OttawApp

There’s a reason smart phones are called smart phones. They let us do things quicker, faster, and, well, smarter than ever before. We thought we’d share a few of our favourite Ottawa-centric apps—favourite because they help us stay smart. 

My Ottawa
Good For: Anyone motoring around the city
Why It Made the List: It’s a map of city parking lots, park and rides, red light cameras and construction. You can even access traffic cameras to check road conditions en route to your destination. It’s a good app to check before you leave your driveway.

Ottawa Public Library
Good For: Bookworms, big and small
Why It Made the List: It has easy access to the catalogue, book reviews, searchable calendar of library programs, and an at-a-glance view of your fines and overdue books. You can also use your iPhone camera to scan an ISBN to see if the library carries that particular book.

Ottawa Senators Hockey
Good For: The serious hockey family
Why It Made the List: It’s chock full of news, photos, video, schedules, and up-to-the-minute scores. You can use it to buy tickets too.

Ottawa Pools and Swim Guide
Good For: Water babies
Why They Made the List: Ottawa Pools is all about the swim schedules—simple stuff, but very handy considering this is what we look up the most often. We’re waiting for summer to use the Swim Guide. It’s a great tool for beachgoers to find the closest beach, check water quality information, and get directions, descriptions and photos.

Ottawa Homes
Good For: Buyers and sellers and people who like to be in the know
Why It Made the List: This handy app developed by the Ottawa Real Estate Board is an easy link to information and photos about the properties in your neighborhood. Lists open houses too!

ShopCatch
Good For: Shopaholics and bargain hunters alike
Why It Made the List: This app makes great use of the GPS and answers the most important shopping question of all: where are all the deals? Links to coupons as well.

Natalie MacLean Wine Picks & Pairings
Good For: Those of us who need quick access to an oenophile
Why It Made the List: It’s the ultimate resource—scan a bottle for wine-tasting notes and prices, and look up recipes and food pairings for 150,000 wines at the LCBO, and more. We love the Find Your Food tab. Beef stew for dinner? It tells us which wines go best. (Answer: Burgundy, Pinot Noir, or a stout beer, among others.)

And did you know that SavvyMom has an app too? No more struggling to remember the details of past articles or recipes that might be buried in your inbox.

Savvy and smart, that’s just how we like our apps. Tested by Andrea T., Ottawa

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