By JONATHAN WARREN
Smart phones continue to gain popularity and a foothold in the mobile phone market. With smart phones come thousands of new, helpful and unusual apps. To help sort through the overwhelming “apptions,” here are five free app finds:
Justin.tv– This app allows users to watch their favorite TV shows and sporting events on the go without having to pay any pesky fees. It functions by having other Justin.tv users stream live video from their televisions to Justin.tv, who in turn makes it available for all. The video quality and streaming speed are sometimes less than perfect, but Justin.tv remains the cheapest way to watch live TV from a mobile phone and avoid those epically boring moments waiting in the doctor’s office.
HeyTell– Offering yet another way to communicate digitally with friends, HeyTell lets users send voice messages to each other. It is a mixture of voicemail and text message by allowing users to leave voice messages quickly and without calling. Sending voice messages captures the sarcasm, anger or elation that would otherwise be lost in a simple text. A $1.99 Voice Synchronizer extra adds effects to voice messages, adding to the entertainment. HeyTell is an innovative alternative to the mundane text message.
Soundhound– Song recognition apps and programs are not new to the smartphone market. However, the Soundhound app adds another layer of recognition to its software; it recognizes a user humming and singing. If radio listeners miss a song they wanted to identify, they can simply sing or even hum the song back to Soundhound, and it will accurately identify the title, artist and album.
TED– A nonprofit organization devoted to spreading innovative ideas, TED gathers speeches from countless experts in particular fields including big names like Steve Jobs, John Wooden, Bono, Michelle Obama, JK Rowling and Steven Hawking. TED allows viewers to be entertained while either being inspired to change or being educated on ways to solve the problems facing today’s world. TED may sound like a boring solution to being bored, but most of the speeches it features are fascinating and ingenious.
College Apps– Colleges around the country are following the app craze and creating their own apps for students. For seniors, these apps are perfect ways to find out more about a university and stay up-to-date on athletic and general news regarding the university, as well as watch video from the university itself. FSU Mobile, for example, features pictures of the university, athletic scores and schedules for all sports, recent news and videos, a map of campus and local hot spots. The iUSF app offers similar features. Apps are a rising trend for universities, and those that haven’t created an app yet will likely do so in the near future.