14 Awesome Father’s Day iPhone Apps

By Andrew - Hunter College June 16, 2009 3:30 pm Posted in culture Andrew - Hunter College g+ page

dad-apps-lead

With the iPhone 3.0 update due out Wednesday, iPhone 3GS out Friday and Father’s Day on Sunday, iPhone-related gifts are sure to be the hot seller. But since you probably can’t afford (or are just to cheap) to spend hundreds of dollars on your dad’s present this year, we’ve put together a list of the 14 iPhone apps to give your dad for Father’s Day that he will definitely use (and maybe even thank you for.)

golfcard

Golf Card
Price: $8
Buy from iTunes

Dads like to golf. It’s in their blood at that age – maybe because it’s a reasonable excuse to get the hell away from everybody else and drink, but that’s technically still in the blood. And this app has everything he might need: score cards, statistics, calculated handicaps, rangefinder with maps, all with regular updates. And anything to get the upper edge over his asshole accountant is always a good thing.

rememberthemilk

Remember the Milk
Price: Free*
Buy from iTunes

Unfortunately, the older you get, the more crap you have to remember, so a little help is always welcome. But Remember the Milk is practically a whole other brain. Not only can Dad organize everything he might need to remember and sort in pretty much whatever way he likes, but he can add notes, email addresses and links to every item. Plus, with current location detection, it can help him map out which errands to do when, so he can get back home and do something he actually gives a crap about. *The downside is: despite advertising itself as “free”, this app comes with a $25-per-year user fee. Steep for an app, I know. But for the right dad, it’ll be worth hours of his time.

aroundme

AroundMe
Price: Free
Buy from iTunes

The ultimate app for getting things done quickly and easily when you have no idea what’s nearby, AroundMe uses GPS to locate every useful venue around, including banks, bars, restaurants, gas stations, hotels hospitals and supermarkets. Basically, when Mom starts freaking out when your parents get lost, Dad will be able to settle things down in seconds. High five!

white-noise

White Noise
Price: $2
Buy from iTunes

If there’s one thing a lot’a Pops want, it’s a minute to think without someone interrupting them with something to fix or drive them somewhere. And if he can’t get peace in the real world, then he can get it between a pair of headphones. And that’s all White Noise does, with 40 ambient sounds, from simple air to thunder to a vacuum cleaner (WTF?) to wash away the harsh clamor of real life, giving your dad the mental space to actually relax.

grill-guide

Grill Guide
Price: $0.99
Buy from iTunes

By default, dads run the grill, that’s just how it’s done – even when they don’t know a damn thing about grilling. Luckily, Grill Guide gives him hundreds of delicious BBQ receipes, covering six different types of food groups, including red meat, poultry, pork, lamb, fish and vegetables. The app also tells your cooking times, tempuratures and comes with a ruler for measuring the thickness of meats. The only thing it doesn’t have is the flame.

shortcovers

Shortcovers
Price: Free
Buy from iTunes

Unlike Amazon’s nifty but way overpriced electronic book reader, Shortcovers focuses primarily on the mobile market, and is capable of delivering hundreds of thousands of titles straight to your father’s mobile phone, Not only that, but he can find out what other people are reading in his area, so he’ll know exactly what his douchebag neighbors are cramming into their heads. And if he wants, he can even publish that novel he’s been working on in his spare time, making it available for any Shortcover’s user to read.

ihandy iHandy Carpenter
Price: $2
Buy from iTunes

One of the best things in a man’s life is finding a tool that can do anything. And the iPhone is that, if nothing else. But the iHandy Carpenter takes that idea literally, in an awesome way. Combining a ruler, which measures in centimeters and inches, a bubble level and a plumb bob, for checking if walls are straight, you’ll save him time and money for the price of a bottle of Old English.

ixpenseit

iXpenseIt
Price: $5
Buy from iTunes

These days, fathers are counting the cents in their (or their employers’) pockets more than ever, and the first way for anyone to stay out of the ditch is to get a handle on the finances. iXpenseIt does just that, with complete security, utilizing everything from expense summaries to custom budgets to tracking repeat expenses and tons of other details. And the info can even be exported to Dad’s email, so he can easily show the missus why she can’t buy that new sofa this month.

fanfinder

FanFinder
Price: Free
Buy from iTunes

Whether moving to a new city or just stuck at the grandparent’s resort condo, everybody’s been in that situation where they need to find a sports bar, fast. And Pop is no different. Armed with thousands of sports bars in their database, FanFinder uses the iPhone’s GPS to find bars that cater to Dad’s favorite teams. Once it’s found your location, just shake the phone to bring up the nearest bars guaranteed to have the game on the television, from football to hockey to NCAA events.

heart-monitor

Heart Monitor
Price: $3
Buy from iTunes

Chances are Dad needs to cut back on the Burger King, exercise more and just start taking better care of himself in general. And since heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in men, having something to help monitor that all-important organ can be a lifesaver. Using the iPhone’s built-in microphone, the Heart Monitor app measures heart rate, allowing Dad to keep tabs on what exactly his heart is doing, increasing his chances for catching if something is amiss. And you can guarantee that three bucks is cheaper than a trip to the emergency room.

cool-facts

6500 + Cool Facts
Price: Free
Buy from iTunes

Men should be wise, and the older a man gets, the wiser he should be. But when there’s no time for reading, nothing substitutes real learning like cramming a bunch of crazy-ass facts into your head. From strange word definitions to the explosive power of gasoline, the aptly-named 6500 + Cool Facts delivers thousands of facts with a simple shake of the phone or flick of the finger.

gas-cubby

Gas Cubby
Price: $10
Buy from iTunes

One of the biggest expenses in anybody’s life is their car. And nowadays, with so much focus on efficiency, MPGs and just keeping the damn thing running so not to throw money away at the mechanic, Dad’s going to need some assistance. That’s where Gas Cubby comes in. The 10 dollar app tracks gas mileage and vehicle maintenance, and can chart MPGs, gas prices, servise prices and other car-related expenses, all in a way that will make him feel like he actually knows something about that $40,000 hunk of metal.

sports-radio

Sports Radio
Price: $0.99
Buy from iTunes

In this age of constant connectivity, there’s no excuse for not being able to listen to the game whenever your dad damn well pleases. Luckily, the Sports Radio app allows him to listen to the game and endless commentary with feeds from tons of both local and national radio stations, covering whatever sports he might be into. And if they don’t have the feed he’s looking for, just let ‘em know and they’ll add it on. Simple as that.

trapster

Trapster
Price: Free
Buy from iTunes

For years, people have been warning others about upcoming speed traps, using CB radios and flashing headlights. But now you can get tips for known speed traps and other annoying police activity with the help of nearly a million worldwide users letting you know when to slow down. As your dad flies down the road, Trapser will alert him to any known traps that he’s approaching with voice and onscreen signals. In addition to police-manned traps and checkpoints, Trapster alerts you to speed cameras, gives you real time alerts for radar and lazer traps, all for the goal of saving money and keeping Dad from having to deal with the cops.