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5 iPhone apps that will make you a hero

You don't need to be super-strong, invulnerable or able to fly to be a hero. Sure, that worked for Superman, but don't forget that Batman got out of all kinds of tough situations just using his gadgets. Maybe you don't have a tricked-out car or a utility belt, but if you have an iPhone, you can be a hero, too. Here are some iPhone apps that might help out:


1) Urbanspoon

Superpower: Settling arguments about where to eat

When you're out with a date (or a group of friends) and nobody can decide where you're going to eat, Urbanspoon's iPhone app can come to the rescue. Just put in some search terms (or don't, whatever) and shake it. It'll give you a restaurant that will hopefully settle your argument without any hurt feelings over who got to choose. If you end with a place that nobody likes, just shake again. It's also handy when you're by yourself in a new neighborhood and want to sample the local eateries, so you can use it to be your own hero, too!

2) HopStop

Superpower:
Getting anywhere fast in some big cities.

Before you complain: yes, I know this only works in a handful of cities, particularly New York, Chicago, Boston and DC. The thing is, it works so well you might as well have superpowers. I can't count the number of times I've overheard someone on the phone in Manhattan saying, "Why don't you just HopStop it?" HopStop is well known for giving some of the best point-to-point directions via subway or cab, and telling you how much it'll cost to get there. Plus, it's expanding to new cities all the time.

Read more →

UrbanSpoon releases iPhone-native restaurant finder

One of the two big differences in the new iPhone 3G is the included GPS technology. Restaurant locator/review site UrbanSpoon knows this very well, and they've taken advantage of the GPS with an iPhone native app for UrbanSpoon. Without even having to tell it, it knows where you are, it knows where restaurants are, and it's ready to get food into your mouth.

It gets more fun than that, though: you can actually shake your iPhone like a Magic 8-Ball to get a random recommendation near you. This is great if you're really hungry, don't care where you eat, or just like trying new places. An iPhone native app gives UrbanSpoon a leg up on other review sites like Yelp (which we also find very useful!) by making its information more easily portable. Look for it in July, when Apple launches the iPhone app store.

[via MG Siegler at VentureBeat]

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