Uncluttering apps

Unclutterer ForumsTechnology

(17 posts) (9 voices)

Started 1 year ago by badger
Latest reply from J.T. Hurley
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badger
Member

I just did a quick survey of my iPhone, and these are my most-used apps (at least one use per day, not including the phone/text functions):

1. Mail
2. Evernote
3. Omnifocus
4. Google
5. iCal
6. iPod
7. Camera/iPhoto
8. Skype/Facetime
9. Oxford English Dictionary
10. Dropbox/iDisk
11. Doodle Jump

There are an additional 5-6 more apps that I use on a weekly basis, and 5-6 yet again that I use on a monthly basis. In total, 23 apps.

Yet, I have at least 90 apps on my phone. While I don't keep loads of extraneous applications on my computer, and I've been much more selective about what apps I've put on the iPad, I find it curious that I let my phone become a junk drawer for apps.

It's true that I was an early adopter of the iPhone platform and have had a good 4 years to accumulate apps. I've also stored everything in folders, so on first glance it doesn't look like I have a ton. But still, the number's unseemly. I have a holiday coming up soon and I may take some time to delete some of them.

How many apps do you run on your smartphone or tablet? Do you vet them on a regular basis?

Perhaps more importantly, how do you decide which apps to install in the first place?

Posted 1 year ago #
Mimi
Member

i have just a few. i am just a window user with an ipad. and i am not used to this app-thing. i have the pre-installed things, ebay, tagessschau (german news), wunderlist (similar to remember the milk), radio, dropbox, a virtual bookshelf app (forgot the name) and that´s it. i don´t feel at home in the apple-world :)

Posted 1 year ago #
morfydd
Member

I have an Android phone, and use my old iPhone at home over Wifi. Apps common to both and used every day:

--Mail/Calendar/Contacts synced to work and personal accounts
--Work VPN token generator
--Skype
--Evernote
--Google
--German/English translator (dict.leo.org's app on Android, NiftyWords (I think) on iOS)
--Qype/Maps/transit apps for finding local stuff and getting around
--TripIt

And of course an internet browser and random games.

I admit that "free" is a big factor in picking up apps, especially as Android so strongly supports ad-based apps. (I never notice ads in apps. Shh, don't tell.)

I'm trying to consolidate my information systems, so almost everything non-work ends up in Evernote/GoogleDocs and work in corporate Outlook. Therefore most of my new apps are "fun".

I should be more disciplined in deleting ones I'm done with, but so far it's not a problem.

Posted 1 year ago #
jmhva
Member

Can anyone tell me how they use their Evernote app? How is it most useful?
Thanks,
jmhva

Posted 1 year ago #
badger
Member

@jmhva:
I use it for lots of things, and all are useful:

I use it to take notes, just as I would use pen and paper (say, at a meeting, seminar, etc).

I make lists for shopping, to-dos, and packing.

I clip recipes online (or use my phone to take pictures of recipes in books or on product packaging--Evernote can read photographs of text, even handwritten text, so everything is searchable).

I sometimes use it for short bits of writing when I need a distraction-free environment. The idea that I'm only "taking notes" is psychologically powerful, too, so I can often get more written than I would using a traditional word processing program or text editor.

Finally, I use the photo notes often: if I want to remember something, I just click a picture of it (a book cover, thing at the store, movie or lecture poster) and move on. Later, it's easy to process the note.

Hope this helps.

Posted 1 year ago #
badger
Member

Oh, here's one more use I forgot about since it doesn't apply directly to me:

I teach college students, and I've turned a few of them on to Evernote. Because they can create specific notebooks (say, by subject, or novel, or for each paper) and tag each entry, it's easy for them to locate and re-read information when they're writing papers or studying for tests.

Posted 1 year ago #
jmhva
Member

badger,
this is great help. Thank you! I teach also. Nursing students!
Love new ideas.. THANK YOU!

Posted 1 year ago #
badger
Member

Glad I could help!

I think that bandicoot has also posted about how she uses Evernote for personal and business purposes.

BTW, I love nursing students! In graduate school, I worked with several PhD nursing
students on their writing. I learned a lot about--uh--bodily functions from them, as well as the ways I am most likely to die!

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

o i love me some evernote.
did you know you cam email stuff directly to your evernote account?
you get a unique email address for that.
so handy.

i use:
a bunch of travel apps: maps, translators, public transport guides, currency exchange, tripit.
google
weather hd
teamviewer ( i can access and control my macbook and my netbook from my ipad...and even from the iphone...the technology blows my mind. it means i can generate invoices on my netbook without carting the netbook with me. gorgeous!).
safari
mail
skype
flipboard for blog feeds on ipad
youtube
calender
calculator
ipod
draftpad
wordpress
and a heap of photography apps
a few reader apps...kindle etc. i use them a lot.
the meditation oasis app is wonderful, also binaural beats....for getting to sleep or into a meditative state.
zinio for reading magazines.

i am not one for games...i find solitaire soothing.
other games tend to make me competitive and anxious, lol.

deciding what to get app-wise?
i listen to recommendations if they are relevant to my needs.
friends, tech blogs, forums....there is usually some app-chat sooner or later.
if i download something and don't use it "enough"...and that is an arbitrary amount... i have no qualms about deleting it.

Posted 1 year ago #
Mimi
Member

uuuuh, binaural beats are cool. never heard about that before. i found a "Binaural 3d Sound Holophonic Rain Sound" (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMUTJCatIAE&feature=fvwrel) and it is wonderful! even though it´s not loud, it kills the office-noise around me. repeatrepeatrepeat :)

Posted 1 year ago #
Charity
Member

Kids mostly. Duck Duck Moose do loads that are great for preschoolers. For myself, other than email and Facebook, I use a diet/exercise diary (mynetdiary), a "couch to 10k" running app and Nike Fitness.

Posted 1 year ago #
badger
Member

For teachers: I've found that the ProfHacker blog ( chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/ ) often has good recommendations for teaching-related applications and, more generally, advice for using technology to facilitate teaching or doing research. Most of it's geared towards college professors, but I imagine that high school teachers and students aged 14+ would occasionally find useful information there.

The most recent app I downloaded was the free Concur app, which is linked to the travel/discretionary fund software used by my institution. The best thing about it is that flight/hotel reservations go directly to your account; you can also take a photo of your receipts and the app will tabulate things automatically (no more saving receipts!). I got my travel reimbursement in less than a week--it used to take months.

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

that sounds like a very cool app, badger!

how could i forget jotnot?
it allows me to send faxes from my iphone!

Posted 1 year ago #
Joless
Member

On a regular basis, I use FB, Echofon (Twitter), Feedler (RSS reader), Contacts, Safari, Mail, Calendar, Endomondo (records walks/runs), TeuxDeux, iPhone, GermCraft (game), YouTube...

More than I thought!

I download apps which I have read about/seen recommended and which look useful. I buy far fewer now than I did when I first got my iPhone last year.

Posted 1 year ago #
floydkelley
Member

if you appreciate minimalism when it comes to your computer, be sure to check out ommwriter (pc/mac). @mimi mentioned binaural 3d sound; if you are looking to drown out the noise at work or elsewhere, be sure to check out simplynoise (iphone/droid) and their website as well http://simplynoise.com.

if you like minimalistic music, but not the new age kind, may i suggest some labels: 12k (http://12k.com), LINE (http://lineimprint.com), and dynamophone (http://dynamophone.bandcamp.com)

Posted 11 months ago #
J.T. Hurley
Member

My two biggest "How did I live without this?" apps are SlideScreen and Springpad.

SlideScreen (http://slidescreenhome.com/) is Android-only at the moment, but it's still an amazing app. It either runs as a stand-alone or as a homescreen replacement, and moves your phone, e-mail, sms, calendar, RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and stock updates to color-coded preview lines on the front page. The result is you see your incoming information, not the programs that bring it to you. That means less programs being run and dealt with, and more focusing on actual content.

Springpad (http://springpadit.com/springpad/) is my all-purpose "notes/things for myself" program, rather than Evernote. It's a little more visual and has slightly better smartphone integration, but generally it's more important to *have* a general-purpose notebook program than which one you ultimately choose.

Posted 11 months ago #
J.T. Hurley
Member

My two biggest "How did I live without this?" apps are SlideScreen and Springpad.

SlideScreen (http://slidescreenhome.com/) is Android-only at the moment, but it's still an amazing app. It either runs as a stand-alone or as a homescreen replacement, and moves your phone, e-mail, sms, calendar, RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and stock updates to color-coded preview lines on the front page. The result is you see your incoming information, not the programs that bring it to you. That means less programs being run and dealt with, and more focusing on actual content.

Springpad (http://springpadit.com/springpad/) is my all-purpose "notes/things for myself" program, rather than Evernote. It's a little more visual and has slightly better smartphone integration, but generally it's more important to *have* a general-purpose notebook program than which one you ultimately choose.

Since I switch to these 2 programs, I've un-installed over half the "stuff" I had on my phone.I mostly use it to access information and avoid downtime, and they both do such an excellent job at both I rarely reach for anything else.

Posted 11 months ago #

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