We all have an app or a mobile service we can’t live without. Or would rather not to at least. For me, it’s Swiftkey, the fast typing app that saves hours over the course of a year in composing emails and texts. So as we head into the Christmas break, we thought it would be fun to reach out to some of our friends in the mobile marketing industry and ask them for the app they can’t live without, the only caveat being that they could not choose their own company’s app. Read on to see if you agree with their choices, and feel free to leave us a comment to tell us about your own must-have app.
Neil Swanston, senior manager, mobile, British Gas – Sky Go
It is said that opposites attract, and that is certainly true of my wife and I. We both love films, but our tastes are very, very different. Thankfully, those clever folk at Isleworth created Sky Go. This marvellous little app lets me download and watch the films that Mrs Swanston simply can’t stand, thus maintaining a happy and tranquil home.
It also happens to be the app which keeps me sane on traumatic train journeys, and keeps my daughter entertained on those tedious long car journeys. You might say that Sky Go is the app that keeps my family together.
Dara Nasr, head of sales, UK, Twitter – Jawbone UP
I track my activity and sleep on my UP wristband and attach it to my phone to display the results. It’s easy, visually strong and very informative. You can see how your friends are getting along and link up other apps such as Runkeeper and Withings. The main reason I love it though is that, since having kids, Im obsessed with the concept of sleep, and in particular deep sleep. I am far more gutted if my deep sleep percentage is low than I am if Ive had a lazy day.
Ric Cohen, senior product manager, mobile payments, Barclays – WhatsApp
I love WhatsApp because it makes it easy for me to communicate with friends and family. It’s taken a service that people thought they were satisfied with (text messaging), and improved it via easier and richer functionality.
Mark Cody, senior marketing manager, mobile, Tesco – ZITE
The app I can’t live without is ZITE. It’s my pocket companion that allows me to stay up to date on everything I’m interested in. It is really well designed and has an easy to use interface. It just oozes quality and encourages some great thumb action as you move around the sections. It provides a simple way for me to share stories with my team or across social networks and allows me to discover stories that I would not have seen before. I love it and recommend it to anyone who wants to stay one step ahead.
Caroline van den Bergh, head of business development, Golden Gekko – Waze
The app I can’t live without is Waze. I can’t stop myself banging on about to anyone who will listen. I love it, and use it every time I drive. It’s a social traffic app with a fantastic satnav and lots of other features. It has easily become my favourite app as it’s useful, saves me time and anxiety and turns sitting in traffic into a kind of game.
You can connect with other ‘Wazers’ for alerts on traffic issues based on drivers ahead of you, or reports posted by Wazers (on heavy traffic, an accident etc). There’s a simple points system that rewards users the more they use the app, and lots of other features, such as displaying the cheapest fuel prices close to where you’re parked. I think Waze is going to become one of the great apps of its time. That said, it does need modernising from a UI perspective.
Helen Keegan, mobile marketing specialist – SMS BackUp+
I’m currently loving SMS BackUp+. It sends all my SMS to Gmail, creating a searchable archive. It still doesnt mean I respond to them all, but it does mean I can search for stuff afterwards using the power of Google, instead of endless scrolling on my phone.
Jen Macrae VP, MasterPass market development, UK & Ireland – Hailo
I simply could not live without Hailo. I never carry cash, so being able to jump into a cab without the worry that I need to drop by an ATM first definitely appeals to my practical nature. Naturally, both my corporate and personal credit cards are held within the app, and having e-Receipts for corporate travel proves extremely efficient when processing expenses.
Russell Buckley, UK Government Advisor – Citymapper
Citymapper is simply the best way to find your way around London, by bike, rail, bus or cab. It can shave 15 minutes off my 30-minute daily commute, depending when I’m travelling. And I use it multiple times every day. Best of all are the New Release notes, which often make me laugh out loud – no, I’m not being geeky, they are genuinely funny. I wonder why other developers don’t take this opportunity to engage with their audience.
Sienne Veit, founder, Invisible Stuff and ex-M&S and ex-Morrisons head of mobile – Various
I am still a diehard Android user. I usually have two phones on the go, but my baby is an Android. There are a few apps I cannot live without. The first is Chrome and Chrome to Phone. I browse on a range of devices and this brings all my browsing together.
Google Drive is also amazing. I am also an Evernote user, but I find myself using Google Drive more and more. And the new brilliant Print to Google Drive and Snap to Scan features are very useful for someone who is self-employed to keep track of all those pesky receipts.
National Rail – I commute, it’s essential. And it wakes me up when I fall asleep. I am the queen of getting on the wrong train, so this is very useful.
Seesmic – I know they have been bought by Hootsuite, but I love my little raccoon, and find it more intuitive to use than Hootsuite or all the other Twitter apps. And it has always worked brilliantly on Android.
Spotify – I have a premium subscription and love being able to download albums and playlists and the ease of discovering new music and sharing music and playlists with friends. I have some lovely, cheesy collaborative lists.
Scientific 7-Minute Workout – its only seven minutes, but it is a painful seven minutes every time. I try do this every day so I can continue to eat and drink yummy stuff.
Yahoo Weather – this is a pretty weather app, even when it tells you the weather is foul. It features lovely Flickr pics and clean design with interesting weather data – I love the wind turbines indicating wind speed.