Soccer Mom Favorite iPhone/iPad Apps

Like I’ve said before, I rely on my iPhone to run my busy life.  Here are some of my favorite apps…

[Team Managing]

[Team Snap] Team Snap is what I use to manage both my girls’ soccer teams.  It doesn’t have the greatest app, but they have made some helpful updates recently.  You can see all of your players and parent info (especially helpful to see parents names displayed when you have the occasional brain lapse!) as well as the schedule and directions.  It also links directly into Google Maps for directions to games.  My favorite update is that you can edit player availability from your phone.  It’s so much easier just to update this while everyone is sitting around chatting, rather than going through a million emails at home. {free}

 

[Yelp]

Yelp is the essential app to find places to eat!  We’re always traveling to new places with hungry children, so Yelp is a must.  I especially like that you can call places directly from the app.  It’s the little things that make life easier. {free}

 

 

 

[Google Maps]

Although I much prefer the GPS in my car, Google Maps is great for figuring out where you are going.  Just be careful because using directions on Google Maps really drains your phone battery.  {free}

 

 

 

[Google Local]

This used to be called Google Places, so I was little confused when it updated to Google Local!  It’s still pretty much the same as Google Places which is similar to Yelp.  It’s helpful to find what’s around you when you are in a strange place, or even to find new places close to home.  I use it in concert with Yelp.

 

 

[PHOTOGRAPHY]

[Instagram]  Instagram is so fun!  I love the different effects that the filters create.  It seems like everyone looks better in Instagram.  The social media portion is enjoyable too, but my profile is locked as I don’t want everyone seeing a million (potentially embarrassing!) pictures of my kids.  I also learned a trick that if you’d like to use the filters, but not share your pictures with your followers, just go to settings and switch airplane mode on.  You can then Instagram to your heart’s delight and the pictures will come up as “failed” and then you will be asked if you’d like to remove it.  Hit “remove” and your picture will be then be stored in your photos.  Don’t forget to turn your airplane setting back to off! {free}

 

[Camera+] This app is almost universally highly recommended.  It replaces your iPhone’s standard camera and adds all sorts of features.  I haven’t spent enough time figuring it out, but I’d like to start. The “burst” feature for taking a rapid series of shots is my next thing to try. {$0.99}

 

 

 

[Snapseed]Here’s another amazing app to help tweak and edit photos.  I especially like the auto correct option for editing on the fly.  Again, it’s another app I need to learn how to use to it’s full potential.  I usually use desktop editing software, but this could make my life easier. I just noticed on their site that they now have a desktop version available.  I may have to check that out.{$4.99/mobile  $9.99/desktop}

 

 

[PRODUCTIVITY]

[Astrid] The native iPhone “reminders” app is great as a to do list, but I really need something that goes cross platform so that I can access it from my trusty PC laptop (until I get a Mac…)  It’s pretty simple, but has many features such as sharing tasks with others.  I don’t use any of those features, but I enjoy the simple and attractive interface. {free for both mobile and desktop}

 

 

 

[Dropbox]  I love dropbox and use it multiple times everyday!  Dropbox is basically another hard drive located in the cloud so that you can access your files from anywhere.  I use this extensively for soccer and work.  Sharing folders and files with colleges allows for everyone to edit and access documents and work together.  The iPhone app allows me to see any of my files which can come in very handy.  Pricing varies from free for a small amount of storage to very expensive for a lot of storage.

 

 

 

[SOCIAL MEDIA]

[Tweetbot] Tweetbot is an amazing twitter app!  It’s so easy to use and gives you many more features than even the twitter desktop software.  You can easily manage multiple twitter accounts and more.  This one is definitely worth the price. {$2.99}

 

 

 

[Pinterest]

The internet pinboard is available on your iPhone and makes for sitting through soccer practice or waiting in line much more enjoyable. {free}

 

 

[Facebook]

I think everyone knows about Facebook now…  Their app is pretty decent and it’s easy to post pictures/status updates directly from your phone. {free}

 

 

[OTHER]

[Flipboard] Flipboard is my favorite iPad app!  It takes all of your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts and displays them in a beautiful magazine-like way.  I also have it hooked into my Google Reader so that I can read all my favorite blogs.  It’s a bit hard to read on the iPhone, but it’s wonderful on the iPad.  You can also subscribe to all sorts of different boards like Apple News, People, House Beautiful, BBC News, LA Times and many more. {free}

 

 

[Pandora] Pandora is internet radio that’s personalized just for you!  You can personalize your own stations based on songs that you like or listen to one of their many stations.  This is one of our go-to apps for long car trips. {free}

 

 

 

[Sports Tap] I love other sports (especially College Football) and this app makes it easy to keep up with all my favorite teams (Go Trojans!) even while I’m sitting at the soccer field.  Yes, there are many places where you can find scores, but I think this app makes it especially easy.  {free}

 

 

[In-N-Out] Well, a girl has to eat right?  If you’re from California you know all about In-N-Out burgers.  They’re a staple in our diet and so much better than any other fast food burger.  This app helps you easily find the nearest one. {free}

Of course my kids have a whole list of favorite apps, but that’s another post.  What are your most useful apps?