The Mobile Marketing Blog - TellMyCell

Getting Fit? There are Multiple Apps for That

There are about a billion excuses to choose from if you’re trying to avoid the gym. 

Lucky for you, there’s an app out there to help make your personal fitness struggle more manageable and more fun. Whether you’re an overeater, late night drinker, or just need help staying motivated, there’s no better time to get in shape, thanks to these useful fitness apps. 

 

For the Overeater 

Who has time to keep a food journal or attend weekly meetings with a support group? The Rise app, available for iOS, is the easiest way to manage eating behavior and gain professional guidance from a registered dietician from your smart device. For about $20 a month, you can snap pictures of all your meals and send them to your personal dietician. He or she will review your meals and make healthy suggestions that align with your discussed fitness goals.

Also for the overeater, Amount is a nifty app that lets you convert serving sizes on all your favorite recipes so you’re able to stick to portions that will keep you on track. The app is 99 cents and available for iOS. 

 

For the Unmotivated 

A lot of people complain that working out isn’t fun. More fun means better workouts, and what’s more fun than running from zombies? Zombies, Run! 3 is a popular app that mixes fun gamification features with an easy-to-use interface. Every step and every mile awards you points, supplies, and tools to defend against the Zombie attack. With more than one million runners already playing, this is a way to join a community committed to fun and fitness. Get Zombies, Run! 3 on Android and iOS for $3.99. 

Feeling a bit philanthropic? Motivate your workout routine with Charity Miles, an app that donates money to nonprofits with every mile you run, walk, or bike. Pick your charity and get moving—these small contributions add up to big change for participating charities. Get Charity Miles for free on iOS and Android. 

 

For the Busy-Body 

Between working a 9-to-5 job and spending time with family and friends, just finding the time to go to the gym can be extremely difficult. Busybodies need help organizing their schedule and staying on track. Sunrise is an app that connects all your calendars from social media and email into one convenient app. Manage your gym time around your schedule and never miss picking up the kids from soccer practice again. 

Vida is another great option for people on the go. Pick a personal trainer that fits your lifestyle. Then, discuss your fitness goals—from managing serious weight loss to improving chronic conditions like diabetes. You can chat or Face Time with your trainer when it’s convenient for you and keep track of your progress using Apple’s Heath Kit. For $15 a week, Vida is a great bargain for busy men and women. 

Everyone’s got an excuse. This year, you can overcome yours with these useful fitness apps. 

 

 

The Apps Taking the Stress Out of Bill-Splitting

Splitting the bill at a restaurant or anywhere else is generally aggravating for everyone involved, and that certainly includes staff. Several apps are taking the headache out of bill splitting and allow patrons to easily determine who owes what. 

Let’s review some of these apps and what makes them so cool: 

 

Splittr

This $2 iPhone app makes figuring out who owes what for food, hotel rooms, gas, and pretty much any other payments much simpler. The app requires a user to create a trip or event and then add expenses for the activity. The next step is to add the people involved in the trip/event and note what each person has contributed so far. The app determine’s each person’s balance, as well as what is still owed. 

 

Lovely

This free iOS/Android app offers an automated rent payment option entitled Pay With Lovely. Simply enter your rent amount and the landlord’s contact information to create automatic monthly payments. You’ll receive notice five days before the transaction occurs, as well as when the payment is made and when the landlord makes his or her deposit. 

 

Venmo

Venmo is another free iOS/Android option that makes paying friends back—or sending rent money—an easier process. You can either receive money through the app, or send what amounts to invoices requesting funds. Using the app on the iPhone 7 allows you to make payments to nearby friends via Bluetooth. While Venmo was recently acquired by PayPal, it’s a great deal more streamlined than PayPal’s app. 

 

GroupMe

This app’s Collect Money feature takes the awkwardness out of requesting funds after an event, such as a huge dinner or ski trip. Just click on the paperclip icon next to the Message Compose field, hit ‘Collect,’ and enter who owes what. Friends and family pay with their credit cards, and you’ll receive a message when everyone has put in his or her share. Custom links over the web are provided to party members who do not have the app. If you’re planning on using GroupMe, keep in mind that there’s a 3.5 percent credit card charge, as well as a $.30 charge for every paying individual. 

 

Google Wallet and Square Cash

Google Wallet allows you to send and receive money via email. Square Cash provides the same service but requires linking your debit card to your account and then entering email addresses of recipients along with Cc [email protected]. Simply enter the amount owed on the subject line. 

 

Pay-At-The-Table Apps

The days of using the air signature gesture to get your bill at a restaurant could be coming to an end, thanks to pay-at-the-table apps. Four-digit codes are provided to restaurants by the apps, though QR barcodes and table numbers can also be used. Payments are made through pre-loaded links to debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay, or PayPal and allow patrons to split the bill as needed. 

Are the days of annoying bill-splitting problems over? We can only hope.

 

Telus Promises Record-Breaking Refund in Premium Text Message Probe

Have you ever felt like your wireless carrier was ripping you off? That’s exactly what happened to thousands of former customers of three leading Canadian-based telecommunication companies. The Competition Bureau, a telecom watchdog, brought the investigation to focus in late 2015, when it challenged Telus to refund customer for charges made for premium text messaging services like ringtones and trivia games. The Bureau were originally seeking $10 million in customer rebates, but settled after Telus, a Vancouver-based telecom giant, offered $7.34 million, the largest-ever settlement reached by the organization. 

According to one report, while Telus did not personally gain from these premium services, they did support advertising (pop-up ads, apps and on social media) that misled their customers into signing up for subscriptions costing up to $40. After a five-month investigation, the bureau said third party providers collected these fees. Current and previous customers of Telus will be contacted soon to collect their rebates.

 

Score one for the consumers!

Meanwhile, there’s other shady behavior to report from our telecom neighbors to the north. In addition to the Telus investigation, the bureau is also investigating Rogers and Bell, for similar illegal charges collected by a third party. In March of 2015, Rogers agreed to pay $5.42 million in damages. The Bell investigation is ongoing. 

 

Lessons for Consumers

There are a few major takeaways from this telecom debacle that everyone should pay attention to. First, let this be a lesson to everyone enrolled in a carrier’s auto pay system. Never looking at a bill or service charges could mean you’re getting charged for services you don’t know about. If you don’t look for these fraudulent charges, you’re only going to notice them when they’ve impacted your checking account. Make an effort to observe and understand your usage fees and extra charges each month to avoid accidentally paying a third party for ringtones and apps you don’t want. 

Also, this event serves as a huge wake-up call to people in Canada (as well as the U.S.) that these large telecommunications conglomerates are trouble if not supervised or regulated. The carriers are conduits used to exploit their customers. While they get slapped on the hand with a hefty fine, third party offenders are none the worse for wear. It’s important that illegal charges like the ones in Canada be taken seriously by the general public.

In a time when cell phones have become less a personal preference and more a living necessity, it’s imperative that the public is protected against the potential wrongdoing of the telecommunication companies at home and abroad. We rely on them every day to make our lives run smoothly, each carrier is extremely profitable, and yet they would allow this kind of behavior to occur again and again. 

Until we can ensure regulatory action to prevent these types of fees and charges, all individuals should be looking at their cell phone bills to ensure they don’t become victims.