Or, why you really should get the Footsteps GPS app…

The modern GPS was originally developed by the U.S. for military purposes and became fully operational in about 1994. So, while the military was interested in tracking vehicles, missiles and other deadly devices, here are 9 unexpected uses for the technology I’ll bet the brass never thought of:

9.  Keep a geolocated journal of don’t-miss sights along the way of your summer family roadtrip vacation.  (World’s Largest Ball of Twine, anyone?)

8.  Fire up the app and place your device in your child’s (or elderly relative’s) pocket BEFORE entering the mall, the toy store, or the State Fair of Texas.

7.  Tell your friends on Facebook, Twitter or by email about the amazing sale on yard gnomes in the Arbor 2 tent at the First Saturday Trade Days in Canton.

6.  Record the exact time and location where you propose, then email and post to Facebook and Twitter the picture that by-stander took of you in the moment she said yes.

5.  Raise more money for that charity walk-a-thon because you’re tracking every step and posting your progress along the way on Facebook and Twitter.

4.  Bring latitude and longitude lessons to life for your child as you both walk from your front door to the park down the street.

3.  Know exactly how many steps is takes to stumble home from your neighborhood watering hole.

2.  Mark that spot on your favorite lake where the fish bite all the time.

1.  Choose your golf clubs more wisely because you’ve tracked the distance from the tee to the hole.  You may not have won the Green Jacket this year, but hey, we’ll do what we can to help in the future.

So, go get Footsteps GPS now and get moving… We hope to see ya out there!

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Think our list has fallen short?  What creative ways would you use Footsteps GPS?

Leave us a comment below and the most interesting answer will win the app!  (We’d like to promise Fame and Fortune, too, but, our lawyers only allow us to go so far.)

Bottle Rocket, today, announces a major update to the extremely popular official NPR iPhone app, called NPR News 2.0. The app has already received 4 and 5 star ratings from most every professional review web site that covers the iPhone platform as well as the Best News App Ever Award from 148apps.com and MacWorld Editors’ Choice.

Now, NPR raises the bar again with over 180 changes to the app, the most noteworthy being:
-> Resume listening after a phone call or relaunching the app
-> Improved Facebook posting including story photos
-> New graphical look
-> More timely editorial content in Top Stories
-> In-session notification when NPR runs special live coverage (e.g., breaking news events)
-> Stations section will default to user’s favorites
-> All new Playlist including single-screen presentation, previous/next, fast forward/rewind and what’s playing
-> A variety of user interface refinements and enhancements
-> Zoom news photos including landscape viewing
-> Playlist record counter
-> Ability to reset the application to remove all user data
-> New app icon
-> Many more tweaks and improvements

The 2.0 update has been submitted to Apple for review and will be on the App Store soon.

Get the NPR News app today free.

Bottle Rocket Partners with the popular OpenFeint social network to bring global high-scores and achievements to Doodle Bomb.

The third update to the popular Doodle Bomb physics puzzle game for iPod and iPhone touch will include some great updates for those who want to take their skills to the next level. With a new scoring system from OpenFeint that measures speed and accuracy, over 65 unique leaderboards and 22 achievements to discover and unlock… this update will challenge even to most battle-hardened Bomb Master! Players also will have the option to boast their scores to either Facebook or Twitter through the OpenFeint network!

Doodle Bomb 1.5 was submitted yesterday for approval by Apple for the iPhone and iPod touch App Store. Look for it soon on the App Store.

Get Doodle Bomb on the App Store now!

Doodle Bomb for iPhone has been getting great reviews from both customers and professional iPhone app review web sites. Customers have rated the app 5 stars more than 100 times with an average rating of 4.5 stars. Here are some of the professional iPhone app review site comments:

“…it sets a new standard for future physics puzzle games.” — Slide to Play

Sliver Medal Award — Pocket Gamer France

And now, less than a month after Doodle Bomb hit the App Store, Bottle Rocket Apps releases a major update with the following new features:
—> 10 new Master and 5 new Standard missions to challenge your skills.
—> New anti-gravity control that allows you to get to hard to reach places and to roll bombs on ceilings
—> No more Bomb Badge requirement to start the Master Missions. Dive in and start playing them whenever you feel like it
—> Variable Bomb Tilt. Carefully nudge the bomb into place or lean hard to chase something down before the fuse expires
—> And more…

Doodle Bomb for iPhone and iPod Touch is a very unique game with 65 levels (and growing) and tons of re-play value.

Get Doodle Bomb for iPhone on the App Store today.

GasBuddy has been voted the best gas price app on the iPhone and iPod. It’s the best source of gas prices in the US and Canada on the internet combined with the highest-feature and best-looking iPhone app on the market. Use GasBuddy on your iPhone to find the cheapest gas and diesel in your area.

Save enough money to make your iPhone free! We’re not kidding. GasBuddy will pay for itself in one tank of gas and will pay for your iPhone after one year of use.

Gas prices change frequently and may vary as much as 20% within only a few blocks. It’s important to be able to find the service station with the lowest priced fuel.

Fuel prices are updated constantly by millions of volunteers making it one of the most successful crowd-sourcing projects on the internet. These are actual figures from 2/12/2010: A car that has an 18 gallon tank that gets 18 MPG in the city and drives 15,000 miles per year in Dallas, TX will save up to $6.48/tank and $358.33/year by using GasBuddy. Savings can change by the minute.

The newly released 3.0 update has a ton of new features including:
– Maps are 10x faster
– Drag map to update prices from coast to coast
– Price freshness indicated
– Sort by Price or Distance
– App automatically inserts decimal for price reporting in both US and Canadian formats
– Report prices for unknown stations
– Fetches updated prices automatically on launch
– Shake to update prices
– More

Get GasBuddy on the App Store now.