Your dad finally got an iPhone or iPod Touch and desperately needs help loading it with something besides that calculator application he likes to show off to your mom. Prepare to blow his mind with five apps that should be in every dad's arsenal.
GolfLink Game Tracker & GPS
So the old man fancies himself a golfer. This handy app will help him find golf courses (over 21,000 in the U.S. and Canada), keep score for himself and three of his buddies, and calculate the yardage of his shots while standing on the course. The app also allows him access to more than 11,000 course aerial views for some of the most popular fairways. It will not, however, help him find his ball in the brush...or trees...or water...or across the highway.
Price: $14.99
More Info
Sportacular
Dad can finally stop hunting through the sports section of the newspaper in a never-ending search to find all those stats on baseball, football, basketball, golf, hockey, World Cup, NASCAR and college sports he loves so much. In seconds, he can access all his favorite sports' scores, scoring summaries, news and upcoming events. Better yet, this app allows him to customize it to get information on his favorite teams and schedule alerts to reminder specific games. Best part? It costs nada.
Price: Free
More Info
Weber’s On the Grill
Behold the Holy Grail of grilling apps. It comes loaded with 250 wide-ranging recipes for red meat, chicken, poultry, seafood and pork, plus 40 instructions for making rubs, marinades and those crazy sauces that dad forces you to try. He'll also be able to create lists of his favorite recipes, add ingredients to a "grocery list" and even use the app's grilling timer. Finally, no more crispy steaks.
Price: $4.99
More Info
Madden NFL 10 by EA Sports
Since your father's favorite pastime is being an armchair quarterback, bitching about players and screaming at the coaches on TV, this app will finally put him in control of the action. He can choose his favorite NFL team with the actual players (albeit small digital representations), make trades and boot players off his team. Although this isn't up to the quality of Madden games built for large game consoles, it still packs quite a punch, with surprisingly great graphics, fluid motion and easy-to-learn game play. Yes, even dad can figure it out...probably.
Price: $4.99
More Info
C25K (Couch to 5K)
Your dad has the first part of this equation mastered—the couch part. This step-by-step app is the perfect nudge to get his lazy ass off the deluxe La-Z-Boy and into an exercise routine that'll have him running a 5K (that's a little over three miles for us Americans) in nine weeks. He can crank his tunes while the digital voice of the running gods prompts him into action. It's great for those who aren't "runners" but want to ease into a healthier lifestyle. Think about how happy the couch is going to be.
Price: $2.99
More Info