5 Apps for a Fantastic Summer
By Mike Agerbo
July 14, 2015
Lifestyle
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Summertime is upon us and has brought summer grilling, family trips, and the sunshine. No matter what your plans, there are a few apps for summer that can help you enjoy the carefree days.
iOS | $1.99
Even though I’ve been grilling for decades the perfectly grilled steak still eludes me sometimes and, like most people, I worry about undercooking chicken. Sure, you can cut into your meat to determine whether it’s done or not but you’re often sacrificing a lot of its juices that way. This is where an app like GrillTime comes in handy. It’s a simple app that lets you select the thickness of your meat and your desired doneness to determine cooking time and temperature. Not only does it calculate and recommend these, it will remind you to flip and remove meat. It really doesn’t get easier than this!
If you’re really new to grilling and would prefer a more robust app to show you techniques and recipes, you might be interested in a pricier option like Weber’s On The Grill. At $5.79 it’s certainly more expensive but has fantastic features and recipes from one of the most trusted brands in grilling.
iOS | $0.99
With winters being exceptionally dreary in Vancouver I’m not the only one who has a tendency to overindulge in summer sun… And pay for it with nasty sunburns. Besides the general discomfort of sunburn, it carries a risk of skin cancer and premature aging. Wolfram Sun Exposure Reference App helps you avoid sunburns by telling you how long you can stay in the sun based on your skin type, location, time of day, and level of SPF. It also has features such as UV forecasts for your location and recommendations for the level of SPF you should use.
iOS, Android | Free
Field Trip is a fantastic little app from Google that allows you to learn about your local surroundings and live like a local when traveling to new places. The app provides with information about local history, trendy eateries, and the best places to shop. To get this information, you simply select your areas of interest and information about interesting places will pop up on your phone automatically as you near them. Areas of interest include Architecture, Historic Places & Events, Offers & Deals, Movie Locations, Outdoor Art, Obscure Places, and Food Drinks & Fun. Whether you’re staying local or traveling this summer, there’s no excuse not to go exploring with an app like Field Trip up your sleeve.
iOS | $1.19
Maybe your kids love school so much they can’t wait to go back or they’re driving you crazy and you can’t wait until they go back. Either way, Back to School Countdown is a great way to keep track of how much time is left until the end of summer break. The app also lets you add alerts to alert you how much time is left, which come in handy to remind you when to start thinking about back to school shopping. You can also share the countdown status on your social networks.
iOS, Android | $2.99
Packing for a trip is always a daunting task, regardless of whether you’re going on vacation or a short business trip. Though I’ve been traveling for many years I still worry about forgetting or overlooking something important. PackPoint is an app that helps you build a packing list based on where you’re going, the purpose of your trip, the length of your trip, and the activities you’ll be doing while you’re away. The app will take into account travel basics, tech items, necessities for international travel, and weather-appropriate attire. You can add your own items and change quantities of items to personalize your lists.
Do you have any favourite apps for summer? Tell us about them in the comments section.
- GrillTime
iOS | $1.99
Even though I’ve been grilling for decades the perfectly grilled steak still eludes me sometimes and, like most people, I worry about undercooking chicken. Sure, you can cut into your meat to determine whether it’s done or not but you’re often sacrificing a lot of its juices that way. This is where an app like GrillTime comes in handy. It’s a simple app that lets you select the thickness of your meat and your desired doneness to determine cooking time and temperature. Not only does it calculate and recommend these, it will remind you to flip and remove meat. It really doesn’t get easier than this!
If you’re really new to grilling and would prefer a more robust app to show you techniques and recipes, you might be interested in a pricier option like Weber’s On The Grill. At $5.79 it’s certainly more expensive but has fantastic features and recipes from one of the most trusted brands in grilling.
- Wolfram Sun Exposure Reference App
iOS | $0.99
With winters being exceptionally dreary in Vancouver I’m not the only one who has a tendency to overindulge in summer sun… And pay for it with nasty sunburns. Besides the general discomfort of sunburn, it carries a risk of skin cancer and premature aging. Wolfram Sun Exposure Reference App helps you avoid sunburns by telling you how long you can stay in the sun based on your skin type, location, time of day, and level of SPF. It also has features such as UV forecasts for your location and recommendations for the level of SPF you should use.
- Field Trip
iOS, Android | Free
Field Trip is a fantastic little app from Google that allows you to learn about your local surroundings and live like a local when traveling to new places. The app provides with information about local history, trendy eateries, and the best places to shop. To get this information, you simply select your areas of interest and information about interesting places will pop up on your phone automatically as you near them. Areas of interest include Architecture, Historic Places & Events, Offers & Deals, Movie Locations, Outdoor Art, Obscure Places, and Food Drinks & Fun. Whether you’re staying local or traveling this summer, there’s no excuse not to go exploring with an app like Field Trip up your sleeve.
- Back to School Countdown
iOS | $1.19
Maybe your kids love school so much they can’t wait to go back or they’re driving you crazy and you can’t wait until they go back. Either way, Back to School Countdown is a great way to keep track of how much time is left until the end of summer break. The app also lets you add alerts to alert you how much time is left, which come in handy to remind you when to start thinking about back to school shopping. You can also share the countdown status on your social networks.
- PackPoint
iOS, Android | $2.99
Packing for a trip is always a daunting task, regardless of whether you’re going on vacation or a short business trip. Though I’ve been traveling for many years I still worry about forgetting or overlooking something important. PackPoint is an app that helps you build a packing list based on where you’re going, the purpose of your trip, the length of your trip, and the activities you’ll be doing while you’re away. The app will take into account travel basics, tech items, necessities for international travel, and weather-appropriate attire. You can add your own items and change quantities of items to personalize your lists.
Do you have any favourite apps for summer? Tell us about them in the comments section.