Lost your Android device and forgot to load a locator? No problem with Plan B. App review

I discovered this app a few months ago, and for some reason, I thought I already wrote a review of it. Maybe it's time for me to download and review some of those memory enhancement apps.

Anyway, here's the scenario: You misplaced your phone. And not like left it in a room in your house so you can just borrow a phone and use the Where's My Droid app, but really misplaced it. Maybe at the mall, maybe at a friends house, maybe outside somewhere. Crap! I knew I should have searched for and loaded a device locator app. Now what am I going to do?

Luckily, there is Plan B.

When I first read about Plan B it didn't seem possible that you could use an app that you hadn't loaded to locate a lost phone and have the coordinates of your phones location emailed to your Gmail account. But, after my daughter lost her Droid just last week and I was about to tell her that she might have to (heaven forbid) reactivate her Blackberry until she can afford to replace it, I remembered the Plan B app.

I had her log into her Google/Gmail account (necessary) and then search for the Android Market online. Then she searched for Plan B and instructed the Market to load it to her lost phone. Once this was completed, it took about five minutes and she received an email which showed her exactly where her phone was located. Plus, if it's on the move, you'll receive additional emails showing you where your phone is travelling to.

This is without question one of the coolest most useful apps out there. Even though you hope that you never have to use it, it's good to know it's there.

Maybe Big Brother ain't such a bad guy.

Hey Google and Facebook: If it ain't broke....

Why do Facebook and Google feel compelled to change the user interfaces on their services? Improvements are one thing, but just making it more convoluted and cumbersome doesn't do anything to increase the loyalty of those who got them where they are today. I believe they are just trying to justify their huge staffs by having them create new and "improved" methods of doing what is already being done without any overwhelming negative issues.

The annoying Facebook changes wouldn't be so bad if they didn't do it so often. This latest (not so much of an) improvement caused me to finally look into the Google+ alternative. I actually like it for its simplicity, but when I broadcast my profound thoughts it's only reaching a handful of people. Obviously, they have a lot of catching up to do.

And Google. WTF? I downloaded the Internet Explorer 9 and watched my whole online life go to hell. I couldn't copy and paste the body of an email because it wouldn't retain the formatting (even though it looked okay on my end, the recipient got a very unprofessional-looking email with no spacing between paragraphs and other issues). When I attempted to log into third-party cloud sites the UI from the site just didn't work at all.

And don't get me started about Google's Adsense product. I used to be able to log into Adsense (either on my Android phone or desktop) and quickly see how many visitors I had to each channel and how many ad clicks for each of those channels. Now, I have to jump through lots of hoops to find that same info. And there are some reports that I still can't find and I think I've clicked every annoying combination available to me.

I know that the present is so cool because the brilliant people involved with these companies had a vision for the future in the past, but can't they continue to search for the next great thing without shoving it in our faces and making us try to adapt to their new unproven vision?

I swear to god, if Google and Facebook make any more changes I'm going to...ummmm....learn to live with it.

Google+ Android app review - can Google compete with Facebook?

The constant changing of Facebook is pissing me off. And a lot of others as well, from what I gather.

It seems that more frequently that anyone would want, you have to almost relearn how Facebook works, only to discover that it no longer does what you always used it to do, or you have to spend a lot of time finding out how to do it.

I was so fed up, I finally sucuumbed to giving Google+ a try. I can't abandon FB (http://facebook.com/garythison), but if Google+ is better, or at least good, I'm happy to promote it, even if it means that I have find more time to update even more social media crap. Or not.

Google+ is Google's answer to Facebook. And, at first glance it's pretty cool social networking program. Once you sign up (either a new account or log in with an existing Google account) you are through just a couple of options. There really isn't a lot to do if you already have a Google/Gmail account.

First stop: Circles

After signing up with Google+, you see a screen that shows all of your contacts who have already joined. Now you have an opportunity to add them to Circles. Circles are groups of friends, acquaintances, family, business associates, etc. You click on the contact and add them to whichever circle they fit in (or more than one). Then, when you want to send a message you can target it only to the group you want. Very cool. I'm sure this feature will be included in an upcoming, annoying upgrade to Facebook. The problem is, who wants to go backward through all of your FB friends and add them to a specific "circle." If Google+ takes off, you can just add them as you go.

Once set up, your account automatically creates photo albums with any other Google accounts you may have set up under that Google account. So, in my case, it created individual photo albums of images attached to a couple of my blogs. You can also add photos either online or on the fly with your Android device.

I'm not sure, but I think Google may manipulate the Google+ ratings data in the Android Market. The overall rating gave it over four stars, but when I was reading the comments it seems that most of them are negative.

I downloaded it and it works fine on my HTC Thunderbolt 4G.

I need to explore more, but it seems like a pretty simple app allowing you to see your profile, photos, news feed, etc. Not all that unlike FB. One of the features I tried, and I think I like, is setting the Google+ app on your Android device to automatically upload every photo you take on your phone to your Google+ account. Don't worry, everyone can't see every pic you take. They are initially stored in a private folder until you decide to release and share them. I like that because you always have a backup of your photos without doing anything.

All in all, it looks like a nice alternative to Facebook. But, at this time I think only one person is seeing my messages. Can Google compete in this arena? Stay tuned.

Spotify app comes to U.S for iPhone and Android - but you can keep it

I saw an ad or comment somewhere that Spotify is finally available for Smartphones in the United States. Wow! Not only did I not know that it was even coming to the U.S., but I didn't even know what the hell it was.

Turns out that Spotify is being touted by many as the iTunes alternative that lets you listen to any streaming song or album at any time without having to buy the song like you do on iTunes. Bullshit.

First, you have to visit their web site and get invited to download the app, then once you go through their process you will discover that you are only allowed to listen to music on your desktop or laptop and that streaming music is not available unless you pay for the premium version.

If you want the premium version of Spotify, it's $9.99 per month. Oh sure, they're offering a free 7-day trial of premium, but after you sucked me in by leading me to believe that your streaming service (or at least some variation of it like Pandora or Slacker) was free, I'm not going to give you the opportunity to show me your stuff.

I'm heading to the gym now, and I know that Slacker, although not letting me listen to specific songs or albums, will provide me with a great selection of exactly the music I'm in the mood for. Oh yeah, and Spotify people, it's FREE!

Vlingo app review - Virtual Assistant for Android, iPhone and Blackberry - coolest productivity app ever? Potentially.

UPDATE - October 4, 2011

Since my original posting, I've found that I've used Vlingo much more than originally anticipated. It is very convenient (and pretty accurate) when you command it to text or call someone or locate a business. All with fewer steps than without Vlingo.

Vlingo is a free, ad supported Virtual Assistant app for Android, iPhone, Blackberry and other devices which gives you one screen at which you can access virtually every other app and action on your phone through voice commands. Now, rather than opening your phone directory, finding the contact you want to message, clicking on the message icon, speaking or keying in your message and then hitting send, you simply open Vlingo and say: "Text Jim Jones I'm on my way. See you in a few." And BAM! The screen opens showing Jim and the message, you just hit send. And this simplicity is the same for a lot of voice command options. Very cool if it works as claimed. [END UPDATE]

You can speak commands such as, "Open Stupid Zombies," and it will find and open the app for you.

You can just speak, "Call Geechy Guy" and if you happen to have Geechy Guy's number in your phone, it should call him.

When I first used it, I was pretty impressed. I tried it a couple of times for making calls and texting and it worked flawlessly. Since then, I've experienced some issues making it so that if I'm really in a hurry I do it the slow way because there's a good chance that the Vlingo app is going to not understand what I said and/or Force Close on my HTC Thunderbolt 4G.

The odd thing is, most of the time when I get a message that says: "I think I missed the first part of that, try waiting a bit before speaking" it does eventually get me where I want to go.  After getting that "sorry" message and clicking OK the screen often locks up and after a long time (nearly a minute) it either takes you to the command that it claimed not to hear, Force Closes or takes you back to the main Vlingo menu. They have to work on that.

When you tell Vlingo "movie tickets The Help" it directs you to Fandango (obviously a partner) and finds you local times for that movie. You can update your social network status on the fly by saying, "Facebook update I'm in Honolulu" (if you're in Honolulu, otherwise you will get a reputation for being a liar). You can search the web using Vlingo, but I think most of us have the browser-clicking-and-speaking-our-command thing under control using whatever Smartphone browser you prefer. You easily(?) can find hotels, call a taxi or find a hooker (just checking to see if you're paying attention).

Anyway, you get the point. The intent is noble in trying to create a Virtual Assistant which make it simpler to navigate and use your Smartphone and it works okay. Take a look at the video Vlingo has at their web site. I will assure you that it does not work that well, but it's amazing for those cartoon people.

I recommend that you download it and give it a try. I'm sure they are working to get rid of some of the issues with the app and future updates will make Vlingo a very useful tool.

Shopkick Android and iPhone App Review - get rewards and great deals for shopping and browsing

The Wall Street Journal calls Shopkick "the number one shopping app." Hey, I shop. And I like things that are number one. And best of all, it's free. So I downloaded it.

Shopkick is an app that automatically gives you rewards called "kicks" when you visit certain stores and/or check out specific items. Then once you've acculated enough "kicks" you can trade them in to purchase a pretty large variethy of products and services including Facebook credits (which I frankly have no idea what those are), iTune gift cards, a Bluetooth headset, even a cruise (good luck accumulating enough for that one). Add to that the fact that they notify you with some pretty amazing deals at the stores you love, makes it so that shopping is a more fun experience. I even agreed to go to the mall with my wife (not something I usually do voluntarily) just for "kicks."

It's unlike other "check-in" apps in that it actually gives you something for your activity. Sometimes you even get "kicks" for just entering the store. If the marketing people at retail outlets don't see the benefit of this technology then maybe the companies should start their search for new marketing people.

Some of the stores included on the Shopkick list are Best Buy, Macy's and Target and they say that their list is growing monthly. I'm sure that's true because at last count the number of users on iPhone and Android devices had surpassed 1.5 million.

So, how does it work? First, go to you app store on either your iPhone or Android device and search for Shopkick. Download it, register and you're set to go.

I decided to give it a try at Best Buy (the video demonstration is below). I opened the app and clicked on the Nearby tab, which showed me all of the participating (and I think some unparticipating) stores and my distance from them. I entered Best Buy and my phone gave me a "Woohoo" informing me that 55 points were added to my account. I then clicked on the Scan tab and was shown a number of products within Best Buy that I could find and scan to earn even more "kicks."

I wasn't able to locate the exact printers they had on their scan list, but I was able to scan ink cartridges, cameras and GPS systems and accumulated 125 points before leaving the store.

As I explored the participating stores in the app, some of them gave me "kicks" just for clicking on them.

If you click on the Faves tab you will find a number of nearby offers at participating stores like JC Penny, Target and others. One of the links was to Treats & Eats and offered deals on food at Panda Express, TGI Fridays, Olive Garden and other restaurants. Since I eat almost every day, I like this area.

From time to time you will also receive Shopkick messages with coupons and other deals at particpating stores. So, how do you use one of these deal offers? Here's what the Shopkick web site tells you:

"I just got a Best Buy offer! Now how do I redeem it?

Tell the cashier at Best Buy that you are a shopkick user and give them your cell phone number, and have the cashier type in your cell phone number into the RZ/SK number entry field on their cash register. Any applicable shopkick discount will automatically and magically appear on your receipt. :) "

Sounds good, but I can see that it might be an issue if the cashier isn't familiar with the procedures. We'll see.

All in all it seems like an excellent marketing tool for stores and a great way to save some money and explore new products for consumers.

The Rewards tab, which gives you a list of the products and services you can get for your "kicks" includes low end items like a Best Buy $2.00 gift card for 500 kicks, up to a Princess Cruise for 6, 250,000 kicks.

I want the cruise. So, let's just do a quick calculation. If I can get 100 "kicks" every time I visit Best Buy I will only have to visit the store 62,500 times to get enough "kicks" for the trip. If I go there every day, I'll be ready to pack my bags in a mere 171 years.

Okay, maybe I should just get some iTunes.

XfinityTV Android App Review - No longer worry about losing your remote

When I heard that Xfinity (Comcast) would soon be releasing an app giving you the ability to watch anything included with your Comcast/Xfinity cable TV account on your Smartphone, I kept checking the Android Market to see if it happened without my being aware. I was happy to see that there is an app for XfinityTV, but was disappointed that it was basically just a remote control with the option of setting your DVR (which I can already do with the Xfinity Mobile app). So, the only time that I think I'll ever need to use the app is on those occasions when I misplace my regular cable remote and I get tired of looking for it.

I did load the app, followed the instructions to name my three HD boxes for easier identification (living room, bedroom, daughter's room) and was happy to discover that the app works exactly as stated. You can scan the listings of channels on your account, scan OnDemand movies and shows, and order them to watch on any of your cable boxes. 

But, you'd think that since HBO offers subscribers the ability to watch movies and series on your phone with HBOGo (which works remarkably well on my HTC Thunderbolt 4G, that it would be a simple process to offer the same features on the entire cable account. But then again, what the hell do I know?