16. Using Apps to Enhance Your Life

In this chapter you look at apps that can enhance your daily living experiences. These apps include

→ Using Amazon, Craigslist, and eBay to enhance online purchasing opportunities

→ Utilizing the coupons app to save money

→ Using an app to find the best prices on gasoline within your area

There are hundreds of thousands of apps. It seems that there are apps for almost everything. When I was considering buying my iPad, I went to my local Apple store early one morning to look around, ask questions, and try out this amazing machine. Standing next to me was a 70ish man in overalls with large, calloused hands. He was holding an iPad, looking it over carefully and obviously pondering something.

I asked him how he planned to use his iPad. He looked at me and said, “I’ve been a farmer for 50 years. My neighbor feeds his chickens using one of these. I’m going to get one and feed my chickens from my living room!” Well, needless to say, a whole new world of uses for the iPad came to mind that day. Although I’ve never found the chicken-feeding app, I’m sure that there are apps that can make this farmer’s life a bit easier.

Open the App Store, and type Amazon Mobile in the Search field. Tap FREE and then tap install to download the app. Tap OPEN.

The ever-changing Amazon home page comes up with items that might peak your interest. It does a good job suggesting products, and I often tap an item to take a closer look.

Tap Sign in.

Enter your Amazon login info, or tap Create Account if you do not have an account already.

Tap in the Search field and type the name or description of the item you are searching for.

Tap the Search button on the keyboard.

The Search Suggestions list enables you to refine your search, if you choose.

Along the left side of the screen, you see a long, scrollable list of items that match your search criteria. Tap an item you are interested in.

The details of that item are shown, including the reviews, rating, price, and whether it is currently in stock. There are other options that you can use if you are logged in to your Amazon.com account, including Add to Wish List and Share Item.

Making purchases on Amazon Mobile is almost too easy. Simply tap Add to Cart, and immediately the item is added to your shopping cart. You can proceed to check out or continue shopping.

Tap Deals to see Amazon’s Deals of the Day.

You can swipe the Lightening Deals and Best Deals sections to see more, or tap See More to expand those sections.

Tap Your Account.

The Your Account button brings up a page that enables you to track your orders or personalize a number of account settings.

Recommended is determined by searching/buying patterns, and Wish List shows anything you’ve saved to a Wish List on your account (whether on a mobile or browser version).

Tap Cart

You can now either alter your purchase by saving it for later or deleting it.

You can also choose to make the purchase by tapping Checkout.

You can log out by tapping the x next to your name.

The Amazon app is easy to use—not many bells and whistles, just thousands of products for you to search, learn about, and in many cases, buy. This is a must-have app for any online shopper.

Open the App Store and type Craigslist for iPad in the Search field. Tap FREE and then tap Install to download the app. Tap OPEN. You are asked permission for Craigslist to use your present location; tap OK to see the Craigslist offerings in your area.

When the app opens, you see the listings for your current location (or nearby). You can add other locations by tapping the arrow next to the location name and then tapping the plus sign. As you can see, you can use Craigslist worldwide.

Listings are broken into categories that you can tap to yield advertisements within those categories. Swipe up and down the list to see additional categories. For this task, I swiped down the list and decided to tap education under the Jobs category.

When you find an ad you want to remember, simply draw a circle around it using your finger. (This takes a little practice.) This puts the ad into your favorite list, which you can access by tapping the star icon. When I saw a listing for a Roller Hocker Instructor I had to find out what that was, so I circled it. Then, to delve further, I tapped the ad.

It turns out that this ad is looking for a Roller Hockey instructor for a summer program located in Starlight, PA.

Tap the AA symbol to make the text on the screen bigger.

Tap the little printer at the upper left to print the ad (if you have an AirPrint compatible printer).

Tap the folding map symbol to see the exact location for the person or business who posted the ad.

Tap the Reply button to send a response to the advertiser via email.

Tap Back to return to the previous page of listings.

Craigslist also provides a system for users to self-monitor the content found on the list. Tap the flag in the upper-right corner to provide options to flag an item as miscategorized, prohibited, spam/overpost, or Best of Craigslist. This system enlists the entire Craigslist community in making sure that inappropriate items are not posted or that great items are recognized.

Open the App Store and type eBay for iPad into the Search field. Tap FREE and then tap Install to download the app. Tap OPEN.

The first time you use the app, the opening screen asks you to agree to its Privacy and Terms of Use policies. Tap Agree to continue.

If you have an eBay account, tap Sign In, and enter your user ID and password. If you do not have an account and you want to create one, skip to step 4.

If you don’t have an account and just want to browse the items that are listed, tap Not Now. You can browse items, but to bid on something, you need to have an account.

To create an eBay account and a handle (the name that you will be known by on eBay), tap Sign In, and then tap Create Account. A Registration page opens where you can fill in your relevant information and then create your eBay username and create your account.

The first time you open the eBay app, you see a screen showing some tips for how to navigate the different parts of the app. Tap it to continue.

The eBay home page contains three main categories: Watching, Buying, and Selling. If you find an item you are interested in, you can watch it to see the price it brings at auction. If you are bidding on something, the Buying link shows those items, and if you are selling, you can track the bidding on the item you are selling via the Selling link. These sections of the site are only available if you are signed in. If not, you can only browse the listings.

Tap in the Search eBay field at the top of the screen.

If you are signed in, the app remembers previous searches as well as sellers that you have chosen to save. They are listed giving you the option to tap one to return to that search.

For this task, I typed acoustic guitars in the search field.

At the time of my search for acoustic guitars, there were 44,347 guitars for sale.

To find more information on any of the individual items, tap the photo. I tapped a Guild guitar to look further into the listing.

In addition to a description, see that the bidding is up to $380.

There are four bids thus far, and six hours and 24 minutes remaining in the auction.

In this case, shipping options are only in the United States.

To place a bid, tap Place Bid.

A bidding screen opens for you to enter your maximum bid. This means that you are willing to pay up to that amount. In reality, you may get the item for much less if everyone stops bidding against you. There is often a flurry of bidding in the last few seconds of an auction.

After you have entered your maximum bid, tap Place Bid. You are now obligated to buy this item if you are the winning bidder. There’s no changing your mind at this point.

After winning an auction on eBay, you are given the seller’s contact information, and the seller is given yours. You will contact the seller and make payment arrangements, and the seller will ship the item to you. Be sure to leave feedback for the seller after you receive your item.

Open the App Store, and type The Coupons App in the Search field; Tap FREE and then tap Install to download the app. Tap OPEN.

To see coupons in your local area tap OK to allow the app access to your current location.

Tap No Thanks or Sign Up on the opening page offering deals from “partner” companies. I tapped No thanks to avoid unsolicited emails.

The first set of coupons listed was from a number of chain stores such as KFC and Bath and Body Works.

Tap Show ALL Coupons.

The All Coupons page brought up a long list of couponing opportunities. I tapped a coupon for Old Navy.

The Old Navy coupon is an in-store standard coupon that you can scan from your iPad or iPhone. No more scissors and trying to organize all those little pieces of paper.

Tap the X to return to the all coupons page.

Swipe right to left in the categories area at the top of the screen to see other ways to filter the coupons to see just what you want. For example, you can see coupons by expiration date or only coupons for food items. You have to unlock these features first by tapping the FREE Unlock! button at the bottom of the screen.

Tap the Options button in the upper-right corner to open the More Features area.

At the bottom, tap Barcode Scanner Price Check to enable a barcode scanner that uses your iPad’s camera.

After you focus on the product’s barcode in the window, a listing appears showing you the best price found for that product and where you can get it.

I scanned the copy of My iPad and found it on sale through Amazon.

Open the App Store and type YP Local Search and Gas Prices for iPad in the Search field. Tap FREE and then tap Install to download the app. Tap OPEN.

Tap Accept on the license agreement. For YP to search gas prices in your area, it needs to know your current location. Tap OK to allow access to your GPS location, or tap Don’t Allow and you can manually enter your location in the app if you prefer.

Tap Businesses or Deals to find offers in your area.

You can swipe through a list of subcategories to find a specific type of deal or business.

Tap Gas Prices to check out current local gas prices.

As you can see, the list along the left shows gasoline prices for all of the stations near your present location. With a 21-cent difference per gallon, it’s clear where you should buy your gas. (My car holds 15 gallons of gas; that’s $3.15 in my pocket and not the oil company’s.)

The map area to the right shows the location of each station. Tap a price in the column on the left, or on the map itself, to see the address for that station.

To zoom in on that location, double-tap that price on the map, or you can unpinch your figures on the screen. To zoom back out, pinch your fingers together on the screen.

To add other subcategories to your search bar, tap the Edit button at the lower right.

Tap or drag the categories to or from the bar to customize the type of information you can search for in this app. Tap Done when you finish.