City - Monday, November 2, 2009 10:50 - 0 Comments

iPhone Apps That Make The City A Little More Tolerable

Having an iPhone in New York City is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it’s an iPhone. It’s a curse because because you’re in the city, where AT&T’s network is constantly flooded and you can’t send a text in Union Square. Fortunately, the former can alleviate the downsides of the latter: Apple’s App Store has a few apps specifically designed to assist the typical New Yorker manage life in the city. No, Blackberry users, Brick Breaker isn’t helping anybody.

For iPhone users, here’s a few apps we recommend:

• Exit Strategy NYC – $4.99
  If you’re a regular subway rider, you probably know the gruesome pains of walking across an entire platform just to get to an exit, only to realize you just walked two blocks away from your destination. The creators of Exit Strategy sought an end to this injustice. Their app not only suggests the best train car to get on (relative to your most convenient exit), but also has detailed neighborhood maps which precisely trace structures of every NYC subway station. Hypothetically, users can plan the best car to get on, the best subway to ride, and the best exit to take. Yes, it’s incredibly dorky, but for $4.99, the app also saves minutes you would otherwise spend sitting next to a homeless man at the West 4th station.
• iTrans NYC – $3.99
  For the more serious Metro crowd (not to be confused with “metro crowd”), iTrans has exact schedules — subway and bus — and advisories updated instantly. The app also utilizes these notifications to give the best directions between any two locations in the city. This means no more disappointment after you swipe into a station before realizing that your train isn’t even running. With the MTA increasingly screwing riders with sudden construction work and track changes, iTrans serves as a perfect cock block. Continue…