You may wonder why a post about apps is under Passions, but my family will tell you that I spend an inordinate amount of my time ‘in app’. I just love apps and I’m not the only one. Apps are huge business with the internet seriously losing out to them. Nearly 80% of our time on a mobile device is now within an app with users having an average of 23 apps on their phones, ten of which they use regularly.
I love the fact that with a few taps of my finger on my mobile I can buy a headboard, do the weekly shopping, check my bank balance, comment on my friends’ Facebook posts, check train times into London, write emails and see how many days it is until my youngest son’s birthday (40 days, 8 hours and 37 minutes). But with 20,000 apps launched every week all vying for the real estate space on your phone, how do you prioritise? I’m sure I don’t really need three weather apps but I am a bit of a weather geek and I like to make triple sure I am wearing the right clothes (no such thing as bad weather, just unsuitable clothing).
I do get irritated by the apps Apple has forced onto my phone, mainly because I never use them – I don’t even possess stocks and shares, rarely require a compass and do not want an Apple Watch. I like to be able to choose what is appropriate to me. So with that here are a few of my recommends.
John Lewis
The department store online, scroll through bed linen, swimsuits, eye cream or trampolines, then click and collect the next day. There is pretty much nothing you can’t buy on there – a birthday present for Aunty Lou, a new pair of Birkenstocks or the weird lamp light bulb that nowhere else seems to sell.
Flixster
Not only does this app tell you if the film you want to see is an absolute turkey, it also gives you the show times nearest to you and some cinemas even allow you to book in app. It has a quick film synopsis and you can look up all the actors and where you have seen them before – ‘oooooohhh, it’s HIM!’.
National Rail Enquiries
Does what it says on the tin – train times to get you (almost) from Land’s End to John O’Groats and everywhere in between.
Yahoo Weather
My favourite weather app, mainly because it does a 10 day forecast so I have major advance warning of heavy snow or a searing heatwave. It also pulls in images from Flickr of the place where you are checking the weather so lovely pics to look at too.
Countdown
Plug in important events and this little app will provide you with a countdown to each event in an at a glance colour-coded list. Perfect for those of us who love a good list and also like the tension of checking how many days until you inevitably need to do something.
The daddy of all social networks – I rarely look at Facebook on a desktop anymore, I do all my social exchanges ‘in-app’. Upload pictures instantly from your phone, cut and paste links and like, block and unfollow away.
P-Tracker
Brilliant little app, if like me you can be a little bit forgetful of your cycle or if you think your body is going through hormonal changes, a really easy way to track them with lovely graphics to track your mood and symptoms – just don’t tell the boys.
That’s a quick round up of some of my faves – I am always looking for great apps so which apps couldn’t you live without? M
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