Talking Tech: Great apps for summer

Jul. 7, 2013
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Ophelia Welsch. /  USA TODAY

by Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY

by Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY

VENICE BEACH, Calif. - Summer is here, and it's hard to find a beachgoer without a smartphone in hand.  What are some of the cool apps they're using during the hottest months of the year? 

We went out and asked that question on a recent sunny afternoon at this popular Los Angeles gathering spot.  Here are some of their picks:

WORK THAT BODY

Stan Chirkov, visiting from New Jersey likes the Endomondo Sports Tracker (free; Apple, Android, BlackBerry), which monitors your running to track calories burned via GPS. " It's pretty cool," says Chirkov. " You turn it on, and when you run, it will GPS how many miles you ran, and how many calories you have burned." 

IDEAS FOR THINGS TO DO

Kristen Koff, visiting from New York state, likes Groupon (free; Apple, Android).  The daily deals discounts website and app "is great for the summer," she says, "because it gives you things to do and places to go."  Marlo Coloma of La Mirada, Calif., likes Yelp, (free; Apple, Android) which offers reviews of local businesses. " When you have nothing to do, you can always go on Yelp and find stuff to do, look at different places or anywhere to eat.  It's nice." 

MUSIC

The 8Tracks app (free; Apple, Android, BlackBerry, Windows) is the app of choice for Demi Amidneau of New York state. " It's like Pandora, but you upload your own playlists.  It's more like mood music," she says.  You can choose to listen to something relaxing, or pop, or indie and happy. " It's nice to listen to."  Josh Baron, here from Australia, likes the music-discovery app and site Shazam (free; multiple platforms) for "just listening to music." 

LOCAL SEARCH

The longtime website Citysearchhas a free app for Apple and Android, and Robert Andrushko of Frederick, Md., used it for his recent visit. " I used it to plan the trip.  It's gotten me around town, shown me some of the better places to eat." 

WEATHER

Mike Gibson checks the Weather Channel (free; multiple platforms) on his iPhone every morning before coming to work at the Jody Maroni's hot dog stand. " We want to know what the weather's going to be like at the beach.  That determines if we're going to be busy or not." 

FUN

Vine (free; Apple, Android) "You have a lot of time to waste," says Ophelia Welsch of Montreal, so she goes to the Twitter-owned app to make six-second video clips. " It's really easy to pass two hours on Vine." 

GO PHONELESS! 

"In the summer I usually put my phone away," says Holly LeClair of Los Angeles. " I don't want to get sand in it."