iPhone Lifestyle Apps

Approach Guides Wine (AG Wine – AGWine) iPhone app Review

Description:

How many times have you gone into a restaurant and taken a look at the wine list and not known where to look?  This happens more often than not, and many times you can be embarrassed not knowing much about wines.  In the Approach Guides Wine iPhone app you will get a complete list of both Italian and Spanish Wines and you will be able to learn how to pick wines based on the food you are eating.

Features:

• This app is meant to help you become a wine expert in your own right.  By studying the information that is included in this app you will be able to confident whenever you choose wine.  This could be in a shopping context or also in a dining context when surrounded by friends
• One of the really nice things about this app is that you don’t have to have the internet to be able to access it.  Once it has been downloaded you can then access it at any time, whether you have an internet connection or not
• One of the coolest things about this app is the vast knowledge and information that can be obtained by reading through it.  You will be able to find some very informative summaries from the AG wine dictionary.  You will be able to go out to eat with friends and other guests and have them be impressed with your knowledge of wines
• You can search and study the different wines as much as you want to.  You can choose to sort through the wine by either the grape variety, the style of the wine, the appellation, the region, or even by just how you are planning to pair the wine with the food that you are eating
• You can take this app and then learn to focus on the fundamentals of wine.  This means that you can select the wines based on their vintages, their grapes, their appellations, and also their regions.  The more you know about the basics, the better foundation you will have to work with
• This app also provides you with a lot of great values.  The recommendations that are made by the staff of AG Wine is actually mean to focus on the most attractive wines, as well as the best priced wines out there.  They will also base their recommendations on the wines that are of the highest quality

Conclusion:

You have to be at least 17 years old to download this app because of all of the wine references and mentioning of alcohol in the app.  Other than that, it really is one of the best wine references that you can get on the iPhone app market.  This can help you to actually know what you are talking about when you and your distinguished friends get together to taste different wines.

This app has been given a rating of 4 stars and currently can be downloaded off of the iPhone app market for only $0.99.

Gratitude! Journal Positive Thoughts iPhone app Review

Description:

The Gratitude! Journal Positive Thoughts iPhone app is a a simple idea where you write down five things you are thankful for.  Being full of gratitude can do wonders for your life.

Features:

• One of the cool features that this app offers is the ability to actually export your journal so that you always have a backup of it in case anything should happen to your phone
• You can change the date on the day simply by tapping on it.  Very easy to navigate and get around
• One of the new features of this edition is that the scroll on the app is much faster and the overall response time has been much improved
• The basic essence of the app is to make a journal entry for every single day and to write down five things that you are thankful for each and every day
• You can also add photos to every entry so that you have a picture of someone or something that made you happy that day.  Try to pick something that will inspire you to be better
• You can also rate all of your days so that you can go back and find the days that were the best.  This is a good thing to do if you ever get down on yourself
• The things you are thankful for always are written down in bulleted lists so that they are easy to go back and read and understand
• You can search through all of your journal entries if you want to go back to a specific day
• There are a few different things that you can do to customize the app including picking from six different theme designs
• You can also email your journal entries to friends or family if you decide that is something that you would like to share with them
• The journal app can also be protected with a passcode so not everyone can get on your phone and start reading your personal information
• Each time you enter a new page in the journal you will be given some kind of inspirational quote
• There is also a monthly index that will build up as you go along so that you can go back and search that way

Conclusion:

This app is something that everyone can enjoy.  Writing down and listing the things you are thankful for is one of the best ways to see how blessed you are.  Once you get in the habit of keeping this journal you can begin to see how much grateful you are for all the things in your life!  It may seem corny, but this system really does work.  It allows you to see all that you have and all that you can do to help someone else.  Users also had favorable reviews of this app and have given it a four star rating.  The app also costs $0.99 to download onto  your iPhone.

Sleep Machine iPhone app Review

Description:

The Sleep Machine iPhone app allows you to integrate a full featured alarm system along with a sleep timer that can be updated to meet all of your needs.  You will have a huge variety of different ambient sounds that you will be able to choose from to wake up to.

Features:

• This alarm clock app has over 79 different kinds of stereo sounds that you can pick from
• On top of the stereo sounds there are also 71 different kinds of ambient sounds that you can sort through as well
• If you would prefer an entire track then you have 8  different musical tracks of an ambient nature
• With all the mixing and matching that you can do with the sounds and music tracks you can make 493,093 different combinations total
• The control scheme of the app is very easy to use and there are a few different functions that are easy to control including the fading out feature as well as the exit app feature
• The alarm sound actually has an individual volume measure so that you can control how loud it will be
• You can set the sleep machine app to have your music selection play for a while so that you can fall asleep to your favorite songs
• You can choose the alarm clock music and sound to gradually fade in so that you don’t have to wake up so abruptly.  You can set this fade in to last anywhere from thirty seconds to five minutes
• One nice feature is that the app has a huge stop/snooze button so that it is easy for you to just tap the phone and go back to sleep if you need to
• You can toggle whether or not you want the snooze to be available to you
• Create your favorite mix that would like to wake up to every morning
• There are 11 different alarm sounds you can pick from if you would like to go that route
• You can mess with the dimmer time options so that the clock will stay on for a certain period of time.  That way you can use it as a clock by your bed or as a nightlight until you fall asleep
• You can view this app in either the landscape or portrait modes
• There are seven different themes for the alarm clock and you can get a variety of different colors
• You can have anywhere from one to three different sound combinations to play simultaneously
• This app also allows you to pick your individual volume settings

Conclusion:

Voted 4 stars by iPhone app users and costs $1.99 to download.  This is the best way to ensure that you get a great night’s sleep.

SAS Survival Guide iPhone app Review

Description:

For some reason we love to always imagine ourselves in the worst situations.  What if our car were to stop running out in the middle of the wilderness, our plane were to crash, boat were to capsize, or get lost while hiking.  While most of things probably won’t happen to us in such a dramatic manner, it still is always smart to be prepared.  The SAS Survival Guide iPhone app takes the best selling book by John “Lofty” Wiseman and puts it into digital form.  Lofty was a former SAS instructor and soldier and shows you exactly how to live like the elite British force.  This app allows you to take these tips and rules anywhere in the world so that you can make sure that you will get out of any sticky situations.

Features:

• This little app has the full text of the the SAS Survival Guide best selling book that came out.  It has been completely redone and optimized for the iPhone
• There is a video section in the app where you can look at 16 different videos of the different situations and some important survival tips to keep in mind.  These videos provide tips from the famous Lofty himself
• The First Aid section in the app is very comprehensive and takes into account all different kinds of cuts, bruises, diseases, bites, scratches and more
• You can also learn how to survive in climates with extreme conditions.  There are different sections dedicated to the polar ice caps, the sandy deserts, the tropical rain forests, and even being stranded out to sea
• You can use the small search tool in order to look for a certain topic, chapter, subject, or  anything else you can  think of
• There is a sun compass included in the app to help you know how to tell time with the sun
• You can also access the checklist for survival that lets you check mark everything that you would need to do in order to survive most situations
• There is a quiz that has over 100 questions that will help you find out if you have the guts to survive horrible conditions
• There is a small device on the phone that allows you to signal other people through morse code
• Last of all there is a photo album that contains different pictures including photos of poisonous and non-poisonous plants which will help you know what you can or can’t eat in a survival situation

Conclusion:

Voted 5 stars by iPhone app users and was developed by Trellisys.net.  This app actually costs $6.99 to download onto your iPhone.

Walmart iPhone app Review

Description:

Walmart is steadily growing bigger and bigger everywhere you go.  You can’t go to an established city in America and not find a Walmart somewhere nearby.   Their prices are usually lower than any of their competitors and you can find almost any item you could think of within their doors.  To make your shopping experience a bit quicker and more hassle free, the Walmart iPhone app has been created.  With this little shopping app you can find all of your favorite items before you even go into the store.  You can use the Electronics Finder and also other search features that have been included to find all of the name brands and specific items that you are looking for.

The navigation on the app is really simple  On the front page you can either use the search function to look through walmart.com or you can look up different stores throughout the country with the store finder.  The last option is the electronics finder to find individual items.  Once you decide which option you would like you go ahead and tap it and go through the steps to find what it is that you are looking for.  Download the Walmart iPhone app today and make shopping easier and more enjoyable!

Features:

• With this app you will be able to search Walmart.com and look at all of the products that they have available at any of their stores
• You can use the Electronics Finder option to find different electronics that are available that you might be interested in purchasing
• Using the camera on your phone you can actually test a variety of TVs of different sizes.  This is so you can know if it is the right fit for your room
• Full integration of Walmart.com so that you can browse through products at your own leisure and pace
• There is a store finder button that you can push in order to find out where all of the stores in your area are located
• This app is also connected to social networking sites like Facebook so that you can share products with your friends and family.  You can also use the email function to send these deals to people as well
• If you find products that you really like that you want to come back to later then you can bookmark them for future reference

Conclusion:

Voted 3 stars by iPhone app users and is completely free to download on the app market.

Hands iPhone Heater app Review

Description:

Are you one of those people who always has cold hands and can never seem to get them quite warm enough?  If so, then you will love the Hand Heater iPhone app.  This app turns your mobile phone into a personal hand heater.  The Hands Heater warms your hands quickly and efficiently.  It can be a great way to improve your lifestyle and your body temperature.

The way that this iPhone app works is that it creates a small heat wave that is just big enough to heat your hands and wrists.  It is much more accessible than having to carry a real heating device around with you and works much quicker too.  If you are ever waiting for something while out in the cold, it is a great way to keep your hands warm in the cold.  The Hands Heater can really make a difference for you in future cold seasons and situations.  It is definitely worth looking into in order to keep yourself a bit warmer.

One thing to remember is that the phone obviously does not create a LARGE amount of heat.  It is very subtle, and just enough to give you a little bit of warmth.  It never gets so hot that it would ruin your phone or damage it in any way.  While it may not be a huge heat wave, it will be enough to get you through the cold times.

Features:

• The display of the app looks like a ring of heating coils to help you feel even warmer
• This app is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch as well
• No connection to the internet so the app moves smoothly and fluidly
• There is no sound submitted by the app so you can use the app whenever and wherever you choose
• This app is mostly a gimmick, while it does release some heat it obviously does not release enough to damage your iPhone or cause any serious problems

Conclusion:

This app is a very good idea, but it is hard to make a heater out of an electronic device that has an operating system and valuable software on it.  If the app were to get too hot it would hurt your phone, so this is a good medium.  If it doesn’t take much to warm your hands then this app might be worth the buck, otherwise it may not be worth it to get it.

Voted 3 stars by iPhone lifestyle app users and is currently $0.99 to download.