I know I am old and have finally become “that guy”. You know, the one that tells the kids how gas went sky-high during high school during the first Gulf War. It actually went over $1 a gallon, and we could not cruise town near as much as we could the summer before. Wow! Were those not the days?
Driving across town seems to break the bank with today’s gas prices. My wife and I have a habit of watching gas prices as we travel. We do not always stop when we see a deal, but one of us always points it out. What has amazed me is the wide range of prices we’ll see in a relatively small area. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to the change in prices. Of course around home, we know where the best prices will be, but when in the city or traveling, it is anyone’s guess. Well, all of that can change with a simple iPhone app. GasBuddy uses crowd sourcing to find the nearest and best prices gasoline.
Let’s take a look.
Find the cheapest gas on the go – for free! In one click, locate gas stations near you and see their current gas prices. Never overpay for gas again.
For every gas price reported, you’ll earn points toward prize give-away entries. We give away a $250 gas gift card every week. Reporting gas prices is even more fun with awards!
GasBuddy is a community of users working together to update gas prices – help everyone save on gas!
Gas prices for USA and Canada only.
Apple Inc. is not a sponsor of the prize give-away.
The GasBuddy app is simple to use. A search bar allows users to find prices anywhere they like or tap and find prices near you using GPS. In list view, there is plenty of customization options. First, choose the grade of fuel you will use including diesel. Next, choose the gas by distance or price. While finding the lower price is usually better, there may not be enough gas in the tank to make it to that station.
The price option will list the stations from lowest to highest. If you look at the image above, you can see the time of the update under the price, brand of fuel, address and distance from current position.
Tapping on the station will open a new window displaying pricing for all grades as well as a list of other options available. These include ATM, restrooms, car washes etc. Again, a great feature when traveling far from home and needing more than just fuel. Driving directions can also be found using the built-in maps application.
The map view will display all of the same stations from the list view on their position on the map. Each station displays the brand as well as the current price. Tapping on a station opens a larger display tab. Tapping on that tab will open the same information page found from the list view. Basically, users will find the same information, but this is for those who are more visual.
This application has already helped us out in the past couple of days. It is amazing that gas 7 miles south of me is $.70 more than gas 10 miles to my north. In fact, 12 miles from my house, regular unleaded was $3.20 as I wrote this review!
Our fuel is usually a bit cheaper than many parts of the nation, but that is one of the lowest prices I have seen in a while. We are driving to the East coast next week for a family vacation, and we plan on using the GasBuddy app to keep our fuel cost as low as possible. Give it a try for free here in the app store.
What I Like: The ability to find the cheapest or closest fuel is awesome! The app is simple to use.
What Needs Improvement: Unfortunately, the app cannot do anything about improving my gas mileage.
We are all feeling the financial pinch! Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod touch. Nothing over $.99.
Current App Bargains:
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
On sale from $4.99 to $2.99. (Universal)
Features:
• The Events of Harry Potter’s First Four Years at Hogwarts – LEGO® style! – including the Triwizard Tournament, the Quidditch World Cup, the Basilisk battle in the Chamber of Secrets, the encounter with Aragog and the face-to-face confrontation with Voldemort himself.• Stunning Graphics – take advantage of the Retina Display.
• Intuitive Touch-Screen Controls – take complete control over your character to explore, solve puzzles and duel.
• An Authentic Harry Potter Experience:
– Visit Iconic locations – including Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forest, the village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts castle – a grand, immersive 3-D environment and the largest, most detailed LEGO® game location ever built.
– Play as over 100 characters – including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.
– Attend Hogwarts – cast spells, mix potions, fly on broomsticks and complete hundreds of magical tasks to earn points.
• Character Customization – using hundreds of different LEGO® Harry Potter pieces.
• Classic LEGO® Humor – enjoy the characteristic comedic LEGO® ‘twist’ on events from the fiction.
• Endless Replayability – use ‘Freeplay’ to discover areas of gameplay not accessible in Story Mode.
• Collectables – pick up a huge variety of items throughout the game.
Caylus
On sale from $4.99 to $2.99 (Universal)
The year is 1289. To strengthen the borders of the Kingdom of France, King Philip the Fair decided to have a new castle built. For the time being, Caylus is but a humble village, but soon, workers and craftsmen will be flocking by the cartload, attracted by the great prospects. Around the building site, a city is slowly rising up…
The players embody master builders. By building the King’s castle and developing the city around it, they earn prestige points and gain the King’s favour. When the castle is finished, the player who has earned the most prestige wins the game.
* Pass & Play mode for playing on one device with your friends
* multiple AI players, every with a different strategy
* asynchronous multiplayer with push notifications
* challenging gameplay
* amazing hand drawn artwork
On sale from $2.99 to $.99. (iPad)
Feevo HD is a super-fun puzzle game that challenges you to clear pieces on the game board by matching similar shapes together. Exercise your brain with Fever mode, or test your speed and reflexes in the all-new Blaze mode.
Feevo HD features:
– Exercise your brain with Fever mode
– Test your speed and reflexes in the all-new Blaze mode
– Progress through ranks to unlock Power-Ups and other features
– Unique Power-Ups available for each game mode
– Receive 250,000 Feevo Coins to enjoy the cool Power-Ups in the game