Android apps to get the summer party started

By | May 27, 2011, 5:57am PDT

Summary: A good way to have a good summer season is by using smartphone apps to help make the best of those fun times. Here are some good Android apps to get the summer party started.

The Memorial Day long weekend is upon us in the U. S. and it is the signal that the summer is here. Summer is the favorite season for many, with vacations and trips to the beach on the horizon. A good way to have a good summer season is by using smartphone apps to help make the best of those fun times. Here are some good Android apps to get the summer party started.

Check out the screenshots of these cool summer apps


Image Gallery: Android apps for the summer — get the party started. Image Gallery: Charge Image Gallery: Charge

Steak Time. Summer time means barbecue time in my household, and the Steak Time app by Omaha Steaks is a good way to make the most of the grilling season. Steak Time has a bunch of great recipes of all types for the grill, along with good tips for how impress friends and family with your skill at the grill. Recipes can be tagged, creating shopping lists for picking up just what you need for the outdoor party. There are videos showing grilling methods of the real pros. Steak Time also serves as multiple timers to make sure you get all of those steaks cooked to order for each guest. Just hit the start all timers button and the app tells you when to put each persons order on the grill. The recipes are designed for using Omaha Steak products, but meat is meat no matter where you buy it. The app is free, with photos of all the dishes.

Drinks Master. You need adult beverages to get the summer party rocking, and Drinks Master tells you how to make hundreds of them. Drinks are categorized by type, and the app includes drink recipes along with instructions for how to serve the drink. There are non-alcoholic drinks represented, so the kiddies can join in the fun too. There are a lot of recipes using coffee and tea included in the mix. Free.

Kayak. Summer vacation often means travel, and there is no better way to make arrangements than the Kayak app. Kayak has good search capability making it easy to find just the flights and hotels you want for that special trip. It gives you a good comparison to help make the right plans, and presents them in an attractive manner. Kayak allows calling travel providers from the app with the stored phone numbers, and also has a flight tracker to keep up with schedule changes. Free.

Google Goggles. The smartphone has revolutionized the way we can find out information about the things around us. Google Goggles is a great example of this, as it triggers searches when you snap a photo of something around you. This is useful when traveling and you need information about an unfamiliar area, or even while shopping in a local establishment. Take a picture and Google Goggles figures out what the object is and clues you in on the information about it, including where to buy it online for a good price. It can read those funny QR codes and barcodes, too. It is perfect for those trips to the museum and you want inside information about that painting on display. Free.

Google Sky Map. Be sure and stop and look up at the wonders of the stars this summer. Sky Map opens up the stars through the smartphone camera. Point the phone up at the sky and Sky Map will tell you what you see, including constellations and planets. You can search for particular objects by entering them and Sky Map then shows you where to point your phone camera to bring it into view. Free.

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James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Disclosure

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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RE: Android apps to get the summer party started
FAULKNE 13th Oct
Good day to confirm this comment I would appreciate T h e b e s t o f Z D N e t d e l i v e r e d your website very nice to everyone Yes, Oracle is the only one with shared-disk architecture, but that is there advantage. It means you can add or remove nodes and the database lives on. In a shared nothing architecture, if you lose a node, you lose the system. I'm sure Oracle appreciates EMC highlighting their advantage.I also desire to signal in your RSS feeds. Thank you as soon as once again and maintain up the great operate Awesome post! Thank you very much || thanks for nice content this is really benefit to me.
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like on the commercial.

Not the swill that it was pouring, but real beer. happy
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Goggles?
kwabinalars 27th May
Um, Goggles is about as useful as Wave. I have yet to see it actually scan something and find it. Not once has it returned a correct search string for me.
Really? I demo'd Goggles for someone Monday night and it worked great.

Nice to see I already have two of these apps (Goggles and Sky Map), plus for drinks I have Cocktail Hero and Drinks Recipes. (both free) Steak Time sounds like a must-have.
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For traveling
Ameninch 11th Jun
If you're traveling then the Kindle app (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.amazon.kindle) is great for books, but better on tablets.

Touchnote (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.touchnote.android) is fun for sending postcards.
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