Free Cell Phone Apps
As if you didn't know, free cell phone apps have come a long way, baby. In the old days, 1988, only those able to spend $2,000 or so for just the phone, could own one of those big black handsets. The ‘portable,' was a three watt brain eater that could easily have been a stand in for the field radio on the WWII 60's TV drama, Combat, Able, Baker, Charlie, Come in! It had a tiny LCD display which showed some modest numerical data.
Today's cell phones are no longer simply cell phones but have become smart. They are full fledged computers that can surf the web and handle real computing tasks on the fly with thousands of applications from which to choose.
There is a catch or two though, to these devices. Besides the health concerns and the jury is still out on that, they are like going back in time. In computing time that is, back ten or more years. Their actual computing power is akin to using a so-called ‘legacy' era device. This can be attributed to two main factors; one, it can be difficult for technologists to figure out how to make applications run effectively on the scaled down processing power, compared to modern desktop PC's or Notebook Computers and two, once they can accomplish that, they must further adapt their apps so that they do not burn out the finite battery life. One might conclude that they are succeeding more on the first point than on the latter. If you burn out your phone's charge by playing the myriad of free games and apps that are flooding the Internet, then when it comes time to make or take that important phone call, you have to call back later when you get to a pay phone or your hotel room to recharge.Most drugstores have a travel zone where you can purchase travel-cameras and sacks measure chemical, conditioner, antiperspirant, toothpaste and anything is possible from that point.
As if that weren't bad enough, all cell phones are not created equal. In some sense, it's another back in time affair, as you try to determine just which app will work on your smart phone. Again, in the old days, it was Windows or Mac or just DOS, with maybe, heaven forbid, Deskmate. Today it's Android, iOS, RIM or Windows Phone 7 and if you bought that $14.99 K-Mart special, none of the above. For that one, there are just a few modest apps that hearken even further on the way back machine to say, the Radio Shack TRS-80 (lovingly called the ‘Trash-80') or it's Color Computer 3 (CoCo3), which plugged into your analog TV.
That said, Disney has a useful mobile app that will help you connect with Mickey, Minnie or any of their other warm and fuzzy characters while visiting Disney's theme parks called ‘Mobile Magic.'
Technology Review has free apps available for the iOS and Android platforms. Do beware though as some of their content requires a subscription.If you are looking for paid ios reviews online or websites android and iOS apps you can contact by clicking on above link. This brings up another interesting point. Some free apps will contain advertising. A prominent cereal company is trying to muscle in on the popular kid's site, Habbo Hotel. If one is exposed to advertising, does that constitute a charge of some kind and thus render that app sort of not free?
On the Apple horizon is their iCloud software, which usurps Mobile Me. Luxuriate in the Clouds with 5GB of free storage. FindMyiPhone is a handy app when you have lost your precious appendage, it will display the gadget's whereabouts.
Blackberry Protect is an app that will back up your smart phones data in the Clouds and help you to find it when it's lost. Google Music is now available for the Android OS. WatchESPN is the app for sports fans. It works with Android and iOS. Pandora is the app to get for Internet Radio. It works with all of the above mentioned OS's.
That concludes the tip of the free cell phone app iceberg!