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Bobby Travis

This is a post by Bobby Travis, who wrote with me at 40Tech from 2009 through 2012. Bobby has since moved on to bigger and better things, but I've left all of his great contributions up on the site. - Evan

Latest posts by Bobby Travis (see all)

• Easy Access to US, UK Streaming Services From Anywhere - August 18, 2012
• 5 Fresh Android Games Released in 2012 - July 5, 2012
• Google Chrome Explodes On To iOS, Puts Desktop Experience In Your Pocket - June 30, 2012

Whether you are single and dating or have been married for years, it is always a challenge to come up with interesting date ideas. Sometimes “dinner and a movie” just isn’t enough, you know? Thankfully, some folks up in Canada — in the Greater Vancouver area, just like l’il ol’ me — have taken the time to create an iPhone app that helps solve that problem.

DateBank is a simple, slot-machine style app. There is a slot for Style, one for Budget, and one fore Time of day. Select from a range of style entries like Playful, Chatty, Artsy and, Outdoorsy, pick a price range and a time of day, hit “Show Results” and voila! A list of interesting date options will appear, each with a fun description and some tips on how to take it up a notch. If you’re unsure of what to select from the slots, there is an option for that, as well, along with some tips, a ranking/sharing element, and the ability to submit your own ideas for inclusion.

Here are a few results from a search for Playful/$20-60/Afternoon, as well as the top-ranked dates on the app, currently:

DateBank costs $0.99 and is a fun and useful app. There are a few things I hope to see in the near future, however, such as a local component (which ought to work well with the suggestions area), and the “shake for a random idea” function to start working. Other mobile apps and a web app for the mobile-impaired would also be useful, as would a social element that allows people to give a brief description of how the date went.

In fact, I think it would be very cool if some of you grown up geeks out there were to try DateBank and let us know how it worked out for you! I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours…