Last Thursday, I spent the evening surrounded by people 10 to 100 times smarter then me. The event was the NYC Big Apps Awards and the players were all phone application developers vying for the prestigious prize of being known as the best app maker in New York (there was some cash involved too).

Here’s the low down: Mayor Bloomberg basically made a call to geeks around the world to create applications for mobile phones that would better NYC life. The apps presented at the awards ceremony did not let me down. Taxihack allows users to report crappy taxi drivers, another allows parents to view the different schools in NYC based on their offerings, while my favorite App, Wayfinder offers dead easy directions to the local subway or PATH train with GPS. All the apps were pretty awesome, but I was left pondering why we really need an app that tells us where every tree in New York is? I guess some people do because it got an honorable mention.

The Mayor appeared for a minutes to thank everyone for their submissions and posed for a number of photos with the winners. The event was coordinated by the fantastic Erin Halley, who put a Big Apple spin on everything from the decor to the drinks.

Mayor Bloomberg: King of the Geeks

This shot is so meta it hurts

The Head of all things Tech in NYC

This guy really wanted to photograph me while I was photographing him

I have this idea for an Android App…

Explaining Apps to the Media – No easy task

The Man Behind the Awards

The IAC Building: Pretty in the inside and out

Apple as in Big Apple

Apps We Love
So I figured this would be a good post to list our current favorite non-NYC related applications. I’ve only had an iPhone for a few months, but I’ve come to rely on those little plug-ins more than the actual phone. Allison has had the phone attached to her since she got it in June as had no problem mocking me for being sans iPhone for so long. So in no particular order, here’s our favorites:

George’s Favorite Apps:

1. The Kindle App – I can basically pick up wherever I leave off on my Kindle right on the iPhone. While the backlighting doesn’t lend itself to long reading stretches, it’s a wonderful way to keep occupied in cramped quarters (like the NYC subway) or when I forget my Kindle or headphones.

2. Dunkin Donutz Locator – I run on Dunkin. What else do you need to know?

3. Amazon.com – The whole store in a very easy to navigate app. I love the Amazon remembers feature where you can photograph anything and someone in some far off land finds it and puts it in your wish list. Talk about useful outsourcing.

4. Mint – All my money, updated all the time, in one easy to view program. Unless I have to actually move the cash, this is the one stop shop for all my financial inquiries. A perfect replacement for Microsoft Money.

5. TweetDeck – I think I really just love apps that do multiple things from one source. This one allows me to Tweet, update Facebook status, and do whatever LinkedIn is supposed to do, all from one little app. Sure, it doesn’t chirp like Twitterific, but it is so simple to use.

Allison’s Favorite Apps:

1. Facebook: I don’t even need to use a computer anymore.

2. Where’s Waldo – I grew up loving the books and I think the translation to app form is perfect. It’s just like the book version, but tougher and cooler.

3. TMZ – I need to keep up to date with my celeb news.

4. Freecell – I’m obsessed with card games. This one is the best. Hands down.

5. I Can Has Cheezburger – There’s a multitude of reasons why I love this. Funny captions + Kittens = the cure to all that’s evil.

So, what are some of your favorite apps? We don’t care if they are free or cost a buck or two, we just want more cool things to play with. Post your favs in the comment section or on the Facebook page.

 

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