Apps Worth Having

If you are already addicted to your smartphone, perhaps I should apologize for adding something else for you to obsess over...?  Check out these apps:

• Sleep Cycle -- this app measures the quality of your sleep, gives you time spent in bed per night, and after five nights, keeps a running tab of the number of nights, weeks, and average nightly hours. It shows what time you went to bed and what time you arose. My favorite feature is the wake up phase because your alarm wakes you softly when you are in your lightest sleep state so that you aren't jarred awake.  And yes, you can choose to set an alarm from your music library, as well as choosing random alarm sounds.  Cost:  .99

• SpanishDict -- This app helps you learn Spanish with word of the day, which you can explore with the illustration of conjugation and demonstration of phrases using the word, and you can choose to listen to the correct pronunciation; has a vocabulary word game; phrasebook with different categories; i.e., greetings, directions, shopping, restaurants, etc. This app is FREE.

• Public Radio Player -- If you enjoy Public Radio, this app exposes you to a great many programs covering a myriad of subjects from public radio stations across the country.  Two really interesting programs I've discovered are "HowSound," and "RadioLab."                            This app is FREE.