Amazon Instant Video
(Free for iOS, Fire phones & Kindles and Android; extra perks for Prime members)
What it is: An app that lets you buy and stream and/or download TV episodes and movies purchased from Amazon’s vast Instant Video library. Fire and iOS app users can stream purchased content or download it to their mobile device. Android users can only stream content. But their purchased titles can be downloaded to a desktop, a laptop, an iOS or a Fire device.
How it works: iOS and Fire users click on the Instant Video icon to stream movies or watch downloaded content. Android users access Instant Video under their Amazon app with the Shopping Cart icon and are asked to download the instant viewer the first time they are ready to stream a video.
Why it’s great: Though I ignored the video perk of my Amazon Prime membership for ages, once I tried it, I was hooked. I subscribe to Prime for $99 annually, which breaks down to $8.25 a month, about a quarter more than I pay Netflix and Hulu Plus each month. (In addition, I get free two-day shipping on Amazon Prime purchases.) As a Prime member, I usually stream shows for free in a hotel and only buy and download content for plane entertainment. And, like Netflix, Amazon Instant Video is virtually commercial free. (Hulu Plus punishes members with cheesy, annoying ads.)
Roadtrippers
(Free for iOS and Android)
What it is: A planner for road trips in the U.S. and most of Canada. You choose attractions, restaurants, etc., and the app plugs them into your trip map and calculates mileage and approximates fuel cost.
How it works: After creating an account via Facebook or with your email address, you can find places to go nearby or start planning a trip from scratch. Roadtrippers inserts Places from its extensive accommodation, restaurant and attraction categories, then you can narrow the list.
Why it’s great: Roadtrippers does more than plan trips. It reveals hidden treasures near home. I use it on my iPhone, iPad and Android phone. Though both versions are great, I found the Android version a bit more playful. But the iOS version offers a choice of default navigators: Waze, Google Maps or Apple Maps. If one navigator displeases me, two others are waiting in the wings. The Android version only launches Google Maps. Plus, Roadtrippers is releasing an update to the iOS app (version 3.0) that is filled with new perks, including new cartography, swipe-able place “cards” for easier exploration and even weather forecasts. I can’t wait.
Matter
($1.99 for iOS – requires iOS 7 or later)
What it is: A 3-D photo effects app that lets you embed 3-D graphics into images you import from your iOS device’s photo library. You can create stills or short videos in which an object moves.
How it works: After launch, you can get ideas either by viewing images highlighted by Matter or click on New to begin transforming a picture from your iPhone or iPad. After you create a still, you may want to turn it into a video where the 3-D object pulses or hovers.
Why it’s great: Matter is an entertaining way to spend time on a plane and other places where you have time to kill. I have spent hours playing with images because there are always hundreds of possibilities. Though my stills so far appear more eccentric than artsy, the Matter community is inspiring, and images are designed to share over social media.
