There are over 775,000 iOS and 800,000 Android apps
By Ben Putano
I will be the first to admit, this was a really difficult article to write because there is nearly an app for everything.
A virtual dressing room? There’s an app for that.
An up-to-date traffic report? There’s an app for that.
There is even an app to help you map the stars, planets and sun from inside your living room.
But I listened to friends, some frustrated Tweeters, and uncovered problems in my own life to determine that life would be better if these 7 apps actually existed.
1. Sleep-in-proof alarm clock
The alarm clock is literally one of my most hated inventions ever created, but it’s necessary if any of us want to keep our jobs. We all have stories of how we slept through our phone alarms and have missed important dates. The problem is, it’s just too easy to deactivate phone alarms! Personally, I resort to setting 2, 3, even 4 alarms just to be sure I wake up. Isn’t there a better way?
Well, there could be! A sleep-in-proof alarm would be easy to make and follow the same concept as Clocky–the rolling alarm clock–in that this app would get you up and coherent before you could turn it off.
The options alarm options are endless, and should be numerous on the app to fit personal preferences. The app could make you complete a math equation before turning off, or maybe it forced you to say the time outloud before shutting off. Heck, what if the app made you get up and take a pic of yourself before turning off?
No matter what, the app makes sure you’re up and aware of your surroundings before turning off. The rest is up to you!
Update!!
Thanks to Tracy from iOSaffairs.com, we indeed uncovered an app to shake you out of sleep. FreakyAlarm allows you to take a picture the night before and then forces you to take the same picture before the alarm will shut off. Or you have other options like solving math problems or brain teasers. And it’s only $1.99! Worth it?
2. Athlete-Identifier for live sporting events
Obviously not a catchy name, but bear with me. Imagine an augmented reality app you could use while attending a basketball game. While looking through your iPhone camera, each player would have that identifying ring around their feet like you are playing NBA 2k13.
Moreover, you could click on the player and pull up athlete stats and other pertinent info. You could even point your camera at the scoreboard and attain game, venue, and league info. Could this replace the in-game program? I don’t know, because this does not yet exist. If it did, I could see it being sold in sporting venues for around $3.
3. Drunk Text Blocker
This request is straight from the annals of the Twittersphere, undoubtedly from mornings after regretful words were sown.
There are a few promising apps like Drunk Text Savior and Oops! App, but the former doesn’t actually stop you from texting and the latter is just for Android. Either way, no one has gotten this highly-sought app concept quite right.
The perfect drunk text blocker would give allow you to designate certain phone numbers to block, and allow you to do so for a designated amount of time (8pm-8am for example). Once the Blocker is set, you can’t call, text, or even see this person’s number, thus removing all temptation to commit a social no-no.
The PERFECT app would also extend this service to cover your social media sites as well, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Although I like to think my most embarrassing thoughts are said aloud and not via text (is there an app for that?), I would gamble to say there would be many willing to drop $0.99 on such a useful tool.
4. Golf Range Finder with accompanying lens
Olloclip 3-1 camera lens. What a golf range finder app could look like
This one is for my dad because I’ve seen him struggle over different range finder apps and he ultimately caved and bought a $300 handheld device. For those who golf, you know how valuable it it to have the exact distance of a fairway bunker, (as if you could control whether or not you hit it there), but the handheld devices are the only thing that offer point-and-shoot handiness.
I can imagine a functional range finder app would include an additional lens akin to the Olloclip lens (shown above). Through this lens, you could pinpoint exact distances. I would honestly pay $100 for this app and hardware, seeing as the handheld devices can be upwards of $500.
5. This Place in History
Faneuil Hall, Boston- 1903
Imagine you’re looking at Faneuil Hall in Boston–now a bustling downtown marketplace, but once a brewing pot of colonial resentment and American patriotism (‘Merica!).
Now, imagine viewing Faneuil Hall through your phone and seeing what looked like in the 1770s. Yes, it would be an artistic depiction, but you could scan the Boston streetscape and see what it looked like in the past, complete with historical points of interest.
Then, you can travel through time to the 1860s, the 1920s, the 1970s–viewing the city through the eyes of someone who once stood where you did.
This app would utilize augmented reality technology again, and I can imagine it’s coverage would first extend to historical cities like Boston and New York. I would absolutely pay $10 for this app, especially if I was planning to vacation there soon.
6. Virtual Car Engine assistant
Huh?
This app could be the savior for every auto-inept guy like me. When something goes wrong with the ol’ Camry, I pop the hood of the car and stare blankly into rubber-and-alloy mass until I cave and call a mechanic. I do this as a vain display of manliness, and I would appreciate an app that helped me out as I blindly explored my engine block.
I could see a car service provider like AAA eating this idea up. Imagine an augmented reality app that gave you a virtual directory of your engine parts and what each part did. This way, if you’re stuck with a broken-down car, you can sit on the phone with a mechanic as he talks you through which parts to check. The app could also tell you how to change your oil or jump your car.
You could even imput symptoms your car is experiencing, and this app would suggest problem areas and show them to you.
This app could become an essential tool for road warriors. As a traveling man, I would pay at least $5 for this app.
7. Highlight Anything
Like a Virgin by Richard Branson
This app would alleviate a personal frustration of mine. While reading several on my iPhone and iPad, I loved being able to highlight key points and save them to look at later. The problem was, after leaving the iBook app and reading on the web, I would try to highlight everything, but to no avail.
The Highlight Anything tool (the name is free!) would be an overarching application that allowed you to tap and highlight anything on the web or social media. The highlighted segments would be saved to a clipboard for your viewing later. Simple, useful, and I would absolutely pay a couple bucks for it.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of these apps? Would you buy them? What other apps would make your life easier?
Are you an entrepreneur?
Are you interested in taking on any of these challenges? Have at ’em! The more innovation, the happier we will all b.e
Don’t know where to start?
If you are new to the entrepreneur game, you should take advantage of seasoned, helpful small-business vets who want to help.
My friend Eric Wagner is one of those people. Get in touch with him- he’d love to hear from you!
(M) for Medium 