My Favourite Apps

//Nokia 1610 from Wikipedia

I remember getting my first mobile phone in 1997 and it was a giant Nokia brick-of-a-thing.  Calls were expensive so it was a strictly an "emergencies only" phone.

Times may have changed but using my phone for calls is still the least used function!  Here are my top 5 apps.

1. Google Maps

//Google Maps Icon

I would be lost without this app - quite literally probably haha!  Not only do I use it in the car for navigation, I use it to find out how far away things are, to plan running or walking routes, to find out how long it will take to get from A to B and compare against walking, cycling and public transport, and to see where the nearest shop/park/scenic path is in the area I'm in.  The street view is really useful for checking what a house or building looks like so that I'll recognise it when I get there and also to look around for parking or somewhere to chain up a bike.

Recently when I was out walking in an area I hadn't been in before I needed to find the nearest public toilet.  Then, because I'd had to deviate from my intended route, I needed to find a way to get back by a certain time.

Only earlier this year when I was in China where Google is blocked, did I realise how much I rely on this app! (thank goodness for VPNs)

2. Spotify

//Spotify Icon

I love Spotify and I usually have one of the genre playlists streaming when I'm in my home office but more often I'm listening on the move - either via headphones getting some exercise, or blasting out my car speakers on my way to ballet.

3. Headspace

//Headspace Icon

I confess I don't use Headspace as much as I should.  I got into a groove of meditating every day but a change of schedule lost me the time I had carved out and instead of adapting I just stopped.  However, I've recently realised that it is better that I do a short session than no session at all and I easily have time for that.

I love the look and feel of the app.  The animations that explain things are cute and fun and really help.  There are groups of meditations on particular subjects, they call them Packs, and they range from 10 to 30 days.  There are also individual subjects as well as the daily ones, and you can pick how long you want to meditate for - from 3 -20 minutes.

After I finished all the Basics packs I moved on to the Everyday Headspace, which is the daily sessions (not a pack) I've also done some of the individual sessions like the Fear of Flying one and the Walking in Nature.

4. Camera

//Camera Icon

The last digital camera I bought was in 2005.  I'm actually fairly terrible at remembering to take photos when I'm with other people and thats why my photos are of cats, nature and food.  One of the things I love most about blogging is that it reminds me to take more photos, I really appreciate being able to look back over them and I love the fact that I always have a digital camera available to me on my phone.

A worthy mention is Framatic Pro because I use this to organise my pictures into a frame for putting on my blog.

5. Nike Run Club and Training

//NTC and NRC Icons

Ok, I'm cheating by grouping these two apps together!

Back in the day I had the Nike+ shoe sensor and iPod app and it was awesome to be able to track my runs and I'd post them to my blog and facebook.  I've stuck with Nike ever since and its my preferred running app.  When they released NTC I was quick to get on board since it's like having a personal trainer in your pocket.  They've revamped the app since then, it's not just geared towards women and all the workouts are available rather than some only being available as rewards.  I particularly like the yoga workouts.  They integrate with each other if you choose to do one of their training plans although I've never properly used this feature.