Mobile apps for your life

It’s hard to imagine a time when we didn’t have them. Now they’re norm de rigeur for anyone with a mobile phone. We do things with them – from getting directions to staying connected and entertained.

It doesn’t mean that all apps are good. There are weird and wacky apps that should have never seen the light of day; like this one where you lick virtual food off your iPhone. Grosss…

So we’ve decided to make a list of mobile apps that make life easier, better and more comfortable.

Comments welcome!

Name the tune with…

…Shazam

It’s a music service provider that lets you search and buy songs. But its real power comes in when identifying songs. Use your mobile phone's built-in microphone to record a music sample. It creates an acoustic fingerprint based on the sample and compares it against a central database to get you the song’s name, singer and other fun trivia. Does it work if we hum into it?

Dude! Where’s my bus? Try…

…Iris

This service by SBS Transit tells you when your next and subsequent bus will arrive at any bus stop. It’s great for deciding when you should head out to the bus stop or if you should change your travel plan. But this service works only for SBS buses.

 

What’s good to eat here? Turn on…

…Buuuk

This location-based restaurant guide mobile app tells you what’s good to eat around you. So you don’t have to key in where you are or even know what street you’re on. They’ve even got an Augmented Reality version where you just turn on your phone’s camera, run its roving eye across the landscape and if it “sees” restaurants in its database – out pops information on your camera screen!

Get out of the jungle with…

…Google maps

We think the best features are its layers and navigational directions. You can overlay markers from Wikipedia or user-generated content on the map to get more information about them. We particularly like the “get from point A to B via public transit services” feature where it walks us through the route!

 

My city; my Monopoly...

…foursquare

Stake virtual claims on the Esplanade or your neighbourhood koip shop! Just “check-in” by telling the app where you are, and if you do it enough, you’ll be awarded mayor of that location. If you’ve ever wondered how Monopoly’s played out on a city-wide scale, here’s your chance!

Got a favourite mobile app? Tell us more about it in the comments!

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