10 iPhone Apps for Busy Dads

Today's dads face a lot of challenges that those of previous generations didn't. Fortunately, modern technology is there to help. The Apple iPhone in particular has become an unexpected ally; the plethora of apps provide help with everything from keeping a schedule to researching home repairs. Here's a look at 10 of the best dad-centric apps that the iPhone App Store has to offer. (Note that prices are subject to change.)
1. iHandy Carpenter ($1.99). Here you get a few simple carpentry tools. There's a fairly accurate bubble level, which is one of the more useful tools, as well as a capable ruler, protractor and surface level. You'll be surprised at how often you'll use your iPhone around the house, even if you're not particularly handy.
2. How to Cook Everything ($1.99). How to Cook Everything lives up to its name, with easy-to-follow recipes from the book of the same name by Mark Bittman. The app is far less expensive than the book, too.
3. AppBox Pro (99 cents). This app bundles together a ton of simple-but-useful apps that add functionality to your iPhone. You'll get a flashlight (basically a bright white screen, but you'll be surprised at how often you use it), a ruler, tons of specialized calculators, battery life indicator and much more. Sure, you can find other apps that do each job better, but busy dads will find it handy to have all of these in one place.
4. Baby Monitor & Alarm ($2.99). New fathers should invest in this simple, cool little iPhone app, which provides worry-free baby monitoring with a few exceptional features. Place your iPhone in the room with your sleeping baby; if the baby makes enough noise for an extended period of time (you can set this), your iPhone will call another number of your choice. You can also set it to automatically play gentle music or a recording of your voice when the baby is awake. Pretty cool.
5. MLB.com At Bat ($14.99). Fatherly duties can make it hard to keep up with your team's baseball schedule. Lucky for you, MLB has introduced one of the best sports apps available. You'll receive push updates that tell you when your team's games are starting and ending, video highlights and radio broadcasts of every game from every American and National League team. Plus up-to-the-minute news, standings, stats, rosters and more.
6. FoodScanner (99 cents). This nifty little app makes it easy to watch your diet, and what your kids are eating, too. It's capable of scanning the bar code of any food, which it compares to an online database to find nutrition information. You can count calories easily and find out the good and bad points of what you're consuming. Plus, it's pretty fun to show off the bar code scanning feature.
7. To Do's (free). A simple, no-nonsense, free to-do list. Great for busy dads who could use some scheduling help, but without the unnecessary features of some similar apps. You get a simple to-do list that you can check off and easily add to. The app displays a badge on your iPhone's home screen that tells you the number of tasks you still need to do.
8. Moe's Notes ($4.99). This granddaddy of note apps is the exact opposite of the previous recommendation — it has a ton of features. For working dads who have trouble keeping on schedule, it's a godsend. You can record audio, take pictures and make notes within each Note. It'll help you to stay organized during meetings and parent-teacher conferences, and when you're on the road.
9. iRewardChart ($4.99). Every parent knows how difficult it is to get kids to do chores. While iRewardChart is a bit simplistic for teenagers, it's great for kids ages 6 to 12. It sets up a "star" reward system and allows your kids to log any chores that they do to earn more "stars." After reaching a certain level, they're rewarded with either the program's preset awards ($2 cash, an hour of computer gaming, etc.), or rewards that you set up. The layout is very well done; it's a good, fun way to focus on positive reinforcement with your kids.
10. Sleep Cycle (99 cents). This is the coolest alarm clock on the iPhone, and it's particularly valuable for dads who work strange hours. You place the plugged-in iPhone in your bed (for example, under your pillows) and its built-in accelerometer detects your movements as you sleep. It uses that info to detect which stage of sleep you're in, and plays a gentle alarm to wake you up within 30 minutes of the time you set it for, when it detects that you're in the lightest stage of sleep. In our tests, it worked well, and we woke up feeling energetic and well-rested. For 99 cents, you're getting the functionality of an expensive sleep clock. It's one of those iPhone apps that you'll be telling friends about.