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
Our rating HHHHH Our rating HHHHH Our rating HHHHH
UPDATED NEW UPDATED
Our rating HHHHH Our rating HHHHH
NEW UPDATED