8 Apps You Need to Download

Phone desk

Embrace your inner nerd. Life is more interesting that way.

One of my geeky tendencies is to create systems and short cuts for as many things in life as possible. Apps have become a key part of this dorky endeavor. A few days ago a listener asked us to talk about our favorite apps on-air, and we were pleasantly surprised by the number of requests for our lists. So, because I’m a giver, here’s my current pile of favorite apps:

SmartNews SmartNews. This is hands down my favorite source for news. It effectively identifies trending stories, and allows you to quickly browse through a long list of diverse sources. There’s also a feature called “Smart View” that skips past all the graphics and ads leaving you only with the text of a story. I use this app every day preparing for our three hour live morning show. (iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

Buffer Buffer. Social media has the tendency to take over your attention and your life. That’s why I love Buffer. It allows you to schedule times when you want items to be posted to various social media outlets. All you have to do is fill up your Buffer cue, and it will automatically post stuff for you at the times you’ve set. That way, you can treat social media engagement as another one of your daily tasks. (iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

Amazon Music Amazon Music. Most people with an Amazon Prime membership have no idea they get anything more than free two day shipping. Access to the Amazon Music app is an incredible membership perk. It allows you to download tons of music for offline listening…for free. In addition, it serves as a slick music player for all the songs saved locally on your phone. I exclusively use this app for listening to music. (iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

Outlook Outlook. Email is an essential part of our daily lives. The best app available for email is Microsoft’s Outlook app (I know, I’m just as shocked as you that Microsoft created something useful). The app is simple, intuitive, and includes some great features. It helps you filter through unwanted emails with a “focused” and “other” inbox feature. Most importantly, it allows you to schedule emails that you don’t need now to return to your inbox at a date and time of your choosing. (I explain more about this app and other email tips in a recent post. For more, click here. To download now for iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

icon175x175 Genius Scan. Basically, it’s a scanner for your phone. Got an old photo without a digital copy? Genius Scan quickly creates an excellent jpeg copy using your phone’s camera. Got receipts to scan for business expenses, or documents to sign and return to someone? It also creates high quality PDF files. An added bonus is seamless connectivity with Dropbox, Evernote, email and more. There’s other scanning apps out there, but this one is my favorite. (iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

Dropbox DropBox. I use this app and it’s corresponding software every day. All of your data, files, documents, photos and music can be securely stored and accessed on all of your devices. It’s also the most convenient way to share files with others. Free accounts are available, but I pay for expanded storage. If you want to dig deeper to understand more about how DropBox works, their website explains things well. Get there now by clicking here. (iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

Flixster Flixster. I love movies. Unfortunately, it’s often cumbersome to find trailers, theaters and showtimes online. Flixter enables you to quickly and easily find nearby theaters and showtimes. You can also see when movies are scheduled to release, watch trailers and buy tickets right in the app. (iTunes click here. Google Play click here.)

action movie Action Movie. My kids love creating movies with my phone. We’ve made great memories developing epic films as an entire family. The cornerstone of our fun is this app. It gives a novice with an iPhone the ability to add decent special effects into their “movies”. We’ve dropped boulders on cars, interacted with Star Wars characters, blown-up houses with missiles and ran from monsters. The best part? The app is free and comes with some basic effects. Don’t worry – purchasing additional special effects is cheap. (iTunes click here.)

 

photo credit: iPhone 6 & Retina Boys via photopin (license)

4 Replies to “8 Apps You Need to Download”

  1. Brian, I always benefit from your blogs – this time, no exception. Just downloaded Smart News. Thanks for caring about your readers and your listeners!

  2. Cool stuff there Brian. It appears they all work better on an apple phone. Very useful stuff there especially with “SmartNews”.

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