Splitting the Check as Easy as 'Bumping' Phones

March 18, 2010— -- It's the one major drawback of a group dinner out: The check arrives, and everyone struggles to pay in a chaotic clash of cards, cash and IOUs.

But the newest version of an iPhone app from PayPal attempts to take the pain out of splitting the bill.

Released earlier this week, the application helps PayPal and iPhone customers transfer money by simply bumping their phones together.

PayPal, an eBay company based in San Jose, Calif., lets registered users send money securely over the Internet.

Founded in 1998 (and acquired by eBay in 2002), it has more than 78 million active accounts in 19 currencies.

Its new app relies on technology from Bump Technologies, which created a way to share contact information by touching two phones together. The app uses the phone's sensors to "feel" the bump, the company said. The information swap is secure and happens instantaneously.

PayPal's new application can be downloaded for free from Apple's App Store. Once someone logs in with her credentials and identifies the recipient (via e-mail address), she can just bump her phone with a friend's to transfer money for concert tickets, a group dinner, a birthday present and more.

The "Split Check" feature factors in tip and tax, and then helps users divide and pay each other for the cost of a meal for up to 20 people.

"Today, you leave the house with three critical things: your phone, your wallet and your keys," Osama Bedier, PayPal's vice president of platform and emerging technology, said in a statement. "PayPal Send Money lets consumers access their wallets through their phones. Because with PayPal, the wallet lives in the cloud – the mobile phone is just one device customers can use to access it."

PayPal's new app is just one of about 100,000 applications available in Apple's App store.

Here are a few others:

Virgin Atlantic App Helps Fight Fear of Flying

If a fear of flying keeps you grounded, Virgin Atlantic has a new iPhone application just for you.

Launched in partnership with developer Mental Workout, the new application is based on (and named after) the airline's Flying Without Fear course, which the company says has a 98 percent success rate.

The application, available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, includes relaxation and fear therapy exercises, frequently asked questions and a video that explains a flight from start to finish.

It even features a "fear attack button" for emergencies, with breathing exercises and quick tips.

"Our first iPhone app will bring the benefits of our successful Flying Without Fear course to millions of people around the world who are now using mobile technology to make their lives better," Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic's president, said in a statement. "The app will put many travelers at ease and enable them to prepare for their first Virgin Atlantic flight."

At $4.99, the it's on the pricier side for iPhone applications. But as proof that the app is based on a sound program, Virgin Atlantic said its Flying Without Fear course recently helped Whoopi Goldberg overcome her fear of flying.

"The program works, I was a skeptic. I hadn't flown in 13 years but afterdoing their program, I understood that while my fear was real, there were many things I didn't know or had misinformation about, which they were able to clear up," the actress said in a statement. "So what happened? I now fly. It's that simple."

Application Remotely Unlocks, Starts Cars

Recently, developers released an application that promises to remotely unlock, start and warm your car from almost anywhere in the world.

Called Viper SmartStart, the app was launched earlier this week by Directed Electronics, a vehicle security and remote start systems designer, and can be downloaded for free from Apple's App store.

Although remote starting systems for cars usually have a limited line-of-sight range, Viper says its system has "virtually unlimited range" since your iPhone, not the original remote, communicates over cell networks with your car.

"We think customers will find all sorts of unique and personal value in Viper SmartStart," Mike Simmons, EVP of Directed Electronics' parent company, DEI Holdings, said in a statement. "Whether helping out her husband, who's locked his keys in the car, or securely locking her keys and purse in the car while she takes a jog with some music on her iPhone, we expect to hear about some uses we never anticipated."

Once the Viper SmartStart hardware is professionally installed in the car, the iPhone can also be used to defrost windows, cool down the vehicle in warmer weather, unlock the trunk or activate a panic alarm.

But though the app is free, the hardware that will actually make it work with your car is quite pricey.

The system will only work if paired with one of two Viper SmartStart systems that go for $499 (for those who don't already have a remote start system) and $299 (for those who do have remote start). The first year of service is free but, subsequently, service is $29.99 a year.

App Turns iPhone Into 'Sleaze Detector'

Sleaze ball or sweetheart? A new iPhone app claims it can help singles tell the difference.

Launched in September by information commerce firm Intelius, Date Check lets users perform instant background checks on potential dates from their mobile phones.

Once it's downloaded on an iPhone, the application only needs a name or cell phone number to search publicly available records.

If you activate the app's Sleaze Detector, it scans criminal records to determine if anyone with that name has been charged with drug possession, assault and battery, sex crimes, DUI and other offenses.

If you click Net Worth, it looks for information about home ownership and property value.

It can also check social networking sites, such as LinkedIn to provide employment and education information.

"Date Check is like having a private investigator in your purse," John Arnold, co-founder of Intelius and executive vice president of business development, said in a statement. "Letting a stranger into your life is a huge risk, and in the age of Internet anonymity, a simple online search isn't enough to tell you everything you need to know. "

This application, the company said, "gives singles a safer way to mingle."

But though the app itself is free, the services can cost up to $40, depending on the kind of searches that are selected.

Date Check is available for download in Apple's App store and will be available soon in Android and BlackBerry versions.

RunPee Helps Moviegoers With Bathroom Breaks

Soda. Coffee. Water. Next time to you go to the movies, chug 'em all down.

As long as you have a new iPhone app by your side, you'll know when you can escape to the bathroom without missing the best parts.

Approved by Apple's App store in early July, RunPee (yes, really) promises to be the small-bladdered moviegoer's best friend.

The application features all the movies currently playing in theaters and tells users approximately how far into the movie each "pee time" begins, the cue line to listen for and even what they've missed. (When you're on your way back to your seat, you can hit a button to unscramble text that provides a short synopsis.)

"The idea came from watching King Kong the re-make in 2005," said Dan Florio, RunPee's creator, referring to Peter Jackson's marathon three-hour blockbuster. Throughout much of the movie, he said, he was desperate to relieve himself.

"I kept thinking, I wish they would just kill this ape so that I could get to the men's room," he said.

Like a good fan, he waited until the end, but not without noting a good three-minute sequence he could have done without.

"I just could have gone to the men's room during the scene and I could have enjoyed the end of the movie and the movie would have been better," the Orlando, Fla. developer said.

When he walked out of the theater and saw the lines of people waiting to get into the theater, he wanted to share his secret. But being a bit bashful, he kept it to himself.

The idea stayed in remission until August 2008, when he launched RunPee.com.

He said he's watched about 80 percent of the movies to scout out the best "pee times," but added his family has helped. And anyone who's interested can submit ideas to the site.

In January of this year, he partnered with brothers John and Sam Shahidi, and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jordan Palmer, to work on the iPhone app. Download figures aren't available yet, but Florio said traffic to the site has jumped from about 30 unique visitors a day last year to about 3,500 visitors a day.

Although the app is only available for iPhone owners in the U.S., John Shahidi said the plan is to expand to India, China and Australia.

Dunkin' Donuts Goes High-Tech

Thanks to the iPhone, coffee runs are now easier than ever.

In June, Dunkin' Donuts launched an application for the iPhone and Web that helps organize and automate group orders.

Using their computers and mobile devices, customers can initiate orders through 'Dunkin' Run' and alert friends and colleagues that they are willing to be the "Runner."

Each member of the group can add their order to the list and then the Runner can print the choices or use the iPhone to create a checklist so that when they get to the store, they don't miss anyone's order. The app doesn't yet transmit the order to the local donut shop.

"We conceived of Dunkin' Run as a social application that helps hard-working Americans stay slightly more productive," said Baba Shetty, Hill Holliday's Chief Media Officer. "It's based on the idea of reciprocity -- I'll get your coffee today and hopefully you'll get mine tomorrow -- in a way that perfectly complements the 'we're in it together' ethos of the Dunkin' Donuts brand."

Booty Caller

So you're late again. You're a woman with a busy career but you're newly married and you have hopes for a family, too.

You're trying to get to a meeting when you hear the familiar ping of your cell phone, telling you a text message has arrived.

You open it: "Your fertile window opens today and lasts five more days," it says. "Stress can get in the way of conception, so relax and get a massage, meditate or take a yoga class."

The text you just received is from -- yes, this is its real name -- Booty Caller. The app is free, offered by a parenting Web site called BabyCenter.com.

Do you really want a text to remind you this might be a good time for sex? It may not be your idea of spontaneous fun, but its makers say it may well help you squeeze some fun -- and a new baby as well -- into an overscheduled life.

"Booty Caller is definitely a sign of the times," Linda Murray, the editor-in-chief of BabyCenter.com, wrote in an e-mail. Her site, she said, "set out to create a tool that would provide fertility information as well as tips on getting pregnant in fun, digestible text messages."

ScanLife

Look around -- through magazines, at store displays, on kids' T-shirts -- and you may see small, square black-and-white patches that remind you of bar codes. They serve much the same purpose. The idea comes from Scanbuy, a New York firm that hopes the little so-called EZcodes will become ubiquitous.

"We've been at it for a while," said Jonathan Bulkeley, the CEO of Scanbuy Inc., "and the idea's been the same: making it easier for you to navigate using the camera on your phone, instead of the keypad on your phone."

Point your camera phone at, say, an ad for running shoes, and your phone's screen will quickly show you a Web site with specs and user reviews. Point the phone at the code on a kid's shirt, and you're directed straight to his or her Facebook page.

Bulkeley said he can see countless other uses: How about a marker, for instance, on the wrapper for a head of lettuce that tells you how long ago it was picked from the field? He has even seen a code on a grave marker that lets you read about the life of the person to whom you're paying respects.

And ... Here's to Your Health

iFitness

So you can't afford those Nikes? For $1.99 (a lot of these programs have similar prices at the Apple App Store), iFitness will suggest workout routines to keep you in shape. Flabby arms? Touch "arms" on the menu and find the best exercises. Worried about your abs? The program will suggest a routine.

It will also keep you honest. You can keep a log of what you've done, get an idea of your progress and, if you don't like it, you can try Fit Phone.

Or, if you're like so many of us when it comes to New Year's resolutions, you can stop and feel guilty.

In which case, you may want to download ...

Fast-Food Calorie Counter

This is an app for those of us who choose to drown our sorrows with a burger and fries. Tap in any of 4,700 items from 41 chains and it will tell you the calorie count, amount of fat, number of carbs and everything else you need to know to go back and buy those running shoes. It's $2.99 via Apple from Concrete Software.

And last but not least...

Thousands of Apps Make Hectic Life a Whole Lot Easier

Breath-Test Device for your iPod, iPhone

Perhaps one of the more ambitious app/devices out there, iBreath is a breath-test device that attaches to your iPhone or iPod.

Users blow into the iBreath and a readout of their blood-alcohol content appears on the phone's screen.

"All kinds of people are using it," said developer Don Bassler, CEO of David Steele, the iBreath's manufacturer. "Parents of kids, college students, wives for husbands, boyfriends for girlfriends. The demographic starts dubiously as low as 16, but is basically the 18 to 50 crowd."

The iBreath debuted at Christmas and, according to Bassler, the company has sold thousands of the $79.99 devices.

Of course, even though we think these seven apps can go a long way in terms of making a hectic life a bit easier, mentioning these particular apps does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of them.

Each has many competitors, and you're invited to weigh in with suggestions in our comments section. Many apps have features you will love or hate, and the only way to find out for sure is to try them for yourself.

But most of the apps are either free or very cheap, which means a barrier has been crossed. There are a million things you can now do, with very little effort, on what you used to think was only your cell phone.

Unless, of course, you prefer to do them on paper, or a computer, or even -- what a quaint idea -- in the flesh.