Smart app: Using a Smartphone to help find a place to pitch a tent

This is especially true for those who like to pack the car, hit the highway and let the luck dictate the location of their next camp. Applications like Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder (free on Apple) and Camp Finder ($ 2) are great for finding your next destination while you are in transit or on the trail.

Android users will be able to get Camp Finder by the end of next month, the company said. In the meantime, you will be well served by AllStays & tent Camp ($ 3 to $ 5 on Android and Apple) and Google Maps (free).

Even if it wasn't free, Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder would be well worth downloading. You can select a State or a type a city name or postal code and choose from a list of 20 activities such as camping, rving, hiking, horseback riding and caving.

After selecting the task, Oh, Ranger! located in public parks that meet your needs within 250 miles of the location.

Because Oh Ranger! focuses on public parks, however, that you will not lose any private camp in your area.

That's why it makes sense to cover with Camp Finder, which was the best paid apps Campsite I tried. Camp Finder is produced by the publishers of CampingRoadTrip.com, and comprises approximately 14,000 campgrounds and RV Parks in the United States.

You can type a path in the search box or leave the GPS Locator of Camp Finder find you. From there, Show a list of all sites available in the area, with icons showing amenities like Wi-Fi, connections RV and tent spots.

Unlike other applications, Camp Finder lists camping fares in the search results page, so can quickly weed out the $ 65 per night establishments are not in your budget. Ideally, the Finder would let you Camp sort results by price or service, but so far no such feature exists.

There are, however, many other ways to help sort, including campsites with amenities like grocery stores and propane, for example, or campgrounds operated by the military or private parties.

People who already have apps-by-turn navigation for Apple, like MotionX-GPS drive ($ 1, plus $ 20 for one year of service navigation) or AT&T Navigator (monthly subscription of $ 10), should verify their skills regarding camping before you spend money elsewhere.

Type "camps" in the search box of most navigation programs, and will receive a list of establishments. But in the case of MotionX-GPS Navigator and AT&T, at least, lists do not include descriptions of the camp. In the case of AT&T Navigator, the results included some irrelevant entries.

Users of Android should start their Camping related searches with Google Maps, that is without doubt the best free software in mobile. The point of Google Maps is its feature-by-turn navigation, but is also a good local search app.

If you type "Camping" in the search box, for example, Google gets close to campsites, sorted by distance. You can also sort them by price or user evaluations, although, in my tests, many of the camp had not been assessed by anyone.

There is no Google Maps app for Apple, but you can still access the service through your mobile browser. The process, however, is much more cumbersome to work with the app.

I would expect decent search results from Google, but I was pleasantly surprised that the lists included more in-depth information on campsites than some of the specific applications of the campsite. The information for a privately-run camp in Eastern Connecticut, for example, included 16 reviews Google users and contributors to other Web sites.

A most unfortunate surprise was that Google lost a handful of campsites nearby.

For those with discerning tastes in campgrounds and RV spots, & tent Camp is a good way to find more options. The application was developed by the Publisher of AllStays.com, a website for specialty lodging as camps, spas and motels.

Adam Longfellow, President of AllStays, said that the app more than 14,000 covered campsites in North America, 87 percent of whom are in the United States. Another app from AllStays, Camp and RV, lists the places more than 22,000

I found the listings quite complete, but still, he missed some that were present in the Finder, for example. Camping-specific information was even thinner than that has featured in many of the other applications I tried, and the descriptions have been plucked in a space so small that I needed to hold the phone near to read them.

Camp & tent deserves credit, however, to sort the results according to the operators of the campsite. Kampgrounds of America, the service known as KOA, gets its icon in the results.

Also, unlike many other specific applications of the tent camp, Camp & stores your last search results. So if you and your friends are stuck in the woods with no network connection and an itch to move to another spot, the phone can still save it.

And if your teammates campsites are old school, smartphone-hate variety, even better.

Speed dials

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app Smart: how to make your iPhone gently weep

If you're musically inclined, the answer is probably yes, because they are much shorter supply on most Apple devices Android apps for musicians. Just look at what is available for players of the country's most popular tool, the guitar.

On Android, you can click through some passable tuners and scaling guides. About Apple, you have apps that can breathe new life into the tool.

For around $ 50 and a connector inexpensive hardware, versions of applications like AmpliTube, AmpKit iShred Live give guitarists and a mobile recording studio with almost every traditional sound effect. And you can test more limited versions of these applications for much less money.

For hobbyists who do not possess an array of amps and effects pedals, but who wants to experiment with sound, the applications are great fun. For professionals, applications are basically when building and new ideas, while away from the recording studio.

Of the three, I found AmpKit +, the full version of app, the easiest, most versatile and best value, especially on an iPad. The app costs $ 20; the free version is limited.

As the limited version of other applications of guitar, iShred Live is free, with more guitar effects available ? la carte restaurant within the application. The full version of AmpliTube costs $ 20 and a limited version is free, but unlike the others, you must buy separate versions for the iPhone and iPad.

You can try iShred Live with just an iPhone headset. The microphone picks up sound of guitar and plays the song with a sound effect.

This is especially useful for acoustic guitarists who usually cannot connect their instrument. But for those with electric guitars acoustic or electric hybrid, the best results with these applications when you connect the guitar to the iPhone, using hardware such as Griffin Technology GuitarConnect ($ 30 at GriffinTechnology.com) and iRig of IK Multimedia ($ 40, IKmultimedia.com).

AmpliTube AmpKit + and offer a wide range of sound effects, including the rules as distortion, wah, and delay.

Each application has important features that are missing in the other, but in General, if you want to record multitrack music from within the app, called AmpliTube is the best, while AmpKit + offers an exciting experience.

AmpKit, the free version, includes two pedals, effects of one amp, two speaker cabinets and MICS. AmpKit + includes 13 amps, effects pedals, 13 18 cabinets and eight microphones.

The app is nicely intuitive in several ways, but flawed in great respect. I needed to change the settings of AmpKit + first effects worked as did other applications. Among other things, the sound effects were clipped short and occasionally feedback was a problem.

Resolve these problems has been a bit frustrating, especially for someone unfamiliar with the language of the audio engineering. But the results were worth it. The app makes it easy to experiment, because about 60 effect sound configurations are displayed in a scrollable list easily. If you change any settings, the original is saved in a different section. For the novices of the sound-effect, in particular, this is a welcome feature.

AmpKit + offers a generous mix of tracks, and you can upload your own music in the app. But the real genius of the application is its ability to allow you to register and manage your guitar work from within the application. You can create layers effects on the so-called dry guitar tracks, and if you don't like the result, you can start fresh with the same track.

AmpliTube has less standard stomp boxes and an intuitive interface. But it has some features that are missing in AmpKit +, and offers great sound effects with no Fussing.

Free version has three stomp boxes, of AmpliTube, an amplifier, a cash and two microphones. The paid version includes 11 stomp boxes, five amplifiers and five stores. IPad app of AmpliTube operates four pedals at the same time and switch between cabinets and microphones.

Tiny buttons of the iPhone version has made it more difficult to use, more difficult, also, that the iPhone versions of concurrent applications. I could set default finger-friendly buttons, but otherwise there was no way to view all my active effects pedals on a screen.

You can add songs about AmpliTube and playing with guitar tracks embedded or backup drum tracks, for a fee. And, as with other applications, you can record a session. But unlike the others, of AmpliTube includes an eight-track recorder for $ 15, which is much more useful for professional sound compositions.

IShred Live, meanwhile, includes three effects in free version of the application and another nine that can be purchased for $ 1 or $ 2. Unlike its competitors, this app is a bargain. The interface was good, although not nearly as versatile as AmpKit +. Still, I liked the big buttons on the app, which made it easier to manipulate quickly during a song.

IShred's music player lets you cut a loop from a song on your device so that you can play, but has no demo Play-Along tracks within the application.

Other applications are joining the scene, as well as PocketAmp Lite (free), amps and cabs ($ 1) and RiotFX ($ 1).

Singers and other musicians, keyboardists will find similar applications that fit them. And judging from the products announced at the National Association of music merchants this month, a great annual exhibition, more will be coming soon.

Not only many for Android phones.

Speed dialling

Free Google goggles app is one of the coolest around Android titles. Take a picture of something and Google searches related to words, images or barcode. After a recent update, eyewear offers fast barcode recognition. And the app now solves the puzzle of Sudoku. ... Also for users of Android — at least those who send texts imprudent — is a new app, cancel SMS ($ 1). Itoffers a countdown of 10 seconds before sending, so that you can stop the text. You can also override the delay.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: January 21, 2011

The column of App Smart Personal Tech pages on Thursday for guitarists, described by one of these app, AmpliTube, incorrectly. In its registration section includes a so-called re-amping, allowing guitarists test various sound effects of the application on a recorded track; It is not the case that the characteristic of re-amping is missing.

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Smart app: looking for cheaper petrol, without the drive

Internet sites having few promise to find a bargain, but are only for the type of people who think buying gas before leaving the House.

Mobile apps, however, are another matter. Pull into a parking lot, just open the software and you may be able to save a buck or two on your next fill. In the course of a year, you could save enough money for a decent meal out.

Of course, this category is filled with suitable applications, if unspectacular, GasBuddy, which is free on iPhone and Android devices. But if you widen your search, you can find other products that offer the basics, only better, and other useful features.

In this regard Poynt, where both free on Apple, BlackBerry and Android devices, are the major players; They offer information in the vicinity of food, businesses and places of entertainment and service stations.

Those who are willing to pay a bit more polished navigation for Turn-by-Turn Navigator apps like AT&T or Verizon VZ Navigator also obtain local gas prices as part of the deal. But at about $ 120 a year, no deal.

Those who are worried about gas prices and nothing else will probably GasBuddy most — if you are lucky enough to live close to like-minded people.

GasBuddy on iPhone finds your location and allows you to find gas stations based on proximity and price. Sorting-by-distance will be extremely useful if you run gas in an unfamiliar place, which includes a Google map so you can find your way.

But the sorting-by-price is the most promising of this app and unfortunately, this feature often falls short because it depends on the people, using your application or go online to report prices. If anyone happens to report prices for nearby stations in approximately 24 hours stations will not appear in the list. In other words, you must start the application and hope that the city has active collaborators at least a couple of GasBuddy to help.

My town in suburban Connecticut apparently does not.

Last week I drove at our busiest street, Route 1, which has seven stations along a stretch of about 1.6 Street and parked in a BP and Sunoco, a Mobil. None of the prices of petrol stations showed up on the research of GasBuddy, nor have prices from three other stations that were within a mile of me. For good measure, the GasBuddy misidentified as Getty station BP.

The nearest station with prices was four miles away, and its price, $ 3.24 a gallon, was 2 cents higher than the BP station that was parked near a gallon.

Still, if I were in a remote area, I could use GasBuddy to tell me if the price was in line with the local market.

In the major cities of mine, GasBuddy is more useful, because the prices in the cities and around are with good attendance. If you are curious to know how would rate their city, check GasBuddy.com, which is managed by the same company that developed the application.

The price is the major snag with deluxe offers AT&T Navigator, VZ Navigator from Verizon and Sprint navigation. The services typically cost $ 10 per month, but some of the plans of Sprint all-inclusive offer this feature as a free add-on and iPhone owners can pay $ 70 a year for AT&T Navigator.

I tried quite extensively these applications, and in my experience that provide guidance generally reliable. AT&T Navigator and Sprint navigation, which are from TeleNav, are easier to use and more comprehensive than the VZ Navigator.

In my drive through the city, these applications are not find stations that offer lower prices to GasBuddy, including a Citgo station featured $ 3.23 a gallon.

Navigation applications Turn-by-Turn would suggest for those who don't want to buy a GPS navigation unit or users who qualify for the free app to Sprint. But if saving is a priority, or if you already have a GPS unit for directions, these applications makes little sense.

The smarter approach to gas-price also casual watchers would perhaps where to download, a free iPhone and Android app. Track your position and find local stores, restaurants and entertainment attractions, among other things.

Gas prices, where was adequate. It is found immediately cheap Citgo station nearby that I had seen for navigation applications Turn-by-Turn, as well as the two stations. In all three instances, where prices were a penny higher than the actual prices, but this is a mistake that I could live with.

More worrying was its listing for a Gulf station, to $ 3.23 a gallon. In fact, the cash price was $ 3.26 and the price of credit was $ 3.29.

Poynt, a competitor to where it was not complete. The application uses the GPS location to provide nearby gas prices and, too, Lists information on local restaurants and movies. But the application wasn't as refined as where. Poynt's definition of "close", for example, sometimes including routes 45 minutes away.

On my trek price of gas, Poynt lost even the stations closest to me. But it turned up an independent operator selling four miles away gas to $ 3.13 a gallon.

Wait-$ 3.13 a gallon starts to sound like a real saving. Fortunately, I did some math before exiting. Fill a 15-gallon would have saved me $ 1.50 for purchasing at a station nearby, but the unit would have burned that much gas.

Mathematics also delayed me long enough to notice that I was almost running on empty, so I pulled in BP and filled.

The small independent station is going on my list, though. If I could plan ahead even slightly and fill up there, I could save about $ 75 a year.

If only it were that kind of person.

Speed dialling

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