Appidemic: Bean – A Counting App for iPhone and iPod touch

Every now and again, you just need to count things. Maybe multiple things. Could be research for a paper, could be how many times you ate out in a month (and many of those times were at Chipotle), could be to prove a point to a coworker or spouse. Whatever your needs, Bean – A Counting App will likely meet them, and will do so quite elegantly.

What is it?

Bean is about as basic as an app can be, allowing you to manually count up to nine simultaneous items with simple tap and swipe gestures. The interface reflects this basic functionality, taking minimalism and dipping it in a colorful, candy coating.

How does it work?

Bean displays up to nine individual counters, which you can drop down to four or one by zooming in on them. To customize a counter, you zoom in on one so it fills the screen, then tap the edit button. Here, you can name the counter, adjust the number or reset it, and change the color.

Once your counters are set, you simply tap on them to increase the number, or two-finger tap to lower the number. Counters can also be rearranged by tapping and holding them, then sliding them to their new position like iOS apps.

It’s all pretty slick, but it should have an automated option. I’d like to be able to count down to numerous events automatically, rather than by having to tap the counters every day. Same for counting up. I recently climbed over 500 months in age, after all. That would’ve been something to watch coming, but I would’ve never remembered to tap a button in an iPhone app each month on my way there.

Is it contagious?

How badly do you need to count things? You may find yourself starting to counting things you wouldn’t have otherwise, such as how many times you hear “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” on the radio during the holiday season or how many times you catch that really annoying stoplight red. I find it helpful to remind my daughter of just how many teams she’s said, “You’re so mean!” this week, or to let my son see how often we whines about what we’re having for supper.

Having this ability on a device I pretty much always have with me has become quite fun, and at only $0.99, you can try having some fun with it, too.

Category: Utilities
Seller: Small Planet Digital
Cost: $0.99
Buy: Bean – A Counting App