There are apps we turn to just for killing time when we’re in line at the bank. Others we use to catch up on the latest news or celebrity gossip. But the very best apps are more than time fillers—they put powerful tools in the palms of our hands. We’re going to be so bold as to call them “life-changing.” Here are five apps we think you really shouldn’t live without.
Mint
Sure, you wanted a list of life-changing apps to be all fun and games, and unless you’re a personal-finance enthusiast, budgeting and keeping track of your money sounds like work. But the great thing about this app is that it does the tedious job of managing finances for you. Mint automatically pulls all your financial information into one place, so you can keep tabs on your balances and transactions together, right from your mobile device. Mint also automatically tracks and categorizes all your spending, helps you create personalized budgets and goals, and sends timely alerts and bill reminders to help avoid late fees. From small, everyday purchases to big-picture financial goals, Mint can help you stay out of the red. And the best part? It’s free!
Field Trip
Some people just know where all of the cool stuff is. Hidden architectural gems, under-the-radar jazz clubs, sweet happy-hour deals—they’re big cultural know-it-alls. You can be one too by downloading Field Trip to your smartphone. It’s a location-based app that will tip you off to all of the neat stuff near you that you might have otherwise missed. Field Trip pulls data from sources like Zagat and Cool Hunting to identify nearby landmarks, public art installations, unusual shops, local music, and interesting historical spots. You can vary the frequency of the notifications the app sends you when you’re close to a destination that’s in its database. Use the app on vacation to find out-of-the-way gems, or turn it on your hometown to find the best stuff hidden around the corner. And you don’t even need to get on a bus full of tourists to get started.
Google Translate™
This app can be your personal translator, whether you’re traveling abroad or conversing with a non-English-speaking friend at home. Speak your phrases in English and the app will translate into text in any of 64 languages. It also offers a Conversation Mode for speech-to-speech translation, allowing two people without a common language to pass the phone back and forth and communicate. The first speaker says a phrase, makes sure the phone has identified it correctly in her own language, and then passes the phone to a conversational partner. The app plays a spoken translation in the other person’s language. It’s a simple (but not flawless) process, and the possibilities it opens up are potentially life-changing. Two people who speak two different languages can have a conversation, all thanks to an app.
Ustream
Ustream is a great way to broadcast live video and audio to the web with a customizable channel page and metadata capabilities for SEO. There’s no limit on the amount of viewers who can access your content, so going viral with your latest online offering is painless. And it’s a simple one-click operation to share your content via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter—so disseminating footage of junior’s first steps or your rockin’ concert review is fast. Ustream also has an HTML5-compatible player that can be placed into any page with cut-and-paste simplicity. If you upgrade to a Pro Broadcasting account, you get the added benefits of your own channel logo, extensions like a donation widget, a custom iFrame and no ads for viewers to sit through.
Evernote
Let loose your inner organizational freak with Evernote. It’s an app that helps you organize your thoughts, notes and photos into lists. Planning a party? Take a picture, record a note-to-self or clip an article from the web that inspires you. Later, you can search your items by keyword—even the text within pictures is searchable. Photograph every business card you receive and search them later when you need to email a new professional contact. Evernote can catalog your thoughts, lists and inspirations all in one place, keeping you more organized than you ever imagined possible.
