Gadget Guide: Top 10 iPhone Apps for Busy Mompreneurs for Work, Life and Play
Our top picks for helping busy mompreneurs with work, life and play!
I know, I know. Everyone and their Golden Retriever is putting out a “best iPhones apps” article these days. But trust us when we say, this is THE list you need. We’ve kept it manageable and filled with time tested, beloved apps. Enjoy!
- Shazam – “Ooo – what is the name of that song?” “Oh my gosh, I totally forgot about this song!” “I LOVE this song! Who sings it??” This seriously awesome app allows you to find out the name, artist and album of any song you hear anywhere (in the car, in a restaurant, etc…). It doesn’t recognize every single song in the world, but I have about a 99% success rate. When I hear a song I love, I just “tag” it in Shazam and then can either tweet about it, go buy it on iTunes or post track details to Facebook. Free (but can upgrade to Pro for more tags)
- Pandora – If you haven’t heard of Pandora yet, you are in for a surprise – it’s a fabulous online “radio-station” that allows you to listen to playlists inspired by your favorite artist, song or composer. Pandora creates a “station” for you that will play their music and more music like it. You can now use Pandora on your iPhone, which is so fantastic. Five stars! Free
- ShakeitPhoto – Basically the coolest photo app for the iPhone, AND the most realistic instant photo experience. It seriously works just like your old Polaroid! You even get to watch the photo develop (shaking your phone makes it develop faster, which is just darn fun). The photo quality is incredible – way better than normal iPhone photos from Camera. I’m considering starting a photography business with this app. It makes me look like I know how to take awesome photos. Will the bride mind when I show up to take her wedding photos with my phone? $0.99
- GasBuddy – Arguably the best source of gas prices for the iPhone. It basically has a very comprehensive list of gas prices in the US and Canada. Since gas prices change frequently (especially these days) and can vary as much as 20% from block to block, this app helps you find the lowest price gas. You can find them by zip code or GPS, including distance, directions and estimated drive time to get there. Very useful. $2.99
- Cozi – Finally, a way to effortlessly manage your family calendar, shopping lists and to-do lists all in one place! Plus, you can create and manage a family journal, including special moments and photos. It integrates with online Cozi, and syncs with Google Calendars and Outlook. One big bummer: they claim you can integrate with iCal, but not easily and that is a big drawback for us Mac users. $1.99
- 20 Minute Meals with Jamie Oliver – Jamie Oliver has done it again. In the wake of his incredible food revolution, he has created probably the best iPhone app ever and certainly the best thing since sliced bread! It comes with a hefty price tag but it is worth every penny. 60 recipes with easy to follow steps, incredible photos, video with tips, techniques and kitchen skills, interactive shopping list (you are going to be amazed!) and no internet connection needed to view recipes. I am in love with this app and with Jamie Oliver! $7.99
- OpenTable – This is a must-have for all you foodies out there! You can get free restaurant reservations at over 13,000 OpenTable-enabled restaurants in the US, Canada and the UK. Plus, you get Dining Rewards Points to use as any OpenTable restaurant. Know whether a restaurant has space for you before you load the kids in the car! Free
- GroceryGadget – The best way to manage your grocery list while saving trees! You can also import your favorite recipes, and it makes using coupons a breeze! (Hey, that rhymes!) You can also share the list (including photos) with your honey so he doesn’t forget the milk or buy the wrong brand of laundry detergent…again! Basically, it will save your marriage and your sanity. Not bad for under $5. $4.99
- GymGoal – A fantastic fitness application! Loaded with exercises, workout routines, tracking your measurements, workout logs, and it even plays all of your music to make your workout more entertaining! A fun way to stay in hot mama shape while bringing home the bacon and frying it up in the pan! $3.99
- EWG’s Suncreen Buyer’s Guide – An incredibly easy and brilliantly informative way to check on how effective your sunscreen is, including which ones to avoid due to use of dangerous chemicals (yikes!). Makes it easy to evaluate which sunscreen to buy on the fly, especially on vacation or when you are already at the beach! Free
P.S. Don’t forget to check out Jessica Eaves Mathews’ article Choosing the Right Legal Entity for Your Business, in the spring issue of MOMeo’s Busisness in a Box!
Tell us about the iPhone Apps that help you to organize, maximize and simplify your busy busy life!
Gadget Guide – Got 10 minutes? 10 iPhone Applications to Maximize your Time
It never fails. The day you are 5 minutes early for a meeting, your counterpart is 5 minutes late. 10 minutes is not enough time to justify powering up the laptop that you always carry with you, but it’s a little too long to fritter away on people watching.
10 iPhone applications to help you maximize an extra 10 minutes
#1: LinkedIN – In minutes you can accept the 87 invitations to connect that you neglected for the past week, find and invite new connections and blast out a broadcast message to your network announcing your new joint venture project.
#2: Facebook – In between meetings is the ideal time to review your friend requests, comment back on comments on your links and post new photos to your profile. All activities that increase your social media visibility!
#3: Twitter – It only takes a few seconds to jump on and share the least tip that’s been buzzing around in your brain. Who knows? Maybe that’s the tip that will connect with a prospect and turn them into a customer.
#4: Hootsuite – Want to know which tweets got the most clicks? Take a few minutes to review your statistics in hootsuite to find out what magic words grab the most attention!
#5: Evernote – Check your task lists for quick to-dos that you can knock off while you wait or take the time to brainstorm your task breakdown for your upcoming project.
#6: Dragon Dictation – Dictate an email or outline an article for your newsletter. The best part of the Dragon Dictation app is its ability to translate your voice into words even if there’s background noise.
#7: Voice Memos – Practice and playback the opening of your upcoming presentation. Recording your voice is the best way to hone your public speaking skills outside of stepping on stage.
#8: WordPress – Start a draft for an upcoming post right in wordpress. It doesn’t matter how far you get because the draft will still be accessible from your desktop for editing.
#9: Amazon Kindle – Take 10 minutes to catch up on your business reading – the best source of new ideas and inspiration!
#10: iPod – Tune out the world and tune into your favorite podcasts. Subscribe to your favorites so you are always up-to-date and keep a few favorite episodes when you need that extra dose of inspiration!
How do you use your iPhone to maximize an extra 10 minutes? Tell us what applications help you get more done!
MOMeo Gadget Guide: 10 Must-have Miniatures for your Mom Purse!
Take a look in your purse and answer this question: “Does it contain miscellaneous items that your former (single) self would find odd, embarrassing or just downright ridiculous?” Kid stuff like a miniature elephant, a lone fuzzy sock, 5 broken crayons, a half-eaten granola bar, and a gold star?
Half diaper-bag, half mobile toy box, the mom purse is the central hub for all on-the-go activity – an emergency outfit change at the playground, an improvised art class that gets you through dinner at a restaurant or snacks for an impromptu picnic in the park.
Beware of purse overload – too much weight in your purse can cause serious muscle strain in your neck, shoulders and back. Whenever possible, opt for compact, lightweight versions of your favorite mom purse staples. That’s why we pulled together a list of must-have miniatures so you don’t have to sacrifice that handy gadget or in-a-pinch snack for your little one!
10 Must-have Miniatures for your Mom Purse
#1: Single serving packets – Just enough for a single outing, look for one-time use packets of your favorite mom essentials! Two of our favorite single serving packets are Wet Ones and Off!
#2: Small notebook – Where there’s a blank piece of paper, there’s fun to be had! Keep a small notebook on hand for those times when you need to sketch a funny scene or write down important details for an upcoming meeting! We recommend the Moleskine brand, both for their literary history and very small sizes.
#3: Pint-sized pen – Handy for a quick game of X’s and O’s or to jot down that BIG idea, micro pens easily tuck into any notebook or day planner. We love the Pilot HI-TEC-C because they are ultra-stylish, functional and available in a rainbow of colors.
#4: Lightweight packable jacket – It never fails – just as your little one settles into a rousing game of tag at the playground, it gets windy and you get chilly. Packing up to the size of an apple and feather-light, the Patagonia Houdini packs into its own pocket for the ultimate in mom purse convenience.
#5: iPhone or iTouch – Load audio books, movies, TV shows, games and of course, your favorite mommy productivity tools in one convenient do-it-all device! A few of our favorites are Super Why! (Educational TV Show), Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs (Movie), and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Read-to-Me Audio Book). Check out our Top 10 iPhone applications for kids for our games picks!
#6: Mini activity books – A tiny activity book is usually enough to occupy a busy toddler to get you through the last half hour of the road trip. Dover Little Activity Books specializes in pint-sized publications, including mazes, dot-to-dot and a multitude of themed activity coloring books.
#7: Stainless steel water bottle – Never mind that juice boxes pose a disposal problem, stainless steel water bottles let you get away with a smaller size because you can refill them at every stop! Kleen Kanteen offers a wide range of sizes, but if you are going for compact, try their 12oz (355ml) Klean Kanteen Classic.
#8: Fruit leather – It wouldn’t be an outing with a child if you didn’t hear, “Mommy, I’m hungry!” Rather than haul around a virtual grocery store of snacks, keep a few fruit leather bars handy. Boosting one apple in every bar (and nothing else), Kettle Valley Fruit Snacks are our pick for the best fruit leather!
#9: Capsul – Less bulky than a wallet and way more water resistant, the Capsul holds cash, keys, credit cards or a stash of business cards in case opportunity knocks on the playground!
#10: Reusable shopping bag – Because you never know when you need to pack a jacket, an objet d’art or a dozen pine cones that must, must, MUST come home with you! Our pick is the Envirosax because they are ultra-lightweight and feature wide comfortable handles.
What do you carry in your mom purse? Tell us your must-have-at-all-times essentials!
MOMeo Gadget Guide: Top 10 iPhone Applications for Busy Mompreneurs!
Not to sound like the iPhone commercials, but if you want to book a table in your favorite restaurant, there’s an app for that. If you want to entertain the kids on the go, there’s an app for that. If you want to boost your bottom line productivity, you guessed it – there’s an app for that.
From the mundane to the marvellous, there’s an iPhone application for just about everything a busy mompreneur does in a day.
For your work life…
#1: Evernote – Create text, photo and audio notes and auto-sync your notes to your desktop! Use it to clip and store articles from the web, jot down quick notes or dictate to-do lists. Favorite feature is the ability to make text within snapshots searchable!
Free
#2: 1Password – Store your countless usernames and passwords, login details, personal information and any other sensitive information in a secure encrypted format. Favorite feature is the double defence of the Unlock Code and Master Password to gain access to your information!
$6.99
#3: iMindMap – Turn 10 minutes into a power brainstorming session with this mobile version of the popular mind mapping software. Create complex picture maps of your ideas and export via email as an image, PDF or iMindMap File.
$2.99
#4: Dragon Dictation – A must-have application for the moms who love to think out loud. Capture ideas, dictate emails or rattle off your to-do list and let Dragon convert it into text for export into an email, or clipboard.
Free
For your family life…
#5: Grocery Gadget – Forget paper lists, Grocery Gadget lets you to create, manage and organize your grocery list. Handy recipe import features and coupon reminders make stocking up and saving money a cinch! Love the Share feature that lets you send the latest grocery list to your husband!
$4.99
#6: Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner – An answer to “What’s for dinner?” in an instant. Spice up your dinner routine with thousands of recipes from Allrecipes.com. Use the spinner or shake your iPhone to let the fates decide what’s on the menu.
Free
#7: Blowfish – A simple, but fun game where you grow the little blowfish before the prickly sea urchins pop them! Handy in case of emergency situations where you need a distraction for the kids (or husband) to finish your latte or try on that oh-so-fabulous pair of shoes.
Free
For finding a little playtime for mommy…
#8: Lonely Planet Travel Guides – Plan the next family trip (or girlfriend weekend) with helpful tips, reviews and images from Lonely Planet. Access over 75 travel guides and audio phrasebooks and prepare to say Bon Voyage.
$3.99 to $5.99
#9: iDreams – Because mommy needs a bit of mommy-time! Relax and refresh to one of the 25 soundtracks designed to help ease frazzled nerves. Love that you can set a timer to have the soundscape stop after a certain time in case you want to catch a few zzz’s!
$0.99
#10 Urbanspoon – Plan your mommy playtime with the help of Urbanspoon. Using the GPS, it helps you find a restaurant near you. Favorite features include the filter by neighborhood, cuisine or price and ratings and reviews.
Free
Do you have a favorite gadget that makes your workday oh-so-much easier (or just a lot more fun)? Let us know and you could be the next reader featured in The MOMeo (favorite) GADGET Guide!
Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Fight off the winter blues with these cool winter must-haves!
1. iPhone Gloves
iPhones are awesome until it’s so cold, you need to wear gloves. The people at the North Face have solved this problem with the iPhone Etip Glove. The specially-designed fingertip allows you to use your iPhone without having to remove toasty gloves. $40. www.northface.com.
2. Design your own tea
After spending a day in the brisk winter air, it’s nice to come home to a hot cup of tea. At Design a Tea you can customize your own tea to include your favorite and de-stressing flavors in just three easy steps. Check out www.designatea.com
3. Porsche Sled
Zoom down that hill in style. This Porsche sled has an aluminum frame, stainless steel runners, the official Porsche logo and a cool carrying case. $215 shop2.porsche.com.
4. Wool Wrap
Cosy up with this Alfredo Falcón alpaca wool wrap. Luxuriously soft, stylish and warm, this versatile piece is a great addition to your winter wardrobe. $120 at www.novica.com
5. Snowball Launcher
Start a snowball fight. Maybe now you’ll win? This heavy-duty launcher shots softball sized snowballs up to 50 feet. $30 hammacher.com.
6. Ear Warmer Headphones
No one wants to be without their favorite music. Now you can listen to your tunes while keeping your ears toasty with this stylish earn warmer. The headphones are built right in. $40 180s.com.
7. Happy lite
Is winter weather getting you down? This therapeutic natural “daylight” aims at countering the winter blues without any nasty UV rays. Cute and compact. $90 www.plowhearth.com
8. Bioethanol Fireplace
Space heaters are nice, but there’s nothing quite like a real flame to make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Bioethanol fireplaces are not only eco-friendly but extremely stylish. This Bio-Fuel Fire Bowl is perfect for indoor use in the winter and a great addition to your patio in the summer. $138 www.fireboxuk.com
9. Aladdin Challenger Flask
Take a treat with you on your winter excursion. This thermos is available in two sizes and keeps your hot chocolate tea or Irish coffee warm hot for 28 hours. Comes with two built-in cups and the base provides storage for sweetener or tea bags. Available at www.amazon.co.uk
10. Wool Slippers
When it comes to keeping warm, there’s nothing like sheepskin .Australian-made UGG slippers have a rubber sole and a sheepskin sock liner to shoo away moisture and keep your feet warm and dry. $100 www.uggaustralia.com
New Media Etiquette: Cell Phones
Karen Rowe
MOMeo’s series on the evolving rules of etiquette continues with cell phones While many today were raised attached to a cell phone and laptop, there are literally millions of otherwise productive people for whom these are still new, mysterious tools. Like anything else, there are proper and improper ways of using them.
Until now, it was an unwritten code.
Cell Phones:
Cell phones have become ubiquitous, but that doesn’t mean everyone plays by the rules. Here are some useful guidelines for cell phones:
1. Pay Full Attention: The person you’re talking to deserves your full attention. Checking emails, sending text messages and making telephone calls while in the company of others are definite breeches of cell phone manners. (Playing with iPhone applications is even ruder.) Let your phone divert to voicemail or change your voicemail to request texts for urgent messages.
2. Respect Personal Space: Hold private calls in private places. Some experts suggest maintaining at least a 10-foot zone from anyone while talking. Most people aren’t interested in overhearing your conversation. If it’s unavoidable, apologize and warn others in advance, speak quietly and keep conversations short. And don’t have any emotional conversations in public — ever.
3. Ring Tone Respect: Turn off loud or annoying ring tones and adjust the phone to silent, vibrate or off to avoid disturbing others, especially during meetings or performances. There’s never a good excuse for your phone ringing during a movie or play. Ever.
4. Confined Places Are Off-Limits: Never talk in places where people have no choice but to listen to your conversation. Places such as elevators, libraries, museums, dentist or doctor waiting rooms, places of worship or other enclosed public spaces, such as hospital emergency rooms, buses or airplanes are areas where cell phones use is impolite.
5. Texting While Driving: Many jurisdictions are making it illegal, but really, this is just common sense. Whatever you have to say can surely wait until you reach your destination. If you must take a call, use a hands-free earpiece.
12 Days of Christmas – Clients
MOMeo’s 12 Days of Christmas gift lists starts with the people who make MOMeo life possible – your clients
MOMeo Picks
1. Bottle of Wine
If you don’t know much about wine, choose one for laughs. Fat Bastard, Marilyn Merlot , and Cardinal Zin all have good reputations and an obvious sense of humor.
2. Around the World in 12 Coffees
Another beverage gift – this one for the caffeine junkies and joe-heads in your life. Coffee nerds, like wine lovers, know and appreciate good beans and blends from all over – so why not indulge them?
3. Sports Tickets
Just because you can’t name the New York Yankees’ starting rotation, doesn’t mean your clients feel the same way.
4. Box of cigars
For some, cigars are smelly. For others, there’s no purer pleasure. Canadians have the advantage of access to the world’s finest (Cubans), but US MOMeos shouldn’t be embarrassed to give cigars from the Dominican Republic.
5. World Clock
You have to marvel at the symmetry. 24 hours in the day, and 24 time zones in the world. To “set” the time zone, simply set the clock down so the representative city is on top. The size and shape of an egg, this clock is small enough for travel and cool enough to sit on someone’s desk.
6. Leather-bound notebook
You may use your computer and/or iPhone for pretty much everything, but a really nice notebook is better for really special things. Favorite homemade recipes, a travel diary –it’s always a thoughtful gift.
7. Personal Embosser
Think of it like a calligraphy stamp. It’s the sort of thing people enjoy but aren’t likely to buy for themselves. That makes for the perfect gift.
8. External Hard Drive
They’re useful for all kinds of reasons – and you never seem to have enough of them. If your files are important enough to back up, it stands to reason your clients’ are too.
9. Electric Putting Mat
Fun, retro – and very Zen; one putts the ball into the “hole,” it pops back out to putt again. Not just for the ‘50s Mad Men crowd, but a fun gift for the golf nuts in your life. Or, the Zen Masters.
10. Roll-Up Waterpoof Keyboard
Perfect for those mobile clients who work on small laptops. Who don’t have a lot of storage space. Who always seem to spill coffee.
11. Gift Baskets
It’s a standard gift for a reason. Safe, easy, and a nice way to “standardize” your gifts.
12. Online Secure Payment System
These handy devices makes online purchases safe from viruses – and much easier besides. It’s pretty much just plug-and-play; the swiper plugs into the computer’s USB port.
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- I love that @AlyPain tells it like it is --> STOP Blaming Your Children - Why YOUR Failure Isn't THEIR Fault - http://t.co/LPo51mgI
- Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, "Make me feel important." ~Mary Kay Ash
