16 Absolutely Awesome Mobile Apps You May Be Missing Out On

16 Absolutely Awesome Mobile Apps You May Be Missing Out On

As we’ve mentioned in past round ups of tools and apps, there are so many out there. It’s dizzying. We can’t begin to uncover all the gems. This time, we asked journalists and industry experts to share their favorite lesser known apps.

And, boy did they deliver!

16 awesome mobile apps that you may have missed out on - Android, iOS, Windows Phone

We’re using some of the apps they recommended. As if we needed more!

This roundup includes apps for a variety of platforms. You can find those at the end of each description. Still want more suggestions after going through this list?? Check out 14 Android productivity apps and 20 iPhone productivity apps. Not enough? Let us know in the comments what kind of apps you’d like to find and we’ll see what we can do!

We think you’ll be impressed and download a few as we did.

1 password - create and remember strong passwords

@1Password: Save your passwords in one place

https://agilebits.com/onepassword

The app creates and remembers strong passwords for every site. Users can log in with a single tap and store credit cards, bank accounts, passports, and secure notes. You can create folders to organize information by work, personal, and others. Recommended by Brian Katz (@bmkatz), Director, EUC Mobility Strategy. Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.

Clean master reclaims Android device resources by cleaning caches, closing apps and processes, and deleting junk

Clean Master

http://www.cmcm.com/

We all know to keep our desktops, laptops, and notebooks clean by clearing the cache, emptying the recycle bin, and running disk cleanup. This lightens the load, optimizes performance, and speeds your computer. Devices could benefit from a similar cleaning and Clean Master does that for Androids. Clean Master can help devices that are operating slowly, running out of space, losing power too quickly, or overheating. It clears junk files, shuts down buggy apps sucking up memory, protects the device, lengthens battery life, and secures private data. Recommended by Melinda Emerson (@SmallBizLady), bestselling author. Platforms: Android.

Exit Strategy NYC app - New York City navigation

Exit Strategy NYC: Faster subway-ing

http://www.exitstrategynyc.com/

While we know only some of you live in the New York City area, we bet many of you plan to visit the Big Apple sometime. This unique app tells you where to stand on the platform to get you closest to your destination station’s exit and shave minutes every time you ride the subway. The app also has bus maps and an offline street map of Manhattan. We’ll put it to the test the next time we’re in NYC. “Have saved piles of minutes over years now getting off via just the right door!” says Ron Lieber (@ronlieber), The New York Times columnist. Platforms: Android, BlackBerry, and iOS.

Facebook Paper - Explore and share stories from friends and the world — in immersive designs and fullscreen, distraction-free layouts

Facebook Paper: Immerse yourself in Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/paper

Paper takes your Facebook News Feeds and your favorite topics to roll them into one beautiful layout for visual-rich, distraction-free browsing. The experience is like reading a magazine as you swipe across the screen to flip pages, so to speak. It’s quite a different experience that requires you forget what you know about navigating Facebook and opening your mind to something different. A fave of Jason Kottke (@jkottke) of kottke.org who says this should become the default Facebook app. Platforms: iOS.

Link Bubble browser - load links in the background while you're using another app

Link Bubble Browser: Disruption-free surfing

http://linkbubble.com/

Don’t you hate it when you click a link and the browser pulls up loading the page while you sit there and wait? Link Bubble Browser changes the whole mobile experience by doing away with that. Select a link and the app loads the web page in the background leaving you to continue doing whatever you’re doing. After the page loads, a bubble appears for you to tap when you’re ready to view the page. It also works with Pocket and uses gestures to simplify link sharing. Recommended by JR Raphael (@JRRaphael), author.

Luxe - on-demand valet parking app that lets you request a valet to park for you wherever you're going

Luxe: Effortless parking

http://www.luxevalet.com/

You don’t need to go to a fancy restaurant or a country club to get valet parking. Luxe comes to you and takes care of the parking or brings your car to you. This is a lifesaver on rainy and cold days or when you’re heading downtown where parking is sparse. It also provides peace of mind as you won’t be walking alone in the dark. The service is available in nine major U.S. cities with more to come. Recommended by Michelle Killebrew (@shellkillebrew) of IBM Digital Marketing Transformation. Platforms: Android and iOS.

Meeting Mogul parses your smartphone calendar and shows you all your conference calls and meetings in a convenient agenda view.

Meeting Mogul: One touch conference calling

http://www.meetingmogulapp.com/

Conference calls can have long, complicated phone numbers and extensions. Make a mistake and you have to start all over again. Meeting Mogul saves the day by automatically dialing for you. This app requires no setup in order to create, join, and manage conference calls. Features include calendar sync, call alerts, directly calling participants, participant notification, VoIP dialing, and meeting notes integration. David Pogue (@pogue), founder of Yahoo Tech, refers to this app as “Absolutely life-changing!” Platforms: Android and iOS.

Nighty Night is an app for a daily go-to-sleep ritual with sweet music and elegant narration for kids.

Nighty Night: Amplify kids’ bedtime

http://www.foxandsheep.com/product/nighy-night/

Move over, “Goodnight Moon” and meet Nighty Night, or as we affectionally call it Goodnight Moon 2.0. This interactive bedtime book allows kids to turn off the lights as they say good night to 13 animals. You can also switch between summer and winter. “Great graphics, humor, and soundtrack. My son loves it,” says Graham Cluley (@gcluley), computer security analyst. Platforms: Android and iOS.

Our Groceries keeps your grocery lists instantly synchronized on all the smartphones in your household

OurGroceries: Sync your shopping list

https://www.ourgroceries.com/

Sure, you can use your device’s notes app to create a shopping list. But if you shop for others in your household, they can’t add to the list unless they remember to tell you. Enter OurGroceries. Everyone can add items to their device’s shopping list and it’ll sync with the main household list. Like most of us, you probably shop at different stores. OurGroceries lets you create separate lists by store or type of store. Recommended by Therese Walsh (@ThereseWalsh), author. Platforms: Android and iOS.

Photofy - create and share one-of-a-kind photos and photo collages

Photofy: Prettify your photos

http://photofy.com/

Built-in camera apps keep improving with every new OS update, but many users still want more editing features. And Photofy delivers. It transforms your ordinary photos into memorable ones with professional looking fonts (90+), collage layouts (75+), backgrounds (30+), stock photography, frames, and stickers. That’s not all. Editing features include effects, filters, crop, overlays, and sharpen. Recommended by Ted Rubin (@TedRubin), social media strategist Platforms: Android and iOS.

Pocket - save any page in your browser with a single click.

Pocket: Bookmarking on steroids

https://getpocket.com/

Pocket isn’t a standalone app that you download. Rather, it’s integrated into many apps across platforms you may already use. You pocket videos, web pages, articles, and images all in one place to save for later. Organized people can tag items to group items together, edit saved items in bulk, and share them. Recommended by Rieva Lesonsky (@Rieva), CEO of GrowBiz Media. Platforms: all.

Private Calculator - hide your photos, videos, notes, contacts, and documents behind a calculator

Private Calculator

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/private-calculator-file-hider/id646308208?mt=8

Private Calculator hides your photos, videos, notes, contacts, and documents behind a calculator. If you want to let someone use your phone, you won’t have to worry about your private stuff being found. It all hides behind an ordinary calculator. If anyone taps the calculator, they’ll get a functioning calculator. To go access your private stuff, enter a password and you’re in. Recommended by Marc Saltzman (@marc_saltzman), journalist

Satellite AR - Augmented reality app to show you what sattelites fly above you

Satellite AR: What’s in the sky?

http://spacedata.agi.com/MobileApps/about.htm

This app uses augmented reality to show you what satellites fly above you. Point your device’s camera to the sky, and small icons pinpoint the locations of satellites. Blue icons indicate the satellite isn’t visible to the naked eye while yellow items are. A simple star map is included to help users align the app’s view with the sky. “I may not find it until the winter! Satellite AR shows me where to spot the International Space Station in the night sky,” says Rob Pegoraro (@robpegoraro), journalist. Platforms: Android.

SelfieXtreme - customizable video and still photo/camera settings

SelfieXtreme: Selfies taken to the next level

http://www.selfiextremeapp.com/

Sometimes you want to record video using both the front and back cameras. It’s almost impossible to switch between cameras while recording video without any bumpiness. Tap an icon on the screen to deftly switch views. SelfieXtreme has customizable video and still photo timer settings. When using the timer, the app gives you an audio and visual countdown so you know when to be ready and when the shot has been captured. Recommended by Steve Greenberg (‏@stevetv), author. Platforms: iOS.

Twitterific - a Twitter client to browse mentions, DMs, and lists. Effortlessly respond to tweets and change accounts

Twitterific: Power up Twitter

http://twitterrific.com/

Twitterific is a Twitter client that lets you browse mentions and direct messages, customize your settings, and manage lists. It has push notifications and unifies your timeline for easy scanning. Use gestures to effortlessly respond to tweets, change accounts, or view conversation threads. Recommended by Ethan Marcotte (@beep), author. Platforms: iOS

YNAB - You need a budget - A personal finance app that will improve your finances

You Need a Budget (YNAB)

https://www.youneedabudget.com/

YNAB is software with a mission to change the way you think about money. Based on four simple rules, YNAB helps you get out of debt, save more money faster, and stop living for every paycheck as it helps you plan and record your spending. You can sign up for a free nine-day course to speed up the process. America’s Digital Goddess Kim Komando (@kimkomando) calls it an incredible app. Platforms: Android and iOS.

Is your favorite lesser known app missing from the list? Share it in the comments.

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  • Theo Buten January 15, 2016 at 6:06 am

    This Apps are for Kids with a lot of time but not helpful for Business users and for the topic Akruto