The iPhone App Blog » Healthcare & Fitness

FoodScanner

Matt Sawyers — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:56:00 +0000

Pros:
-Utilizes Occipital’s RedLaser technology
-quickly get food & nutritional info from the product’s UPC
-Add items to the database
-Optionally sync with DailyBurn account
-Works well on both the iPhone 3GS & iPhone 2G (from what I tested)
-Easy UI

Cons:
-Viewing previously scanned “today” objects, you cannot view their info.

[ iTunes link]

4.3/5

DailyBurn + Occipital’s Red Laser = WIN

From the creators of the Daily Burn app & Occipital’s RedLaser technology comes FoodScanner. If you have used DailyBurn before (or if you haven’t you should, but it’s not required to have an account to use the app), then you should know that tracking the foods you eat can become tedious at times, especially when you can’t find just the right food to enter into your Food Log.

Well, FoodScanner simplifies the process, using Occipital’s RedLaser technology. So by using your iPhone’s camera, aim at the food’s barcode & violá, the app will make a beeping noise and load your results nearly instantly, you don’t even have to tap the annoyingly small “camera” button!

Sorry image is blurry, hard to take a
snapshot before the app picks up the barcode.

From there you can enter the food into your Food Log if you wish or you can view nutritional data for the product.

But let’s say the barcode that is scanned doesn’t pull up any results, well, you have the option to add the food to the database by adding the name, serving size,

nutritional data & even a picture!

No barcode? No problem! Use a keyword to mind a food & it’s nutritional info. But wait there’s more! Not only is the product added to your database, but to the global one as well, so when they say “a database of 200,000+ items & growing” they aren’t kidding. My only concern is false information, so do make sure when adding the food to your DailyBurn journal, that the nutritional info seems right.

I was really impressed by it’s ability to take a picture of the UPC barcode. I first tested it on the 3GS, no problems, I turned out all the lights and was able to “scan” the barcode using only the dim light radiating off my computer monitor! I then picked up my old iPhone 2G. While yes, the camera does not have a macro lens, the outcome was nearly the same. It took a little longer for the barcode to register, but nothing I’d say I wouldn’t have expected given the camera’s specs.

Another thing to note is that the screen says “hold still” I literally sat down and “trembled” the iPhone 3GS it was able to pick up the UPC code (it almost seemed to pick it up faster…)

This application really starts off where the free DailyBurn app ends. I only hope that they at some point merge the two into a “PRO” application as having two application is mildly irritating, especially if you need the real estate on your home screen. Another thing I’d like to see in the app (if not a ‘PRO” version, then the ability to “switch” between apps with out having to go to the home screen.) Again, realize that you do not need a DailyBurn account to use this, but if you like tracking your nutrition, then I highly recommend an account & the free DailyBurn app. The app is starting at an “introductory price” of $2.99. I hope they don’t raise the price too much, as I wouldn’t want to pay over the $2.99, $3.99 would be the absolute max. This is a really great concept & awesome app; however, the fact that I can’t go back to simply view data on previously scanned foods is a little annoying.

Review is for version 1.0 of app.

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Meditate Now 2

Matt Sawyers — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Mobile Version

Pros:
-Professional voice & audio
-Easy interface to switch between audios

Cons:
-Photo in audio is hard to discern, if unfamiliar with technique.
-The info icon leaves the app unexpectedly

4/5

Meditate Now 2 is an application that contains a series of audio clips that capable of helping you alleviate stress and allow you to relax. The audio is narrated by Stin Hansen, whom is an extremely experienced speaker and an award wining meditation expert. Her voice is absolutely perfect for this type of application. Most of audios range from about nine minutes long to about 15 minutes long (with two exceptions being at three & five minutes)

The audios include:
(the following was paraphrased from the iTunes description)
-Be Grateful – Relax and feel more gratitude in your life
-Anchor your Spirit – bring substance to your life
-Breathe It Out – breath meditation that is perfect for anxiety and feelings of panic
-End Pain – bring relief to arthritis, labor, chronic, and surgery pains
-Your Best Self – Connect with your full potential and move beyond daily concerns with the meditation
-Serenity Prayer Meditation – recited at a time of trouble. Used in recovering alcoholics and addicts.
-Center Your Chakras – Center and align your energy centers
-Emotional Acupuncture – for emotional emergencies (also utilities a picture to show you how)

I also found that Stin offers a free podcast through the iTunes store. So if you are hesitant to get his application, you can always check out her podcast. I definitely recommend this app to anyone that listens to audios for meditation. While the ‘Emotional Acupuncture’ audio displays a picture, it is a little hard to understand what it is exactly saying to do. To alleviate this, it would be nice to have only certain parts of the picture visible that relate and change with the audio.

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Fitness Day Journal

Matt Sawyers — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 11:17:00 +0000

Mobile Version

Fitness Day Journal (iFiness on iPhone icon) is an application that helps you keep track of your fitness activities (exercises) by listing the instances you have done them and visual graphs of your activities

Fitness Day Journal is relatively simple and easy to use. On the main page, at the top is a graph and below it, is the list of your recent activities, most recent at the top. By tapping on the graph, you can rotate through three graphs – Daily Calories within the last month, Weekly Calories within the last year, Daily Calories within the last week.

I noticed that there was a yearly graph, however, if I were to keep track of my activities for a year on this application, there is no way to find one activity out of hundreds of activities completed. Also the graph is horribly small for any discerning ability to be possible.

To enter an activity to tap on the “+” button, the data that was last used will appear in the blacks and can be changed as necessary. I thought this was nice if you tend to do the same activities repeatedly. Also by entering your current weight it will auto estimate the Calories that you burned.

The activity list has hundreds of activities in it (or so it seems, didn’t count them.)
Within the activity panel, besides listing all the activities, there is also a tab for listing your most recent activities.

You can also search the database of activities in order find your activity. Many of the activities also have alternates, meaning there is walking, 2.5 mph and Walking, 3.0 mph or even Walking 3.0 mph, Downhill. So while there are numerous activities, there are just as many options for some.

Overall:
I like the simplicity of the application, but I can’t see anyone using this application for an extended period of time. If you need small activity tracking for a short period of time, this might be the app for you, but if you are looking for something more complex for training, etc. The graphs are simply to hard to read and its simple log, is, well – too simple. With the ability to search your current log and enlarging the graphs or even the ability to customize and activity, this app will have more potential.

More screen shots here.

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Dietician

Matt Sawyers — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Dietician is a unique and one-of-a-kind application. There is no other app quite like this in the app store. Dietician creates a meal plan depending on certain criteria that you select (type of diet, etc.) and it also figures out what meals you should eat, and a grocery list to go along with it.

4.3/4

Like most health tracking applications in the app store, they track what you have consumed and any exercises you might have done. Dietician is the other part of this, it helps you to stay on track of a healthy diet. I was really surprised by the amount of information that was provided along with the options I was given. Dietician is based on SmartDiets.com way of creating a meal plan for your diet.

When you first begin the app you will be asked some personal questions such as age and weight and a goal weight you want to get to.

You have the option of choosing one of five diet plans – Balanced Diet Plan, Low-Carb Diet Plan, Athletic Diet Plan, Splurge Diet Plan, or an Extreme Weight Loss Plan. If you cannot decide which one to choose you can simply tap on the blue arrow next to each plan and it will give you details about each diet plan – recommendation for use by certain BMIs, by what genders, and a brief description on the diet plan.

After you choose your diet plan you can choose your meal variety – Lots of Variety, Reasonable Variety, or Small Variety. Again depending on which option you select, it will briefly explain the option you have chosen. Again as I said before I was impressed by the information given, not just for the diet plan, but the ease of deciding and being explained to me what each option is and whether I should do it or not.

The next thing you will do is select certain foods that you do not want planned into your meal plan such as Dairy, Eggs, Frozen Meals, or anything else.

And finally you’ll choose your desired effort you want to but into preparing your meals – Ultra-Low, Low, Medium, or High. Having my fair share of diets, a thing to remember here is that – the less preparation you do, the more likely the food is going to be pre-processed and not as healthy, this is coming form me, not the app.

After everything is done a meal plan will be customized for you based on your previous selections. After that, you’re ready to go. If you later decide to change your meal plan/options, you can do so in the app under the options screen.

After you first initial time of entering the app, you won’t be asked again about the information unless you go to the Options tab and change your diet plan. The next time and thereafter, you will open the application into the home screen. The home screen displays your current weight and your goal weight as well as the meals for that day. The icons next to each meal listed represent Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Dinner, & another Snack from top to bottom. By tapping on one of your meals, you will receive the name of the meal, the ingredients needed to make it, and the preparation instructions (& aprox. time). It also includes Nutritional Information.

On the meals tab, you can view a calendar and by tapping on a certain date, you will be displayed the meals planned for that day underneath the calendar. By tapping on one of the meals you have the option to replace the meal with other items. Meals are only generated a month at a time. Additional meals can be added via the options menu (in blocks of 30 days.)

Under the weight tab, you can track and graph your weight loss & BMI. This is the only thing that this application tracks – weight loss & you BMI “reduction.” Of course you can view it in a list view and view a visual graph. The graph can be viewed by all the point of entry, points of entry in the past month, 3 months, 6 months, or the past year. The same can be done with the BMI.

Under the groceries tab, you are given a list that can be viewed by that current day, current day plus tomorrow, current day plus the next seven days, or today plus the next 14 days, depending on how far you want to shop in advance. By tapping on each item, a list for that day (plus any other days) of the required item is shown is needed and how much. This way you can check off whether or not you have enough for those planned days. The little red circle means that you do not have that item for one (or many ) of your meals. If it is orange that means that you have checked off a certain amount, but don’t have enough to satisfy that certain amount required for those scheduled meal(s). If is green, that means you are okay on that item and there is no need to buy any more of that item for the meals you are shopping for.

Issues:
While the graph of weight loss is nice I would like to have it full screen or the ability to tilt the iPhone into Landscape mode to trigger a full-screen landscape view of the graph.
I had to e-mail the developer because I did not understand the icons next to the meals or what each one meant. It would be nice to have this explained somewhere at the beginning.
It would be nice to only block certain common allergy foods – for instance, foods such as peanuts or onions,not general categories of foods.

Overall:
I really enjoyed this application and at only $9.99, I really recommend this application. I am sure you know just as much as I do, if you are going on a diet, the hardest part of a diet is staying on top of your meals. A few things I’d like to see in an update: On the home page I’d would like to see the ability to swipe across the screen in order to see the next day’s meals. In the grocery list view, it would be nice to view the total amount of an item needed rather than having to calculate it on your own by adding each day up.

Note*: Before starting any sort of diet you should consult your physician to make sure you’re not going to blow up and die or anything of that nature.

Pros:
-Only meal planning app in the app store
-Customizes meal plans for you
-Ability to substitute certain meals with others

Cons:
-When substituting meals, you are fairly limited to your options.
-Lack of item totals needed in shopping list
-Weight on home page is a little hard to read at times-Graph is a little cramped in portrait mode.
- Needs landscape mode

More screenshots here.

Video (fairly long – 8 mins.)

Mobile

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aSleep

Matt Sawyers — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:56:00 +0000

Pros:
-Nice Interface
-Large Selection of Sounds
-Timer
-Auto-Exit Feature
-Alarm at the end of timer feature

Cons:
-When selecting a sound, you have to push Play/Stop every time you want to hear a different sound.

3.9/5

For to-the-point readers, read the bolded text

aSleep is a “Sound-Machine” type of app. It is comparable to Ambiance. I find myself using asleep more than Ambiance because of the ease of the user interface and the sounds that it has.

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Phone Aid

Matt Sawyers — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:05:00 +0000

Phone aid is an application that is supposed to help you with First Aid, CPR, or in case someone is choking.

I find this application somewhat of a unique idea. I am not quite sure
I can see someone using this app in an emergency, but it might be
helpful as a reference. I find the First Aid as a good help reference.

The CPR & choking guidance is picture & vocally instructed to the iPhone user. I suppose if you are familiar with CPR, etc. or have had a class, this might help in an emergency.

The first aid guidance is only textual, there are no pictures included. Within the first aid, the points are labeled as “Advice” not instructions, see screen shot below.

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