It seems in the ever changing world of applications (apps) for our iPhones, iPads and Androids one needs a part time job just to keep up.

Just because an app is the latest doesn’t mean it’s the greatest.  Trust me, I’ve downloaded some real losers…however…

Here are my latest favorites:

One of the newest and coolest is:

The American Red Cross First Aid App- free

image courtesy of The American Red Cross

Gives you advice for everyday emergencies from the Apple App Store or for Android from the Google Play Store.

What’s great:

Simple step by step instructions for first aid scenarios.

Safety and Preparedness tips for severe weather

Gives me something to do while I’m waiting for the ambulance!

Pocket (Used to be called “Read It Later”)- free

image courtesy of Apple

Allows you to gather articles, web content, photos, videos and put in one central place to read later.

What’s great:

It syncs on all of my devices

I don’t need an internet connection to read save content

If I run across something interesting on the web that I want to read but don’t have the time, I can “throw” it in pocket and read it later.  I used to stress that I would forget where I saw something so I ended up with a clogged bookmarks folder.

News360- free

 image courtesy of Apple

Gathers news stories (based on your interests) from the web

What’s great:

It eliminates searching multiple news apps

Has the ability to save my favorite stories.

Nice clean format.  Like a USA Today but more interesting.

Gilt Taste- free

image courtesy of Apple

Gilt Groupe’s latest offering…a real cool app that does for gourmet food what Gilt did for online shopping.

What’s great:

Touch free cooking feature on the iPad!  Allows you to flip through recipes by waving your hands across the camera to move from step to step.  No more iPad screen with Marinara sauce smears!

Deals of food, drink and ingredients daily

Beautiful, smart foodie articles written by the world’s top chefs and critics.  Basically it’s food porn folks!

Red Laser- free

image courtesy of Apple

Called the “shopper’s secret weapon,” this handy app allows you to hover over a bar code with your smart phone (or iPad) and find out the best price online or in a local store.

What’s great:

Offers reviews and information about the product including nutritional information on food

Can create shopping and gift lists

I used Red Laser when I was about to purchase a Marc Jacobs handbag at a local store.  I was about to bite the bullet when I remembered I had downloaded this and I checked the price.  As it turns out, I saved over $100 because Nordstrom had it on sale!

Photo Measures-$4.99

**I haven’t used this yet but I am downloading it.  That said, it hasn’t gotten great reviews from homeowners and interior designers.

Allows you to take a photo and directly draw measurements on it.  Which, if this works will TOTALLY save me a lot of time.  It will be great for window measurements when I get ready to design a window treatment.  It will be great for A LOT of things.

So if you use this, let me know how you like it!

As always, I appreciate the emails and comments…if you have a favorite app, please let me know!

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Thanks for reading,

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