Apps are not just for smartphones and tablets. Many apps are web based and accessed through your web browser. You don’t have to have a smart phone or tablet to use some of the most popular apps.
However, when people buy smartphones or tablets, they often ask me what apps they should know about. I’m always happy to make suggestions based on antheir lifestyle and interests.
Since you may have received a gadget as a holiday gift, I thought it would be a good time to tell you about a few of my favorites apps and programs. You may already be using some of these but you may discover some new ones to try. Enjoy!
Entertainment and Media:
Netflix let’s you watch an unlimited number movies and television shows online for only $8.95 mo. You can train it to make suggestions for you based on the movies you watch and how you rate them. You can even set up separate profiles for individual family members! And, there are no commercials!!!
You can connect your gadget to your TV and watch movies on it too.
Chromecast from Google $35
Roku Streaming Stick $50
Apple TV $99
Spotify let’s you listen to music for free. It even has playlists by subject or genre. The variety is astounding and there are no commercials!!!
YouTube is a must for doing research on any topic that can be best explained with a video. Think recipes, repairing things, movie previews, songs, lyrics, instructional videos, and answers to absolutely any question under the sun.
Shazam listens to songs on the radio, TV or movies. It identifies the song title, shows you the performer, album, lyrics and links you to sites where you can purchase.
Productivity:
Dropbox is a great app for cloud storage and sharing. When you put files in there, you can access them from anygadget or computer. I use the phone app to play audio files of lectures and seminars. It’s super easy to learn and you get 2GB of storage for free. By referring your friends to Dropbox, you can earn up to 16GB of additional space. Sign up here
One of the most popular productivity tools for home and business is Microsoft Office. Unfortunately, Office documents don’t always play nice with third-party apps. Now Microsoft has released the Microsoft Office Mobile app. It lets you open, create and perform basic editing on Word, Excel and PowerPoint files no matter where you are.
Mint.com and its app (Free, and available for Android and iOS) links to your all your bank accounts, credit card accounts and loans so you always know just how much money you have and how you are spending it. You can set up spending categories and create a budget for each category. I love it for keeping track of my income and expenses for paying my taxes.
The Weather Channel app and weather.com show you the current temperature, the hourly forecast and the next 10 days of weather. Also you get a customizable radar map, video clips, severe weather alerts and beach conditions. It’s better than your gadget’s built-in weather app.
You don’t want to burn through your cellular data plan when you are out and about or on a trip, so you need to useWi-Fi whenever possible. You can find free Wi-Fi locations with the Free Wi-Fi Finder app.
Dating:
Match.com app has earned the top spot in dating apps and is my favorite.
POF.com (Plenty of Fish) is very popular here in the desert and is free.
Navigation:
Google Maps is my favorite navigation app. I especially appreciate that it invites you to submit corrections. Youget an email thanking you for your help and then a follow up email when the corrections have been made.
Uber is an app-based transportation network that uses a smartphone application to receive ride requests, and then sends these trip requests to their drivers. Customers love using the app to request rides and to track their reserved vehicle’s location. Uber’s drivers use their own cars and there is a variety of types of vehicles available, from Town Cars to SUVs and more. One of my friends is a driver for Uber and just loves it. It’s a win-win for everybody.
Other Popular Apps
Here are some other popular apps that I don’t find the time to use very often, but you might enjoy.
Save Money
The RetailMeNot app helps you find promo codes and coupons for more than 50,000 physical and online stores, including grocery stores. You can save and store coupons for later, and share the savings with your friends through social media.
Photo Editing
Snapseed is the top app for photo-editing and VSCO Cam is gaining ground in popularity.
Social and Sharing
Pinterest, WhatsApp and Snapchat are the top apps in messaging and texting.
Instagram and Facebook are considered the must-haves for social sharing. The Facebook app got me interestedin using Facebook more often because it is so easy to use.
Sports
WatchESPN.com is the most popular app for sports fans.
Fitness
MyFitnessPal is the top fitness app.
Do you have any favorite apps to share?
There are thousands of apps and recommendations from friends is the best way to sort through the maze. Do you have some favorite apps not mentioned here? Post your comments below so everyone can benefit from your ideas.
Your computer is set to go to sleep after a certain period of non-use, and the screen may go dark, but that is not the same as shutting down. So please choose one night a week to give your machine a complete break and an opportunity for a fresh start in the morning.
The Desert Computer Tutor 