Jeri Usbay

In the world of smart phones and iPads and tablets and readers, we have a new world of apps (applications) to use on these devices.

Yes your device will come with apps already loaded, but there are thousands of additional apps available to choose from.

I usually don’t go looking for apps, the ones I like best are ones that have been suggested to me.

Here are a few free apps I’ve downloaded (not in any particular order) that you may want to sample if you haven’t already.  They are available on both IOS and Android platforms unless noted.

1.  Flashlight – a variety of flashlight apps are available which are very handy.  The apps use the LED flash of your camera.  You may not know where your flashlight is in your car or at home but you always know where your phone is.  The app is also helpful in dark restaurants.

2.  TuneIn Radio – tune in to live local or global radio stations.  It is worth downloading to marvel at the availability of global stations.  Every country you can think of and those you didn’t even know existed can be found.   Browse categories include talk stations and podcasts.

3.  MyFitnessPal – this app keeps track of your calories, exercise, and weight loss goals.  You can view a demo of the interface at www.myfitnesspal.com.  The food database is extensive, includes items at your favorite restaurants, and it allows you to scan food labels for calorie content.  It will tell you how many calories to consume daily to reach your weight loss goal.  Record your exercise and you can eat more!   No more excuses, this makes it almost fun to count calories and lose weight.

4.  Optimum – if you are a Cablevision subscriber with DVR service,  you can use this app wherever you are to review TV listings and set your DVR to record, or erase recordings.   This is much easier than using your TV to set the DVR.   If you are an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch user, you can additionally watch TV on your device while at home.

5.  Songify – (not available on Android) – turns your spoken words into a song.  Sounds silly but it is a lot of fun.  Try it, you will be entertained.

6.  LiveScore –  a great app for keeping updated on nightly sports scores (reported to me by a sports enthusiast).

7.  Words With Friends – is a scrabble type game.  You can play with someone you know or someone at random.  You can take days, hours, or minutes to finish a game, depending upon how often you play your letter tiles.  It is highly addictive as you can play multiple games simultaneously.  The app will tell you if a word is not valid without any penalty which makes playing the game quite easy.

8.  Whirly Word – is a simple word game where you try to find all possible words from a set of six letters.  It is easy, fun and addictive.

9.  TripAdvisor – the phone app works much like the web app.  You can find hotels, restaurants, things to do, read reviews, map a location and get directions.  The app is very handy on the road.

10.  Ride LIRR – find all LIRR train schedules, maps, and check advisories.  No need for paper schedules if you have your phone.

11.  NYC Mate –  this app has all you need for getting around New York City – subway  and rail (LIRR, Metro North, NJ Path) maps as well as bus maps for all boroughs and NJ transit.

12.  Square – for the small business owner,  Square  allows you to take credit card payments from your  iPhone, iPad or Android device.  There is a flat service fee of 2.75% on transactions.  Go to www.squareup.com to sign up and receive the reader free.  I use it for my own business and it’s great.

Do you have a favorite (or not so favorite) app to suggest?