For your app-roval: Apps that keep me app-y
Being tethered to my smartphone (a Sony Z3, if you're asking) most of the time like a lot of us here, I do get used to using a fair few apps- so a short article about some of my most used ones seems like a perfect way to kick off writing Public Access posts for this esteemed website. Here goes!
Bus Checker
After the messaging apps and Facebook and Twitter, this is probably my most used app. Living in Bristol, a city where the buses have a tendency to be notoriously unreliable at times, the development of real time information has changed the way I use public transport for the better. You just select the bus stop from the map, and it comes up with a view of all the buses that stop there along with when the next few buses are likely to turn up. Simple! If it says 2 minutes, you get a move on, if it says 20 minutes, you've got time to finish your cup of tea. No hanging around at bus stops.
BBC iPlayer Radio
Brilliant app for accessing the Beeb's radio stations. I love the big wheel for scrolling between all the stations, and there's easy access to on demand programmes and podcasts such as the excellent Radio 5 Live film review podcast with Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode. Who needs Apple Beats 1 when you've got BBC Radio 6 Music?
Snake Rewind
I'm a sucker for nostalgia, and this new iteration of the classic phone game is every bit as addictive as when I was playing Snake 2 back in the day on the Nokia 3310. It takes a bit of getting used to the tap or swipe controls on the touchscreen, but once you do you'll lose hours to it. You can unlock several levels all with their own retro designs, including the last one which is the classic black and green LCD that started it all!
Android Wear Find My Phone
Watch apps count, right? I'm forever losing my phone down the back of the sofa or in some pile of clutter somewhere in the house, so tapping on my wrist to make my phone ring so I can find it is a great thing to have as it avoids having to turn everything upside down to find it (at least you hope you don't have to turn everything upside down, sometimes that still happens!).