Preview Tracks in Naturespace

Naturespace, an app I've written about a couple of times already and one of my favorites, has undergone a major update. If you've never heard of Naturespace before, it's an app that plays ambient nature sounds that are of a quality that is unrivaled in any other similar app out there.  It's a free download so if you don't have it, download it and try the five free tracks that come with it. Try them with headphones to appreciate the quality.  The huge catalog of tracks beyond the free ones range from $0.99 to $2.99, most being $1.99.

Back to the update: In addition to fifteen additional tracks, which would make for a really nice update, Naturespace now offers non-looping shortened previews of tracks. The previews are available if you make an in-app purchase of a "Visitors Pass". The Visitor's Pass is free if you have purchased five or more tracks. Otherwise it is $1.99. If you have the Visitor's Pass, you simply click the Visit button for a track for which you want to download a preview.

'Tis the Bowl Season

It's December and you know what that means...the beginning of Bowl Game Season.  OK, that pales in comparison to Christmas, but it still makes for a lot of football enjoyment.  With games starting on December 17, how can you prepare and what can augment your bowl-watching experience?  ESPN produced an app for your iPhone for that, and it's free.

ESPN Bowl Bound for the iPhone is a wealth of information and news for the upcoming bowl season.  Prior to the games, you can use it to check up on news, schedules, season highlight videos, rankings, game previews, and Twitter commentary from select sports commentators and colleges.

During the games, follow the game stats and check the rosters.  You can also follow, or contribute to, the discussion.  For quick access, you can set your favorite team.

For the price, ESPN Bowl Bound is a great way to keep bowl info at your fingertips, whether watching the games or just checking the bowl schedules.

For My Android Friends...

No, this is not a post for friends that are androids.  It is a post for my friends that own Android phones. Although I much prefer the iPhone for it's usability, software design, and huge app store, I realize that the choice of smart phones is largely a personal preference. So, in the spirit of unity around Christmas time, I offer this list of my past posts which I think are also useful to Android phone users.  Most of these posts mention apps that are available both on iOS and on the Android operating system. To find out about one of those app, simply search for it followed by the word "Android" (e.g., "grocery iq android").

Apps as Gifts or Stocking Stuffers

Did you know you could buy iPhone and iPad apps from iTunes and give them as Christmas presents? By default, iTunes (on your Mac or PC) will email a redemption email with a gift.  While this is great for someone far away, that you won't see at Christmas, there is a better option that is a little more personal. You can print the gift and iTunes will create a decent-looking page with who the gift is to and from, what the app is, and instructions on redeeming it.

Since only the "Redeem Code" on the printed sheet matters, you can simply write that on your own, more personal card if you want and put it in a box or in a stocking.  For a stocking-stuffer you'll want to use a small card.  If you are the creative type with graphical talents, you can create a business-sized card with the apps icon, a special message, and the redeem code.

App Sales Around the Holidays

In one of my early posts this year, I mentioned that you can often find iPhone and iPad apps on sale (sometimes for free) and I gave you some advice on to find them.  Although there are always apps on sale, they tend to increase in frequency around any given holiday.  Also, around the holidays, the big names like Electronic Arts and Gameloft tend to put a lot of games on sale, many for only for $0.99.  Check out AppShopper to find out what's on sale this Thanksgiving week.  While you are at it, download the AppShopper app to get notifications when apps you want go on sale.

Tip: Never buy an Electronic Arts or Gameloft app for full price if you can wait. Mark it as "Want It" in your AppShopper app and you'll get an email when it comes down in price.

Up to Date Fantasy Football Information on Your iPhone

If you play fantasy football with me, please stop and don't read the rest, because I'm giving away one of my secrets.  When you realize, like I did today, that Thursday night football for the season is already starting on the NFL Network, you know it's a narrower window during the week that you have to set your lineup.  This means that it's critical to be able to do that anywhere. That's one of the reasons I wrote Fantasy Football: What You Can Do on Your iPhone and Why.

However, to set your lineup on the go you need to be able to do some research on the go.  You need to know the latest about players and teams (especially roster changes and injuries) to decide who to start, who to sit, and who to pick up out of free agency.  So what's the best ways to get the information you need on the go, on your iPhone?

Don't Have Siri but Want to Talk to Your Older iPhone?

Most of us don't have an iPhone 4S but may look semi-covetously on those who are able to talk to Siri and get a response to almost any question.  We know we can talk to our phones with the iPhone voice control feature, telling it to call a phone number or play a playlist.  But those people with the new iPhones can search the web, find a restaurant, and even send an email. You can't do those things with the voice control feature.

This is where Vlingo comes in.  Vlingo is the Siri for the rest of us.  Although it's not built into iOS, like Siri, once you launch the app, it is super-easy to use.  You just press a button and speak, starting your sentence with certain keywords.  For example, you could say, "email Tim, subject testing vlingo" and it would create an email to Tim, whoever that is, with the subject "testing vlingo".  It will update Facebook and if you say something like "update Facebook I'm writing a blog post right now."  You can even send text messages (SMS) and update Twitter.