Yesterday I had the opportunity to try a new app called Uber. Uber allows for you to order your cab from the comfort of your mobile phone, and easily track your driver – without ever making a phone call. It’s super simple to use, just open up the app, register, and pinpoint where you’d like your driver to pick you up.

You’re able to call your driver at any time to check in, and all in all, it’s a fairly speedy process. Right now, Uber is offering up free cab rides for Torontonians if they register and use their app.

A few details about the free cab week:

Beginning Monday, September 24th at 6am and continuing through Friday, September 28, 2012 at 11:59pm, all Toronto Uber TAXI rides requested through the Uber app will be FREE! Simply tap the TAXI button at the top of the screen, watch your TAXI arrive in the app, then hop out for FREE at your destination!

A few important things to keep in mind:

• FREE TAXI Week is for local Uber TAXI rides only, so the first $20 of your trip will be FREE (automatically – no code necessary).
• This promotion does not apply to Uber Black cars or SUV. It’s just for Uber TAXIs. An Uber TAXI can be a Royal, Beck, Co-op or Ambassador cab!
• BlackBerry users must request via m.uber.com (no www.) as you *can not request a TAXI via SMS*
• If your first request for a TAXI goes unfulfilled, make sure you tap the TAXI button on the picker before ordering again!
• While Uber has hundreds of TAXIs on the system, the drivers do have other business too, so be patient if your first request isn’t fulfilled. TAXIs will be opening up every few minutes, so keep checking the app.
• Monday through Wednesday night, all Uber TAXI rides are FREE up to $20. All other days, the metered fare + 20% gratuity will be charged to your credit card on file.
• FREE  Uber TAXI rides require an Uber account and use of Uber’s iPhone/Android app, or can be ordered through the mobile browser on your BlackBerry or other smart phones at m.uber.com (no www.)
• Note: Your driver will still input the cost of the trip into the app (and run the meter), but YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED unless your trip is over $20. Refer to your emailed receipt to see the discount!

So take advantage while you can, and make sure that you’re selecting the TAXI option in the app! If you select BLACK or SUV – you won’t be receiving the free TAXI promotion.

Happy Cabbing!

One of the most important tools that I use in my daily work life is the Google Drive service (formerly Google Docs). For those of you not familiar with Google Drive, it’s a collaborative space to keep shared documents, pictures, etc – while seeing updates from the users you share these files with in real time!

Google recently released an app companion that brought together some of Drives’ best features for on the go usability.

Google Drive’s Opening Screen

As you can see below, I have a ton of collaborative documents that I access on a regular basis – this app makes it SUPER EASY to access them on my phone.

Here’s the preview shot of a document I was using earlier today. It’s super simple to navigate and edit, and beats trying to access it on the mobile web. The best part? You can choose to make certain documents available offline, so you can edit even without a WIFI or 3G connection.

And I love that I’m able to upload photo, video and create new documents to share right from my phone. Commuting, travelling, and even working at home in front of the TV just got a little bit easier.

Definitely check out the Google Drive App in the App Store - available for Android and iPhone!

Ever since Facebook bought Instagram back in April, it seems is though everyone and their mother is uploading filter friendly photos to the popular social network. I recently found a great INFOGRAPHIC (below) that details some of the impressive stats that Instagram has been able to achieve.

Some of the highlights are:

• Instagram gains one new user every second
• One billion photos have been taken with the app
• There are roughly 58 photos uploaded each second

If you’re familiar with Instagram, you know how exciting it is to change the focus on your photos, and apply a unique filter. Flixel allows you to make your photo come to life with a very fun and user friendly interface that highlights what you want your viewers to see. Check out the quick demo video:

Also check out a couple finished product samples from Flixel’s Press Kit:

At the moment, Flixel is only on iPhone. Find it in the app store and have some fun with it!

Have an app you think I should look at? Want to be reviewed? Leave a comment and let me know!

Searching for that email just got easier

1. Search Your Entire Inbox

• No more losing any mail while you’re on the go. It’s always the worst when you try to find anything in your Gmail inbox – because your iPhone won’t store more than 50 messages at a time. The app solves this problem effortlessly.

2. Gmail Chat On The Go

• Use your Gmail chat while you’re on your cell. If you use the chat feature as much as I do – you’ll know how useful this is!

3. Attachments

• That’s right, attach photos in composition mode with the Gmail app! Select multiple photos or files directly from your phone, and add them into any email you compose. This is actually a HUGE lifesaver.

I definitely suggest you download this app if you use your smartphone a lot for emailing. It’s easy, user-friendly, and a step ahead of Apple’s native email app (for now).

Click here to download the Gmail App – available on Android and iPhone.

Whether it’s a friend showcasing a new outfit on their facebook feed, or a collection of similar images aggregated into one photo – collage pictures are everywhere. I’ve spent a lot of time going through all the available apps in the iTunes store and came across ‘Photo Collage Free’. Ok, so they didn’t really get creative with the name – but who cares! This app does the job in a simple and user-friendly way.

The app lets you choose from several different layouts. After selecting, you have the option to fully customize the experience with height and width adjustments and corner shaping. There’s the ability to add effects to your photos if you upgrade – but if you don’t want to pay, just use instagram for the photos before you make your collage. There’s not a lot of bells and whistles to this app – but that’s what makes it so good. It’s not confusing, and simple to operate. I can definitely see this as a great alternative to photoshop on the go – or even for creating graphically stimulating slides for a presentation.

Download Photo Collage Free here – and tell me what you think! Are there any photo collage apps you recommend?

The experience was unparalleled and so much fun for me, mainly due to how kind and inviting Amber is. I have to say this was one of my favourite TV spots I’ve ever shot in my career with Shopcatch – and I definitely recommend following both App Central and Amber on twitter. Amber and the crew are consummate professionals, and churn out absolutely fantastic content.

The set was magical with all sorts of techy gadgets in the atmosphere. Being a closet geek, I was dying while watching as the hosts talked about all the latest and greatest in digital innovation. Amber was looking her best, while BFF Caron Court snapped photos with all the guests (see picture on the right). During our time there, everyone couldn’t help but comment about the Skinnygirl party at The Drake Hotel – we were living vicariously through twitter stream (yes, we’re all nerds). I’ll elaborate on my obsession with Bethenny Frankel another time.

I also took a blooper vid while I was there – Amber almost got hit by one of the gadgets they were showcasing!

To check out my interview (it’s episode 6.1), click here.

Have you ever watched App Central?

For those of you who don’t know about Foursquare, it’s a location based mobile application and website that allows people to check in at various venues. A pet food company decided to utilize foursquare in an ingenious way, and made a little video to explain their campaign.

At the moment, there’s plenty of great rewards to be had all over Canada on foursquare – and they’re not just for your pets. Definitely download this application if you haven’t already, and start rewarding yourself on your everyday travels!

Do you use foursquare? Have you ever received something for using it? Let me know in the comments below.

Mint.com describes themselves as:

“THE BEST FREE WAY TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY
Mint.com allows you to track, budget and manage your money all in one place, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save. Open an account, add your bank, credit, loan and retirement accounts and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize your transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your personal finances organized”

I’ll admit: upon first setting up, I was hesitant to provide my login information for my banking – but I’m here to report, there’s been no ‘fishy activity’, or withdrawals from a foreign entity. It takes some time to categorize all of your transactions, so I do recommend using their web version to sort through quickly.

Some other features include:

• View all of your accounts including: checking, savings, credit cards, investments, and retirement.
• Mint automatically pulls in and categorizes your transactions. No need to enter your own transactions.
• Easy-to-understand graphs show you where your money is going so you get a clear picture of your spending and your net worth. (iPad only)
• Know how much you have left to spend. Mint creates a customized budget based on your actual spending.
• Add manual transactions at the time of purchase so you can track cash spending.
• Avoid late fees and monitor cash flow — get bill reminders, alerts and advice sent right to your device.
• View your data even without a wireless connection. (iPad only)

You can download Mint.com for both Android and iPhone, or simply use their web version. Yes, it’s FREE!

Visit their site by clicking here.

Appcircus describes The Social Radio as: “Listen to your tweets while doing anything else? Now it’s possible! The Social Radio converts your Twitter stream into a human-friendly audio experience. Listen to your Twitter timeline, lists, trending topics, funny hashtags and searches; everything beautifully mixed with the music you love. The result? Your own perfect experience of online radio. The content you care, with the music you love.”

The reason I love this app? It uses all my music stored on my iPhone, and plays it in the background while a (suprisingly) human voice broadcasts my twitter stream. This has come in handy while working (I like to have a finger on the ‘twulse’ at all times), but it’s also great for the walk to and from work. I have a pretty severe fear of missing content, and this app helps me stay up to snuff on absolutely everyone I follow.

You can download The Social Radio on iPhone or Android – and for those without smart phones, relax! You can use the web version by requesting an invite here.

Tried this app or have an app you’re obsessed with? Tell me about it in the comments!