Web User - UK (2019-10-02)

Best Free Apps

Recommend free phone apps atwww.facebook.com/webusermagazine 2 - 15 October 2019^35

PODCASTS

PocketCasts

bit.ly/pocketdroid485

bit.ly/pocketios485

5 11

One of the better

paid-forpodcasts

apps, PocketCasts has

beenupdated andis

nowcompletelyfreeto

use.Everything

originallyoffered inthe

paid-forversion isnow

availabletofreeusers,

thougha now-optional

premium tier(Pocket

Casts Plus, £1per month)

offeringcloudstorage, themes and desktop apps isalso

available. Freeusers get some powerfulplaybacktools,

suchasa brilliant silence trimmerthatautomatically edits

out silences fromyourpodcasts tospeedup

listening times.The latestversion adds several

improvements, including the abilitytoimport

yourown content andlistentoit alongside

podcasts downloaded within the app.

WELLBEING

BBC Own It
bit.ly/owndroid485
bit.ly/ownios485

6 11

Thisfortnight,the
BBC has been
busy launching
its online archive
(seepage 14)
andkillingoff its
much-loved iPlayer
Radio app.But it
has alsoreleased
a verywelcome
app thatuses AI
tomonitorthe
wellbeing ofyoungpeoplethrough their online interactions
with friends and family,providing helpandsupport where
it’s needed. Own It takes the shapeofanon-screen
keyboard,which works likeany otherkeyboard
(completewith all the requisite emojisandGIFs),
except thatit offershelpful tipsandfriendly
adviceasyou type messagesandsocial-media
posts.Everythingtyped iskeptprivate.

PRODUCTIVITY

Microsoft

To Do

bit.ly/

tododroid485

bit.ly/todoios485

(varies) 11

Microsofthas

releaseda new

desktop version

of its Wunderlist

replacement,

ToDo (to-do

.microsoft.com),

andthe Android

and iOS versionshavealsobeen freshly

updated with anewlookand additional

features. These includethe freedom

toset andcustomiseyourown full-

colour backgrounds,while iOS users

alsoget the abilitytodraganddrop

items between tasks andlists.

It’s evenpossibletodrag

anddropmultipleitems

atonce,bylong-tapping

the firstitem, thentapping

another.

MUSIC

Shazam
bit.ly/
shazdroid485
bit.ly/shazios485
(varies) 8

Nowownedby
Apple, Shazam

• the brilliant
  ‘namethat tune’
  app –has been
  updated.
  Predictably,
  mostof the new
  featuresare
  skewedinfavour
  ofAppledevices,suchasthe ability
  tosync automatically with iOS 13’s new
  nativeDarkMode andthe optionto
  long-pressany Shazammed track to
  addit to yourfavourite streaming app


• including,of course,AppleMusic.
  Androidusers aren’t left
  out, though– theyget
  newwaystonavigate,
  browseand manage their
  Shazamhistory.

HEALTH

Music Zen

• Relaxing
  Sounds
  bit.ly/zen485
  6

Whenyou

needto

de-stress, this

app aimstobe

a one-stop

shopfor all

yourrelaxation

and meditation

needs.It offersa broadselection of

guided meditation exercisestochoose

from, alongside arange ofsoothing

sounds– including white noise, rainfall

andrelaxing music –tohelpyou chill

out. For visualsoothing, there are

mesmerising animations, imagesof

natureandevencalming games.

Freeusers get alimited

selection of content along

with someshorter clips,

while full accesscosts

£40 per year.

This fortnight’s top free and paid-for apps

for Android and iOS phones and tablets

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