Finding ’appiness
There are many task-manager apps in the Apps store and the Playstore, but Any.DO makes it easy to add any task, but then the app lets you drag and drop that task into different folders, or onto different days. This makes it as easy to add something to next week’s to-do list as to today’s to-do list. You can also share tasks from the app, using your contacts or Android beam. I like that there is a version for Chrome, so that you can use a full keyboard to input all your daily tasks, which are synched to your iOS or Android devices.
* Chrome, Android and iOS — FREE
The built-in browsers for Android and iOS work well, but if you want an alternative and you don’t like Chrome, then consider Dolphin Browser. You can set up custom gestures, it synchs with Google bookmarks, and it supports many plug-ins. You can also grab any web content and send a tweet, post in Facebook, or email, direct from Dolphin.
The ability to create tabs, like Chrome, is one of the reasons I like it.
* iOS, Android — FREE
Flipboard brings together world and social news in a beautiful magazine designed for phones and tablets. There are buckets of categories to choose, or you can choose a specific feed or website. Once you pick a category, Flipboard will build an up-to-the-minute feed and present it to you in a magazine-style, page-flipping manner. When you find things that you want to save for later, or collect into your own ‘magazine’ on Flipboard, just tap the ‘plus’ + button on any item.
You can also use Flipboard to see posts and photos shared by friends on Facebook and Instagram, and videos on YouTube.
* Android, iOS — FREE
There’s no shortage of photo apps for adding effects or just touching them up, but SnapSeed offers more comprehensive photo-editing, with ease. Although there are plenty of one-click filters to choose, you can also do detailed image-manipulation. Google owns the company that makes SnapSeed, so it has a Google Plus bias, but you can also share to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks, using the ‘share’ function in the gallery.
* Android, iOS
I hate that Apple only support specific video formats, but, with the AirVideo app, you don’t have to convert and then transfer videos to your iOS device. I have all sorts of videos on my PC, in every kind of video format, but with AirVideo you simply download the free server software for your PC or Mac, and install the app or your device, and then you can access all the video you have stored on your computer, from wherever you are.
The system works best via a Wi-Fi network. The AirVideo app finds your computer instantly, and brings up thumbnails of all the available videos. Although a little buggy, you can configure the server software and app to share videos.
* iOS — from FREE to €2.69
If you’re looking for a reliable app to record your conversations, check out In Call Recorder. Once it’s installed, you’ll see a phone icon in the top, right-hand corner of the screen — press this during a call and it will start recording. You can also send files to WhatsApp, Dropbox, or your email, with the pro version.
* Android €0.85
The Flatout series is one of the most popular stunt titles on gaming consoles, and this mobile version delivers all the same, exciting action. The game is optimised for Tegra-powered devices, but it runs on a variety of Android smartphones and tablets. It’s free to play, but it’s a 542MB download, so make sure you’re on Wi-Fi.
* Android — FREE
Candy Crush Saga is one of the more popular games on Facebook and smartphones. Switch and match your way through more than 100 levels in this sadly addictive, jewel-style, puzzle adventure.
Although Candy Crush Saga is free to play, in-game items, such as extra moves or lives, will require payment.
* iOS and Android — FREE
Meteor is a digital, multi-track recorder designed for the iPad.
The program features up to 16 tracks (24 with In-App) of high-quality audio, a built-in mixer, virtual instruments and multi-effects processor. Meteor is ideal for creating musical compositions, and also a great tool for journalists and business people, who need to splice and piece together voice notes, narration or dictation. Compositions, once mixed, can be exported to standard file formats for use on your PC or Mac.
You can apply various effects to your recordings, either directly, as part of the recording process, or in real-time during playback.
* iPad €17.99
This is one of my favourite apps and if you’re into stringed instruments, an absolute must. The app includes a chromatic tuner, every scale known to man, a chord library, chord finder, metronome, customs tunings, support for multiple stringed instruments (including violin, mandolin, banjo, 4-, 5-, and 6-string bass, and even ukulele).
Another cool feature is a transition mode for left-handed musicians. GuitarToolkit is available for both iPhone and iPad.
* €4.49 (iPhone and iPad)
A good internet radio app is essential on any smartphone and this is available for most operating systems. TuneIn lets you listen to the world’s radio, streaming from every continent. Enjoy 70,000 live radio stations and 2m podcasts. Free, but there is a pro version (€3.84), which allows you to record.
* Android, iOS, Windows Mobile and Blackberry
This is one of my most used apps and a must for those who plan their activities around the weather.
I have tried different weather apps, but have found Weather Pro to be the most accurate at predicting our Irish weather, but it also can forecast the weather in 2 million locations worldwide.
Highlights include global satellite, plus radar, for the USA, UK and much of Europe. Images can be animated with interactive elements.
* iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Nokia Symbian OS. €2.99.
When I took up cycling last year, I tried a number of apps to track my rides and measure progress. Strava turned out to be the one I liked best and now I use it pretty much every day. It is an app that allows you to record your cycle (running is also available) — how far, how fast, how long — and track your progress. &
You can also follow friends who use Strava, take part in challenges and see how you are improving... especially on those climbs!
Already popular in Dublin, the Hailo taxi app launched in Cork this week. It’s a brilliant little app that’s a safe, fast and efficient way to get a taxi. Sign up to the service and from then on, just one tap on your screen will find the nearest free car. You instantly get the driver’s ETA, plate number, phone number and a picture. And you can choose to pay by credit card or cash each time. It’s a must-have for any women on the town and every parent should ensure their teen has it. I wouldn’t be without Hailo for practicality, but if it’s fun I’m after, I have been known to spend waaaay too long playing FlightControl (free) — indulging my childhood fantasy of being an air traffic controller.
I know you will all be saying... what shameless self promotion. But honestly, since beta stage the new Irish Examiner app is my favourite mobile news app. I was lucky enough to be the editorial lead on the creative brief and as such it reflects my love of news and the need — I felt — to supply an app which did not try and compete with the unique experience of print or the limitless depth of desktop but simply supplied a snapshot of news stories across a variety of subjects for people on the go. I am especially proud of the home page carousel which means you can get the headlines every second of every day.
This is the one I pondered most on shelling out a few shillings for. And, of all the 100 or so apps on my iPhone, it’s the one I use most. Endomondo is a GPS-based sports tracker training app for cycling, walking, or in my case, running and is available on iOS, Android, Windows and BlackBerry. The free version offers GPS tracking of your favourite activity including duration, distance, speed, split lap times and calories.
For the more competitive person it is worth coughing up the €4.99 for the pro version which offers challenges, has a customised audio coach, time goals, performance graphs etc. Indispensable? Yes. Addictive? No — I will reserve that one for the very annoying, all-consuming, relationship-ruining app named Candy Crush which I eventually had to delete from my iPhone. I am still too traumatised to talk about it.
Worryingly addictive, not least because it’s an invaluable news source. It’s a dereliction of duty for a media person not to be on Twitter. Frustrating too, because it’s making life ever harder for a newspaper hack to keep a lid on things for tomorrow’s edition.
We were trying to keep Ronan O’Gara’s move to Racing Metro under wraps for a couple of days but it was tweeted from France a few hours before our publication. I make a point of keeping my phone out of arm’s length when the red mist’s around.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
