Smartphone Apps
Below is taken from the Bryan on Scouting website. This content here is not my own and I give Bryan and the other staff all the credit.
With the right apps, your smartphone becomes a navigation device, sous chef, first-aid adviser, weather radio, camera and reference library.
But which are the “right apps”? A fair question, given that the Google Play and Apple App Store each house more than 2 million of them.
Here’s the list with links to download them.
Boys’ Life magazine
Developer: Boys’ Life magazine, Boy Scouts of America
Devices: Android, iOS, Kindle
Cost: The app itself costs nothing, and anyone can browse a preview of any issue for free. Print subscribers get free access to the digital versions of their issues. Others can subscribe in the app or with this special print-and-digital bundle.
Description: If it’s in a boy’s life, it’s in Boys’ Life. And if it’s in Boys’ Life magazine, it’s in the magazine’s app, with content enhanced for the digital experience. You’ll get up-to-the-second news and feeds from BL social-media channels — plus, of course, all the great magazine stories about Scouting adventures, sports, cars, gaming, science, technology and more.
Geocaching
Developer: Groundspeak Inc.
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: The app is free, though you can get more features with a premium subscription for $30 a year.
Description: Think of it as the original Pokémon Go. Geocaching is the most popular app for enjoying the fun outdoor activity that spawned a Boy Scout merit badge. The official app of Geocaching.com helps you find one (or a dozen) of the millions of geocaching containers hidden across the globe. “My Scouts always love it when I start up the Geocaching app when at camp,” Scouter Richard says. “They love getting a group together and grabbing a cache wherever we go.”
Scouting magazine
Developer: Scouting magazine, Boy Scouts of America
Devices: Android, iOS, Kindle
Cost: The app is free. Once inside the app, enjoy a free, two-minute preview of any issue. Or buy any single issue for $3.99. The best deal, though, is the all-access subscription: unlimited access to every issue for $4.99 a year. You can subscribe in the app.
Description: By swiping through Scouting magazine’s digital archives, you’re literally scrolling back in time. Where you stop to explore deeper is up to you. I find even the advertisements — for fundraising products like fruitcakes, animal-shaped candles and Florida oranges — to be interesting. Discover Scouting history, and American history through the eyes of Scouting, in the Scouting magazine app.
First Aid by American Red Cross
Developer: American Red Cross
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: Free
Description: The only app here that may some day save a life. The official American Red Cross First Aid app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Includes videos, interactive quizzes and simple step-by-step advice.
Audubon Bird Guide: North America
Developer: National Audubon Society
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: Free
Description: This popular app, now free, helps your Scouts or Venturers identify birds they see or hear. The app includes 808 species, 3,200 images and eight hours of bird sounds. A featured called eBird helps you locate birds seen recently around you, using the continuously updated database from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Developer: Cornell University
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: Free
Description: Speaking of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, the wizards there have created Merlin Bird ID, which asks you five simple questions to help identify which bird you and your Scouts have spotted. It contains the 400 most common bird species in the United States.
Dutch Oven Helper Lite
Developer: Kyle Kendall
Devices: iOS
Cost: Free
Description: A simple app with a clear purpose: telling you exactly how many charcoal briquettes you’ll need for a Dutch oven meal. Choose a temperature, Dutch oven size and cooking method, and the app does the rest — well, except for preparing the meal. And eating it. And cleaning up.
Download: iOS.
Dutch Oven Calculator
Developer: More With Less Software
Devices: Android
Cost: Free
Description: An Android cousin of the Dutch Oven Helper Lite above. It’s a simple app to figure out how many charcoal briquettes you’ll need for Dutch oven cooking.
Download: Android.
Camp Scout!
Developer: Boys’ Life magazine, American Park Network
Devices: iOS
Cost: Free
Description: Use this official Boys’ Life tool to plan your next outing with ease. Type in a city and state or ZIP code, and let the app find BSA council camps near that location. You can filter by activity — ATV, fishing, horseback riding and more — to make sure that camp features activities your Scouts crave.
Download: iOS.
LeafSnap
Developer: Columbia University, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution
Devices: iOS
Cost: Free
Description: Point your phone toward any leaf, and LeafSnap uses visual recognition software to help you identify the tree from which it came. Fair warning: The app, like most things in nature, still has a few bugs.
Ramblr
Developer: Bientus Inc.
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: Free
Description: Track your Scouting adventures, and then share your story and photos with the world. That’s the promise of Ramblr and its “geo-located stories.” It tracks your basic hikes, but Scouter Doug says “its real attraction is the ability to take and share videos or photos along the way, as well as write mini-blog entries. These can all be uploaded into the Ramblr database and viewed by other hikers following the same route in the future.” Did somebody say “recruiting”?
Campfire Songs
Developer: ScoutApps.net
Devices: iOS
Cost: Free
Description: More than 200 campfire songs at your fingertips — perfect for campouts, pack meetings and troop meetings. The app’s design is a little simplistic, but you can’t beat the price or song selection.
Download: iOS.
ScoutPackster
Developer: ScoutPackster
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: Free
Description:
Have you ever forgotten to pack something important on a camping trip?
You won’t any more! With ScoutPackster, simply fill out information about your camping trip, and the app will generate a packing list for you. The app generates packing lists by evaluating the number of nights, temperature, type of camping trip, and activities on the trip.
vTech Tree ID
Developer: Virginia Tech
Devices: Android, iOS
Cost: Free
Description:
Virginia Tech Tree Identification brings the award winning Virginia Tech digital dendrology material to your Android smart phone. It contains fact sheets for 969 woody plants from all over North America with an in depth description, range map and thousands of color images of leaves, flowers, fruit, twigs, bark and form.