iPhone App of The Week: Walkmeter

~ As I write this the clock continues ticking on those free Lonely Planet city guides I wrote about yesterday. Remember, you only have until 11.59PM GMT tonight to download the guides of your choice. You will find them in the Travel section of the iTunes app store.

Since we are once again talking about iPhone applications, one of my favourite new iPhone apps is Walkmeter, a sophisticated pedometer for the man (or woman) about town. Walkmeter measures distance covered, average speed per mile/km, elevation, calories burnt, fastest pace per mile/km, and much more. It even creates a map of the route you walk (or run, cycle, ski, swim, skate etc), and saves this as an overlay on Google Maps.

At just $5.99 this amazing application has rendered my $60 clip-on pedometer obsolete. It provides much more information than traditional pedometers with a much higher degree of accuracy. It is also a great motivational tool for people who need to exercise regularly (that’s me), since you can map out a regular exercise route, and then compare stats each time you complete a ‘circuit’.

But Walkmeter is not just a motivational tool for fitness addicts. Using Walkmeter I could map a walking route around New York City (or any location for that matter), and email family and friends to let them see where I have been. I could of course, keep these routes for future reference, and I’m sure they would make a great record of my explorations around New York.

The only caveat to all this is that you must have an iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS device. Walkmeter is not for iPod Touch or first generation iPhones, which lack GPS capability. You also need WiFi, Edge or 3G connectivity for viewing maps, or using Twitter, Facebook, or email updates. Thankfully, you can use the application in Offline mode which helps avoid data roaming charges while recording your walk.

Finally, the application comes in three versions: Runmeter, Cyclemeter, and Walkmeter. However, my reading of the information on the Abvio website seems to indicate that apart from each applications default startup setting, all three apps are exactly the same. That means you only need to purchase one app rather than three, assuming you like to run, cycle and walk.

Click here to see an example of a Walkmeter route map...

Online: Walkmeter...

I Love New York in…?

~ Well, it’s been a long time germinating, but at last plans are starting to bud in anticipation of my next foray into the northern hemisphere. To paraphrase a classic song:

I love New York in June, how about you?
July can’t come too soon, how about you?
Midnight and Jake are waiting,
I can’t stop celebrating,
I am over the moon – how about you?

Yes, folks, the planets are lining up in the perfect configuration for your excited bloggist right now because I’ve recently teed up a two month, rent free, apartment sitting opportunity in Washington Heights, at the top end of Manhattan.

Yes, you read it correctly…

Two months.

Rent free.

New York apartment.

And summer in the city that never sleeps.

Did I say I was ‘over the moon’? That hardly captures how I am feeling right now, but believe me, I am flying!

Midnight and Jake are a couple of very cool cats (literally) that will be in my care for pretty much the entire months of July and August while their Australian owners are back home here in Adelaide over the American summer. In return for looking after the daily needs of the cats and keeping an eye on the apartment, I get to spend most of the northern summer in one of the most exciting cities on the planet.

I feel a song coming on…

New York City’s Top 50 Neighbourhoods

~ Interesting feature in the April 19, 2010 issue of New York Magazine about the top 50 most livable New York neighbourhoods.

I was particularly pleased to see Greenpoint, Brooklyn at the number five spot.

I spent around six weeks at the Greenpoint YMCA on Meserole Avenue in 2008, and got to know my way around the neighbourhood reasonably well. I have written previously about my stay at the 'Y' in Greenpoint so I won’t repeat myself here (read Part One and Part Two if you want to know more).

By examining twelve broad categories including housing cost and quality; perception of safety; the number of public schools, shopping and services, food and restaurants and health and environment amongst others factors, the authors were able to compile a comprehensive and fascinating list.

Just for the record, here are the Top 10 most livable New York City neighbourhoods:

1. Park Slope
2. Lower East Side
3. Sunnyside
4. Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill
5. Greenpoint
6. Brooklyn Heights
7. Carroll Gardens and Gowanus
8. Murray Hill
9. Prospect Heights
10. East Village

Click to read the full report…

Greenpoint YMCA
99, Meserole Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 389-3700 or (212) 912-2260