by Carolyn Gudenau

Created on: April 13, 2010

Technology just never stops making life easier. Who would have imagined, less than a few years ago, that millions of people would be packing an iTouch everywhere they go. It serves as a combination portable media player and personal digital assistant with lots of extras. It is capable of almost all of the functions of the iPhone, except the phone. The standard free Wi-Fi allows users unlimited access to their email and/or social networking apps as long as they are in a free Wi-Fi area or have the password to join a secured network. It is no longer necessary or desirable to wait until you get home to log on to your PC to get in touch.

After you finish socializing, the next stop should be the App store.  Provided you have a credit card or gift card entered, it is simple to choose an app, preview it, buy it and then begin using it right away. Even if you are downloading free apps, you need to give your iTunes password. Apple will email you a receipt for every app you download.

If you have a need to be organized, you should check out Notes+. If you do a search for apps called Notes, you won’t find this treasure right away but if you type SEPV, you will find Notes+, a favorite for those who love multi-tasking.  No more searching for tiny scraps of paper with scribbled notes, reminding you of your task lists, grocery lists, work assignments, goals, etc. You can capture them all on this productive app. It is a great improvement over the Notes app that comes with iTouch, right out of the box. Notes+ enables you to create multiple notes within multiple categories.  There is an option to create and name additional categories also. An extra bonus is the ability to lock individual notes and protect them with a password.

When you find yourself with a few minutes to spare and just want to relax, Backgrounds is a great app for viewing and saving photos of nature, abstract art and many other categories. You will be building an album, one photo at a time. Then, the next time you want to treat yourself to a slideshow of your favorite backgrounds, just go to the Photos app, choose saved photos and then hit the arrow button at the bottom to start the show. The program sends them there each time you choose to save one. This app is regularly adding new photos, so you can keep going back to add to your collection.

Some apps are attractive at first and then you realize after a few months of not using them, that they are not useful to you. Others, like Sleepmaker – RAIN, are keepers. This app offers a practical method for drowning out unwanted noises, at the office or at home, in order to concentrate on an important task. It can also be used to drown out unwanted worries for someone having trouble falling asleep. The automatic timer is set to turn off in 45 minutes. You can choose your preference too; gentle, medium or heavy rain.

If you are looking for inspiration, the Notable Quotes app has quotes grouped by subjects like art, comedy, imagination, friendship, politics and others. If you have an author in mind, you can look them up and view their quotes alone. That’s not all. This app allows you to flag your favorites and stores them in a separate favorites folder. After all that inspiration, you can add, edit and delete your own quotes, which can be stored in My Quotes folder.

You may find your best apps on your own, using the search feature, the top 25 or the top free. Experimenting with free apps is ok because they are just as easy to delete. Before you spend your hard-earned dollars on an app, though, consider a recommendation from a friend who has enjoyed success with it and recommends it enthusiastically. You can also check Helium to see what the writers have to say!

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