Optional Blah Blah Intro

Well, it’s the 23rd of December this side of the world and we’re all pretty hyped-up to celebrate Christmas despite the gloomy events of late. As the ever-famous sister of the President said in a now infamous statement: “Life goes on..” and as the legendary APO Hiking Society sing in their heart-warming, tear-jerker of a song, “…tuloy na tuloy pa rin ang Pasko…”

So in keeping with the Christmas spirit, let me share with you my “12 Apps For Christmas: The Absolute List”

As you know, no matter what people say about what it means or what matters, holidays practically means sleepless nights, horrible traffic, mad mall rush and zombie-like existence.

And we all need every little help we can get to get by and survive this annual frenzy.

Aren’t you happy there always seems to be an app for anything and everything (well, not really)?

Ok, I know you’re insanely busy so let’s get on with the list, shall we?

NAVIGATION

1. Papago GPS Navigation ($34.99) — Oh, how did we ever got by without it? We got lost, we wasted gas and time and we endlessly argued about whose fault it was when we were faced with a dead-end sign!

It’s the best navigation app there is in the App Store that supports the mean streets of Manila and many other cities in the Philippines. It’s accuracy is so good it scares me. :)

But like usual GPS devices it comes to a point when it becomes as annoying as your navigator-wife (guilty here) but only if you’re too stubborn to obey (much like with your wife, huh?).

I’d say if you’re too smart to ignore its recommendations, you should not have gotten the app in the first place. Hehe. :)

2. Google Maps (FREE) – Sometimes, what we’re looking for is already in our hands, we just have to exert some effort to actually learn how to use it and consequently appreciate it.

It’s accurate. It tracks your position real-time, it’s preinstalled on your iPhone.

LBS (Location-Based Sharing)

3. Foursquare (FREE) – I can see you shaking your head and flashing that wide grin on your face. I know, I know. There’s a reason Facebook bought Gowalla and that’s just one of the reasons why you’re missing out on something good if you still aren’t on Foursquare. Why it’s the coolest LBS around! Not only is it cross platform, it also supports many dumbphones out there. Do I still have to say its free?

4. Forecast (FREE) – This app hasn’t been around that long to claim any kind of notoriety but the app’s overall design, usability and user-friendliness foretell a good future for this app (pun unintended). It tells your friends where you intend to go hours in advance so they can avoid you, errr meet up with you perhaps? :) It also alerts you minutes after if you failed to actually check-in at the expected time.

SOCIAL NETWORKING

5. Path (FREE) – When Path first came out, it sure looked like the antithesis of social networking. It was very private, locked community. Like throwing a secret party for yourself and inviting people who simply can’t (or wouldn’t) come. You don’t get the instant gratifications you’re used to on Facebook and every time you yelled “Hello!” there was nothing. Not even an echo — probably didn’t even sign up too.

But now, Path has been redesigned and even Facebook CEO “The Zuck” supports it. It was pretty when it came out but it’s even prettier now. The interface and overall feel of the app is so nice, I lose track of time every time I tap on the post wheel. Sometimes it’s enough to touch and watch it unfold over and over again. *sigh*

Anyway, if you haven’t yet, give it a try. I heard it’s been getting really good press and more people are signing up for it.

Mine’s private. Like a dirty diary of sorts. :)

6. DriveSafe.ly ($2.99) + $9.99 to unlock full features. – I’ve had this app for a very long time and I find it very reliable. They call it the “best distracted driving” app. It reads your Twitter feeds, Google Voice text messages, Facebook messages and Gmail. An in-app purchase also allows you to upgrade to unlock all the features of the app including voice response through speech recognition.

If you’re mostly on the road this holiday season (and I’m quite sure you’d be because of the terrible traffic conditions), this app will keep the road safer for yourself and other motorists and pedestrians as well. (But of course, we all know that it’s best to pull over if you need to take long calls and update your social networks. Nothing beats that in terms of safety.)

CHAT (TEXT, MULTIMEDIA, CALL)

7. Viber (FREE) – This is the VOIP-based app that really impressed me. The conditions are simple — you must be Facebook friends and you must have the app installed on your phones and the fun is endless I tell you.

Unlike Skype that keeps on dropping calls due to “poor network connection” especially on 3G, Viber just keeps on working tirelessly as long as you are connected to a network.

8. Kik Messenger (FREE) – Recently updated to support Symbian^3 or later, Kik is determined to take its spot in the most-used, best-loved app category. You simply sign up for the app, grab yourself a username and the app will ask you for access to your phone book. Kik matches it with those registered with them and you are immediately requested to confirm your friendship with these matches. You’ll then have Kik Buddies who are people you actually know because well, you have their number don’t you? :)

PRODUCTIVITY

9. Are you kidding me? It’s Christmas!
10. No one’s expected to be “productive” during Christmas. Live a little, buddy!

Nah, I was playing. :)

9. Postcard on the Run< (FREE) (postcard charge varies per destination/features) – I just downloaded this app yesterday and it already made it to my absolute list. That’s how good this is. So what’s this app? A running postcard? Quite but not quite. :)
It’s similar to the Cards App made by Apple but this one’s better not just because you can actually download it from the Philippine App Store but because it’s far better in all aspects.

Remember the time when we actually sent postcards? Yeah? You know, the snail mail kind? No? Oh ok I’m a “little older” than you then.

Well this does the same thing (yes, like the Cards App) plus you can send it with a “scratch and sniff” add-on feature. Remember that? No? Geeeesh.

Anyway, you can snap a photo or get one from your library, add a message, address, pay for it thru credit card and then a “real” postcard will be printed and sent *anywhere* in the world for you.

10. Feedler (FREE) – Now just because you’re on a holiday vacation doesn’t mean you’re excused to miss out on what’s happening everywhere. This is Twitter-era. Ignorance of current events excuses no one.

My late great favorite Google Reader app called Mobile RSS Pro has been painfully slow and annoyingly buggy lately and I’ve decided to dig the app store for at least a decent replacement while I research for the best of the best in reader apps.

As it turns out, Feedler does everything my previous reader does and more. And it’s FREE. You can get the pro version if the ads bother you though.

MUSIC

11. SoundTracking (FREE) – What is Christmas without music? A Silent Night! :) Gotcha!

This app has been an absolute favorite of mine ever since SoundHound has hounded me with weird results. Sometimes, they were in Chinese characters and the song isn’t even in Chinese! (But let’s face it, SoundHound is unbeatable when it comes to recognizing “hummed” tunes.)

At first I fell in love with the interface (I’m a sucker for interface, ladies..), loved the ability to attach photos to songs (especially the in-app database of artist photos), attach a location and share to Foursquare so I don’t lose my mayorship and also share to Twitter and Facebook.

But when I realized it also worked very well with song ID, I was sold. My only complaint is that it only plays samples not full songs.

12. Accuradio (FREE)– I don’t even know why they called this Accuradio. I’m thinking it must have something to do with “accurate” but who cares? The enchilada of radio channels playing very specific genres, even artists are enough to draw me in. But the thing I love most is that I can always listen to their AccuHolidays channel any day of the year.

Plug this in to your iPhone dock/speaker system and you’ve got yourself a Christmas party, b#^*]£¥!

***** BONUS LIST *****

12 Apps I Always Use (That I Think You Should Use Too)

1. BlogPress ($2.99) – best for cross-posting to multiple WordPress, Blogger etc. blogs.
2. GetGlue (FREE) – for checking-in to your favorite shows and activities.
3. LinkedIn (FREE) – for maintaining an online professional portfolio of sorts and of course, networking.
4. Flipboard (FREE) – makes social reading visually enjoyable.
5. GasHog ($1.99) – keeps track of your fuel mileage so you can adjust driving habits for economical driving.
6. Momento ($2.99) – take a trip down memory lane with this app that shows you each social network status update, searchable from years before.
7. Kindle (FREE) – my ultimate source for the freshest book releases because iBooks is totally useless here.
8. Summify (FREE) – because some news are more important than others, and I have better things to do with my time than read crap, Summify filters all the noise in my social network accounts and tells me which ones really matter.
9. Wolfram Alpha ($2.99) – my source for computational data whenever, wherever I need it.
10. ReelDirector ($1.99) – when this came out it was very expensive and the best of its kind. And since I’m still on the 3GS until I get my iPhone 4S on the 29th, this works best for all my video editing needs.
11. MyMedia (FREE) – reliable source for all sorts of files.
12. SkyFire ($2.99) – my go to app when videos won’t play. It converts web videos to iPhone playable formats so I don’t miss out on anything just because the iPhone doesn’t support Flash.

So there you have it. I would have recommended more but traditionally there are 12 days of Christmas and frankly I couldn’t think of a better title for this post.

Maybe on the 25th, if I’m not busy recovering from the holiday fever, perhaps I can write something like “25 Apps for the 25th of December”. You think that sucks? I think so too.

Ok, run along now and try your best to enjoy the holidays whatever happens!

Merry Christmas Y’all!