This week, in memory of the genius pioneer of technology, Steve Jobs, we have decided to look at a selection of free iPhone apps that are handy/fun/a little different...
1. Find my iPhone
Apple’s Find my iPhone is an essential because its free so why not set it up and locate your iPhone wherever it is. For instance if you drop your phone in a field, like I did, you can send a sound to it. You can also send a message (maybe someone nice will find it and return it), perform a remote wipe (so that sneaky thief doesn’t get access to your data) or locate it on a map (bearing in mind that in doesn’t give an exact GPS location and that, that guy on the corner could be chatting on his own iPhone not yours).
2. Soundhound
We’ve all been there, a song plays on the radio, in a movie or TV show that you just can’t place. Just pull out your iPhone and Soundhound will find it for you. It even recognizes singing! I’ve tried it and if it can recognize my rendition of Lovin’ You it can recognize anything.
3. Units
A very simple app, Units, always comes in handy for all your unit conversion needs. Convert Euros to Dollars, Fahrenheit to Celsius, miles to kilometres, the list goes on and on.
4. IMdb
Similar to Soundhound, IMdb is a must have if you’ve ever been watching a movie or TV show when some actor appears on screen that you recognize but can’t remember where from. Within a few seconds you’ll be viewing their whole film career.
5. Evernote
Evernote a great app, which is like one big notebook that you can access anywhere and quickly search across its contents. Maybe you’ll only use it as a giant recipe book like I do or for one of the many other uses that Evernote suggests on their website. You can create voice notes, location notes, snapshot notes and you can even use it to store an archive of business cards. The possibilities are endless.
6. Situationist
Situationist is an interesting app. It is inspired by the theory of a group founded in 1957. When activated, Situationist will notify you of other members in your area and accompanied by their photo will suggest random interactions with these members and vice versa. Members can pick the “situations” from a list or submit their own, thankfully suggestions are moderated to prevent possible unseemly situations. The mind boggles at the possibilities and potential claustrophobes that lie waiting for anyone who signs up. Most importantly if you commit to the Situationist beaming out a message of “Hug me”, don’t be surprised when a big weirdo grabs you in a crowd, after all you've given them permission. I think I’ll work up to hugs, maybe a safe high-five but does that defeat the purpose...?
7. Skyscanner
Skyscanner is a great website, which enables you to punch in airports and find out the cheapest way of getting from A to B. The Skyscanner app is the same, but it's on your device and with a spiffy AI. Well worth a download, if you are thinking about escaping the weather and heading in search of some sun...
8. Google Translate
If you do book that holiday, Google Translate is a great app for using once you get there. It quickly translates text between 57 different languages; handily, 15 of the most popular also enable you to speak into your device and listen to translations.
9. Bump
Another contender for the 'surely, that's witchcraft?' award, Bump enables you to select up to four contacts, then 'bump' your device into another iOS device running Bump, to transfer details, or to compare contacts. And, yeah, we know there's an email-based 'share contact' option in Contacts, but where's the fun in that?
10. Dragon Dictation
Fed up of typing on the tiny iPhone keyboard? Use Dragon Dictation instead, which happily converts your speech into text (with slightly spooky levels of accuracy for a freebie app). You can even punctuate ("Comma! Full-stop!"), and when you're done the app enables you to fire your thoughts at Facebook, Twitter, Mail etc.
