Most of you know where I stand in the realm of Mac vs. PCs. That doesn’t mean that I have to be against every single product that Apple offers. (Though it is true that the iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad are all the exact same product just offered in various sizes.) What I can’t really wrap my mind around is how it is possible for Paul to write a post about iPhone apps and not make fun of the fact that I now have one too. I expect those comments to come rolling in today. Paul did a nice job avoiding hyperbole but I’m here to say these apps will change your life.
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For the first time ever on a recent birding trip and guided birding boat tour that I led, I didn’t bring a field guide with me. With the Sibley Guide eGuide to Birds app it is not necessary. The app has amazing options for viewing maps, hearing various versions of calls, along with all of the other images and information that the actual field guide offers. There are many other types of bird guides out there that cost less but overall I was most impressed with this one. It is pricy for an app ($29.99) but it is all about priorities. There are also apps for other naturalists’ interests such as field guides for herps, mammals, fish, etc.
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Speaking of apps for naturalists, LeafSnap is pretty cool too. First, it is beautifully designed. You can look through the browsing section for hours at a time.The feature that has made this app so popular is that you can take a leaf, place it on a white sheet of paper and photograph it (or snap it) and it will provide you with a list of possible species that you can peruse based on your location.
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If you ever find yourself problem solving or brainstorming and struggling with conceptualizing the issues at hand, SimpleMindMapping is available to you when ever the ideas are flowing. The free version allows you to save and view your mind maps but the paid version allows you to email and share the maps. As with most free technology today, the basic options are free and you pay for advanced elements.
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Keeping the Star Wars streak alive (and an attempt to continue to isolate any readers we still have) I bring you my favorite Star Wars-related app. I have a demanding job and personal life where at any given moment I’m searching for wisdom and guidance. Where do I turn? Thanks for asking, I turn to the Star Wars Quotes app. If Yoda can’t help me solve a problem, no one can. I also have friends (which may surprise you) who are also Star Wars fans (no we don’t dress up; well, only on special occasions) who are sticklers for accuracy that this app provides.
I tell you that to tell you this: There are quote apps for almost all interest areas that allow you to access information quickly and easily to meet your needs.
Today’s random quote from Han Solo in Episode IV: A New Hope: “Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops, boy.”
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Speaking of quotes you must have, Dragon Dictation allows you to make your own quotes. It allows you speak into your iPhone and will take your transcribed dictation straight into a text message, email, word processing file, Facebook status update, or Tweet. If you need to make a quick note while out on a tour, you need this app. (Also, it’s great if you ever need to tweet or text while driving.) It is amazingly seamless, but struggles with my southern accent at times.
For all of you interpretive naturalist types out there please share your favorites below in the comment section. In the meantime I’ll be listening to bird calls on my iPhone.
Shea, your iPhone is not the only one who has trouble with your accent. That said, I use Dragon Dictation (though not to text while driving; that’s a terrible idea), and it works remarkably well.
And I have discounted your anti-Apple stance ever since I saw you screaming like an 8-year-old at a Carrot Top show for the chance at an Apple gift card at Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Well, I have to disagree that the iPod Touch, iPad and iPhone are all the same. You can’t make phone calls on the Touch except through Skype, and I think for some reason Skype for the iPod doesn’t work in Canada. And you can’t use an iPhone as a data drive, which is the stupidest thing ever if, say, you’re using it for work.
I recently bought my first Mac and there’s all kinds of stuff my PC could do that the Mac can’t, or can, but it involves holding down multiple keys at once while singing the Mac Hymn. Like dragging and dropping an image into an email and being able to scale it.
BUT – I love my iPhone apps. I really like Starwalk, which allows me to hold up my phone to the sky and find constellations in real time. Naturalguides.com has a host of different nature-related apps. There’s also a bunch of cool history-related augmented reality apps that allow you to see historic photos of cities, including ZeitagTO for anyone trying to make their visit to Toronto more bearable.
Thanks for sharing your favorites with us this week. I have selected a couple from each of your lists that I know will have usefulness.
As for mine, being in So Cal, I have found the Audubon California Nature App to be well worth its cost, it contains plants and wildlife, stunning photos, and great descriptions of all the listed species, I haven’t been at a loss for identifying a bird or native plant yet. It also has audio files built in and doesn’t need to have a signal to access content which is great since when I’m out giving a tour that is rare to have. They are available for a few other states, but not all, and there are other Audubon guides available that are just as good as this one.
For the beach, I like TideGraph, though you need a signal for this one since it uses GPS to find the nearest tide station, although I think you can hand select a station also. Great for planning those trips to the tide pools. Is supposed to work along any coastline in the world.
And since I’m using an iPhone 3GS, I have been saved by Flashlight many times, great for night tours since you can change colors.
For Star Wars, I threw down a few bucks for Falcon Gunner, just because it can use the camera to supply background and I can hail blaster fire down on the kids, dog or any other current nuisance, it also has great audio Han Solo quotes.
Hmmmm, think I’ll actually jump in on this one. I downloaded Palletes and like it very much. I also have Sibley’s bird guide and Starwalk, which I enjoy and like not having to take a field guide. The flashlight on Iphone can be a life saver…I used it at the Grand Canyon and the red light setting works great for stargazing. Audobon has a nice wildflower guide and pUniverse is another good one. I plan to download the Mindmapping app, too. I tend to wander, if you hadn’t noticed, and I find that mindmapping helps. For fun, or boredom, I like Yahtzee, Banagrams, and Madlibs (also good for long car trips.) For someone who resisted technology at first some years back, I really like my IPhone and all it can do…until, of course, there is no reception or I have run it out of battery. Thanks for the many wonderful posts and the great comments generated by them.
More apps …. What would we do without all this technology at our fingertips? Let’s do another Uber Jeff recap …
Sibley eGuide to Birds … I have about a hundred apps on my iPad and the only one I paid for was StarWalk at $4.99. It will be a long time for me to think about paying $29.99 for an app. Plus while I was at NAI Panama in May, there were lots of birders very excited about what we saw that week. I was then informed that all birds fit in to 3 classifications … Big Birds, Pretty Birds and Little Brown Jobs.
Leaf Snap … I had already downloaded that app after it showed up in the “featured” list one day. It is pretty cool and of course, it was free.
SimpleMindMapping … the thought of some sort of mind mapping of what is going on in Shea’s head is just plain scary. I looked at the app page and saw this flowchart sort of thingy. Then my mind said if you download this and use it, once again, Jeff Miller would break the Internet.
Star Wars Quotes … okay, this one is just plain cool, but does this make me a geek? Can a geek be cool? Guess I will have to pay for my second app. At least it is only 99 cents and not 30 bucks.
Dragon … I have this app that was recommended to me by many when I got my iPad but have never used it.
That’s all I got, except we have not mentioned anything about family, food or baseball. So hello to my lovely wife Pam, I feel like eating some pizza and I still hate the No-Good Stinkin’ Second Place Yankees.
A few that I highly recommend-
iBird- great, great option of searching by the color, shape, size, essentially letting you describe your way into what bird it is. Even lets you do this with song.
SkyView- a must have astronomy app that covers the night sky by looking through your camera function. Aim at a celestial object and if it ain’t an airplane or ufo, the app should pop up and tell you what it is. The paid version tells you satellites too. Great for paranoid skinny dippers that are afraid of being caught in the next google earth update…
Between this post and the previous, I’ve now added six apps to my iPhone. I’ve had it less than a month and I’m having fun!