Windows Phone App of the Day: iBlackOut
Rough Thursday night? Shed your moral hangover, pour yourself a cocktail, and gear up for the weekend with this gem of an app for Windows Phone 7, iBlackOut. Sure, the name reminds me of my oh-so-responsible boyfriend who defended himself yesterday by saying he only “binge drink[s] once a week!” but I digress. iBlackOut is the “definitive drinking app” destined to save you from some next-day confusion.
Released on Wednesday by FourDOnline, the iBlackOut app tracks your location over the course of the night and generates a handy little map (the so called, “Damage Report”) that charts your debauchery as you move from place to place. iBlackOut also offers one of the most innovative BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) calculators available. While not entirely accurate, it estimates your BAC by recording what you drink throughout the night and compensates for any time spent not drinking. You can also track your calls and texts to see just how much you embarrassed yourself or save yourself the trouble by blocking outgoing calls or texts to certain contacts on your “no fly” list.
Pros
- Innovative, applicable technology
- Easy to use
- Comprehensive damage report, including map, highest BAC reached, call and text log, and more
- Prevent drunk dialing to certain contacts
- Access past Damage Reports from the main menu
- Password protection for all Damage Reports
- Comprehensive location tracking and mapping capability
- Automatically saves your locations every 30 minutes
- BAC calculator uses the same formula as DUI prosecutors to provide the most accurate estimates without blowing into anything
- BAC calculator based on age, weight, and sex
- BAC calculator decreases with time as alcohol leaves your system (DO NOT be dumb about this!)
- Costs $0.99
- No trial period
- Only monitors BAC, tracks location, and blocks calls while running (only shows minor battery depletion)
How It Works
- Open iBlackOut in your Marketplace
- Click the green button on the main screen at the beginning of each night of drinking to begin the program (be sure to leave this running until the end of your night)
- Use the “Options” menu to set your password to protect your “Damage Reports”
- Click the BAC button on the main screen to enter your weight and sex
- Pick your poison: shot, wine, beer, or cocktail. Do this each time you get a new drink to get an accurate estimate on your BAC
- Choose the “Drunk Dialing” button on the Main Menu to choose which contacts go on the “no fly” list (Note that they will still be able to call you. iBlackOut does not block incoming calls or texts from any contacts)
Conclusion
So this caters to a niche market, who cares! I can think of about 10 reasons to use this app, and they’re all entertaining, and only one of them involves Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen. This app, which started on BlackBerry, is expanding to every major mobile platform, including Android and iOS. iBlackOut is a fun, applicable mix of innovative technologies and is a great example of the immense creativity that comes out of the Apps market. I will definitely be using this app on my birthday, which is July 7. (Whiskey is my drink of choice.)
