In the first of our ‘Year in Review’ series, we take a look at 10 useful apps that caught our attention in 2014. As we become increasingly reliant on our smartphones, apps that aim to make our lives easier are all the rage. Whether for work or play, there’s truly an app for everything. From the ‘Nanu’ app that lets you make free calls on any network to the ‘Pixate’ app that builds intuitive websites without code, find out which ones made our list of life-improving apps.
10 Useful Apps Of 2014
1. ‘Nanu’ App Lets You Make Free Phone Calls Anywhere, On Any Network
Released for Android, the ‘nanu’ app is a godsend for those who love having long conversations over the phone. It lets you make free phone calls to anyone via WiFi, 2G, 3G or 4G networks, making it a great way to stay in touch with family and friends anywhere in the world.
Unlike other apps like Skype, Line or Viber, ‘nanu’ uses the less congested 2G network, meaning you can also make calls on landlines and mobile phones. Users can make free and unlimited calls to other ‘nanu’ users, while calls to non-‘nanu’ users use a limited number of minutes. Mindful of providing a pleasant user experience, ads have been made as unintrusive as possible, with a small jingle playing as you wait for your call to be picked up.
The ‘nanu’ app is currently only available on Android, but its creators are looking to bring it to iOS and Windows, so watch its website for more developments.
2. ‘Pixate’ App Builds Intuitive Prototypes Without Code
Here’s another one for designers: the ‘Pixate’ app lets you create simple and intuitive prototypes for iOS and Android easily in minutes, without the need to code. The app also allows you to communicate ideas for interactions and animations visually, test native prototypes directly on your device, and lets you view designs on multiple devices simultaneously, making working with team members a cinch.
3. ‘Archisketch’ App Automatically Scales Your Drawings To Size
If you’re an architect, or an interior or product designer, you’ll surely love the ‘Archisketch’ app by Urban Design that automatically scales your drawings to size, right down to line thickness. It also lets you flip, rotate, and duplicate layers, create customized symbols, and work on specific parts of your sketches. The best part? It’s free to download from the App Store.
4. ‘Prototypo’ Open Source App Lets You Create And Download Your Own Font
The open source ‘Prototypo’ app will appeal to those of you who wish to create your own typefaces. The app lets you make and download your own font; simply choose from a range of fonts and tweak them to create customized, one-of-a-kind typefaces. It’s a fun way of unleashing your creativity through playing and experimenting with different styles.
5. ‘Post-it Plus’ App Lets You Collaborate & Share Ideas Easily From Anywhere
We think 3M did a great job channelling the tactile feel of its iconic Post-it notes into a digital app. Created for iPhone and iPad, the ‘Post-it Plus’ app lets you capture up to 50 notes at once, organize them by thought or on a grid, and share them with co-workers during brainstorming sessions. The online collaboration means anyone in your team can work on projects anywhere, anytime to keep the momentum and workflow going.
6. Adobe’s ‘Shape CC’ App Turns Your Smartphone Photos Into Vectors
Designers would have rejoiced when Adobe released its ‘Shape CC’ app. Released as part of its Creative Cloud suite, it turns your smartphone photographs into Illustrator-ready vectors. Snap a picture or choose one from your camera roll, and the app will preview the image, which you can edit, save and sync to your Creative Cloud profile.
7. ‘Manual’ App Turns Your iPhone Into A Manual Camera
The iPhone’s camera is known for its solid photo-taking capabilities, and the cool ‘Manual’ iOS app brings it up a notch by turning it into a manual camera. The app boasts DSLR-like settings such as shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus and exposure bracketing, as well as a fill flash mode and a live histogram. With its professional features, it’s a great tool for iPhone users who wish to have more control over their images.
8. ‘Think Dirty’ App Reveals The Harmful Chemicals Found In Beauty Products
Spurred by her mom’s experience with breast cancer, Toronto-based entrepreneur Lily Tsang created ‘Think Dirty’, an app that reveals harmful chemicals found in your facial wash or lipstick. The app draws from a database of over 200,000 products and ranks them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the cleanest and 10 being the dirtiest. Scan a barcode or search a product’s name to see its rating. By listing the exact ingredients in beauty products, Tsang hopes to provide greater transparency to consumers.
9. ‘Front’ App Helps You Coordinate Email Replies, Keeps Your Inbox Neat & Tidy
To make your inbox more manageable, startup incubator Y Combinator funded an app called ‘Front’ aimed at improving the email experience. The app lets you coordinate and collaborate with co-workers on replies through linked shared accounts, and the ability to assign teammates to reply to specific messages. You can also track conversations in real time via notifications and a live activity feed. And instead of hitting reply all, you can type a comment to a teammate to communicate internally, preventing email threads from becoming a mess.
10. ‘Fontspiration’, The Ultimate Free App For The Typophile In You
Typography lovers will surely take to the ‘Fontspiration’ app that lets you create custom typographic designs from hundreds of fonts. Decide how your font looks like, from the kerning and size to the alignment and color. With the option to create typographic animations and a live feed of creative designs, you’ll never be lost for inspiration.
10 Useful Apps Of 2014
1. ‘Nanu’ App Lets You Make Free Phone Calls Anywhere, On Any Network
Released for Android, the ‘nanu’ app is a godsend for those who love having long conversations over the phone. It lets you make free phone calls to anyone via WiFi, 2G, 3G or 4G networks, making it a great way to stay in touch with family and friends anywhere in the world.
Unlike other apps like Skype, Line or Viber, ‘nanu’ uses the less congested 2G network, meaning you can also make calls on landlines and mobile phones. Users can make free and unlimited calls to other ‘nanu’ users, while calls to non-‘nanu’ users use a limited number of minutes. Mindful of providing a pleasant user experience, ads have been made as unintrusive as possible, with a small jingle playing as you wait for your call to be picked up.
The ‘nanu’ app is currently only available on Android, but its creators are looking to bring it to iOS and Windows, so watch its website for more developments.
2. ‘Pixate’ App Builds Intuitive Prototypes Without Code
Here’s another one for designers: the ‘Pixate’ app lets you create simple and intuitive prototypes for iOS and Android easily in minutes, without the need to code. The app also allows you to communicate ideas for interactions and animations visually, test native prototypes directly on your device, and lets you view designs on multiple devices simultaneously, making working with team members a cinch.
3. ‘Archisketch’ App Automatically Scales Your Drawings To Size
If you’re an architect, or an interior or product designer, you’ll surely love the ‘Archisketch’ app by Urban Design that automatically scales your drawings to size, right down to line thickness. It also lets you flip, rotate, and duplicate layers, create customized symbols, and work on specific parts of your sketches. The best part? It’s free to download from the App Store.
4. ‘Prototypo’ Open Source App Lets You Create And Download Your Own Font
The open source ‘Prototypo’ app will appeal to those of you who wish to create your own typefaces. The app lets you make and download your own font; simply choose from a range of fonts and tweak them to create customized, one-of-a-kind typefaces. It’s a fun way of unleashing your creativity through playing and experimenting with different styles.
5. ‘Post-it Plus’ App Lets You Collaborate & Share Ideas Easily From Anywhere
We think 3M did a great job channelling the tactile feel of its iconic Post-it notes into a digital app. Created for iPhone and iPad, the ‘Post-it Plus’ app lets you capture up to 50 notes at once, organize them by thought or on a grid, and share them with co-workers during brainstorming sessions. The online collaboration means anyone in your team can work on projects anywhere, anytime to keep the momentum and workflow going.
6. Adobe’s ‘Shape CC’ App Turns Your Smartphone Photos Into Vectors
Designers would have rejoiced when Adobe released its ‘Shape CC’ app. Released as part of its Creative Cloud suite, it turns your smartphone photographs into Illustrator-ready vectors. Snap a picture or choose one from your camera roll, and the app will preview the image, which you can edit, save and sync to your Creative Cloud profile.
7. ‘Manual’ App Turns Your iPhone Into A Manual Camera
The iPhone’s camera is known for its solid photo-taking capabilities, and the cool ‘Manual’ iOS app brings it up a notch by turning it into a manual camera. The app boasts DSLR-like settings such as shutter speed, ISO, white balance, focus and exposure bracketing, as well as a fill flash mode and a live histogram. With its professional features, it’s a great tool for iPhone users who wish to have more control over their images.
8. ‘Think Dirty’ App Reveals The Harmful Chemicals Found In Beauty Products
Spurred by her mom’s experience with breast cancer, Toronto-based entrepreneur Lily Tsang created ‘Think Dirty’, an app that reveals harmful chemicals found in your facial wash or lipstick. The app draws from a database of over 200,000 products and ranks them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the cleanest and 10 being the dirtiest. Scan a barcode or search a product’s name to see its rating. By listing the exact ingredients in beauty products, Tsang hopes to provide greater transparency to consumers.
9. ‘Front’ App Helps You Coordinate Email Replies, Keeps Your Inbox Neat & Tidy
To make your inbox more manageable, startup incubator Y Combinator funded an app called ‘Front’ aimed at improving the email experience. The app lets you coordinate and collaborate with co-workers on replies through linked shared accounts, and the ability to assign teammates to reply to specific messages. You can also track conversations in real time via notifications and a live activity feed. And instead of hitting reply all, you can type a comment to a teammate to communicate internally, preventing email threads from becoming a mess.
10. ‘Fontspiration’, The Ultimate Free App For The Typophile In You
Typography lovers will surely take to the ‘Fontspiration’ app that lets you create custom typographic designs from hundreds of fonts. Decide how your font looks like, from the kerning and size to the alignment and color. With the option to create typographic animations and a live feed of creative designs, you’ll never be lost for inspiration.