Email. What thought just went through your head? Did a sick feeling enter into the pit of your stomach because the unread count has become too overbearing? While the usefulness and proper technique to handle email are debatable, the fact is that email is still a necessary evil. It is definitely worth investigating to find the best way email works for you. If you have been struggling to keep tabs on your inbox then using email similar to a task system might be beneficial.
Attempting to help fix email is no easy task, but Mail Pilot wants to change how you think of email. Instead of seeing an inbox and folders, Mail Pilot sees email as either incomplete or complete. By utilizing review times and lists, Mail Pilot wants to remove the stress from email and help you process your email quicker. If dominating email sounds attractive, then keep reading on to see if Mail Pilot is the answer to a new email workflow. (more…)
Individual task management can be hard enough to tackle, but trying to get tasks done within teams can be a nightmare. With the recent interest in getting tasks done, a lot of collaborative task management software and web services have come to market. One of the more popular options is Basecamp. The AppStorm team of writers started using Basecamp several months ago, and it has been a nice way to bring everyone into one area for collaboration and team discussion. It works great when a person needs some ideas to include in an article or if an editor needs to communicate with everyone. The other alternative is through email, which can be a disaster to organize. Thankfully, Basecamp makes it easy to keep everything in one place.
Since Basecamp is based on the web, the main access is through their website. While it is accessible on your iPhone, it is not ideal. Recently, the team at Basecamp released an iOS app to access all of your projects and discussions. Customers have been requesting an app for a long time, but can the app live up to the same features as using the website? Let’s dive in and see. (more…)
New year’s resolutions about improving your health are very popular, but most fall flat. People will start off strong by attending the gym and eating right, but unfortunately, it is easy to fall back into the same bad habits after just a few weeks. I did not want to become a statistic of giving up on being more healthy this new year, so I stared to look into how to track healthy habits.
Activity trackers have become more popular within recent months and definitely peaked my interest. Previously, the Jawbone Up band was released and failed. In fact, Jawbone allowed users to receive a full refund for the band, which is something unheard of in the technology market. Recently, Jawbone released a new version of their Up band with some app updates. They claim to have fixed the numerous problems and bricking that users were experiencing. Can the new Jawbone Up band stand up to the competition? Let’s dive in and find out. (more…)
It seems that everywhere you look someone has a suggestion on how to handle email. Unfortunately, a lot of people talk about email but few decide to actually change how email works. Mailbox is a new app which aims for users to rethink email and how it fits into your life. If you have researched ways to handle your email better you might have heard of Inbox Zero. It’s the ultimate clean slate when you reach zero emails in your inbox. Having no emails that beg for your attention helps free your mind to think clear and maybe even relax.
The release of the Mailbox app has been hyped on the tech news scene a lot since February. You even might be on the waiting list for the app. Are you currently struggling with email? Then keep reading to see if Mailbox really does put email in its place. (more…)
The way television is delivered to customers is slowly becoming archaic. Previously, in my old apartment, I was forced to use a small cable company to deliver my television entertainment. The company provided high definition but that was about all of the extra features it offered. They did not provide any extra features like viewing content on my iPhone or scheduling digital video recordings(DVR) through a website. Recently I moved into a house and I decided to try satellite. After comparing services I decided on Dish Network and their Hopper DVR
While Dish Network may not be perfect, I have been happy with their service and the Dish Anywhere app. It allows Dish Network subscribers to view featured content, browse the guide to see what is on, schedule and maintain DVR events, and also view live TV and DVR events with the optional Sling Adapter. Keep reading past the break to see if the Dish Anywhere app has been a welcome addition to my change in TV providers. (more…)
How are those New Year’s resolutions going? If you’re close to throwing in the towel, it might be worth taking a look at why the resolution is close to failing. Is it reasonable? Is it actually what you wanted or is it an inspiration from others? Is it trackable? While the first two questions need to be answered and reflected upon by you, I might have a solution to the trackable item.
A lot of self-help articles concur that tracking progress can be a better way to reach a successful habit. Checking an item off a list can provide enough support to keep going on the hard days. Also, seeing a non-completed item for enough days in a row might provide enough motivation to get back into the habit. Most articles might suggest keeping an Excel worksheet in order to track everything. While I see the benefit of using Excel, there is something better that is always available, which is my iPhone and Habit List. (more…)
Podcasts are an incredibly beneficial way to either gain entertainment or information. News, cooking, sports and technology are amongst some of the common areas which are popular for podcasters, but there is most likely a category to suit most users.
Instacast came on the market to help alleviate the troubles most users were experiencing when having to manually sync their podcasts using iTunes. After podcast clients started to gain in popularity, Apple split podcast out of the music app on iOS and created their own podcast app. Although many users are still not happy with the experience due to a lack of syncing between the iOS apps. Instacast version 3.0 was released recently which includes an update to the syncing mechanism and also an upgraded design. The app is universal now and changed away from the in-app purchase model which was in version 2.0. Let’s find out more after the jump. (more…)
Music streaming services have grown in popularity, with Rdio being one of the most popular options in the United States until Spotify jumped across the pond in July 2011. Since that date, Rdio and Spotify have been two of the biggest contenders for monthly subscriptions.
The reason I keep coming back to Rdio is that it seems to be a better fit for how I want to manage my music. I want a true iTunes-in-the-cloud solution and Rdio provides that. Even though Spotify is planning to add a collection feature and to help in music discovery, I am really liking Rdio’s innovations. With version 2.0, though, it is not just about a new coat of paint; Rdio 2.0 features new and innovative features, which positions itself in a good spot for competition of monthly subscription revenue. (more…)
Evernote is one of the most popular digital notebooks services, and it has been very popular with iOS users for some time now. There have been many complaints (mostly plain text fanatics) about Evernote’s export ability if you choose to leave the service, but I feel that Evernote is better fit as a digital archive rather than an ongoing list of notes. What has brought people to using Evernote in the past is how easy it is to save info from the web for reference and items to remember later. Have a great meal? Save the image into Evernote along with the recipe for when you would like to cook it.
While features are not touted as the main new items in the new Evernote, the redesign is. The old Evernote seemed to suffer from an identity crisis. On iOS, the app was not uniform and looked completely different when using the iPad and iPhone. With the new redesign, the app and service has become more uniform and looks consistent, with extra features on the iPad due to screen real estate. Let’s take a closer look after the jump. (more…)
Sirius XM is a radio subscription service which provides most of their content commercial free. You most likely have seen a Sirius XM enabled radio in a car and might even already be a subscriber, but did you know Sirius XM is also available on iOS?
The Sirius XM app for iOS enables subscribers to keep jamming or listen to their favorite talk show while not in the car. Using the service through the app does include some extra features. These extra features include being able to listen to shows on demand, pausing events, songs, or shows, and starting at the beginning of a song when tuning to a station with TuneStart.
Read on to see if including Sirius XM Internet streaming is right for you. (more…)
