets of Dorchester, it's def a PITA.
 
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NYC_HUSKY22 said:
I purchased a OBD2 wireless car sensor that plugs into my cars computer, and then use a tablet that connects to it via wifi produced by the device. I use TORQUE I believe that creates a customized dashboard that gives real time outputs from the cars computer (boost, fuel pressure, mph, rpm, engine temp, etc etc etc.). If, of course that is what you are referring to by the cars computer.
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I have something similar made by Blue Driver, but it connects to my phone via BlueTooth.

I really got it to deal with an issue where one of our cars was throwing out a false warning code. It cleared that issue for me, but it also puts out real time data if you use it while driving.

EA6-B2951-5-B2-F-4686-B594-4-E968319688-F.jpg
 
Dosh - really passive cash back app, no receipts or anything necessary
Google Play Rewards - answer small surveys, get Google Play Credit for apps/games/movies/books/etc
Venmo/Cashapp - sending and receiving money to/from friends
 
For the car:
Waze. It's great for real time traffic with crowdsourcing, but the map graphics seem a bit stale. Also, it's now available on Apple Carplay, but I find it lags a bit when turning which is annoying in cities where you have to make a few quick turns. I find myself using my car's gps or google maps more than Waze.

Shazam. When you hear a song on the radio and they don't tell you what the hell it is!

Few others (with descriptions) that I haven't seen mentioned:

Dark Sky. Very cool weather app that tells you about precipitation in your specific location in real time. It will tell you when it's going to start / stop raining, and it's very accurate.

Dashlane. It's getting too expensive, but it's a must in today's password society.

Starbucks. I like coffee.

Ring. It's been fun this Halloween when kids "ghost" our house (ring/run and leave candy for my kids). Some of the kids know what a Ring doorbell is so they try to hide, which is even funnier.

Mouthy. Totally random. It reads back anything you type in Siri's voice. People believe that when I ask Siri who the biggest a!@hole is, Siri responds that "[John] is currently considered the biggest a!@hole in the world."

Slopes. Kind of fun ski tracker.

Tripit. Great way to keep track of your travel info. Just forward all of your confirmation emails (air, hotel, car, restaurant, etc) to Tripit and it organizes them all as an itinerary.

WhiteNoise. There are a bunch of these. Helps me sleep on the road (and home).
 
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I don't have a lot of apps. Mostly use the phone for calling, texting and browsing. The one app I do use the most is Golf Pad for estimating distances using GPS on golf courses. For someone that is rarely in the fairway and near a reliable distance marker, it is key. You can use it to keep your score as well, but I haven't bothered with that. Just distances.
 
Android Auto, Spotify, Music, TuneIn Radio, Discord, TheScore, etc.
 
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What do you people like for weather apps? I have the “Weather” app that came with my iPhone and it is too basic and lacking in many ways, and I have the Weather Channel app that is better and more detailed but still not great. I like Weather Underground’s website but when I tried their app it was clumsy and slow and much less useful than their website. So I am looking for better options.
 
8893 said:
What do you people like for weather apps? I have the “Weather” app that came with my iPhone and it is too basic and lacking in many ways, and I have the Weather Channel app that is better and more detailed but still not great. I like Weather Underground’s website but when I tried their app it was clumsy and slow and much less useful than their website. So I am looking for better options.
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I used to use Weather Underground's app but it kept crashing on me, even after I uninstalled/reinstalled. Now I just use the one that came with my phone.
 
8893 said:
What do you people like for weather apps? I have the “Weather” app that came with my iPhone and it is too basic and lacking in many ways, and I have the Weather Channel app that is better and more detailed but still not great. I like Weather Underground’s website but when I tried their app it was clumsy and slow and much less useful than their website. So I am looking for better options.
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I have dark sky which isnt free but it pretty awesome.
 
8893 said:
What do you people like for weather apps? I have the “Weather” app that came with my iPhone and it is too basic and lacking in many ways, and I have the Weather Channel app that is better and more detailed but still not great. I like Weather Underground’s website but when I tried their app it was clumsy and slow and much less useful than their website. So I am looking for better options.
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I like the look of 'Dark Sky' that was listed above. I currently use 'MyRadar'...and end up obsessing over exactly when it's going to rain, snow or otherwise.
 
intlzncster said:
That's dope. I might try this. YOu think it can work via Bluetooth?
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They do make them that transmit via blootooth, it really depends on the OBP port machine you buy. I bought a cheaper one off amazon on prime day just to be able to look at engine codes and what not... this just happened to be a plus. But i also have actual gauges for boost in my car - what the computer in your car says and what the actual turbo output, mph, etc. on the road can sometimes be different.

I also bought an OBD 11 device specifically for VW that does a more comprehensive dive into lights and issues with german cars. Very handy for measuring the health of all pieces in the car especially more obscure ones (airbags, o2 senors, you can program lights and other customization options.) really cool stuff.
 
Fishy said:
I have something similar made by Blue Driver, but it connects to my phone via BlueTooth.

I really got it to deal with an issue where one of our cars was throwing out a false warning code. It cleared that issue for me, but it also puts out real time data if you use it while driving.

EA6-B2951-5-B2-F-4686-B594-4-E968319688-F.jpg
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These things are worth their weight in gold. Especially if you need to quickly diagnose a problem or clear an engine code. It's easily worth the $10-$20 for a cheap one given how much a mechanic will charge just to scan your cars computer.
 
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Re Dark Sky and some other apps. I find that there are a few tech sites out there that advertise when apps go free temporarily. I guess it's for them to up their adoption, usage and ratings. I got Dark Sky for free. I also got Notability for free, which I use daily on my ipad for note taking and annotating jpgs or other documents. I tend to jump on any free app that looks remotely interesting. I can always delete and re-download in the future.
 
Chuck said:
For the car:

Dashlane. It's getting too expensive, but it's a must in today's password society.
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If you're just in it for the Password manager, get Lastpass. $24 per year and a great app.

Might be my most useful app.

And seconded on Dark Sky/Shazaam.
 
8893 said:
What do you people like for weather apps? I have the “Weather” app that came with my iPhone and it is too basic and lacking in many ways, and I have the Weather Channel app that is better and more detailed but still not great. I like Weather Underground’s website but when I tried their app it was clumsy and slow and much less useful than their website. So I am looking for better options.
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Dark Sky is my go to.

I also use MyRadar and FlowX for good weather maps

Used to use Morecast.
 
For the car (CarPlay), I mainly use Overcast (podcasts), Audible (books), and Apple Music. I alternate between Apple Maps (no traffic) and Waze (navigating around traffic). It's useful that Apple Maps gives the next turn/haptic feedback on your watch as you drive.

On my phone, my go-tos are probably:
  • Things 3 (productivity)
  • Spark (email)
  • Nuzzel (news aggregation)
  • Google News
  • News Explorer (RSS)
  • Forecast Bar (I prefer this to Carrot, which is the typical recommendation for an Apple Watch)
  • Habitfy (habit stuff)
  • Tweetbot
  • Apollo (Reddit client)
  • Fantastical (calendar)
  • Notability (love this with the pencil and handwriting recognition)
  • Stocard (digitize all your membership cards/store cards so you don't have a janitor's keychain/Costanza wallet)
  • AnyList (groceries)
Definitely some others that I can't remember at the moment, but those are some that just make things I would do anyway a bit easier. A chunk are iOS only because I've been pretty bought into the ecosystem for a while now.
 
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Tex-Lager93 said:
I like the look of 'Dark Sky' that was listed above. I currently use 'MyRadar'...and end up obsessing over exactly when it's going to rain, snow or otherwise.
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I have to look at this app. When I commit to wwalking my dawg into the Preserve across the street it is a minimum 60 minute endeavor. I have been caught out there a number of times in the rain using WTNH radar images. Not fun for either of us.
 
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