# 10 smart phone apps you can't imagine life without! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957 "2012-06-12T21:11:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/1 "2012-06-12T21:11:31Z")
My kids have finally shamed me into getting a smart phone. Now they tell me I need to figure out what “apps” I will be using. The only one I’m familiar with - from several friends - is [gasbuddy.com](http://gasbuddy.com). Which allows for fast and easy price shopping among local gas stations. What are the top 5 or 10 apps that you couldn’t imagine going without and why? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/2 "2012-06-12T21:22:00Z")
Is it an iPhone or an Android? ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/3 "2012-06-12T21:25:09Z")
It’s a Samsung Focus through AT&T. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/4 "2012-06-12T21:32:28Z")
Red Laser-Great for checking prices when out and about based on the bar code. Ticket to Ride-My favorite board game to play on my phone. Pandora-Streaming music Waze-The best free GPS map with turn-by-turn directions, traffic, and cop warnings (speed traps) Zombies, Run. Is a silly but awesome app. It takes exercising into a horror movie. Square- Haven’t used it yet but it’s free including the attachment. This is an app that lets you take credit cards and deposits it to your bank account. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/5 "2012-06-12T21:34:26Z")
FaceTime ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/6 "2012-06-12T21:46:57Z")
Your smartphone has a built-in GPS unit. You should definitely take advantage of that factoid somehow. I’m going to suggest downloading (if it’s not already installed) Google Maps. It’s free, and lets you use your smartphone as a Garmin-like device for navigation purposes. Even if you only use it in emergency situations it’s a lot better than nothing. This is definitely a specialty case here, but I’m a golfer and there are a number of free or low-cost apps that turn your smartphone (iPhone, android-based phone, or Windpws-7-based phone) into a golf GPS device. A standalone golf GPS device costs over $100, and probably more like $150. The app I use is called SkyDroid - available for a mere $1.99 on either the iPhone or Android platform. I’ve got to confess that these days I play all of my Android-based games on my tablet rather than my smartphone - the screen’s a lot bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/7 "2012-06-12T22:06:46Z")
-**[ColorNote](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.socialnmobile.dictapps.notepad.color.note&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5zb2NpYWxubW9iaWxlLmRpY3RhcHBzLm5vdGVwYWQuY29sb3Iubm90ZSJd)**: Notepad like thingy. Notes you take can be shared with others and can also be locked with a password. -**[Stair Dismount](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.secretexit.dismount&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5zZWNyZXRleGl0LmRpc21vdW50Il0.)**: Push a faceless person down stairs and other painful constructions. Get points for broken bones and combinations. -**[Folder Organizer Lite](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abcOrganizer.lite&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5hYmNPcmdhbml6ZXIubGl0ZSJd)**: Allows you to create folders and organize them accordingly. -**[Virtual Bubble Wrap](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opalcat.bubblewrap&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5vcGFsY2F0LmJ1YmJsZXdyYXAiXQ..)**: Virtual bubble wrap, 'nuff said. And since it’s an Android, getting all the requisite Google products will make things extremely convenient. -\*\*[Drive:](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.docs&feature=search_result)\*\*5GB of cloud-based storage. -\*\*[Music:](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.music&feature=search_result)\*\*Upload your music also the cloud and listen to it whereever you go or at least have it stored here for backup. Streaming music uses bandwidth from your data plan. So if you have a smaller data plan, best to limit your use of streaming music and video (like Pandora, Netflix and Hulu). -\*\*[Google+:](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.plus&feature=search_result)\*\*Mobile application for Google+. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/8 "2012-06-13T01:49:46Z")
I just got an iPhone so I’m following this thread with interest. I’m very fond of “Ticket to Ride” myself. [Sporcle](http://www.sporcle.com/mobile/android.php) is a set of trivia quizes - a rotating selection of quizzes from the website. If you use Ravelry by any chance, there’s a android app called Ravulous that lets you access the site. Sky Map is an app where you point the phone’s camera anywhere in the night sky and it labels the stars in its field of vision. You could live without it, but its cool as hell. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/9 "2012-06-13T03:04:08Z")
Here are my favorites: [QuickPic](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alensw.PicFolder&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDNd) - An awesome alternative to the stock Photo viewer. [Amazon Kindle](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.kindle&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5hbWF6b24ua2luZGxlIl0.) - For viewing ebooks from Amazon [TuneIn Radio](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tunein.player&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsInR1bmVpbi5wbGF5ZXIiXQ..) - A great, free way to listen to music, sports and news from every corner of the earth, with over 60,000 radio stations and 2 million on-demand programs. [Bump](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bumptech.bumpga&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5idW1wdGVjaC5idW1wZ2EiXQ..) - A very clever way to transfer photos, files, and contact info to others. [Lookout Security and Anti-Virus](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lookout&feature=search_result) - One of the best Anti-Virus programs out there for your Android Phone. [Here is a great list of other free Android Apps.](http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-android-apps.htm) ---
**Author:** ![J\_Cubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@J\_Cubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_Cubed)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/10 "2012-06-13T04:20:19Z")
Tapatalk, so you can read the SDMB. The Amazon Appstore for Android, which has a free app every day (most are crap, though). Swype, the best keyboard for touchscreens. ---
**Author:** ![NotBob13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19b73/32.png) [@NotBob13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotBob13)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/11 "2012-06-13T04:33:03Z")
Over drive media console lets you borrow library e-books, and audio books. [http://www.overdrive.com/software/omc/default.aspx](http://www.overdrive.com/software/omc/default.aspx) nook and kindle apps. The kindle is a good pdf reader, also. Cool reader is my favorite for texts and DRM free epubs. Calibre is a handy program to convert e-book formats, so I can upload e-books to my phone. > **[calibre - E-book management](https://calibre-ebook.com/)** > > calibre: The one stop solution for all your e-book needs. Comprehensive e-book software. and google listen is good for podcasts with RSS feeds. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/12 "2012-06-13T07:10:58Z")
Weather. Ebay. Around Me. Amazon. WC Finder. :o ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/13 "2012-06-13T09:29:21Z")
The ones I use most often on my Android phone include Flashlight, Google Sky Maps, Sketch Free, Solo Lite … and Angry Birds Space. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/14 "2012-06-13T12:47:02Z")
[ol] [li]The aforementioned **Ticket To Ride**. Couldn’t commute without it.[/li][li] **GrubHub** so I can order food on my way home.[/li][li] **Facebook** so I can microblog about the pointless minutia of my life away from home “Ordering GrubHub now! Won 6 straight games of T2R!”[/li][li] **Shazam** so I can figure out what song is playing[/li][li] **WalkTracker Pro** - recently started using this to track my exercise[/li][li] **Zipcar** - book cars, unlock the doors, extend reservations, etc[/li][li] **Catch The Bus** - shows me when the next bus arrives at my fave bus stops. Helps me decide whether to take the bus or the train.[/li][li] **IM+** so I can pester my staff while I am out of the office[/li][li] **iSSH** so I can reboot stuff[/li][li] **App for my local bank** so I can check balances, transfer money to my secret Swiss bank accounts, etc[/li][li] **MyMaps** lets me interact with my personal Google Maps[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/15 "2012-06-13T19:14:46Z")
**Listmaster** , make lists, to-do’s and reminders **Amazon Price Check** , easy barcode scanning to look up on Amazon **Hipmunk** , the most user-friendly mobile airfare app I’ve used **Guitar Toolkit** , tuner, chord lookups and other useful guitar stuff **Turntable** , streaming music DJ’d by other users ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/16 "2012-06-13T20:49:18Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > **Hipmunk** , the most user-friendly mobile airfare app I’ve used One of my good college buddies is one of the developers for that! Pretty much everything I would have mentioned already has been, though I’ll say that I do NOT recommend the Facebook app. Every update they do seems to make it slower, more cumbersome, and overall just worse. As an alternative, I just use the mobile version of their site (just go to [Facebook.com](http://Facebook.com) on your phone’s web browser and it will auto-redirect to the mobile site.) And speaking of web browsers, the default is crummy. I recommend either Dolphin HD or FireFox Beta (when you search in Google Play, make sure to get the one that says Beta. It’s the newer one with cooler features, though yes, it’s not finished so you may get bugs, but I haven’t.) The best part about Firefox is it can Sync with your desktop one, so you can have all your bookmarks, saved passwords, and even synced tabs if you want. The mobile version of Chrome does the same thing if you us that on your desktop. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/17 "2012-06-13T20:54:08Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > -**[Virtual Bubble Wrap](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.opalcat.bubblewrap&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5vcGFsY2F0LmJ1YmJsZXdyYXAiXQ..)**: Virtual bubble wrap, 'nuff said. Is that the same bubble wrap app that \*\*OpalCat \*\*put out there? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/18 "2012-06-13T21:13:49Z")
Yes it is the same one **OpalCat** put out. And apparently we’re listing applications that we can obviously live without (like Facebook and other games), so how 'bout some live wallpapers: -**[Celtic Garden](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dualboot.apps.celticgardenfree&feature=search_result)** -\*\*[Notification Bubbles\*\*](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.commind.bubbles&feature=search_result) -**[Skyrim Live Wallpaper](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nvidia.skyrimlwp&feature=search_result)** -**[Thunderstorm](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fishnoodle.storm_free&feature=search_result)** ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/19 "2012-06-13T21:23:26Z")
Google Sky is the single most awesome ap ever created and likely the greatest ap that will ever be created. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957/20 "2012-06-14T00:19:54Z")
Thanks for so many excellent ideas, first chance I’ve had to check back. This particular phone uses the WINDOWS® PHONE OPERATING SYSTEM, not the Android system. I checked a few of the apps you all have listed and most of them seem to work with either software. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-smart-phone-apps-you-cant-imagine-life-without/624957.md?page=2)