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Even if you haven’t personally tried it, by now you surely know you can find a date, hire a ride, order groceries for delivery, and scan and deposit checks all from your smartphone. With more than 2 million mobile apps currently offered for Android and Apple devices and as many as 1,000+ new apps hitting Apple’s App Store alone daily, it’s sure to be an interesting ride as the latest technology begets even more advanced apps. But with so many apps already out there, sometimes some pretty neat ones never make it to the mainstream. Here are seven things to put on your radar so you can get even more use out of your phone.
Help you figure out what to wear
If I had a dollar for every time I tore my closet and dresser apart trying to decide what to wear, I would probably have enough money to buy a whole new wardrobe to solve the problem, or make it worse. Either way, there’s something to be said for an app that can help you find something to wear from clothing and accessories that you already own. My Dressing – Fashion Closet (My Dressing website / Google Play) allows you to create chic Polyvore-style outfit collections from your existing wardrobe. Simply snap photos of your clothes from within the app to clip them out and organize them into a visual catalogue of outfit choices.
Order food through Google Maps
Eater reports that a recent update to Google Maps on iOS now allows you to easily “Place an Order” for food in major cities when the option appears within the app. Users wishing to order food are redirected to their preferred food delivery app like Seamless or GrubHub to complete the ordering process.
Find a parking space
If you’ve ever gone to a sporting event, you probably know that parking can sometimes be problematic. With a quick search in the Google Play Store or on The App Store, you will find no shortage of mobile apps designed to help you find a parking space or parking garage in a pinch. As with anything technology related, your mileage may vary.
Escape a bad date with a fake call
With all the online dating apps available for Android and iOS, it makes sense that a few apps would turn up to help you get out of a dull date. Make a quick getaway with a variety of apps for Android and iOS designed to let you schedule a fake call. For even more fun, some apps offer unique prank calling options featuring celebrities, politicians, and other notable personalities.
Find a lost item
How many times have you wished the “Find My iPhone” service would work for your car keys, your child’s favorite toy, or your remote control? The Tile app does this and more! Simply attach Tiles to your most prized and likely-to-lose possessions for the convenience of finding them quickly and easily both on a map and with a ringing sound when you get close. Even if the item falls outside of the Bluetooth tracking device’s 100-foot range, the map will show your item where it was last located so you can check that place first. And it goes both ways—if you lose your phone at any point, you can double-press on any of the Tiles to locate your phone as well.
Find treasure
During your next walk along the beach, be sure you’ve downloaded one of the innovative Metal Detector apps (Android / iOS) first. Your stroll will be even more exciting when you have the chance to find real metal along the way. Users report having found survey markers four inches down in the soil as well as a lost tool, screws, and other metal hardware. These apps can be just as useful as they are entertaining.
3D print from your smartphone
Okay, so you need more than just your smartphone for this app, and it may not be fully available just yet, but The Robo App (Kickstarter / Robo Website) promises you can make whatever you can imagine with the app and the compact Robo C2 or high-performance Robo R2 smart 3D printers with Wi-Fi. Both 3D printers are available for pre-order with shipping anticipated in late November for the Robo C2 and in January for the Robo R2.
These are just a few of the exciting things apps empower smartphones to do today. It will be exciting to see what rapid advances in technology will deliver as far as new apps and capabilities in the coming months and years. With a little inspiration and a creative development team to build out the app, the possibilities are virtually endless.
This article originally appeared on Sparknet Technologies.
