Once of my tech pet peeves is setting up a new phone. I only recently started importing my apps from the cloud, mostly because I trust nobody and nothing. Previously, I went through the painstaking motions of downloading my apps afresh — always starting with the ones I’m most obsessed with.
That got me to wondering what ‘must have’ apps my fellow tech journalist colleagues had in their lives. These are our favourites.
Tegan Jones – Deputy Editor, Gizmodo (That’s me!)
Besides obvious social media apps:
Raiz (previously Acorns)
This is a kind of savings app that invests the spare change leftover from your purchases into the stock market. As someone who had a fledgling interest in investing, it was a good opportunity to dip my toes in without much risk.
You can customise it in a lot of ways, including making additional incremental payments — and I have genuinely become obsessed with it. I love seeing my money go slowly up, learning about how it all works, as well as knowing that I have a second form of savings that I barely notice coming out of my bank account.
Available on: iOS/Android
Steam
Because I change laptops about as often as I change phones, having access to Steam Guard is an absolute necessity so I can can benchmark, do play tests and not throw something out a window in an impatient rage.
Available on: iOS/Android
Pocket Casts
I’m a huge podcast fan, so for me it was worth spending the $4 for the nice layout and ease of use.
Available on: iOS/Android
I think this is probably a staple for a lot of people. For me it’s great for general news, as well as finding weird stuff to write about.
Available on: iOS/Android
Wildwalks
We’re keen hikers here at Gizmodo, so I am on this almost everyday to see what trail I want to hit on the weekend. It has comprehensive trail notes and maps, which helps me to not get lost or accidentally walk off a cliff.
Available on: iOS/Android
Bridge
There are so many great mobile games out there that I love, but the one I find myself consistently returning to is Bridge. Yeah, the card game. It’s not even a very good app and I’m pretty sure I’m playing wrong half the time, but I’m addicted and always make sure I have it on my devices. I really can’t explain it.
Available on: iOS/Android
Rae Johnston – Gizmodo Editor
Notes
I’m still a fan of the ol’ pen and paper – so when I don’t have one handy, popping out my stylus to scribble some illegible notes I’ll struggle to read later puts me at ease.
Available on: iOS/Android
MyFitnessPal
Fun fact: I used to track my every move before there were apps that did it for you – in the form of a daily journal. While I still use my old-school diary for appointments and basic scheduling of my life, MyFitnesspal gives me a place to keep track of my meals/macros/nutrients to keep me powered for a busy day.
Available on: iOS/Android
Skoolbag
Keeping on top of everything that is happening in the life of my 16 year old son who can’t remember if he ate breakfast is challenging, but at least with this app his school can let me know if something important is happening – and I don’t have to rely on a crumpled note at the bottom of his IRL “schoolbag”.
Available on: iOS/Android
Amanda Yeo, Early Morning Sub Editor
Google Docs
I have taken to writing notes, stories, and various bits of junk in Google Docs, and it’s way better than having 50 billion scraps of paper shoved in my pockets. Plus, whenever I think of something I want to change about a story I’m working on, I can just grab my phone and change it straight away with minimal fuss.
Available on: iOS/Android
ASOS
There is a shirt that has been out of stock, and more specifically out of stock in my size, since the dawn of mankind. I need it because it is one of two (2) button up shirts I have discovered in the known human universe that fit my ridiculous proportions. Every few hours I check to see if this mythical shirt is in stock. And every few hours I am disappointed. Like Sisyphus, I am bound to Hell.
Available on: iOS/Android
A gimme, but I also use the drafts as reminders. Chances are that while scrolling through my feed I’ll realise I haven’t tweeted in a while, check my drafts to see if at some point I was a comedic genius and just didn’t realise it, and see that I’ve left myself a note to buy broccoli.
Available on: iOS/Android
Tumblr
Because I am pop culture fandom trash and need to inject the latest memes straight into my veins.
Available on: iOS/Android
Anthony Caruana – Lifehacker Freelance Journalist
Notability
I use it to take notes during presentations and interviews, record interviews, scribble down ideas – basically all the things i used to use a pen and paper for, I now use Notability.
Available on: iOS
Evernote
I’ve basically replaced my word processing software with this as it cloud syncs quickly, is multi-platform and is easy to set up on different devices for when I road test a new computer, smartphone or tablet. The web clipping functionality is really handy and it integrates with my scanner so I don’t store any paper. I pay for a pro subscription so i get unlimited devices and synching.
Available on: iOS/Android
Feedly
I’m still addicted to RSS feeds and look at this first thing every morning.
Available on: iOS/Android
TripIt
I travel a lot and rely on TripIt for storing my itinerary, sharing trip details with family and getting real-time updates about gate changes and flight delays. I pay for an annual subscription to get the notifications and a few other features.
Available on: iOS/Android
Alex Walker – Kotaku Editor
Lightroom CC
It’s the asiest way to fix up images and super helpful in instances where I don’t have a proper camera on hand.
Available on: iOS/Android
Chris Jager – Lifehacker Editor
For a tech journo I use a surprisingly few amount of apps — my phone downtime is usually spent on Chrome.
FB Messenger
It’s how I stay in contact with pretty much everyone. The last time I made a non-work related phone call was probably two years ago.
Available on: iOS/Android
Helix Jump
I’ve also been playing Helix Jump with my daughters – it’s a tower-based twitch game reminiscent of Nebulus on the Commodore 64, except in reverse. Nobody is old enough to have any idea what I’m talking about and I don’t care.
Available on: iOS/Android
Hayley Williams – Social Media and Community Editor
VivaVideo
This is a great simple video editing app that I use all the time. It’s one of the few I’ve found that will edit vertical video without cropping or putting bars around it, and it supports heaps of other popular social media video formats too.
Available on: iOS/Android
PhotoGrid
My go-to app when creating collages or combining multiple images for social media. It’s super simple to use, plus if you get bored it has heaps of really cute beauty filters.
Available on: iOS/Android
Alto’s Adventure
One of my favourite mobile games ever. It’s a simple endless runner about snowboarding down a mountain and collecting llamas, with a gorgeous background, weather system and soundtrack. Also you don’t have to be online to play. Bonus!
Available on: iOS/Android