Smartphones can certainly do it all these days; after all, they get millions of people in touch with the rest of the world both on and offline, whether they are near and far. They can keep people organized and fully updated on the subjects that need checking up on, and they provide an excellent source of entertainment during those long waiting periods on the bus or sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.
Those are not the only claims to fame smartphones have, however. They can even save its users quite a bit of cash with a wonderful influx of online coupon services. Smartphones can do everything else, so it was only a matter of time before these deals found a home in the app store. With quite a few apps to choose from, it is important to know which ones are the best at what they do.
Groupon
Groupon might not be blasting news, but for those who are not very familiar with its concept, Groupon is a service that provides discounts for groups. Essentially, it saves people money by making deals with local vendors in the area. If a certain number of people “purchase” the Groupon, then the deal goes active and charges everybody. Should the requirements for the deal not be met, nobody will be charged; a simple yet effective service.
Groupon has its own smartphone app now that determines where a person is located geographically. Upon completing the very easy setup process, the user merely needs to enter his zip code to find all nearby deals that are active in the area.
LivingSocial
Groupon’s direct competitor, LivingSocial boasts having the top spot for fastest-growing company in the category of social-buying. Similar to the above, this smartphone app utilizes the phone’s global positioning system to determine where the nearest deals and discounts are in proximity to a person’s location. Additionally, LivingSocial will offer significant group discounts to many kinds of businesses.
Perhaps the best part about this application is the fact that it has a very clean and simple interface, merely divided into four categories: Daily Deals, Purchases, Escapes and Settings.
Coupon Sherpa
This service has two types of coupons, the first being the ones available online, and the second being the ones exclusively available through the app. Again, using the GPS system, users can find nearby deals available in the area that they could not otherwise have predicted during a whimsical shopping spree. In this app, it is also possible to arrange the coupons based on favorite stores and use settings to filter the remainder of the store deals.
Shopping Coupons
Developed by InfoMedia, Shopping Coupons is yet again another source that collects thousands of coupons and deals. Unlike the other apps, though, this one has the added bonus of offering reviews of deals as presented by real company employees rather than automatic feeds; in other words, what they are offering is pure quality. Nearly every known category has its own coupon deal, and this app provides full descriptions for each offer.
Now that the top four apps on the market have been singled out, the only next step is to get out there and start saving. These four smartphone applications are a surefire way to keep in touch with a person’s frugal side.
Photo credit: Incase app for iPhone by incase/flickr
Tags: Smartphones
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on December 8, 2011 at 7:54 am
These applications can definitely help people to save their money, but probably not all of us know about their existence. Some of them were completely unfamiliar to me, so that’s why thanks a lot for sharing this information
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on December 8, 2011 at 8:08 am
With the economy the way it is today it is important to find ways of saving a few bucks.
on December 12, 2011 at 5:29 am
Smartphones have many features which are really awesome and cool for blogging.
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on December 12, 2011 at 8:35 am
I haven’t tried blogging on my phone, as I find it much easier to type with a computer. I guess it will be good for writing down my thoughts instead of using paper.
on December 14, 2011 at 10:32 am
Hi Paul,
I haven’t found Groupon app in my iPhone, is this perhaps due to where I live? I am in Europe.
I have got Amazon, ebay, and many shopping apps, well I am a woman LOL..
So saving money apps are definitely neat, however I really hope one day, I can find a good app to blog.
Apart of harder to type on my iPhone, it is also too small, I mean the screen, not comfortable.
But I will definitely use it once I really really need this kind of app for blogging.
Thanks
Kimi.
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on December 16, 2011 at 3:05 pm
I’ve been wary of all the hype on smartphones. its good that they’re gradually beginning to have more valuable uses apart from the regular fb and twitter kinds of uses.
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on December 16, 2011 at 9:46 pm
I’m impressed, I must say. Really rarely can i encounter a blog that’s the two educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail over the head. Your idea is actually outstanding; the issue is a factor that not enough people are generally speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that stumbled across this around my search for something relating to this.
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on May 11, 2012 at 11:51 am
I tend to prefer to use a PC for acquiring coopons; you get a broader selection and it’s not really costing you anything.
on May 18, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Thanks for this list of social buying applications. I have tweetef your post.
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