Etsy Jam Episode 34: Awesome Phone Apps Part 2

This episode is part 2 of a 2 part series about the apps Richie and I love most on our phones. So if you haven’t heard part 1 yet, check out episode 33. In this episode, we continue to cover a wide range of solutions so stay tuned and find out about some more killer apps you may be missing.

News Apps

Gordon: For tech news, I tend to use Flipboard to keep up on app releases and other things and features that they put out.

Utility Apps

Gordon: I have Speedtest to be able to check network speed. There’s another one called Fast; which does the same thing but it’s built by the folks behind Netflix.

I have Google Home which allows me to control my Chromecast. I got Chromecast plugged in to a couple of my TV’s and it allows me to cast stuff from my phone really easily to the TV and it will work with things like Netflix. More and more apps are including it – NBC and SNL support casting now so you can play something in your phone and throw it up on your TV.

Richie: I have an app that controls my router. It’s been fairly useful for things like turning off network on an iPad that the kids are using.

As far as utilities, I have Hiya, and it’s a spam call identifier app. With iOS 10, it ties in to CallKit so you can block spam calls before it rings you.

I also use this app called Key Ring. It’s a place to store all those loyalty and membership cards that you get from shops. It is exactly as it sounds like – all the cards that you would keep on your keychain; except that you’ve digitized them all. Lastly, I got Contacts Sync. It allows me to flawlessly sync my contacts between iCloud and Gmail.

Games

Gordon: I have DuoLingo which is more like a gamified language learning. It’s really fun and I think they did a fantastic job with it. So if you guys haven’t checked out DuoLingo and if you ever have felt interest learning other languages other than your native tongue, I would suggest that you check it out. They do a great job of making it fun to learn a new language.

They also have another app that is called Tinycards. They’re basically like flipcards that you flip when you’re trying to study something.

I have a game here too that I wrote called Block Blasters. You can’t actually get it on the iTunes store anymore but you can still get it on Google Play Store. Lastly, I picked up Super Mario Run at the time it got released.

Productivity Apps

Gordon: I have Wunderlist as my go to to-do list. I have Trello on my phone too because we use Trello a lot. That’s where we manage projects and move stuff around.

Richie: I use Todoist as my go to to-do list. I also have this app called Mile IQ. If you have a business where you pick up supplies and make drop offs to customers, Mile IQ will automatically detect when you’re driving so you don’t have to remember to record your mileage. It’s useful if you do any driving in your business using your personal vehicle, Mile IQ makes that really easy.

Closing Thoughts

Since we’re talking about phones; the phone is a great tool when used well. It’s very very easy to clutter up your phone and I think that every once in a while, you need to take a serious hard look at what’s on your phone, what you’re doing with your phone, and if it’s serving the purpose you want it to.

Perfectly fine if you wanna use it to veg down on the couch. As long as it’s intentional though. Sometimes, it’s really easy to think you’re being productive on your phone and then find out that something particular is taking up your time.

Bury those distracting apps deep and make them harder to get to. Or uninstall them even. Keep the stuff that’s good for you in front.