Obviously there are a lot of apps. Most people know about the ones which come installed and the common ones. Lists of the best apps often include big surprises like Google, browsers, app versions of things already exceedingly popular.
Are they any apps that you like which you think most people do not know about, or much appreciate? Are there ones you find exceedingly useful or entertaining?
I have been using the eWeather HDF app (Google Playstore) for about 12 years now and most people who see it are impressed. It does cost an onetime fee of around $7.99 but it has many cool features like earthwake notifications, live weather maps with storm tracking and multiple location tracking. Its well laid out and has lots of features and settings. My friends in Japan love it.
I also like PicSay Pro for annotating pictures and resizing them. Very handy for work as I can edit photos and send them without my laptop. Helps when I am in the field or the factory floor.
I have Graffiti Pro on my phone. With it I can enter data as I did back in the Palm Pilot days, though I have to periodically reboot the app as it’s not quite as reliable as on actual Palm Pilots.
I always recommend JustWatch whenever someone wants to know where a movie or show is streaming. It searches all streaming services and shows you where what you want to see is playing in a very neat and tidy interface.
I have a couple of more obscure ones. First, one called Physics Toolbox Suite. It’s a direct feed of all of the various sensors on a phone. The accelerometer is especially useful.
Second, Droid48, an emulator for the HP48 line of calculators. They sadly haven’t been made in years (decades?), but they’re still the best graphing calculator ever made. I can’t fit an actual one in my pocket, but I can fit it on my phone.
I have a local weather app set up to allow notifications and it is pretty cool. I get messages like:
“Rain will begin in fifteen minutes at 4:15 pm and last approximately one hour.”
And:
“Rain will stop in seven minutes.”
Sounds like MyRadar, the one I use. Free, with some $ add-ons. Earthquake and where the ISS is are in, as well as Mars. The “Rain will begin…” dings compete with google
My favorite is Race Chrono Pro. When I race or do track days, it records lap times and data about what me and my car are doing. I can study lap data with speeds, G forces, segment times, and data from the car like throttle position and coolant temperature. I can figure out where I can gain some speed or just relive a lap when I nailed it. I can also see if I’m missing things during my lap like low oil pressure or high coolant temperatures in some corners that I may not be noticing when I’m trying particularly hard not to die.
The app I would most recommend to people is Torque Lite or the pay version, Torque Pro. Pair it with a cheap Bluetooth OBD dongle (Like this one for $11), and if you have a check engine light, it will tell you the corresponding trouble code. You can research that trouble code on the internet to decide if it’s a problem you can tackle yourself, something you can wait a bit to resolve, or something best to bring a pro in on right away. You can also do things like set it up to report real-time data like coolant temperature and MPG, which your own car might not show you. Use the free version first and if you like it, buy the Pro version for a one-time fee of a few bucks.
I love this for quick experiments and highly recommend it.
Ooh! I’m downloading that and putting it on the main menu right now!
Speaking of graphing calculators, probably most people who’d need to know about it already do, but I always told my students about the desmos graphing calculator app, available free for Apple and Android and as an online, browser based version.
Do browser extensions count? I don’t know how many people know, but I didn’t know until I did, and then it changed my life: there are browser extensions that allow you to speed up (or slow down) pretty much any video you’re watching online (including Facebook videos, Amazon Prime shows, TED talks, etc.). The one I use is called “Video Speed Controller” (for Chrome), but there are others.
I use the Color Grabber app quite a bit.
There are some very specific debate timer apps around customized for the various types of interscholastic debate. They are much easier to use than the stopwatch option on your phone.
These are both for Android.
ByVoice reads out loud notifications when a bluetooth device is connected. So if I get a message while I’m driving, the phone will pause the audio, then read the message to me. It’s very configurable, so exactly which notifications are read, and which bluetooth devices they’re read on can be tuned. There are some other apps that do similar things, but that is the one I use.
DAVx5 is a CalDAV syncing app, that lets me do stuff like edit Apple iCloud calendars from the Android calendar app.
I have a lot of apps on my phone, but two that come to mind for this thread:
epocrates is a great medical app. For some reason I find myself in conversations with a lot of friends about various medical issues or drugs or whatever. Epocrates has drug information, interactions, pill ID lookup, plus guidelines for how to diagnose and treat things. And information about lab tests.
Merlin is a bird-ID app from Cornell. You can take a picture of a bird you see and it’ll identify it for you.
CopyMeThat, an app that allows you to collect your favorite online recipes all in one spot. You can also add things to your menu plan, and to your shopping list.
Chronos already mentioned Droid48, so I guess I’ll have to go with something else. Spectroid is a simple and free spectrum analyzer. If you want to know if that noise is really a 60 Hz hum or something else, it comes in handy. Or just whether you can whistle in tune.
It’s totally lame, but I like Unit Converter Pro Plus for all my unit conversion needs.
Someone says something is 2700 hectares, and I can easily convert that to sq. yards, acres, sq. miles, etc… And there are LOTS of unit categories- all sorts of physics and chemistry related ones, as well as the more common ones like volume, length, mass, area, and temperature.
I also like GPSTest, but that’s the nerd in me talking. It gives you a little more visibility into the satellite location services in your phone.
I just discovered Zello and it seems quite useful. It’s a walkie-talkie app, but it can also be used to send verbal announcements to a group. Like Alexa announcements, but on your phone.
I have enjoyed AnyList. It is not pretty but it’s functional. It has a great recipe section (it can import recipes from online with a few clicks, works almost without flaws) and that is connected to a grocery list. And then you can use it to make other lists too. I’ve got shows or movies I want to watch, books to read, gift ideas, handyman tasks we need to do, a basic packing list for trips, etc. You can categorize them according to source or person or whatever. I use it much more than I expected.
Life360. Phone tracker app. It’s been very useful. Everyone in the family has it on their phone and we can know at a glance where everyone is.
Also, PictureThis, a plant identification app. Works pretty great, not only tells what the plant is but can help diagnose problems with the plant from the picture. I’ve also gotten help via email from the horticulturalists behind the app.
BirdNet is fun; use the app to record a birdsong and it’ll tell you what species it think it hears. Not as accurate as PictureThis, of course, but still fun.