Too many rulers. AAAARRGHHHHH !!!!

minimac · November 27, 2008 11:55AM

Hi,

I have been looking for apps to measure distances. All kind of distances. I sometimes need it for my job and it would be handy.

There are just too many, free or paid.

See for yourself, here are just a few:

- Ruler

- iRuler

- TapeMeasure

- TapeMeasure! (another one)

- Tape_Measure (another one. I didn't know Apple allowed 2 apps to carry the same name, let alone 3)

- iMeasure

- RulerPlus

- RulerPhone Lite

- RulerPhone (I guess not lite)

- Dimensions

- Carpenter

- Army Knife

- Caliper

- iCaliper

- ... etc

Do you guys have a recommandation. I don't want to blow 25 $ and buy them all, or fill my iPhone with 10 different kinds.

Best

s.metcalf · November 28, 2008 11:47PM

I don't see how a ruler is going to work that effectively for anything larger than the iPhone's screen. I certainly wouldn't pay anything for a ruler. When you say you want to measure "distances" do you mean large distances like hundreds of metres or kilometres? There are several apps that allow you to do that using the built-in GPS sensor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Hi,

I have been looking for apps to measure distances. All kind of distances. I sometimes need it for my job and it would be handy.

There are just too many, free or paid.

See for yourself, here are just a few:

- Ruler

- iRuler

- TapeMeasure

- TapeMeasure! (another one)

- Tape_Measure (another one. I didn't know Apple allowed 2 apps to carry the same name, let alone 3)

- iMeasure

- RulerPlus

- RulerPhone Lite

- RulerPhone (I guess not lite)

- Dimensions

- Carpenter

- Army Knife

- Caliper

- iCaliper

- ... etc

Do you guys have a recommandation. I don't want to blow 25 $ and buy them all, or fill my iPhone with 10 different kinds.

Best

sandau · November 28, 2008 11:49PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Hi,

I have been looking for apps to measure distances. All kind of distances. I sometimes need it for my job and it would be handy.

There are just too many, free or paid.

See for yourself, here are just a few:

- Ruler

- iRuler

- TapeMeasure

- TapeMeasure! (another one)

- Tape_Measure (another one. I didn't know Apple allowed 2 apps to carry the same name, let alone 3)

- iMeasure

- RulerPlus

- RulerPhone Lite

- RulerPhone (I guess not lite)

- Dimensions

- Carpenter

- Army Knife

- Caliper

- iCaliper

- ... etc

Do you guys have a recommandation. I don't want to blow 25 $ and buy them all, or fill my iPhone with 10 different kinds.

Best

$25 will get you an uber sweet tape measure. It'll even hook on your belt.

minimac · November 29, 2008 4:05PM

Quote:

$25 will get you an uber sweet tape measure. It'll even hook on your belt.

Thanks "Sandau" but I already have a nice $25.00 tape measure. I'm an architect.

I am trying to justify my $ 300+ spending on my iPhone to my wife by telling her that I will actually be capable of selling my $25.00 tape measure on eBay ...

and my $200.00 watch ...

and my $90.00 HP calculator ...

and my $150.00 iPod ...

and my $200.00 camera ...

and my $300.00 Tomtom GPS ....

and I am running out of excuses here.

Please help !.

No but seriously, the iPhone being packed with sensors (GPS, accelerometer ...etc) I thought that I could find a great measuring tool. Just for the fun of it.

Anyway, most of the apps I mentionned are either free or $0.99 and cross the $ 5.00 mark, so I am being ridiculous here.

I will buy some of them and let you guys know.

Best.

minimac · November 29, 2008 4:13PM

Sorry "... NONE cross the $5.00 mark ...".

sandau · November 29, 2008 6:29PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Thanks "Sandau" but I already have a nice $25.00 tape measure. I'm an architect.

I am trying to justify my $ 300+ spending on my iPhone to my wife by telling her that I will actually be capable of selling my $25.00 tape measure on eBay ...

and my $200.00 watch ...

and my $90.00 HP calculator ...

and my $150.00 iPod ...

and my $200.00 camera ...

and my $300.00 Tomtom GPS ....

and I am running out of excuses here.

Please help !.

No but seriously, the iPhone being packed with sensors (GPS, accelerometer ...etc) I thought that I could find a great measuring tool. Just for the fun of it.

Anyway, most of the apps I mentionned are either free or $0.99 and cross the $ 5.00 mark, so I am being ridiculous here.

I will buy some of them and let you guys know.

Best.

Just show her how to schedule appointments on me.com which will synch automatically to your iPhone and it'll pay for itself. not kidding. Once she gets the hang of that, you'll be scheduled, on time for everything and she'll control you even more than now.

she'll think your iPhone is the best thing since ball&chain.

ireland · November 29, 2008 8:47PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Hi,

I have been looking for apps to measure distances. All kind of distances. I sometimes need it for my job and it would be handy.

There are just too many, free or paid.

See for yourself, here are just a few:

- Ruler

- iRuler

- TapeMeasure

- TapeMeasure! (another one)

- Tape_Measure (another one. I didn't know Apple allowed 2 apps to carry the same name, let alone 3)

- iMeasure

- RulerPlus

- RulerPhone Lite

- RulerPhone (I guess not lite)

- Dimensions

- Carpenter

- Army Knife

- Caliper

- iCaliper

- ... etc

Do you guys have a recommandation. I don't want to blow 25 $ and buy them all, or fill my iPhone with 10 different kinds.

Best

Buy the free ones!

mdriftmeyer · November 30, 2008 5:48PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Hi,

I have been looking for apps to measure distances. All kind of distances. I sometimes need it for my job and it would be handy.

There are just too many, free or paid.

See for yourself, here are just a few:

- Ruler

- iRuler

- TapeMeasure

- TapeMeasure! (another one)

- Tape_Measure (another one. I didn't know Apple allowed 2 apps to carry the same name, let alone 3)

- iMeasure

- RulerPlus

- RulerPhone Lite

- RulerPhone (I guess not lite)

- Dimensions

- Carpenter

- Army Knife

- Caliper

- iCaliper

- ... etc

Do you guys have a recommandation. I don't want to blow 25 $ and buy them all, or fill my iPhone with 10 different kinds.

Best

Break it down by Units of Measurement and application. Outside of that, you're hoping for an units agnostic on-the-fly, app agnostic on-the-fly uber measuring application that doesn't exist.

kamens · December 24, 2008 1:06PM

Speaking as the creator of RulerPhone, I can say with certainty that RulerPhone is not like these other apps that you've listed. RulerPhone uses the iPhone's camera to measure anything you can take a picture of - just check out the demo screencast at http://benkamens.com/rulerphone.

Try it out! If you're looking to measure all kinds of distances for your job, I highly recommend RulerPhone whenever a tape measure is inaccessible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Hi,

I have been looking for apps to measure distances. All kind of distances. I sometimes need it for my job and it would be handy.

There are just too many, free or paid.

See for yourself, here are just a few:

- Ruler

- iRuler

- TapeMeasure

- TapeMeasure! (another one)

- Tape_Measure (another one. I didn't know Apple allowed 2 apps to carry the same name, let alone 3)

- iMeasure

- RulerPlus

- RulerPhone Lite

- RulerPhone (I guess not lite)

- Dimensions

- Carpenter

- Army Knife

- Caliper

- iCaliper

- ... etc

Do you guys have a recommandation. I don't want to blow 25 $ and buy them all, or fill my iPhone with 10 different kinds.

Best

trowa · December 28, 2008 4:12AM

To the OP.

Check out PocketDemo Dimensions in the app store. Has 13 measuring tools and it is only $1.99

seems like it is well thought out with a slick interface.

don't have an iphone or touch to test it out, but it seems like a useful app when I do get one (please apple, 32GB iphone 3g in January!).

Some very slick apps coming out of the store lately.

minimac · January 8, 2009 2:09PM

I agree with you TROWA. Dimensions rules the ruler apps !

Ok, so I started this thread asking what was the best ruler app, then promised I'd buy and test all of them, and for a month, felt bad that I hadn't done it.

So I have bought and downloaded all the paid and free ruler apps out there ... 14 of them.

Some are a real rip off, like all the one containing the word ... "ruler".

My advice. If you just need a ruler, get one free. Don't pay for it.

To answer the creator of "Ruler Phone", your idea to use the camera is good (even if you're not the only one using this feature), but unfortunetely, I found it difficult to use and lacks accuracy. Sorry.

After testing all the apps, I got down to 3 contenders. They all features several tools for the price of one:

- ihandy carpenter (5 tools for $1.99)

- Army knife (6 tools for $0.99)

- Dimensions (13 tools for $1.99)

iCarpenter contains a ruler, a protractor, 2 level and a lead knob to measure verticality (kind of another level). It is very well designed, but it's too much of a level app for my need. The protractor is well made though and it is the only one to have this. I am not sure why the developer came up with so many different levels for roughly the same function each time. But good designs.

Army knife looks like a swiss army knife that features 6 tools. A light (the screen turns to white basically) a heart beat counter, a level, a tape measure, a caliper and a SOS generator.

The design of the app is not as nice as iCarpenter or Dimensions. Tools are also not so nice. I liked the level and the carpenter, but all the others are a bit limitated or difficult to use. The tape measure for instance is not very clear as the increments are not labeled. The app is lacking a ruler. Also, the app is not using the full screen mode, so it is wasting some screen real estate. A bit of a shame.

Dimensions is the best of all the ruler apps I have tested.

The graphics are absolutely stunning. It features 13 tools packed in a 3D animated tool case. The tool case features 2 plates. The first one contains a ruler, a caliper, a tape measure, a flexible tape measure, a long tape measure, a decameter, a pedometer.

The second plate contains a measuring glass for ingredients, a level, a compass, a unit converter, a speedometer and the best of all, a lightning distance measurer (this one is absolutely great and so fun to use).

Now regarding the measuring tools, this is where Dimensions beats all the others. Very accurate and what I like the most is the fact that you can measure any distances ranging from a few milimiters using their caliper up to hundreds of miles with a pedometer that uses the GPS and works also as a heart beat counter.

Like Ruler Phone, Dimensions uses the camera of your iPhone to measure distances. But unlike Ruler Phone, that one works really well. Too long to detail here on how it works, but I have tested it and it's unbeleivably accurate. How they do it, I don't know ?

This app is un-be-lei-vable.

This app should be sold at least $4.99 or more. I don't know what went through the developer's mind. Most of the tools alone that make Dimensions could be sold like $2.99.

So 13 for $1.99 is just crazy.

Well, better for us.

I hope I helped.

alphajack7 · January 10, 2009 4:23PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minimac

Thanks "Sandau" but I already have a nice $25.00 tape measure. I'm an architect.

I am trying to justify my $ 300+ spending on my iPhone to my wife by telling her that I will actually be capable of selling my $25.00 tape measure on eBay ...

and my $200.00 watch ...

and my $90.00 HP calculator ...

and my $150.00 iPod ...

and my $200.00 camera ...

and my $300.00 Tomtom GPS ....

and I am running out of excuses here.

Please help !.

No but seriously, the iPhone being packed with sensors (GPS, accelerometer ...etc) I thought that I could find a great measuring tool. Just for the fun of it.

Anyway, most of the apps I mentionned are either free or $0.99 and cross the $ 5.00 mark, so I am being ridiculous here.

I will buy some of them and let you guys know.

Best.

Don't forget to also sell your $12 flashlight and $7 checkerboard.

Too many rulers. AAAARRGHHHHH !!!!

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