Looking at my Samsung Galaxy Note 8, you can tell that I’m a very appy person (no that’s not a typo). I have over 150 apps on my phone, I download them, use them and keep them there just in case I might have to book a haircut one day (Yes I have an app to book haircuts!). Need to solve math equations? I have an app for that! (yes, I truly do have an app that uses machine vision to turn written math equations into machine-readable text and solve it for you).

I find apps really useful and convenient for those times, where you’re on the go and there is something you need to do, and hey look at that, I have the app on my phone or can get it right there and then. Occasionally, I do the cleaning up and go through my phone to delete apps I will no longer use again, but I think I qualify for app addiction. 

I will cover here 3 apps that I frequently use which are not social media or Google related. 

Audible

Audible is a well-known Amazon company, which has an app that allows you to download and listen to audiobooks on your mobile device. With over 300,000 titles to choose from, you are sure to find a book that you like. Audible is a paid service, and I subscribed to it almost 2 years ago and have been paying their monthly subscription for which I receive 1 credit a month. This credit can then be used to get a book from their store. If you look at my library, my geekiness is apparent since I shop at the Science and Technology category, and to get the most for my credit, I get books ideally longer than 15 hours (Yes, I am petty that way)! 

Since I spend a lot of time on public transit, Audible has been a companion every single day keeping me entertained and educated. 

CBC News

Since I’m fairly new to Canada, I wanted to follow local news and get general updates. I downloaded the CBC News app and every couple of days I go through it to see any news stories that are interesting. Sure, I go through headlines most of the time, but occasionally I do read the articles!

What I like about the app is that it is well developed, constantly updated and you select your location for more localized news. So now I can understand (sometimes) when my colleagues are talking about hot Canadian topics. Oh and yes I tend to gravitate more toward the Technology section. 

Wallet

The Wallet app by BudgetBaker is a free app with some paid features. The app lets you create different accounts with starting balances which you can then add records to that affect the balance. In a nutshell, it is a budgeting and finance tracking app that is feature full. I have actually purchased the full version which I found to satisfy my need for managing my budget and track my expenses. It provides reporting capabilities and some analytics which allow me to compare various aspects of my spending. This has been a very useful app for me to understand my family’s spending habits, create budgets and goals and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking at doing the same. 

The only downside for me is that I forget to update the app and then every once in a while I have to go through my bank account statements and add the records. The app can integrate with your bank and update your accounts and spending, but I didn’t want to do the integration and opted for the more masochistic approach to manually updating it. 

Aside from learning how geeky I am, you now also have 3 great apps that may add a little bit to your day and help you do more on the go.