8 Apps Every Couple Should Be Using

Valentine’s Day has just passed. No doubt there are now thousands of couples around the world celebrating the start of their romantic journey together, either because of an exciting engagement, a rekindled love, or a new marriage.
While traditional stereotypes of love focus on hand-written letters and kissing on a park bench, this is 2015. Digital love is here, and that means couples are increasingly turning to technology for everything from communication and romantic ideas to ordering flowers and creating personalised gifts.
Predictably, there are a never-ending list of apps that are aimed at couples, and lots of them are pretty useless. Luckily for you, we’ve created a list of what we believe to be the eight most essential:

1) Couple

The principle behind Couple is that it allows two people to create their own private timeline of their relationship by sharing pictures, videos, dates, and audio clips.

In reality, the app does much more than that. In addition to its timeline, it also includes an instant messaging service (similar to Whatsapp), photos that can be set to disappear after a certain amount of time (similar to Snapchat), a way to draw pictures together in real-time, a search function to help you find romantic restaurants and night-life destinations, shared to-do lists, a web app, and a calendar.
It’s already in use by more than two million couples worldwide, and with an average review of 4.5 stars on the Play Store, this is easily our most highly recommended app for you and your partner.

2) Couple Tracker

It’s a sad truth that a huge percentage of fledgling relationships end in tears. Reasons for possible breakups are too numerous to list in a tech article, but suffice to say that one party cheating on their significant other is certainly one of the more common explanations.

Couple Tracker aims to address this problem with an app that is designed to add a layer of transparency to a couple’s relationship. The concept behind it is that it will allow you access to all the call history, texts, Whatsapps, Facebook comments, and GPS locations of your partner’s phone from your own device. It’s nearly impossible to hide, as the always-on service can forward new notifications to your partner’s phone instantaneously.
There is a small element of privacy — the app only reveals a limited number of characters of any Facebook update or text message — but in practice your communications will be shown 24/7. Be sure that both you and your partner willingly consent to using the app, though, because tracking your partner’s actions without their consent is stalking.

3) Our Groceries

Once the honeymoon period of a new relationship starts to wear off, the nitty-gritty of running your lives together starts to take hold. Someone needs to take responsibility for the more mundane aspects of life like walking the dog, paying the electric bill, and doing the weekly shopping.

Our Groceries tries to make at least one of those tasks a little more streamlined with an app that lets you create shared shopping lists, meaning you’ll never waste money by both coming home with the same carton of eggs again.
You can create lists using the built-in items or adding your own, and then share them with your partner. Once one of you buys an item you cross it off the list and the changes will be synced across all connected devices. The app also works the other way – if you forgot to tell the love of your life that they need to buy milk on the way home, you can send them an instant notification.

4) The Chocolate App (USA only)

Nothing says “I love you” quite like a box of chocolates (except an engagement ring, perhaps!). If you don’t want to head out into the cold night to buy your significant other a box of something sweet, then this app can help.

The app is operated by Philadelphia Candies, a family chocolate manufacturer that has been in business since 1919 and earned rave reviews for the quality of their product. It lets you browse their choices and order boxes directly from your Android device before paying with PayPal. They ship nationwide.

5) Kissing Tips

Do you know what a butterfly kiss is? Neither did we until we found this app.

As you might expect, it offers users step-by-step tips on how to kiss each other in a multitude of different ways — ranging from the romantic and widely recognised French kiss to the less widely-used Eskimo kiss.
There are 47 different kissing styles in total and each one comes complete with a guide and accompanying illustrations.

6) 1-800-Flowers

Did you forget your partner’s birthday or anniversary? 1-800-Flowers has the answer; never again will you have to pick up a rubbish card and half-dead bouquet from your local petrol station!

Although it’s United States-based, the app lets you send flowers, plants, and other gifts to 195 different countries around the world — with same day delivery offered in many of them. In addition to birthdays and anniversaries, they also offer seasonal specials on other major holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, and Thanksgiving, and they even offer users the ability to add hand-written cards to their orders.
Having been in business for more than 30 years, they are a reliable firm with a wide network of brands that will be familiar to many Europeans and North Americans.

7) Avocado

Like the aforementioned Couple app, Avocado is a private and secure way for couples to stay connected.

You can text your partner, share various media formats with them, and use its built-in calendar for reminders about birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates. For people in long distance relationships, it also offers virtual hugs and kisses, giving you the feeling of being in closer proximity to your loved one.
It even lets you know if your partner’s battery is about to die, so you won’t be left wondering if you’re just being ignored! Finally, its web app lets you access all your messages, pictures, and other data, meaning you’ll never be cut off from your other half even if you are without mobile connectivity.
It uses advanced data encryption and security features, and the developers go to great lengths reassure their users that their messages, photos, videos, and other secrets are all perfectly safe.

8) Kindu for Couples

Kindu is an app for the bedroom, helping couple to explore their desires and fantasies without potential embarrassments.

It works by asking both you and your partner a series of questions about what gets you going, then reveals the topics about which you both answered the same way. Categories are diverse, covering the soft and sensual to the more outlandish and risqué, and includes areas of interest such as sex toys, role playing, group sex, foreplay, public sex, and fetishes. Its passcode protected, so there’s no chance you’ll be accidentally exposed, and even includes a way for you to suggest love-making ideas to your partner anonymously.
The app has regularly featured in top ten lists and comes highly recommended by a wide variety of publications, from Yahoo News and Mashable to FemaleFirst and Parenting.com.

Your Tips?

What do you and your partner use to stay in touch? Do you have any app tips for people in long distance relationship or who need some new excitement in their lives? Have you used any of the apps we’ve discussed?
We’d love to hear from you! Let us know your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.

Touchscreen Controls for Your TV: Meet ZRRO, the Device That Will Change Your TV Experience

What if you could control your TV with a simple and intuitive touchscreen? This future may not be so far off.
Over the last few years, a lot of established industry players and small startups have launched products intended to revolutionize the TV. Ideally, each of these solutions would bring together games, cable television, streaming movies, apps, music, and the Internet under a single, unified interface. So far, none of them have done particularly well.
Enter ZRRO, a novel take on the idea of an Android console/set-top box — all thanks to a fancy controller that knows when your fingers hover over it.

What Is ZRRO?

Normally, when you think of Android consoles, what comes to mind is the Ouya, a $100 plastic box containing the guts of a mid-range smartphone.
The Ouya ran a special version of Android with a custom interface. Games, which had to be designed specifically for the Ouya, were controlled using a chunky gamepad. The Ouya was a huge flop due to the difficulty of attracting content to the platform, and issues with system performance and build quality.
ZRRO is doing something a little bit different. Their set-top-box runs stock, vanilla Android, and you download apps via the Play Store. You have access to all of the games and apps available on Android, as well as the browser and music player.
Obviously, they aren’t the first ones to have this idea. The issue is one of controls: how do you make these apps, which were designed for small touchscreen control, make sense on a television?  ZRRO’s answer relies on their unique controller.  Here’s their pitch:

Using a Touchless Touchscreen

The ZRRO remote control is a neat piece of technology using a new kind of touch interface. Modern touchscreens work by sensing the capacitance (ability to store electrical charge) of your fingers and measuring the change in capacitance across the surface of the screen to figure out where they are.
As it turns out, it’s possible through the use of clever sensors to measure that change even when the fingers aren’t touching the surface. ZRRO’s touchscreen can detect the position of your fingers even when they’re several centimeters above the screen.  This information is displayed on the TV screen as a floating overlay, which allows you to know where your fingers are, and use normal touch gestures on the remote to control the TV.

I haven’t personally tried the ZRRO,  so I don’t know how intuitive it really is, but it’s definitely a neat idea. If they can make their interface scheme work, ZRRO will have effectively solved the content problem that’s held back smart TV solutions from the market — their customers will be guaranteed to always have the latest games and apps, regardless of adoption.

Talking to the Person behind ZRRO

I talked to one of the folks behind the campaign, Nimrod Back, about their product. Here’s what they had to say:

There are a lot of products vying for the future of the TV right now. Smart TVs, gaming consoles, and streaming devices like the Chromecast all want to stake a claim. What makes the ZRRO different?

“None of the devices trying to claim ownership of our TVs today are able to provide us with a complete solution. Connect ZRRO to your TV, and you get a gaming console with over 200,000 games (most of them for free!), a streamer, a browser that you can actually use (unlike the one you have on your smart TV), and an endless collection of apps. ZRRO is different in one important aspect: it allows you to touch your TV from the couch, but since it opens the entire Android world to your TV, the benefits are revolutionary.”

Your touchscreen technology is neat, but we’ve seen similar ideas before. What distinguishes your technology from the hover-interaction present in, say, the Samsung Galaxy S4?

“ZRRO uses patented technology called zTouch which was developed in-house. It’s distinguished from current hover interactions on two major aspects:

1. Technical superiority:
   • zTouch allows for multi-hover tracking (any number of fingers at a time), while other solutions can track only one finger at a time.
   • zTouch can track hover and touch simultaneously and independently, unlike any other solution on the market.
   • Hover height is up to 3cm (1.2in) with zTouch and only up to 1.5cm with the competitors.
2. Usage: Unlike Samsung, which didn’t quite find what to do with the tech, we found an actual usage for the technology.”

Gamers know that responsiveness is critical for gaming — even mobile gaming. Does the latency on your controller measure up to the standard set by conventional game controllers?

“With the current setup the latency is around 100ms, but is mainly due to the communication protocol and OS, so we are certain that we can speed it up with further development.”

The ZRRO is inexpensive, which is good! However, with the rise of 4K televisions, it’s possible that high-end mobile games will overtax the system at high resolution. Are there any existing games that push the system to its limits?

“We’ve tested our system with the most demanding games on the Play Store, and they all performed flawlessly. The ZRRO Box was built to handle high-end Android games and is equipped accordingly.”

What Do You Think?

If you’re interested in the ZRRO, you can check out the Kickstarter here.  The console and a controller cost about $150 at the moment (but that will go up to $200 soon) and are expected to ship in September. So far, the campaign has raised more than half of its $200,000 goal and looks like a shoe-in to make its goal.

So, what do you think? Does the ZRRO look like something you’d use in your daily life? Does anyone actually want to play Angry Birds on their TV? Is there a better option out there? Let us know in the comments!

Does Apple Use Green Bubbles to Make You Hate Android Users?

iMessage, the service that Mac and iOS devices use to chat with each other, is a much-loved feature of the Apple ecosystem – and it got even better with an upgrade in iOS 8. Instead of using standard text messages, iMessage sends text over the Internet using your WiFi or data connection for a faster and more reliable conversation.
If you have an iPhone, you may have a noticed a slight difference in the bubbles that represent your sent messages. This seemingly insignificant detail sparked controversy recently; let’s examine why.
Note: iMessage is supported on iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone, and Mac. However, since none of these devices typically have texting capabilities except the iPhone, in this article I’ll be talking about iMessage on iPhone only.

What’s the Beef?

In case you haven’t used iMessage before, or do use it and just haven’t noticed, here’s a rundown of what happens. By default, when you send a message through the Messages app on your iPhone, it goes through iMessage if the recipient is also using an iPhone. If the person on the other end has any other phone – mainly Android, but Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and “dumb” phones too – the message is sent as an SMS. iMessage uses blue bubbles when sent; a text uses green.

The differences aren’t just cosmetic. iMessage includes read receipts and “typing” messages, dead-simple group messaging, doesn’t count against your monthly plan for texts, and is faster since it goes over the Internet. However, not everyone has an iPhone, so we can expect Apple users to understand the difference and respect their friends’ decisions, right?
Wrong. See for yourself how people really feel about green bubbles:








One user even took this popular image (it’s hard to see in the tweet) comparing the features of the Nexus 4 (released in 2012) and the iPhone 6 (released in 2014) and dismissed it due to the fact that its creator “sends green text message bubbles.” Apparently, your statement of device specifications is invalid if you don’t have the “chosen” blue bubbles.


This is just a minute sample; a search on Twitter for “green bubbles” will bring up hundreds more, and they aren’t stopping. Fascinating, isn’t it? These users seem to despise green bubbles so much that they act as if it’s an inconvenience to text the lowly peons that spawn them.

The Psychology of Green Bubbles

Paul Ford’s fascinating look at this phenomenon, “It’s Kind of Cheesy Being Green“, cites some of these tweets and looks at why green bubbles seem to strike a nerve with so many iPhone users. But are their gripes really valid?
Some, including Ford, have suggested that the green bubbles are a “harsh” color and are harder on the eyes that the cooling blue color that iMessage provides. Longtime users of iOS might remember that before iMessage was around (it launched with iOS 5 in 2011) all messages showed up in green. It’s your call whether this green became less attractive once iOS made the jump to a flatter look with its radical iOS 7 re-design.



We’ve established that iMessage is objectively better than standard texting, as those with limited plans can chatter to their hearts’ content while on WiFi. However, few people, if any, are citing the actual benefits of the service when complaining about green bubbles. Instead, it becomes almost an obsession: people want to purge every green bubble (and those who cause them) from their devices.

Does Apple Encourage This?

It’s no secret that Apple isn’t a fan of Android, and none of this discussion is meant to be an iPhone vs. Android debate. Rather, we want to look at this fascinating sociological effect, since it clearly isn’t only a few people who are fighting to kill green bubbles. Apple designed the OS; could they have planted the seed of anti-green-bubblism?


Taking a look at Apple’s iMessage page shows a small jab at green texters, though it’s pretty harmless – SMS users probably won’t be “green with envy” since they won’t even know what they’re missing. They’ve been more aggressive, however. During Apple’s developer conference in 2014, they openly poked fun at green bubbles and said that friends who cause them use “inferior devices.” So they’re certainly in on the reputation.

Green is obviously the color of the Android logo, but it isn’t as if Apple totally rejects the color from their operating system. The Messaging icon itself is a similar shade of green – odd that nobody has brought this up, since it would make more sense to make it blue.
In all, it’s highly unlikely that Apple intentionally planned these color differences to reference Android. Having the two types of messages be different colors is important so users can differentiate, of course, but that’s really the bulk of it. However, that doesn’t mean that Apple is ignoring this sensation. They know that people hate green bubbles, so if non-iPhone users feel pressure to switch due to their friends’ urging, Apple picks up customers from this tiny design decision.


Hopefully, they won’t stoop to making this a huge selling point, though. The iPhone is an amazing device on its own, and making fun of the competition only looks Apple look petty. Having to resort to trashing your opponents instead of promoting why your product is better is a poor place to be in – just look at how Microsoft embarrassed itself with its “Scroogled” line of ads.

What Do the People Say?

We could end our discussion of this peculiarity here, but I wanted to make this study more interesting. I created a survey (you can still fill it out if you’d like) that I shared to Facebook. In it, I asked friends, family, and students at my university (a huge thank-you to all who helped me out!) about their mobile devices. After seeing what device they used and what version of iOS they were on just out of curiosity, I proceeded to poll them about iMessage. If they weren’t iOS users, I asked different questions to get their perspective. Here’s what I found.


Of the 119 respondents, 58% used an iPhone, 29% were on Android, and 13% had a “dumb” phone. All but two iOS users knew what iMessage was – then I asked if they knew of any advantages iMessage has over texting. Among the responses were:

• I can text my friends in other countries without having to worry about international texting rates.
• Yes. All of them. Uses data so mobile signal isn’t an issue. Delivery notifications. Cheaper. More secure.
• iMessage tells you if your message was delivered and read but a regular text message tells you nothing.
• Sometimes it will use iMessage if a text fails
• You can see if the person has had the message delivered to them, if they have read it, and when they are responding.

A handful of folks said they weren’t aware of any differences, but the majority had at least some idea. My next question was whether they prefer blue or green bubbles when texting:

I was really trying to get at people’s opinions here before they read the article, so I asked them to follow up if necessary:

• They don’t mean much to me, I appreciate the added benefits of iMessage, but I don’t use them for much. Most people seem to turn off read receipts, anyway.
• The “read TIME” lets me know someone saw the message and they won’t be obligated to respond (like when it’s a definitive end of the conversation. EX: “Meet me there at 5″ — then I won’t worry that they haven’t seen it). If I haven’t gotten a response in a while I can just send a follow-up text.
• All of the benefits can also be downsides. Sometimes it’s glitchy and it makes it harder to ignore people.
• They both mean that I am sending/receiving messages so that works for me!
• Only losers use green ones! Nah for real, the blue is a more pleasant colour.
• Not a huge fan of either, but I think the green is a little nicer.
• To be honest, it is a matter of color preference. Blue makes me think of the cold, while green makes me think about warm and sunny days.
• If I see green, I usually think that something did not send correctly and had to be sent as SMS since most of my contacts are iPhone users.
• I actually am not a fan of iMessage and don’t even bother to have it enabled. That might seem weird, but I just prefer the little extra privacy that comes with being able to ignore someone’s message and not seem like a jerk for not responding when I may be busy.
• I know it’s a lowly android user if it’s not blue.
• Most of my friends do have apple phones so all of their message bubbles are blue, but my boyfriend had an android so it seems special.

Here, we definitely see a nice balance and a clash with how the Twitter universe sees green bubbles. Most people who had a preference had a good reason when asked to back it up, and some even brought up great points, like knowing the other person has read your “See you at 8″ message and that iMessage can be glitchy.


After giving them Ford’s article, I asked for their response. There are far too many interesting responses to publish here, but as a small selection:

• I think it’s honestly kind of petty to get so worked up about whether the bubbles are blue or green. it’s just an embellishment on the product. I’m not surprised Apple markets for blue and not green. it’s their job to sell their product so they need to use all methods at their disposal
• I have never noticed the correlation to green bubbles and non apple products before. What annoys me is this “first world problem” mentality… I mean, really, you’ve got a PHONE for goodness sake… bubble color is not important
• This article was so interesting! It is something that I have thought about before. And yes, green bubbles do slightly annoy me so I can understand why people hate them.
• Green bubbles annoy me. They have for years. I’m just interested to hear I’m not alone on this.
• They oddly irritate me, and yet, I’m not 100% why, probably just because they’re different. It really wouldn’t be difficult at all to make all text bubbles the same color.
• My first reaction was that the way people feel so strongly about it is very shallow and ridiculous, but I realize that I’ve had those same, almost sub-conscious, tendencies. While I will most likely be more aware of when the bubbles are green, I honestly don’t care that much about the difference. A few of my siblings have non-Apple phones, and it’s never bothered me to a significant extent.

After that I asked a few more questions to quantify green bubble feelings – 1 being “They don’t bother me at all” and 5 being “I won’t text people with green bubbles.” It appears most iPhone users don’t actually hate Android and most don’t even care about green bubbles.

Aside from some closing thoughts, that was the end for the iPhone users. Android and “dumb” phone owners got a separate survey, and most of them answered that they text iPhone users often. I asked which device they use and what they knew about iMessage; it seems that non-Apple people aren’t as familiar with the service.

I asked them to read the article, too, and most thought the whole thing was ridiculous.

• I think they should feel privileged to have an iPhone at all, and a home, and food/clean water.
• These people are being ridiculous. As is Apple, to be honest. This feels like a divide and conquer type deal, making Apple advocates aware of their Android-owning friends. It’s underhanded and slightly ridiculous.
• I think the color green can induce some sort of negative psychological effects as opposed to blue, which can induce relaxing and calming feelings. But I believe the people on Twitter described in the article are taking it to a whole other (and unnecessary) level.
• No merit, just a nuance of society. Also a pretty sad indication of what people allow to affect them.
• I wonder if green has some kind of uncomfortable sight type deal. Like red rooms are said to make you more on edge, etc.?

In all, it seems like most people surveyed don’t let green bubbles affect them too much. Twitter has fiercely voiced their bit, though. Who’s right?

Are Green Bubbles Are Here to Stay?

Perhaps it’s just me, but this phenomenon is deeply fascinating. How can such a tiny design choice, that likely didn’t have any malicious intent behind it, spark such a huge movement of people who hate green bubbles with a passion? It would be quite a sight to see the survey answers from people who are tweeting like this.


As the final word on this: no, Apple didn’t do this on purpose. That’s a bit of a far-fetched claim. However, they’re probably loving the effect green bubbles have had on iPhone users, and if just a few people switched to an Apple device because of this minute complaint, they’ve made a profit.
The question that survey respondents answered that folks on Twitter haven’t is why they prefer blue bubbles. Is it an OCD-like effect where they want everything to be the same color, or do they really feel that people with iPhones are above texting people without them? That’s a study for another day.


Another interesting point to bring up is that changing the color of your text message is a simple tweak you can make on Android, even without rooting. Using an alternative texting app, you can fine-tune the color for both incoming and outgoing messages. So, if it’s really all about the bubble colors, then maybe these iPhone users are using the wrong device.
If you enjoyed this topic, I invite you to view all the responses (only names have been removed) and if you’d like to take the survey yourself, I’d love to read your thoughts! You’ll also be able to find plenty of tweets about green bubbles by searching for the term on Twitter, if you’d like to see for yourself.
Hangouts, an all-in-one app that’s Android’s closest counterpart to iMessage, is a great app and one Android users might enjoy for messaging each other.

How do you feel about green bubbles? Do you find this as fascinating as I do? I totally want to hear your thoughts on this one, so leave me a comment with your take!

Which Apple Products Do You Currently Own?

Despite what some of my colleagues believe, Apple fanboyism is alive and well. In fact, it may be stronger than ever, with more people under Apple’s spell now than at any time in its history. The only difference is Apple fanboys (and fangirls) are so numerous, and their mentality so commonplace, that we just don’t notice it any more.
With all of that in mind, we want to find out which Apple products our readers actually own. If any. Welcome to this week’s MakeUseOf Poll.

Love is Complicated

To answer this week’s question please scroll down the page until you see the poll staring back at you. But first, we need to look at the results from two weeks ago, when we asked, “Which Technology Company Do You Love The Most?”
Out of a total of 412 votes, 26.9% chose Google, 25.2% chose Microsoft, 13.8% chose Apple, 6.3% chose Mozilla, 4.1% chose Amazon, 1.2% chose Samsung, 1% chose Sony, 0% chose Facebook, 3.4% chose Other, and 18% chose I Don’t ‘Love’ Any Tech Companies.
It was no surprise to see Google top this Poll, as this is a company with a range of products and services, many of which are offered entirely for free. However, I must admit to being a little surprised to see Microsoft beating Apple, and by such a significant margin.
It’s also interesting, and admittedly quite satisfying, to see Facebook come last with a total of zero votes. And yet we all still carry on using Facebook regardless. Why? Because we’re all addicted. Probably.

Comment of the Week

We received a lot of great comments, including those from EgoAnt, Hildy J, and Callum. Comment Of The Week goes to likefunbutnot, who earns our admiration and affection for this comment:

voted for Mozilla. Mozilla is a testament to the open Internet, something that no one else is really supporting these days. Supporting the things that Mozilla wants to do really means being able to build an internet that will function without Microsoft, Google, Facebook and/or Apple, which is as it should be.
I didn’t like its choice of CEO in 2014, but I suspect there aren’t many CEOs whom I would like.
Microsoft’s business seems to be trying to hammer everything into the shape of a desktop computing platform that it can sell Windows and Office on that platform. Microsoft really doesn’t understand the interest of consumer-level computing, mobile devices or entertainment platforms. It just knows business really, really well. It’s where IBM was thirty years ago.
Google, Apple and Facebook all create walled gardens of exclusionary content to no benefit but their own. Samsung wants to be be a lifestyle brand in the mode of Apple and Sony and does indeed make decent, inexpensive hardware. But it has a tin ear building anything (or at least, anything anyone outside of Korea) actually wants and its successes all too often have been due to its willingness to ship dozens or hundreds of products so that a few can find some success.
I do like Amazon. I like what Amazon offers, my Amazon tablet, my prime membership and its ability to be my one stop shop for almost everything that involves shopping. I like that it plays well with others and works with everything. It’s the way a digital services company should be. But I don’t love it because to my mind, it’s just doing the thing that everyone who wants to sell products should be doing.
Sony is so far off the tech radar at this point that I can’t believe it’s being discussed in this context (“Guys! We still make a game box! And TVs? You guys like TVs, right?”). Its decline suggests the course I suspect Apple and Facebook will ultimately follow.

We chose this comment because it offers an extremely valid argument as to why Mozilla should be loved by more people. The commenter also aired his opinions on all of the other technology companies mentioned, which offers us valuable insights into the mindset of MakeUseOf readers.

The Apple of my iDevice

Apple recently announced it had sold 1 billion iDevices. Atypically for the company, this rather impressive factoid was hidden away in its latest earnings call. But then that was the same earnings call during which Apple announced it had just enjoyed the most profitable quarter of all time. By any company. Ever.
Selling 1 billion of anything is impressive, but it’s even more impressive when the things you are shifting are premium products which sell for hundreds of dollars apiece. Which got us wondering which specific Apple products our readers currently own…

Which Apple Products Do You Currently Own?

iPodiPadMacOther (Which?)iPhoneMacBookNone Of The Above (Why?)Apple TV

VoteView ResultsPolldaddy.com

Please vote in the Poll above, and then explain in the comments section below why you voted that way.
You can make multiple selections in this Poll, up to a maximum of four. If you own more than four of the Apple products named then please choose the most recent and/or relevant ones.
We want to know details: what specific models of iPhone or iPad you own, what year you bought them, and why you still own them to this day. Voting in the Poll tells us something, but adding detail in the comments section below tells us a whole lot more.

The best Comment Of The Week will win our everlasting admiration and affection. Well, at least until we meet back here again this time next week.

So You Want To Make iPhone Apps? 6 Projects For Beginners

When you’re trying to pick a programming language to learn, it’s easy to gravitate toward the big ones that developers use to create masterpieces of digital content — things like Java, C++, Ruby, and Python. But there are a lot of programming languages out there (including some very weird ones), and they each excel at different things. Why not try learning Swift, the language that will let you create iPhone and iPad apps? These six projects will walk you through it.

Getting Acquainted with Swift

If you’re not familiar with Swift, it’s a language developed by Apple for creating iOS and OS X apps. It borrows ideas from a wide range of other programming languages, but is most similar to Objective-C. In fact, you can mix Swift, C, Objective-C, and C++, and your apps will still work. However, Swift was designed to be concise, making it a bit easier to learn and more efficient to use. It was also designed to be harder to derail with coding mistakes, another factor that makes it good for beginners.


For the tutorials listed below, it’s good to have some basic programming knowledge, but very little is necessary. If you have any experience with C-based languages, you should have no problem. If you’d like to spend some time getting acquainted with Swift before taking on a project, you can check out a wide range of videos and guides, as well as sample code, at Apple’s Swift resources page.            

12 Apps To Help Forgetful People Remember Things

“A place for everything, and everything in its place.”
This saying is great in theory but for forgetful types, organization can prove tricky. I’m the kind of person who’s constantly forgetting where I last set down my phone, regularly second-guessing where I parked my car, and who occasionally swaps out the milk for the cereal in the fridge.
When it comes to managing my daily to-do lists, if I don’t have my blogging ideas and rough drafts saved in highly organized and labeled folders, I’m likely to forget about them completely.
So from one forgetful person to another, here are 12 awesome apps that can help you remember pretty much anything.

Evernote (Web, iOS, and Android)

For the creative mind looking for a one-stop app that covers to-do lists, notes, pictures, articles, etc., this is the one for you. This well-known app allows you to store anything you might need and then search through your database of stored items to quickly find the things you want to remember.
When an important task slips away from memory, reminders in Evernote can help. Pin notes to the top of your note list and also add a timed alert to prompt you when the note is due, via in-app notifications, a badge on your mobile app or an opt-in email.Ticking off checklists is also a handy tool against forgetfulness.
Evernote is great for remembering articles that you wanted to read, writing short notes to yourself or snapping pictures of things that inspire you. It also allows you to write long, detailed notes; so if you’ve been meaning to publish a novel or write a screenplay, Evernote will help you remember those ideas, too. From smoother note-taking to managing meetings, Evernote is a heavy-lifter.

Instapaper (Web, iOS, Android)

With busy lifestyles and work schedules, it’s easy to see an article you want to read but then forget to return to it on your free time. Instapaper allows you to save the articles that you want, which makes keeping up with news and cultural happenings a breeze. The app even allows you to download the article via the Internet and then view it offline later when Wi-Fi’s not available.
Using Instapaper is one way to crack information overload with deferred reading. It also lets you highlight phrases and sentences so you can nail key discussion points and find important parts of the articles more easily. Rather than being the quite guy (or gal) in the corner, you can join in on whatever conversation your coworkers or family memmbers are discussing.
You can also get a premium account for $2.99 a month, or about $30 a year.

DataVault (iOS and Android, $9.99)

With so many required characters, numbers and symbols, passwords are getting more and more sophisticated. This may be great for security purposes, but it can make remembering passwords a challenge. DataVault securely maintains all of your passwords in one tidy app, allowing for safe (and less stressful) account management.
You won’t have to play the which-password-did-i-use-for-this-account game, which means no embarrasing “too many wrong passwords” messages and no wasted time.

Remember the Milk (Web, iOS, Android, Free)

This free task manager with an easy to use interface truly lets you keep track of the items on your to-do list with ease. Not only can you list each responsibility and mark it complete as you go, but the app also allows for prioritization among tasks and notification features.
By prioritizing all of your to-do lists in one place, you can better manage everything you have to do for work, home and in between (aka remembering milk on the way home from work). What’s more, Remember The Milk has an easy Evernote sync feature so you can track your notes across multiple platforms.
You can also get the Pro version for $25 a year.

CleverCards (iOS and Android, Free)

This app syncs with your Facebook profile and notifies you when your friends’ birthdays are drawing close – but it also takes the Happy Birthday messages one step further. CleverCards uses Facebook photos to create custom birthday cards, which you can then print and mail, or send via email in time for the big day.
Additionally, CleverCards can track the Events you are a part of on Facebook and create custom greeting cards for those, too. Not only will you be able to remember your boss’s birthday, but you’ll also remember to send a card for the next coworker’s baby shower, your friends’ sister’s college graduation and your cousin’s housewarming party.

ScatterBrain (iOS, $0.99)

If the idea of labeling and organizing items is what helps you remember them best, but your brain is just too overloaded to make this a reality, ScatterBrain is a recommended app. ScatterBrain lets you color code, label and search within all of those important deadlines, obligations and notes. Its attractive interface makes the process all the more enjoyable, while helping you stay on top of your game.
Have to-do lists you need to get through for various clients at work? Color code them by company and manage each client’s to-do list from the palm of your hand. This is ideal for people who travel a lot or are constantly on the go to different meetings and work-related events.

Do It (Tomorrow) (iOS and Android, Free)

If you love putting things off until tomorrow, this app was designed with you in mind. Procrastinators will revel in Do It (Tomorrow), which allows you to postpone tasks until the next day, sync databases and continue to put off those obligations like a pro (without forgetting them altogether).
While it’s best to try to realistically set your goals for each day, sometimes it’s just not possible to make it through you entire to-do list. With Do It (Tomorrow), you can simply shuffle items around to the next day, feel good about what you accomplish today, and still complete those less-important items tomorrow.

Countdown+ Event Reminders Lite (iOS and Android, Free)

With so many little details to remember each day, those big events can sometimes fly right under the radar. Fortunately, this app keeps track of those approaching life moments for you. Featuring a countdown format that helps you stay aware of nearing birthdays, anniversaries, parties and whatever else you need to remember, this resourceful app keeps your social life and career in check with no fuss.
Not only will you not forget important events with Countdown+ Event Reminders, you’ll also be more aware of how many days are left until said event, which means you’ll be able to better manage gift-buying, card sending and event planning, too.

bytNotes (Android, $0.99)

If you’re always struggling to remember that important thing you just had to tell someone, fret no more. bytNotes allows for a simple reminder to pop up on your phone when the person contacts you, helping you to remember those vital details with ease. When you create a note in bytNotes, you then have the option ot link it to multiple contacts in your address book, so you can remember exactly what you wanted to tell those people, or what you wanted to remember about them.
If you’re like me and are especially bad with putting names to faces, bytNotes could also be a super handy tool for remembering that “coworker on the third floor with the office plant” is named Chelsea. Esentially, whatever you want to remember about whomever is possible with the help of bytNotes.

TripList (iOS, Free)

Vacations are incredible, but packing for them? Not so much. That’s why this app is so useful. TripList allows you to document everything you’ll need on that cruise or retreat, making the process of packing far less stressful.
No more showing up at the hotel only to realize your phone charger is still on the coutner, or that check-in time is actually still three hours away. With TripList, you can cut out the frantic running around the house at the last second by making your vacation list well in advance, and then camly packing for it in the week leading up to the big day. You can even set notifications and reminders to alert you to when you need to start packing.
TripList also offers a Pro version, available for $2.99.

Check (iOS and Android, Free)

Keeping up with bills is a daunting task, and this app allows you to breathe easier and rest assured that you won’t overlook any due dates. The app tracks your bills for you and sends reminders when bills are due.
In addition, you can pay your bills through the app with a simple click. The app also conveniently notifies you if funds are getting low or if your credit is reaching its limit to avoid any related hassles.

Wunderlist (iOS and Android, Free)

This app is perfect for anyone who loves a good to-do list. Not only can you make the lists you need and set up helpful reminders on an easy interface, but you can also share lists with friends, family members and coworkers. The people you share your lists with can also collaborate on your lists with you, so planning surprise parties and office events is easier and more well-rounded.
Wunderlist also allows you to set reminders so the app will notify you when deadlines are approaching or when you need to act on one of your lists. After all, lists are fun, but they won’t do you any good if you forget the deadline of what you’re planning.
Wunderlist also has a Pro version, available for about $5 a month or $50 a year.
Tackling our brain’s weaknesses has never been easier thanks to the advent of these apps (and even memory training apps). It’s okay to be forgetful, but it does have its inconveniences. As long as you can remember to download these apps, many of those inconveniences will now be a thing of your past.

What other apps do you use to help you remember things? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!