For some of us, a night in town usually involves having our inhibitions checked at the bar door and letting the evening take its course. More and more of us though are still letting our online lives spill over the alcohol puddle that is our hazy after-office hours. We continuously tap through our mobile phones, checking in on geosocial services like Foursquare or Gowalla, tweeting or posting Facebook status updates.
As such, we’ve compiled three night out-worthy apps for the iOS that at least puts all that touchscreen diddling to good use.
BarCards
Depending on the bar you’ve parked your tired behinds on, it could really get boring as hell. Maybe the beer just isn’t doing what it’s supposed to, or maybe you’re just getting tired with the people you’re with, the same old group you’ve been hanging out with since college. BarCards just might help alleviate yawn-inducing moments.
As we previously posted here, BarCards is a pretty simple social game, presenting a series of “cards” with dares and trivia questions that require social interactions from within and outside your group. It’s practically the digital equivalent of those ice breaker card games usually present during office team building activities way back when.
That being said, Barcards becomes a mere tool and the fun gaming aspect and the opportunities for social interactions would be the primary reasons why this app works, as you may soon find out a few rounds after loading it.
Naturally, there’s a scoring system, where the loser has to buy the winner a drink. Well, if the dare includes multiple chances to talk to that insanely hot girl sitting alone by the bar, it’s a win-win situation.
Barcards was developed by Piñojo Productions, aka the one-man developing engine Garrett Heath. You can download it here its free lite version with ads or for 99 cents you get additional cards and minus the ads.
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iSwig
Developed by one of the largest providers of geolocation data on the planet, you’d think Skyhook Wireless would create a serious app hinged on a serious concept on a serious user interface with a bunch of serious capabilities.
However, the company knows what fun is and the resulting app, the iSwig, indeed leverages on a serious backend technology. And it takes the entire location-based concept for a fun, informative spin because not only will it inform your friends and potential stalkers where you are and where you’ve been, it’ll also let you declare what drinks have found their way down your gullet while you’re there.
The concept is simple enough: check in on the app by pointing on the map your location and then specify the drink you’re having. Presets include thousands of beverages divided into Liquor, Mixed, Shot, Beer and Wine categories. You can also leave comments with every drink check in and even integrate it with your Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as Flickr since it’ll also let you upload photos of your drink.
iSwig carries an impressive array of features. It will also show you the drinks being enjoyed by other users and their past activities from within a five mile radius up to anywhere in the world. Drink check ins can be viewed from the present up to the drinks checked in last year. These are only some of the features you’ll find on the app.
With information this potentially comprehensive in your hands, you can obviously find use for the iSwig on so many productive endeavors like marketing and sales research if you own an establishment that serves beverages, tracking your product’s success in the market if you brew and sell a type of liquor or for simply tracking a suspected alcoholic-but-in-denial friend or family member’s potential nightly binge.
On a personal note, the first thought that popped into this writer’s head was “This’ll be great for beer runs and bar crawls and for St. Patrick’s Day and proof for claiming your alcohol conquest bragging rights!” But no, I digress. Free download here.
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iDrunky
So the night’s going smoothly, nothing out of the ordinary: a few laughs and several rounds of drinks. The thing is, everyone has an alcohol limit and it differs from one person to another and more importantly, some alcohol levels aren’t really evident at the onset until you find yourself with your mouth stuck to a breathalyzer under a cop’s flashlight and the letters DUI threatening to get stamped on your records. The iDrunky can perhaps help you from going that far.
If you still can, whip out your iPhone and launch iDrunky. It features a series of tests you can take to find out just how smashed you are. These tests mimic the usual roadside tests cops make suspected drunk drivers perform.
However, as the app’s disclaimer says, “iDrunky is a game. It’s not intended to test your ability to drive a car, operate machinery or prove sobriety.” A “game” you say? Yeah, we can imagine the loads of laughter a shaky Balancing Balls test can elicit from people around you. Even more so with eventual meeting of the cold floor and your butt with the Where’s Your Nose? test where you have to stand straight with your arms out, lean back and touch your nose.
Disclaimers and the ensuing roaring laughter aside, these tests basically analyze the senses usually barred by alcohol intake. But with these, it means that judging whether you’re good to go or you’re bound to sober up with a cup of joe will always be up to you. Nevertheless, iDrunky can give you a good understanding of how drunk you are and which of those two options would be the best one for you to stick with. It’s a mere 99-cent download from the App Store, grab it here.
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Tags: BarCards, iDrunky, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Ipod Touch, iSwig, Mobile Apps, Night Out
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http://www.pinojoproductions.com/?p=33 Late Night Post 1 | Piñojo Productions
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http://barcardsgame.com Garrett Heath
