iPhone App Reviews

SwipeQ Interview

Michael (Admin) | Sep 1, 2009 Business

User rating: (3 votes, average: 2.33 out of 5)

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Need to sound intelligent at job interviews even though you’re a total buffoon? There’s an app for that!

I have to confess that I haven’t actually used this to prep for an interview, but for some reason I found SwipeQ Interview interesting so I took it for a spin. SwipeQ is an interview prep tool that provides sample answers and rationale for 150 different interview questions that actually get asked by really annoying HR people. (HR = Human Resources, for the first-time job hunters)

Interview questions are neatly divided up into seven different categories: Basics, Career Path, Teamwork (ugh), Qualifications, Communication, Work Product, and Brainteasers. Technically your entire interview is one giant brainteaser (how do I get this complete stranger to give me $50,000 a year?) but you get the idea. The name of the game here is Be Prepared, just like a Boy Scout… except the old lady sitting across from you doesn’t need any help crossing the street. Her goal is to make you look like a complete fool!

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Napkin Genius

Michael (Admin) | May 12, 2009 Business

User rating: (4 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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Just about everyone has scrawled something on a cocktail napkin at some point… phone numbers, brilliant ideas, crude drawings of various body parts… and that seems to be the inspiration behind Napkin Genius and its “be ready when genius strikes!” tagline.

The “napkin” theme here is really just a metaphor that suggests how you could use this sketching/brainstorming app. You’re out running around and an idea suddenly hits you, so instead of scribbling on a napkin that will inevitably wind up lost in a seat cushion, you can scribble on your iPhone instead.

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Tags: $1.99, drawing

Voxie Pro Recorder & Dictation

Michael (Admin) | Nov 20, 2008 Business

User rating: (48 votes, average: 3.13 out of 5)

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As of today, Voxie is on sale for $1.99 – not sure what the regular price is (sorry!).

I have absolutely no need to record audio on my iPhone, but Voxie kind of makes me wish I did! Seriously, this app is that good… it’s like Bottle Rocket saw a market for voice-recording apps, decided they wanted to be King, and they reached out with two hands and seized the kingship by the nads.

It’s been a while since I had a modern digital recorder in my hand, but I have a hard time seeing any of those caveman devices outdoing Voxie in the features department. It lets you name your recordings and store them under customized categories, email small recordings to friends, flag them in a few different ways, resume recording long after the Stop button’s been pushed, and you can even choose the audio quality if your iPhone is low on disk space or you need to go for CD quality.

One of the greatest things about Voxie is its ability to transfer files to your computer without it being a huge pain in your ass. I tried to email a 5.1 mb file to myself (4 minutes at medium quality) and was promptly told that it was too big.

So how the hell do I get this thing off my phone?

From the screen that shows my list of recordings, which btw is cleverly designed to look and act just like the iPhone’s Visual Voicemail interface, I just pushed the Sync button. Voxie gave me an IP address to go to on my browser, and *voila* my files magically appeared in my web browser ready for download! F’in sweet.

Voxie also has a great Settings screen that lets you customize the app both functionally and aesthetically, and Bottle Rocket even had the foresight to build in a quick-record method called Express. Just launch Voxie, hit the Express button, and tap or shake to start recording. You can categorize and rename and flag it later, but if you’re hot on Sarah Palin’s trail and feel a “gotcha” soundbite coming on, you can be ready to capture it in seconds.

The only thing working against Voxie is that it’s subject to whatever bugs or missteps you might encounter with your iPhone in general. My longest test recording was 30 minutes and it came off without a hitch, but I would caution against students trying to record a 90 minute lecture while they sleep through class. You just never know when your phone will crash or receive an unexpected call. Voxie will pause your recording if the phone starts ringing, but it’s still up to you to remember to resume recording.

My only suggestions for improving Voxie would be to let the user customize the From field in the email function and maybe the allow the recording of phone calls, intrusive as that may seem. I sent a recording to a friend and it was sent from “Voxie System” which he probably assumed was spam, so I doubt he’ll ever see it. But that’s it… I got nothing else in the way of suggestions to make this thing better, and I’m used to writing laundry lists of proposed improvements.

If I ever find myself needing to record something on my iPhone there’s no question I’ll be using Voxie. It’s the most complete voice recorder you could ever hope for and it just might inspire you to chuck your $40 digital recorder out the window.

Tags: $1.99