Must Have Apps

In today’s blog entry, I’d like to give you my list of must-have apps. I, like so many others, depend on my iPhone to help me get through the day, and it’s useful for more than just calls, texts, email, and Internet. If you have the right apps and use them right, then you know exactly why they call them smartphones – because they make you appear much more savvy, intelligent, and “on top of things” than you usually would without them (and they save you having those post it notes all over the place). Without further ado, here’s a list of apps that makes my life easier. Some come standard, and some are worth swinging by the app store for:

Calendar – all hail this app! It’s great having my schedule at the tap of a finger. Plus, you can set reminders so you don’t forget meetings, appointments, or other important things and events (like birthdays and anniversaries).

Reminder – or as I like to call it, the electronic sticky note. This app is fantastic for those little things that you need to do, but hate to clog up your calendar with. Like the calendar app, you can set reminders so you remember to take care of those pesky little things that keep trying to leak out of your brain.

Notes – this is fantastic for everything: shopping lists, “to do” lists, writing ideas, directions, meeting notes, recipes, and various odds and ends that you need to keep track of. This one too is a great electronic sticky note.

Safe Note – this is a great app to invest in for storing more secure notes like passwords and financial information that you need easily accessible, but don’t want “out there” for anybody that can get into your phone. It works just like the Note app, but you set a password to access it.

Calculator – it’s how I balance my checkbook, and it’s handy to have because actual calculators are another one of those pesky items that tend to break or get lost on me frequently.

The Weather Channel – your phone comes with a weather app, but this app is connected to The Weather Channel and allows you to set locations where you need weather forecasts, and you can get weather alerts right on your phone. This is great to have if you travel.

Kindle – ebooks are fantastic because you can have your books on your phone, so you can read anytime, anywhere. The great thing about this app is that it links to your Amazon account, so it will sync up with other devices that you have the app on (like tablets). I have other ereader apps on my phone, but this one is the best, most stable, and most user friendly.   

Camera – I’m not a big one on pictures, but I have to admit that the cameras on smartphones take the best pictures. Plus, it’s easy to use and great for catching those great moments, silly parrot shenanagins, and “you have to see it to believe it” moments.

iP (iPeriod) – ladies, this is a must have because you know you may be called upon at any time to give the exact date and duration of your last period. This app not only tracks that, but your symptoms too, and can chart your expected dates in the future.

Fandango – forget searching the newspaper or Internet for movie times; this app can find it for you. You can search by movie or theater and have showtimes in a flash.

USB Disk Pro – my one gripe about smartphones and tablets is the inability to create Word or Excel documents on them, but this app is great because it allows you to save documents in Adobe Acrobat format. You still can’t create them, but it’s good to have if somebody sends you a document that you might need to reference on the go.

Flashlight – so handy to have in power outages and those dark corners and crevices.

These are the apps that make my day to day life easier. Are you using them to your best advantage? Give them a try. You might be pleasantly surprised.

That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.

Bye!