5 apps that make summer more fun

Want to do some spontaneous river rafting, find the best microbrewery in town or check out the local sea lions you never knew existed? This one-size-fits-all, location-based app — developed at MIT — is primed to find you fun stuff to do in your free time. “No matter where you go,” Davis says, “it gives you instant recommendations on everything going on around you.”

“An absolute must-have if you are going on a road trip this summer,” Davis says of this international bathroom finder sponsored by the folks at Charmin. “If a bathroom is nice and clean, it gets a ‘sit’ rating, while the less sanitary receive a ‘squat’ rating,” she explains.

This app not only tells you how long to cook a sirloin tip — or any other cut of meat or fish — but it also chimes when it’s time to flip the meat. The app will be your secret to why you never burn anything again, but Davis has one caveat. “Be careful,” she warns. “If you are at a dinner gathering, you may appear to be anti-social while constantly checking your phone.”

Once upon a time, if you wanted to be informed about the Olympic Games, you had to commit to being a couch potato for 12 days. Not so anymore. With apps like London 2012, which features video updates, medal tallies and special alerts surrounding the games in London, “you don't have to worry about racing back to a television anymore,” Davis says. “You can basically download everything on your phone and experience it right there.”

“This app is simply phenomenal,” Davis says, adding that the app helps visitors accurately predict wait times at the different attractions so they can maneuver through their adventure. “I recently used it at Disney World,” says Davis, who suggests pairing the app with Disney’s FASTPASS®. “The people who had been waiting two hours in line didn’t like me very much.”