Message to Suzanne Somers from many of her fans who own iPhones, “we’ve been waiting for you!”
After three television series (including her iconic role as Chrissy Snow on Three’s Company), 22 books and multiple motion picture roles, Somers earlier this year made her mobile media debut. And if you’re worried that her Nap26 iOS application will put users to sleep, don’t fret. That’s the point.
“There is something very refreshing about the idea of being able to take a nap in the middle of the day,” said Somers, who added that while she gets plenty of requests from retailers to hawk their wares, she only sells “cutting edge health” products that don’t require pharmaceuticals.
Nap26, which is available to download to iPhones and iPads for $1.99, is a simple and effective sleep aid that helps users catch a few Z’s in the middle of the day. Best consumed with earphones and a sleep mask, the app’s soundtrack includes opening instructions to relax and recline followed by 26 minutes of white noise. Nap26 concludes with the sounds of birds chirping, a literal wake up call to get you on with your day.
While there are hundreds of white noise apps and sleep aids available in the App Store, I can personally attest that Nap26 delivers. It worked for me last week. Maybe my sweet dreams were due to a lifelong affection for Somers (I think I saw all 44 episodes of She’s the Sheriff), or they could have been the result of of waking up at 3:45 a.m. earlier that day. Whatever the case, I’ll be using the app again and may even splurge for the $2.99 premium version that offers a 90-minute nap option.
Frolicking, laughing and splashing with her iPhone
Although Nap26 is Somers’ first foray into iOS applications, she is a huge enthusiast who owns an iPad and is on her fourth iPhone 4. Somers literally equates losing an iPhone to being caught with her pants down.
“I’ve dropped two into toilets,” she admitted. “I like to keep them in the back pocket of my jeans. When I unbuckle my belt, it has a tendency of slipping out. It doesn’t matter how fast you get it out of the toilet at that point. It’s done.”
When Somers waterlogging her iPhone, she likes to tap into an array of apps, from productivity, to shopping to instant messaging tools. While her claim-to-fame role teases around the possibility of multi-playing with roommates, Somers is not a gamer.
“I see Game Center on my phone, but I’ve never really used it,” she said.
When we spoke the day after Steve Jobs announced his resignation of Apple, Somers – a breast cancer survivor – said a world without Steve Jobs innovating would be “a tragedy to humanity.”
“There is no way to calculate the brainpower of that man,” she said.
Moving forward, Somers plans to record new voice-tracks for Nap26 and opportunistically associate herself with health-related applications that fit her criteria.
When asked about the possibility of creating an iPhone app inspired by the Thighmaster, Somers lamented that even Apple’s iconic smartphone is not up to the challenge.
“I just can’t figure out how you squeeze underneath,” she said.
Yet another design feature to hope for from the iPhone 5.
