App Recommendation: Launch Center

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had the same four apps in my iPhone’s dock:

• Phone
• Mail
• Safari
• Settings

This week, in a major upheaval in my life, Launch Center replaced Settings in the Dock.

Now, this app isn’t one for everyday users. It’s closest Mac cousin is Automator, really. Here’s how App Cubby describes it on its site:

Launch apps and trigger actions from a quick, easy to use app! Call a friend, start an email, send a text, post to Twitter, turn on a flashlight — get to where you’re going faster than ever before.

In short, it’s Siri for your fingertips.[1] Instead of dealing with 4 or 5 taps to do something, Launch Center sets up an action to get right to where you want to be. They can even be scheduled, as of the newest version of the app.

To do this, the app uses custom URLs that other developers can include in their applications. Even the built-in Settings app uses them. Here are the shortcuts I have setup:

If you use your iPhone as a computer, you should check this app out. It’s just 99¢ on the App Store.