Browsing the App Store can be a bit overwhelming. Which apps are new? Which ones are good? Are the paid ones worth paying for, or do they have a free, lite version that will work well enough?
Well, if you stop interrogating me for a second, hypothetical App Store shopper, I can tell you about this thing we do here.
Every week, we highlight some of the most interesting new apps and collect them here for your consideration. This time, our picks include something to help you make good choices, a simple flight locator, and instructions for keeping your hands really super clean.
Here you go:
Smart Decisions — Productivity — Free
I clearly have a lot on my mind — I can’t even decide which pants to wear. Luckily, Smart Decisions exists. It’s an app that breaks up your major (or minor) quandaries into their component parts and helps you reach conclusions simply and methodically. First you identify the problem, and then you list out the alternatives. After that, you figure out the most important factors to consider and rank them in order of importance. The app then has you compare two options at a time based on the factors you listed. After you’ve exhausted all combinations, it tells you what your best choice is.
Apparently, I want cereal more than pancakes. That was a surprise.
Hand Wash — Health & Fitness — Free
Cold and flu season is upon us, and you might not know this, but that thing where you just hold your hands under the water for a second before wiping them off on your pants? That’s not doing a darn thing.
If you’d like to know a better way to wash your hands, Hand Wash is here for you. It trains you in the World Health Organization’s Five Moments method, and it even contains a little game that will grade your mastery of washing technique and duration.
Now, stop using your hand as a tissue and go clean up. I want to sneeze just looking at you.
Where Is My Flight — Utilities — Free
Where Is My Flight is a pie-simple tracker with a single box. You put the flight number in there, and it tells you where and when to find it. If you’re the one flying, you might find it helpful that the app tells you which terminal you’ll be in so that you can plan your overpriced airport meals accordingly.
If you’re not the one flying, you’ll find the landing-time estimates handy so you can time your pick-up accordingly. It’s just a simple, useful app, and anything that removes any of the annoyances of air travel is worth checking out.
Thyme — Utilities — Free
Here’s an app that might come in useful for any big meals you might be planning.
Thyme lets you set individual timers for each burner of your stove and your oven so that you can see at a glance how much longer everything has to go. It sure beats my usual method of setting one timer on the microwave, one on my phone, one on the back of the stove (which never works, anyway), and then just watching the clock.
We’re all about simplifying here, people.
Thyme: A kitchen timer for your culinary arts
Billy: The Bill Samurai — Utilities — Free
So you go out to dinner with a bunch of your friends, and when the bill arrives, you decide to save time and just pay the whole thing yourself. But you’re a little obsessive-compulsive, so you insist that your friends pay you back exactly what they owe. But how do you figure it out? That’s a lot of math to fit into one head.
This app has you covered. You just enter in the menu price of every item, tell it who ordered what, and enter in the tip and tax percentages, and it gives you the exact amount each person needs to pay you back, to the cent. And nothing screams “friendship” quite like making change.
