Six Apps for a Highly Effective Harvard Student

With the recent advent of the iPhone 4S, there seem to be as many iDevices in the Yard as there are (read: used to be) tourists. In light of this, we've found six iPhone apps sure to make your day-to-day life more enjoyable and convenient. Flyby apologizes if you still live in the 20th century and don't have an iPhone. We're sure Android has some cool apps too.

The Harvard Mobile app—free

Why haven't you gotten this yet? It has shuttle schedules, library hours, courses, dining hall menus, maps, and news stories from The Harvard Gazette, all arranged in an easy-to-use interface. It's indispensable when you're trying to decide whether to wait for the shuttle or make the trek to the Quad, or whether to eat in the Square or suffer the d-hall's portobello lentil patties.

Pocket MBTA—$0.99

This handy app has real-time bus tracking and schedules for all the bus routes that are served by the MBTA. The app is incredibly convenient should you dare to remind yourself that there's a world east of Quincy Street.

SoundHound—free

You know that song you've been hearing at every single party you've been to, the one with the loud bass and ridiculously catchy hook that you haven't been able to get out of your head or remember the title of for the past five weeks? With SoundHound, the next time you hear it, you will be tortured by ignorance no longer. Just open the app, record a few seconds of the song, and SoundHound will quickly match it to the song title, artist, and even lyrics. Alternatively, you can sing the song to the app, but it usually doesn't work that well.

WHRB 95.3 FM / Harvard Radio—free

This free app lets you get Harvard's radio station, WHRB, directly on your mobile device. Odds are you probably haven't listened to the actual radio in a decade, so this app is a great way to get music carefully chosen by fellow Harvard students wherever you go.

Gmail—Free

Now that the College has switched to Gmail, you can access all your @college email from your phone without having to deal with the clunky and stiff email app that comes with the device. The Gmail app is painless to use and transfers most of Gmail's features seamlessly to a mobile device. Now, if only Google would bring the old Gmail back.

iKamaSutra—$0.99

With its beautiful and detailed illustrations, this app allows you to track your progress through some of the more, um, innovative ways to copulate. You can make note of the positions you've tried and the ones you liked the most. You can even share your progress on Twitter and Facebook. After all, hopefully these skills will someday come in handy on Widener Level D.