Applications

Phones are now more than just a device used to make calls or send texts. For the people of today, phones are multifunctional; besides just using them to keep in touch with others, we can take photos with them, keep up-to-date with the latest current affairs and even manage our bank accounts.

Whilst some people have tons of apps - mostly games, such as Candy Crush or Angry Birds - I limit myself to just a few. The few apps I have are those that I consider to be particularly useful to me. Here are five apps that I couldn’t live without:

BBC News: I like to keep up to date with what is happening in the world without reading long articles. The BBC News app gives me the top stories, all of which can be read very quickly. This lets me know what is going on, without making reading the news feel like a chore.

Oxford Hachette French Dictionary: While living in France, this has been my lifesaver. I have hundreds (possibly thousands) of words at my fingertips, which is so useful for those “I’m not sure what the word is” situations. It’s a great app as it means I don’t have to carry a heavy dictionary around with me all the time!

Scrabble: For anyone who doesn’t know what ‘Scrabble’ is, it’s a board game with words. You are given a selection of seven letters to make a word with. Once you have put a word down, the next player must try and make a word with their letters that they can link to those already on the board. I love this game and it’s given me countless hours of entertainment. I often play Scrabble with my boyfriend whilst we Facetime - and it can also be played using Facebook.

Snapchat: Snapchat is an image messaging and multimedia mobile application created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown, former students at Stanford University, and developed by Snap Inc. This app is great for multimedia with other people. Snapchat is primarily used for creating multimedia messages referred to as ‘snaps’; snaps can consist of a photo or a short video, and can be edited to include filters and effects, text captions, and drawings. Snapchat was recently criticised by the media as a lot of photos were leaked. However, I think as long as you are careful with the app and don’t send any potentially embarrassing photos or videos, there is no need to worry.

Tube Map: This is a fantastic app for anyone who plans to visit London. Although paper maps of the Underground are available for free at all tube stations, this is still a really useful app. The app is able to tell you how long it will take to travel between any two stations, and where you need to change onto a different tube line.