It’s a rainy Friday where I’m at, so I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about some apps I’m digging again. These are iPhone apps but as always, feel free to let us know what apps you like in the comments for any platform.
This week’s app selection covers a wide variety of topics. I love how mobile apps are tackling much of my favorite things in life and this week’s batch includes coffee and sports. There’s also some science mixed in, photo sharing and even a fun game starring a flying whale. Yep, that’s another sentence I never thought I’d write.
Stampt
I go to my local coffee shop probably two or three times a week and I just noticed that it supports the Stampt app to provide a loyalty card that will give you a free coffee once you’ve purchased nine other drinks over time. Coffee and mobile apps? I’m in.
The app itself is pretty straightforward, as you buy your coffee (or whatever the store is offering), pay for it and then you use the app to scan a QR code from the retailer. There are ways to keep track of what you’ve earned, you can share it with social networks like Facebook or Twitter, and there’s a geo-location feature which lets you find Stampt-enabled venues around you.
What impresses me the most about Stampt is that it’s even at my local coffee shop. I know the owners pretty well and they’ve never struck me as the tech-forward types. The support of Stampt just shows how mainstream mobile technology has come and retailers are going to have to hop on or be left behind.
Stampt iTunes link (free).
Chumkee
Everywhere you turn, there’s a new, hot photo-sharing app. I guess since Instagram hit it big, every developer and their mother wants to create a way to share photos. The Chumkee app also lets you share photos and videos but what really attracts me to it is its gorgeous UI.
Many of the new iPhone apps are starting to look generic to me: there’s a bar at the bottom with a specialized function in the middle while the top bar is the app’s branding. In between, you’ll see a large picture scrolls smoothly. Apps like Foursquare, Oink and Instagram seem to follow the same basic template. That’s not bad but I think there’s still room for innovation.
Chumkee lets you share a photo or short videos with others and connect over that but the way it’s laid out looks like a bunch of physical photographs on your screen. You can fling photos off your screen to load new ones and sharing videos and pictures is a breeze. I found some crashing issues on 5.0.1 though, so beware if you want to check it out.
Chumkee iTunes link (free).
iCell
Science is still pretty cool but I’d be lying if I said I remembered most of the biology and chemistry I learned in school. Once I downloaded the Hudson Alpha iCell app, all of that delicious knowledge came flooding back to me.
The iCell app provides 3D models of cells from plants, animals and bacteria. These 3D models are well detailed, can be zoomed in on and will provide you information about each part when you click on it. The app runs smoothly on the iPhone 4S and even the iPhone 4.
While it’s fun for me to go through memory lane for this app, I truly believe that this could be an amazing study tool for students. Being able to see it in 3D really does help your brain process the whats, hows and whys in a way that is so much better than those lame 2D pictures I had to remember. Best of all, the app is free, so feel free to check it out.
HudsonAlpha iCell iTunes link (iTunes link).
PlayUp
Sports … Am I right? If you like sports at all, then you definitely have something to say about the latest game and that’s where PlayUp is trying to come in to be a social network for sports. Basically, it wants to connect sports friends with their friends or even strangers to talk about the action that’s going on right now.
The PlayUp app is mainly built around live sports, as once you fire it up you’ll see which matches are coming up or are live. The company has a global focus, so soccer, rugby and cricket are represented to go along with traditional American sports like football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Once you’re in, you can create private chat rooms for just your friends to talk about the action or general topics, or you can join public rooms.
I think there’s a lot of room for innovation around sports with mobile apps and dig the way PlayUp is trying to foster the conversation around the action without distracting from it. The app could still use some features like being able to add photos to updates but the company has assured me that’s coming in a future update. I’m still hurting that there’s no NBA right now but once the lockout is over, you’ll be able to find me on the PlayUp app talking about why the Lakers should win another ring.
PlayUP iTunes link (free).
Whale Trail
Whale Trail is a game where you pilot a flying whale who has to escape dark cloud monsters by collecting stars to get to the rainbow. Does it sound wacky and trippy? Well, it is but it’s also a lot of fun.
Whale Trail is a side-scroller where you’re constantly trying to avoid obstacles while obtaining objects to keep you going. The game mechanics aren’t insanely different than something like Jetpack Joyride at its core but the unique visual styling makes it worth the dollar or so it costs.
The cutesy aesthetic is well done and I like the gameplay a lot. I really don’t expect this to be a game that I play months and months down the road but it’s a perfect way to kill some time and should provide hours of enjoyment.
Whale Trail iTunes link ($0.99)
Alright, that’s enough from me. Let us know what apps you’re digging lately in the comments for iOS, Android, Windows Phone or any other platform.