Rundown: 18 Mobile Apps You Might Need (part one)

Disclaimer: This post is not in anyway sponsored.

It is really difficult to emancipate ourselves from technology. The more it gets advanced periodically, the more we become so dependent on it. Looking back at the past, we would just get by a day through reading our favorite comic books or novels, watching our favorite soaps while having a quick chat with our family members after a long day. Before, having an old school cellular phone is just for people who were always on the go. But looking at us now, our reliance to technology is apparent and even myself cannot break away from digital slavery. There are times that our internet service provider would experience server downtime and we'd feel a sudden detachment from the cyber world.

What we mostly see are the perks we get from utilizing technology but we hardly see its disadvantages. I won't talking about its cons right now, instead, I will be sharing with you several mobile apps I find useful and helpful in my daily activities. However, I will be dividing this post into two parts so it won't get too tedious for us both. So, what's in my phone? I'm not certain if this will interest you or if you prefer the apps I will be featuring at all. I'd be delighted to share what I frequently use anyway. Albeit, what I will be doing a rundown on are the mobile apps that I personally go for and that offer straightforward operation in my opinion. I do not in any way state that the apps that I support are the best.

Let's get started, shall we?

• Clash of Clans - I'm not much of a gamer (at least not anymore) but I play Clash of Clans. Don't pass judgment on me, please? Although, I'm currently inactive in clan wars but I still get to upgrade my troops, buildings and defenses regularly (or if I have sufficient amount of elixir and golds). This is the only game app installed in my phone, nothing else. It keeps my device's storage from getting full and prevents further procrastination. But of course, I need to take a break and attack villages once in a while. I love using dragon and balloon combo during wars since I haven't mastered the GoWiWiPe combo (terms that only COC players are familiar with). I'm sure, I have some readers who play COC, too. Any players from Indonesia? Oh by the way, I have another blog post that teaches you how to recover your lost village. You might want to check it out. 

• EZ Voice - It is a recording app. It has voice enhancement features such as reverb, filter, equalizer and a lot more. It is a free app but you can purchase more features for better audio recording experience. Audio file format is in .ogg that can easily be converted online to different formats and share with other associated programs. This is the only weapon I use with some of my recent tracks on Soundcloud. EZ Voice captures voice clearly. It enables the user to adjust the sound to his liking before saving. You may unlock other sound effects for a small amount of money if you want a pro music vibe. For me, I'm already happy with the free voice effects I frequently use like reverb, delay and equalizer, nothing else.There is a wide selection of mic available for premium users for higher sound and voice quality outcome.

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• BPI Express Mobile - This is where most of my online transactions take place. I find it convenient to check my balance here and make sure that I won't be wasting my time and energy going to the actual bank prior to any bank transactions. I also enrolled several merchants like utility companies and payment centers  for seamless and smooth transaction at the comfort of my home. Lastly, I can easily pay for my online purchases through my MasterCard prepaid card which can be reloaded using this mobile app, as well. What I've been wanting to suggest to the developer is the probability of enabling transfer to another account holder using the app itself without having to go to the bank anymore. From how I understand, I still need to head to one of BPI branches and accomplish the activation in the machine before I can deposit any amount to another BPI account holder. That is the only thing that restrains me from maximizing this tool for the longest time. Even so, this app has made my life a lot easier than before.

• PH Free Text - It's true that the Philippines had been once named as the Texting Capital of the world, but I'm not one of those million texters, I must say. I rarely communicate through SMS (short messaging system) as I prefer Instant Messaging (IM) better. But in the event of urgent situations, this mobile app comes in handy as it doesn't require registration after installation. It allows me to send unlimited text messages but limited to 100 characters only which is enough if you would send a 'telegramatic' kind of message. I used to have Chikka Lite until it got discontinued and got tweaked. I believe it's back to serve us again, though.

• Spotify -  At first, I had Deezer and Pandora installed in my phone but for some reason I had them removed and picked Spotify instead. This is the only mobile app I didn't mind paying membership for. Unluckily, I had this app long before launching its P9.00 ($ 0.20) premium membership for three months (promo only applies to initial membership). From what I have learned, this promo cannot be availed by existing members like me, unless I register for a new account using new payment details. What Spotify has yet to work on is how they curate massive track selections which is a little mixed up in my humble opinion that results to having a lot of duplicate type of moods/genres.

• Peach - I just recently discovered this new social media app while mastering Snapchat's roundabouts. While this has not been heard of most social media aficionados yet, I specially find it interesting because it is clearly a fusion of three most popular social media applications to date - Twitter, Instagram and Facebook Messenger. Peach integrated the use of keywords that is useful to younger generations who love shortening almost everything from texts, decoding of hidden features such as filters, emojis and other tricks. It is like texting but better as how they claim it because it gives users quick access to all sorts of stuff to share from links, drawings, gif up to the littlest detail that describe one's day to day activity. I have yet to learn more about this mobile app because it seems pretty promising.

Let us find out in the coming months if this particular app would be commensurate with leading social media apps in terms of popularity, marketability and usefulness and or if it will also achieve the same appeal especially to marketers and social influencers the way social media pioneers did.

• WhatsApp / Viber / WeChat - I will be joining up three mobile apps on account of similarity apart from their emblem and brand name. I don't see much of a difference as they all have desktop versions to brag about that offer their users optimum instant messaging experience. What sets WeChat (whose developers are from China and originally named the first version Weixin which means "micro messaging") apart from the competitors is its WeChat Payment. It supports payment and money transfer, which allows their users to peer-to-peer transfer and electronic bill payment - a feature that the other two do not carry if my memory serves me right. In addition to China, the payment service is offered in parts of Southeast Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.  There ya go, a brief history to those who care to know.

These three leading apps in their kind share almost identical integration and chatting features like audio or voice messaging, free voice/video call, file transfer, interface and many more. That's why local telecom companies don't grow tired of coming up with their own promotions like strategically partnering up with them for extra key selling factors beneficial to their own patronizers (both prepaid and postpaid line plans). The very reason for having these three similar mobile apps in my phone is just because my friends' choice of app varies so I need to fine tune for a better communication.

• Viddsee - Besides blogging and singing, watching films is another thing I'm passionate about. Watching short films from all over Asia is my go-to diversion amidst lethargy. I often encourage my friends to download this app because I want to share underrated yet multi-awarded short films with them to take a pause from stereotyped and commercialized movies within their reach. Perhaps, it's my simple way to show support to great artists and film makers who hardly draw recognition they deserve from the masses. 

Photo lifted from Viddsee

What I like about this app is that it showcases a bunch of good quality and well-conceptualized short films that often get me thinking or leave me hanging. It challenges a part of me to decipher a cryptic message every short film conveys. Viddsee has got the best short films handpicked just for you from award-winning drama films, animations, documentaries, and web series, which never cease me to view each film in awe. It has a vast selection of different genres, topics, language and countries like comedy, romance, drama, thriller, sci-fi, fantasy, action, animation, documentary, inspirational, family, sexuality, Chinese, Filipino, Indonesian and a lot more.

I won't stop raving about Viddsee yet because there is a lot to love about this mobile app, to be honest. Let me reiterate it to you:

1. It's a great substitute for Daily Motion, Vimeo and Youtube (which happens to be included in the second part of this rundown) if you are looking for high-quality films with social relevance and brilliant story lines.

2. It's totally free and it exceeds the performance that every free app could offer. 

3. I haven't complained about the resolution on all movies I have seen so far and no endless buffering issues I have encountered as far as my viewing specification is concerned.

4. It specially curates weekly films for the viewers to enjoy.

5. Navigation is so easy that it requires almost no tech-savviness. 

6. It has a desktop version for more viewing comfort.

7. It has a feature that prevents your phone from sleeping which often happens when watching lengthy videos on Youtube.

8. Films are viewable offline.

That's all there is to the first of two parts of my  rundown. Again, this post is just based on my preference and presented in an unbiased fashion. Have you ever tried using the mentioned apps? If yes, what persuaded you to install or uninstall them? Did you encounter glitches? Please let me know so I can also take note of the bad points that I failed to notice.

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