BOOZE | While we may debate whether we’re all getting dumber, we know smartphones are getting smarter. Now with small attachments and an app — Breathometer and Bactrack are leaders — our phones can tell us if we’re in a condition to drive. Breathometer costs $49 and is scheduled for release next month. Its sensor, about the size of a car key, plugs into your phone’s headphone jack and, when you blow into it, assesses your blood alcohol content. It’ll even locate you by GPS and help you call a cab.
WEB | This much is clear: Feedly has inherited the RSS Earth after the demise of Google Reader, which allowed users to read news from their favorite sites in one place, via RSS feeds. Google announced plans to shut down its free service this summer, sending devotees into a frenzied scramble to find the next best thing. Enter Feedly, which enables users to choose various display modes, some of them infinitely more attractive than Google’s. On the downside, searching through your feeds for something in particular requires an update: $5 a month, or $45 a year.
APPS |Are you a tireless social climber who collects business cards as trophies? You may need CardMunch, LinkedIn’s free app that allows you to scan cards by using your smartphone camera. From there, human beings — yep, actual people — review the image and accurately do the data entry part for you, sorting the contact info in a searchable database. (LinkedIn promises privacy, if that’s a concern.)
