With most people walking around with a small computer in their pocket, what tools are available to giant pumpkin growers for their cellphone?
In this post I’m going to cover apps that will come in handy during the growing season.
The requirements I set to be included on this list is that they are free or have a free option. All of the apps I have listed here I use myself on my Android phone. There are many apps out there and alternatives for Apple if they aren’t available on both platforms.
My Process for Choosing an App
I work out what I need the app to do. Then I go and find which apps come up in that search result. I’ll pick a whole bunch of different ones, sometimes using the reviews, screenshots, or that the name to decide.
I download them to my phone and play around with them, I see if they have features that work, it makes sense, doesn’t bombard me with excessive ads. If they have an upgrade option, what do I get for that? Is it monthly or a one time fee.
After all of that, I pick the one I am happy with and delete the rest of them.
There is a lot of choice
There are a lot of apps out there. Some are good, a lot of them are bad. Have a look around and find out what works for you. A good app that does what you want it to is a great addition to your phone.
Conversion App
How good are you at converting lbs to kg, feet to metres, or anything else. Well you might be OK at guestimating the difference, but when you
For this I use an app called Unit Converter
Pros
- Has a lot of different units you can convert to
- Shows you all the different conversions at once which I like
- Has a currency converter which gets the latest rates
Cons
- Could be prettier
Note Taking App
Your phone will have something already built in that you can take notes with, that might be a good option for most. But for me I like my notes to be able to be synced to my desktop, laptop and phone. So no matter where I am, they are all up to date across these devices.
For lots of people Google Keep will work, but I’m not a fan of the layout.
For my note taking on my phone I use Dynalist
Pros
- Organises information in documents and you can make folders to store groups of documents
- Works great across all my devices both android, windows and apple.
- Able to make checklists
- Able to bookmark favourite info to find easily later
- Lots of features in the free plan
Cons
- Paid plan is expensive
- Image and file attachment only available in the paid plan
Photo Editing App
This has to be one of the categories with the most amount of apps out there. Your phone will have a lot of options already baked into it, but sometimes they aren’t the easiest to use, or only have basic features.
To really make your photo better, ready for sharing a dedicated photo editing app is the way to go. And it can be as simple as just cropping an image to make it better.
If I had to pick one it would have to be Snapseed
Pros
- I find it easy to use and easy to adjust pictures
- Lots of options and starting points
- Works fast
Cons
- Ummm not really sure
Chat Messaging App
This really depends on what other people use. And for a lot of people using Facebook Messenger works well. But what happens if you need to talk to people that don’t use Facebook? Or you just don’t want to share data with Facebook? Well you’ll need an app for that.
For chat messaging between family members and my flat mates I use Telegram
I even use Telegram to get information sent to my phone automatically when websites update, or things are mentioned on the internet.
Pros
- Focused on security and speed
- Easy to share photos
- Can schedule messages
- Lots of updates and improvements
Cons
- No video calling, only voice
Video Calling App
When voice or a picture just won’t cut it, a video chat might be the ideal thing you are after. There’s a couple of different options out there.
For me I had to find a solution that worked across Android and Apple devices and for people that weren’t on Facebook.
The easier option that fit that criteria is Whatsapp you can also message on this. It was brought out by Facebook ages ago, and luckily they haven’t ruined it, but I’m sure they will eventually.
Pros
- Video calling is easy to use
- Works across all types of devices
- Has a desktop version as well
Cons
- The desktop version always wants to update and to open it the first time after the update you need your phone to take a picture of the code to unlock it.
Social Media App
By now you might get the feeling I don’t really like Facebook much, and you’d be right. But it is a necessary thing at this point in time.
To manage that, Facebook pages, as well as check in on Twitter from time to time I use an app called Maki It’s classed as a wrapper, and it removes all the junk you’d normally get in the standalone apps.
It gives me a better Facebook experience, lets me use messenger and facebook pages all from within this one app, and can handle other social media platforms as well. I find it’s great.
Pros
- Has lots of different features
- Able to quickly use other social media platforms from within the app
Cons
- Can’t view live Facebook videos
Let me know what you think or if you have suggestions for me.