I spent some time streamlining my phone yesterday (compulsory when you've been keeping apps just because the icon is cute) and thought it would be useful to compile a list of Apps that I utilize the most.
Most of these are paid (6 out of 10) but my phone is jailbroken (I'm Asian, it comes with the territory) so I like to hoard ~ pricier ~ Apps. I've paid $4 for glorified ice tea at Starbucks but I cannot bring myself to spend $0.99 on an App *kanye shrug*.
I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot of games. I'm always scrounging around for the newest organization tools (because I have the attention span of a chair) and apps that'll prevent me from getting lost or going over budget (because I'm a recovering shopaholic whose parents facepalm everytime I ask "Wait, where's Costco again?").
1. 2DO
($6.99. Seriously? O_o)
Beautiful interface, you can customize your own tabs and categorize things to your own liking. Comes with loads of options with each "task", like due date, location, note attachment, syncing with your google calendar, etc etc. Very useful, motivates me to do things because checking items off makes me feel productive :p
Had no idea it was $6.99 though. I wouldn't pay that much for it but if your phone is jailbroken, definitely download it.
Awesome note is awesome indeed. Once again, beautifully designed (I'm such a sucker for aesthetics) but extremely functional. You can have separate folders for home organization, school work (or divide school work into classes) and under each of those, make as many individual lists as you want. Like 2D0, you can also include GPS locations, image files, additional notes, etc.
The primary difference between 2do and Awesome Note is that 2do is more of a quick check off list while Awesome Note is more useful for long-term projects or standing appointments.
Very ironic, since I don't study. Or at least, haven't remembered a time where I haven't studied for something the night before. Calendar is very useful for sporadic or social events but I prefer istudiez pro for classes. You basically create slots for each individual class, include lectures, professor information, TA contact lists, etc. Assignments are easier to remember because everything is color coded to avoid less confusion.
It is unfortunate that intelliscreen (a jailbroken app) only uses Calendar information to place on your lock screen. I'm going to have to figure out how to coordinate this when school starts.
Terribly adorable. It does take a little while longer to boot up because it measures the temperature at that exact moment. Swipe left to the screen for weekly forcast, swipe down to see more information about dew point/humidity/all that really snazzy stuff that makes you sweat buckets on a relatively pleasant day.
I do still use Weather as a quick check-up but you can set Outside to notify you when it's going to rain. I always have a trusty mini umbrella by my side but it's nice to know when you're really going to need it!
I think I might have actually paid for this. Anyway, how do you not love Doodle Jump? It is the most addictive game in the world. You know you're a full Doodle Jump addict when achieving a new high score makes you Mario Jump.
Then I check the "all time" scores and feel shame because I'm not good enough to crack the 50, 000+ score range.
Very very clever, turns iphone pictures into a social networking system. Provides great polaroid filters and allows you to share your pictures with a network of friends. I'm actually very curious about how the developer are going to expand this app. If they do it right, it could be very innovative.
The only downside is that you can't seem to use it without having to upload your picture. This means I'm constantly bombarding my f-list with the same pictures under different filters.
Waze is a free GPS system that you use while driving, it provides a voice system that tells you when to turn and which roads are jammed or in construction. I like that it provides the directions from "your" point of view. That way, you don't have to turn the map around to clarify which direction to turn.
Very useful, even if the voice-over is that generic GPS Woman Voice that makes you want to punch something.
Note: I still cannot drive legally by myself. My father actually approved of this app, which is shocking because he hated our real GPS.
Spenz is a great system for letting you maintain your budget. I run in to the trouble of spending money without realizing that I am spending money. I've never been on a budget until this summer so it has been an interesting learning experience (although my parents argue that my budget is still too high).
Watching that number beside the dollar sign spike is a very efficient way of telling yourself that you don't need another Benefit lip/cheek tint.
Spentory is a newer app that allows you to quickly enter in what you're spending so you don't have to riffle through your receipts later. For example: Spent ____ on clothing, you would tap on the hanger sign and type in your total spending. You can always decipher it later. What I've been doing is entering what I'm spending into Spentory and then transferring a detailed list onto Spenz later.
I still buy overly expensive things but this way, I know where my money is going and I tend to think twice before purchasing something completely frivolous.
I read a lot on my phone. I don't play a lot of games on it because there are only a handful that I really like. Pulse News is a great way of catching up on all your news sources with one app. You can add the Times, NY times, local news, facebook links, blogs, fashion sites, etc etc.
It's like a killing a whole flock of birds with one stone.
