DEAL-FINDING APP
Better dining prices
Scoutmob, a free app developed out of Atlanta, uses a smartphone’s GPS to notify users about deals at local restaurants and bars while they’re out roaming the city. The app, available for iPhone, Android and Blackberry, features deals up to 50 percent off the total bill. The user just needs to launch the app, click on “use the deal,” and show the server while dining. It also features menu highlights, hours, locations and contact information for the restaurants the app partners with. And users can browse the app for deals rather than relying on site-based notifications.
Kevin Keller, The Denver Post
GRAMMAR APP
Text like a queen
In celebration of Queen Elizabeth’s recent Diamond Jubilee, a mobile app is adding a royal touch to e-mails, texts and tweets by suggesting words that the British monarch would be most likely to use. SwiftKey is an Android app that uses artificial intelligence to correct and predict words as they are typed. To mark the queen’s 60-year reign, the company released the Queen’s English, a new language module for the app. The company created the module using its underlying language technology, which processed the transcripts of Queen Elizabeth speeches since her coronation in 1952. It revealed several trends, including the Queen’s avoidance of colloquial contractions such as “it’s” in favor of the more formal “it is,” and her tendency to maintain a positive tone in communications. The app, which has more than 1 million active users, also can learn from historical text, as with the Queen’s English, and from the user’s e-mail, SMS or social media data. The app is available in more than 45 languages, and sold worldwide for Android handsets and tablets for $3.99. There also is a free one-month trial.
Natasha Baker, Reuters
FLASH SHOPPING SITE
Private sale luxury goods
GreyLabel Society is a flash shopping site founded by Danish Ahmed in Santa Ana, Calif. Bookmark it and you can buy designer goods at up to 70 percent off. Grey is a curious term — so named because the “grey” market in fashion is any market for authentic goods that are sold outside their normal chain of distribution. So in essence, all flash sales sites are grey markets. Ahmed took what he knew about media and technology and paired it with fashion to create an online store for brands that want to turn over their goods quickly. All of this benefits the buyer. If you’re in love with Diesel, it’s on sale now.
Cindy McNatt, The Orange County Register
