Insurance For iPhones

TomTom, the leading provider of navigation systems, announced that the new update to their app for the iPhone is now available.  The updated TomTom App for iPhone Version 1.5 has many new features, including:

• Navigate-to-photo – Users can navigate to a location by selecting a photo that has been stored in the iPhone gallery.  The locations are identified by geo-tags on your photos.
• Optimization for iPhone 4 – The update definitely takes advantage of the new features of Apple’s latest iPhone.  The TomTom App now offers high resolution graphics, sharper maps, more responsive menus, and improved positioning, even if you’re in an area with limited GPS reception.
• Latest, most up-to-date maps – TomTom maps have over 1 million more miles of roads in the US than other competitive maps and TomTom has been rated highest in quality and reliability.  While you’re figuring out where you want to go, you don’t have to use any of your data plan and you don’t even have to have a signal.

Tom Murray, senior VP of market development for TomTom, Inc. said, “With over 45 million drivers worldwide relying on TomTom navigation, we have the expertise to deliver iPhone and iPod touch users the smartest and easiest-to-use navigation experience available.  As we build upon TomTom’s expertise and refine it for the iPhone, we are focused on meeting consumers’ needs through our continued product innovations and support of Apple’s advancements.”

With the latest update to the App, users will continue to benefit from TomTom’s industry-leading navigation features, including:

• IQ Routes™ – TomTom uses actual speed data collected from of users to accurately calculate the travel time of your route. It allows for rush hour and traffic lights, so no matter what time it is, you can always fully rely on IQ Routes to let you know when you’ll get there.
• Advanced Lane Guidance – TomTom provides extra clarity when navigating difficult lane switches and exit ramps by showing the user which lane to take for an upcoming exit.
• Local Search – Allows a user to locate and have directions to points of interest (POIs) by using the latest local Google listings from within the TomTom App.
• Multitasking Functionality – On the iPhone 4, the app allows a user to receive turn-by-turn directions while the iPhone is running other applications.

The TomTom App for iPhone is available for purchase now from the App Store for $39.99.

If you’re looking for a way to pick out a trail to hike, bike, or walk on, then here is the perfect app.  A new application from North Face has everything a hiker needs.  Whether you’re trying to figure out where you want to go or what to expect when you get there, this app is just for you.

If you’re a music geek like me, the NanoStudio app is just for you.  By now, everyone knows that the iPhone is much more than just a phone- it’s a music player, too.  With NanoStudio, your iPhone can be the ultimate music-maker.  It has synths, trigger pads, sequencers, samplers and lots of other things.  Best of all, it’s easy to use! 

This app is an actual recording studio that has 4 virtual analogue synths, 16 sampler trigger pads, a comprehensive sequencer, a sample editor, a mixer, and 10 effects units that are all integrated into a single application.  Another thing this amazing app allows is for you to record different samples using the iPhone’s built in microphone and then resample with the app’s own output or upload it to your computer.

This app is simple enough for a beginner to figure out, yet complex enough to entertain an expert, like the man on the video.  This app is a little pricey at $15, but if you ever think you might get a little more ambitious, it’s worth the money.

One of the best ways to get a cheap hotel room is Priceline.com.  There’s now a new Priceline.com app for your iPhone and iPad makes getting the hotel easier, since you can name your own price in a few taps with this app.

According to an article, some testers of this app were traveling across the country on what they called the Great American Road Trip and they made a hotel reservation for the first night using the Priceline iPhone app and they got themselves a 3-star hotel for just $45. This was great news because their budget would be more flexible, but they had no idea how much it would help them until they tried to get a hotel room at their final stop near Mount Rushmore.  They tried to use the Priceline.com app to book their last night’s stay, but the only hotel they could find was a king-size jacuzzi room for $250.  

One of the testers said they’d still use the Priceline. com app, even though they had to pay $250 for the last night of their road trip.  If you do use the Priceline.com app for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, you will get $25 bonus bucks that will add $5 to the bid price of your next bid for up to five nights for the next time you book from the website.

MLB.com has an app called AtBat 2010 that won the Apple Design Award at the iPhone Developer Showcase in 2009.  This app allows you to access one live game each day of the regular season.  Also, anyone with an MLB.TV subscription can view a complete schedule of live games.  AtBat also lets you access gameday audio, pitch by pitch, in-game highlights and more.

AtBat 2010 was recently updated on July 12 and these great features have been added: 

The price seems to be the only thing customers don’t like about the app.  You have to pay a whopping $14.99 for it.  But, if you’re a die-hard fan, you’ll gladly pay that price to always know what’s happening in baseball any given day.

Texting while driving is illegal in over half of the 50 states in the US.  There’s a new app for your iPhone to keep you safe called Text’nDrive.  Although the name seems to make you think that this app will produce SMS messages, it actually composes and reads emails for you.

When you’re using this app, incoming emails get read aloud to you using a synthetic voice.  It reads aloud the sender’s name, the subject of the message, and the message itself. Sent emails are made as an audio recording of your voice which then gets sent through the email provider of your choice.  The application even knows when you’re done recording the email and it auto-forwards the email with the attached voice message.

And, with $20, you can get a version of the app that allows you to send and recieve texts, too. 

Even though this app will be convenient for those of you who are constantly on the go, using a cell phone while you are driving is dangerous.  Always be careful!

There’s an iPhone app called “On This Day…” that is a free download for anyone who wants to know a little history.  This app shows events such as births and deaths that happened on a certain day that you select.

I learned that on my birthday, Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. were the first father and son to play a baseball game on same team, the Seattle Mariners.  Also, Richard Gere and I share the same birthday!  This app could even be used to think of baby names- you can look and see what famous people were born on the same day your baby is due. 

The “On This Day…” app is only $0.99 and can be used on the iPhone or iPod Touch.  Go download it now!

If you like taking pictures with your iPhone, you should try out these apps.  They’re all great when you’re traveling and want to share your photos with friends and family.

Postman, $2.99-  With Postman, you can design your own postcards.  When you’ve made one, you can email them or post them to Facebook and Twitter.

Flickr, free- This app for the Flickr website allows you to update your Flickr account.  When you use this app, you can share and publish your pictures without logging on to a computer.

TwitPic Uploader, $1.99- With this app, you can post a photo on your Twitter account.  By doing this, you can just post a photo and save yourself the trouble of trying to say what you want to say using only 140 characters.

TravelPad, $1.99- You can create photo albums with this app that tell you where your photos were taken without need for file names.  It also gives you some room for a short description of the image.

Spot It!, $0.99-  When taking your own pictures starts to get boring, you can turn to this app, called Spot It!  Spot It! is a game that challenges you to spot the differences in two somewhat identical pictures.

Make sure you download these great apps for your next trip!

Finding the closest Emergency Room is easy with the findER app for iPhone. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Emergency Medicine Network created a free iPhone application that is able to find emergency rooms that are in your area. By watching the video below, you can see how the findER app works.

FindER uses the iPhone’s GPS to locate which of nearly 5,000 emergency rooms in its database is closest to you.  As shown on the video, findER shows step by step directions to and general information about different emergency rooms.  It also has a 911 button that allows you to make a quick 911 call.

Hopefully, you will never need this app, but it’s completely free so there’s no reason not to download it and add it to your list of apps. You can find it in the app store under the file name “EMNet findER.”

Apple has realeased the Find My iPhone App, just in time for the release of the new iPhone 4. This app allows you to be able to track a lost iPhone, iPod, or iPad from another iPhone or iPad.  All you need to do is to log in to the Find My iPhone application with your MobileMe user name and password to find your lost gadget.

After you log in, the application will begin finding the lost iPhone, iPod, or iPad.  Each device  that is connected to the account will show up and begin to be tracked, appearing on a Google Map once it is found.

Once the device is shown on the Google Map, the application allows you to display a message or play a sound if you think someone has stolen your device. You can also activate a Remote Lock to lock your device so it cannot be used or a Remote Wipe to delete all personal information from the device.  The Find My iPhone app requires iOS version 3.1.3 or later and a MobileMe subscription, which is currently $99 a year.