A new app is like candy:
It’s fun, bite-sized, and gives you a rush. Whether you prefer the iTunes App
Store or Google Play, you’ll find an all-you-can-download buffet of
mind-blowing software for your mobile device.
People are always asking me what apps
they should get. The answer depends, of course, on many things. What are your
pastimes? What do you need help with? Some people subsist on Tinder. Others are
obsessed with Google Translate, or Pokémon Go, or Pandora. We each have our
unique preferences. But certain apps rise above the rest. They’re
powerful, they’re fun, and they’re incredibly useful. They’re top in their
category, and almost every user ends up exclaiming, “Wow, I can’t believe how
cool this thing is!” Here are 10 of those must-have apps, plus a bonus.
Waze
What would happen if you combined the
geography of Google Maps with the mentality of Twitter? It would probably look
something like Waze, a navigational tool that also uses crowd-sourced data. The
little map will show you fellow Waze users on the highway, and they routinely
report accidents and speed traps to make your trip smoother. Read more details on Waze.
Photoshop Fix
For casual shooters, Adobe Photoshop is
overkill. There’s no need to “rasterize” a photo, add layers, or “lasso” pieces
of an image. Most people just want to fiddle with the contrast and retouch the
photo a bit. Now you can do that from your phone, thanks to Adobe’s Photoshop
Fix. But there’s more. You can automatically add color and remove entire chunks
of a photo, such as an unsightly tattoo, with a few finger swabs. No graphic
design degree required. More details on Photoshop Fix.
Buffer
Social media is fun, but it can also be a
lot of work. You can spend hours crafting the right tweet, then the right
Facebook post, then an Instagram photo, then… well, you know. Buffer allows you
to orchestrate all of these social media releases from the same dashboard, and
you can even schedule the date and time that the posts are sent out. For
campaign managers and businesspeople, Buffer is an incredible luxury,
aggregating such disparate services as Pinterest and Tumblr. More details onBuffer.
Pact
You’ve gained a few pounds. Your doctor
has given you a frightening prognosis. Whatever the reason, you want to get
exercise and feel healthier, but what you need is hard motivation. That’s where
Pact comes in. You set health goals on the app, and when you don’t reach them,
you have to pay other Pact members money. Like, real
money. But when you do reach your goals, other people
pay you. It’s kind of like gambling, except you always win, as long as you
reach your benchmarks. Pact may sound like a crazy gimmick, but it has inspired
11.8 million workouts to date, claiming a 92% success rate. Read more on Pact.
Sleep Cycle
We all know about our “circadian rhythm,”
or sleep cycles. Over the course of 90 minutes, typical sleepers enter
different phases of sleep, from light sleep to the dreamy REM phase and back.
It would be nice to harness that cycle to our benefit, but how could we? We’re
asleep! Sleep Cycle is an app that takes data on your sleep patterns, and then
it figures out the right time to wake you up. This might sound unsettling at
first, but Sleep Cycle has helped millions of people figure out their perfect
“wake up” phase. The app also takes irregular sleep into account, and the
“intelligent snooze” feature is tailored to your unique waking habits. Read more on Sleep Cycle.
Google Trips
Travel is wonderful for the soul, but it
can be a very cluttered experience. You’ve got plane tickets, handbooks,
printed itineraries, car rental details, hotel addresses scrawled on napkins,
camera gear, backup batteries, and a million other doodads stuffed in your
cargo pants. Google Trips takes your travel information and aggregates
it. You can list all of your booking information, all of your itineraries, and
all information about local eateries and monuments into one app. Can’t get
reception in the middle of Mongolia? Google Trips works fluidly offline as
well.
Dark Sky
“They said it would be sunny!” exclaims
the frustrated fisherman as rain pours over his boat. If the smiling TV
weatherman has lost your trust, and you’re skeptical of the free weather app on
your phone, consider Dark Sky. Billed as a “hyper-local” weather forecaster,
this app is designed to predict the weather in your exact location. This can be
especially handy in mountainous regions, where every little valley experiences
its own weather, or in the Great Plains, where storms sweep past at a moment’s
notice. Detailed maps show you exactly what weather is brewing, and you can
receive notifications as frequently as you like. Click
here for complete details on Dark Sky.
Mint
For many of us, managing money is kind of
like keeping a tidy house. It would be great to keep pristine spreadsheets,
scan our receipts, and integrate all of our account information into a single
platform. Well, Mint makes
that easy. Not only can you keep track of earnings, expenses, and tax
information, but you can automatically pay bills and draft budgets, right on
your mobile device. What’s more, you can check your credit score at a glance,
no third-party service required. Remember, it’s never too late for a New Year’s
resolution.
Magisto
Yes, you could hire a videographer to
cast, shoot, and edit your online commercial. Then you get a bill for $40,000.
Is there a cheaper way to do this? True to its name, Magisto as the magical
ability to transform amateur photos and footage into breathtaking short videos.
Ready-to-use templates result in feisty, professional-looking spots, and
there’s a whole library of royalty-free music to fit any mood. Whether you’re a
hobbyist hoping to move up from iMovie or a business owner making a
professional advertorial, Magisto will make it happen. Read
more on Magisto.
Bonus: My Free App
If you’ve read this far, you know that
you’ll want to learn more. Free my Apps links you to their website where you can get all what you need. You can check weather and traffic reports without
having to leave the app. Plus there are always contests afoot – and these are
prizes you won’t want to miss.
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