These days, there are apps for everything - making 'smiley' faces, knowing when your next bus is due, reading a magazine and even calorie counting. You name it, there's an app for it.
But what's hard is sorting out the trash from the reliable and trust-worthy. Having tried and tested a few lately, I’m sharing my top five apps of the moment. They cover a range of personally valuable services - from getting me home safely and keeping me healthy to providing entertainment. Each app is important and needed in its own way.
Of course, things fall in and out of fashion - but for me, the majority of these serve a focussed purpose and I think they might be here to stay.
App: Kabbee
What does it do? Ordering a taxi...
Cost: FREE
Used on: iPhone, iPad
Anyone who has booked a taxi after a night out knows just how busy (and pricy) cab companies get when they're dealing with London's late night revellers. Kabbee takes out the need for calls to numerous agencies and does the quote-filtering for you - all you have to do is enter your pick up and destination (and a 'via' stop if necessary) and choose from the range of taxi quotes which appear.
All cabs are from licensed companies and can be booked in advance – with Kabbee even alerting you if taxis are delayed. You can also choose to pay by credit card, cash or set up an account system, which stores an amount of credit.
App: Bloom FM
What does it do? Listening to music...
Cost: FREE (with optional subscription)
Used on: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
This clever app is a favourite with music lovers everywhere - not least because it often comes up with a corker of a tune you had forgotten existed. The opening screen gives you four genres of music based on your recent playlist choices. From there you can delve further into sub-genres - and there's everything available from chart tunes, decade-specific music, blues and electronic to yoga and work out tracks.
The radio service ('Free Bloom') allows a limited playlist, where you can only 'skip' songs a few times - so it's worth signing up to a monthly subscription, which will allow the storing of tracks on your iPhone. At the moment, subscription is cheaper on the Bloom.com website than through the app itself. Prices are 20 songs for £1 (£1.49 from the app), 200 songs for £5 (£6.99) and unlimited borrowing for £10 (£13.99).
App: Poems By Heart by Penguin Classics
What does it do? Teaches you classic poems
Cost: FREE
Used on: iPhone, iPad
A lovely idea by publishing house Penguin, this new app showcases some of the works of William Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling and a whole host of other famous poets - allowing the user to enjoy and absorb each great piece of writing at their own pace.
Once you’ve got the hang of reading one, turn the challenge up a notch by learning the verse off by heart. You can record a reading and listen back (or share with pals if you're feeling brave enough). Poems come in packs which can be bought for 69p - but you get two free to start off with.
App: The Monash University Low FODMAP app
What does it do? Helps those with food intolerances pick up a pain-free meal
Cost: £6.99
Used on: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
This is a rather specialist app, but as IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) sufferers and those following the Low FODMAP Plan will know, being able to tell in advance whether certain food is about to cause you immense pain, is very much needed. And this research-based app does exactly that.
The Low FODMAP Plan was devised by university researchers, and is made up of a list of food substances which are proved to cause IBS symptoms.
Divided up into five sections, the app allows you to keep track of which foods are likely to affect you according to the Plan - as well as giving you recipe suggestions, an adjustable 'traffic light' page which you can tailor to your own symptoms and a creatable shopping list. There's even a function to keep track of what you've eaten along with any symptoms, which you can then use to report back to a doctor or dietitian.
Handy for those who need to remember the long list of suspect foods, that may be causing them pain. For someone who suffers from food intolerances, for me this was £6.99 well spent.
App: PopAGraph
What does it do? Turns photos to 3D
Cost: FREE
Used on: iPhone
Every photography app has a filter system now and in actual fact, all these vintage-style snaps are getting a bit predictable (but yes, I know, they look good). New app, PopAGraph, has thought of a new way for people to show off their picture skills - by transforming works of visual art into a 3D format.
Use the screen to select which areas of the photo you'd like to 'pop off the page', add a frame and then go about posting it to whichever social network takes your fancy.
