There are other things to do with your phone besides play Candy Crush, guys. In fact, while you were waiting for your lives to replenish, we asked industry execs to share their favorite apps — either useful, entertaining, weird or all of the above — so that you might discover something new and potentially life changing. Or at least mildly distracting.
Last month we shared Deutsch LA technologist Trevor O’Brien‘s favorites apps, and before that we spoke with Conor Brady, global creative director at Huge. This time we had David Bryant, chief creative officer at digital agency Organic, share his favorite apps. Check out his five picks.
1. Spotify: I’m an avid fan. If you crank all the settings up to highest quality it really makes a difference. I can’t listen to mp3’s any more now. I happen to love all music genres apart from 80’s Metal, so having every piece of music ever made by anyone ever, instantly available, in the palm of my hand, for a mere 10 dollars a month seems like a good deal. Also being able to see what other people are listening to is a great way to discover new tracks. It’s a must-have for me.
2. Google Maps: Boring choice I know. But incredibly useful if you a) have no sense of direction whatsoever and b) have to go to new places a lot. In the last two years Google products have had a bit of a renaissance. They used to be just outrageously useful. Now they are outrageously beautiful to look at and to use.
3. Buycott: I do use Buycott when I’m weekly shopping. If you care even the slightest about the economy, politics or just enjoy sticking it to the man, then you should download it. It scans the barcodes of things you’re about to buy, and then shows you who is behind the company that makes it. It helps you not fund the people that are worrying you. It’s simple and brilliant and I wish I’d thought of it.
4. 23andme: I got my DNA profiled and the results came back a few days ago. The app is like the website — it allows you to see your ancestry back 65,000 years or so, see who you may be distantly related to and if you are the carrier of any genetic diseases (thankfully I’m not). It’s weirdly addictive and incredibly narcissistic at the same time. It’s a remarkable thing that these days we’re able to sit on a train, drink a coffee, make a phone call and be browsing our actual DNA and seeing who we were related to 4,000 years ago. Not sure if it’s a good thing or not. But it’s definitely remarkable.
5. SoundHound: This is the best Shazzam-like app in the world. As well as being able to hold your phone up to a speaker to recognize a given music track, you can even hum or sing a tune into it. If that isn’t awesome enough, it even displays lyrics scrolling at the point you are in the track.
Image via Flickr
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