Cool Phone Tools

So many of my friends have iPhones and Blackberrys that sometimes I feel as if I am the only one without one or the other. I haven't leapt into the smartphone revolution partially because I haven't decided which one I want yet; some applications are made only for one or the other and are so useful that they have become part of the reason to buy a particular brand.

The Red Laser app for iPhone makes your phone a bar code scanner for merchandise so that you can compare prices at the physical store with online prices. It works for everything from groceries to televisions, so next time you see a sale on cookies or a computer in a brick and mortar store, scan the bar code and the app will search all online retailers for prices on the exact same item. It takes comparison shopping to a new level and you literally hold the key in your hand. The laser reading app also allows you to scan items to add to a shopping list, or to see reviews on the product, or scan a DVD in a store and beam the title to you TiVo, so you don't have to use it only to shop.

Some applications are great because they promote safety and are FREE, like the DriveSafe.ly app for Blackberry. This converts text and email messages so that you can listen to them and respond without having to text back, even through Bluetooth! This helps eliminate the drivers who are constantly looking at their phones reading text messages and then trying to text back while driving (which is illegal in some states). They are working on a version that will work with the iPhone but for now it's only available for Blackberry and Android phones.

If MACs and PCs can now translate (most) applications written on one or the other, phones should be able to do the same thing one day. Now if we could get an application that would make people understand each other as well as machines do.....