We held out as long as we could, but the pressure finally got to us. My co-worker Krystin and I are the last NSTers to make the upgrade to the iPhone. That’s right, after facing embarrassment of being seen with my Blackberry (I even hid it under my iPad on occasion), and Krystin’s Android denial, we finally became “cool.”
After first figuring out how to install emoji’s, we turned to our colleagues for app advice. Above and beyond the typical picture (Instagram), video (YouTube), music (Pandora) and food (Urbanspoon) recommendations, which apps did we need to have on shiny our new iPhones?
Natalie, who is the office’s go-to source for information on social media platforms and updates, provided very practical information.
- For those that manage multiple client social media profiles, Facebook’s Pages is a must.
- A devoted Badger, she would be lost without Wisconsin Football Gameday, the app connecting University of Wisconsin Badger football fans to real-time information and stats.
For our government relations and public affairs specialist, Mark’s iPhone is business in the front and party in the back (you know what we mean).
- Twitter for iPhone is how Mark stays up-to-speed on the political landscape and media coverage.
- Another must-have app is Uber, which allows you to request a private car in available cities.
Katie is also passionate about work and play.
- Check out the Save Our Citrus app by the United States Department of Agriculture. It allows you to identify if your homegrown fruit is infected with a citrus disease by comparing it to pictures of infected citrus. It’s great for those with a home garden or green thumb.
- IMDb is a great app for looking up fun facts about movies or actors. (Katie also likes that it helps her answer questions like “who’s that guy who plays in that movie with that girl from the 90s?”)
Price is our iPhone muse. She breezes through her phone and apps – we think because everything is sync’d just right.
- Did you know that Evite has an app? You can send and manage event invitations on the go and with its linear form party animals can manage multiple events with ease.
- Trip Tracker lets you track flights in real time, so you’re not sitting in the airport cell phone area or circling the terminal.
- The Dropbox app is essential for the PR pro on the go. Never again will you get stuck at a media event without a way to send that high resolution photo to the journalist who’s deadline was five minutes ago.
Greg is super organized, so we weren’t surprised by his top app picks.
- TeuxDeux makes task management easy (which Greg loves).
- With TaxiMagic, it only takes a few clicks and you’ve got a taxi booked!
Last, but not least, I’ve downloaded my colleagues’ recommendations above and also provided a few of my own.
- Take the leader in celebrity gossip on the go with Us Weekly. The pretty pink app won’t steer you wrong!
- Ever wonder what fruit is in season before you head to the grocery store or what would pair well with the veggies you already have in the refrigerator? Download the NST-created Markon’s Produce Guide for quick reference.
- Sunrise is a new social scheduling/calendar app created by two former FourSquare designers. It pulls your Facebook, Google (Gmail) and LinkedIn calendars into one clean, nice calendar and you can do fun stuff with it. Just wish it would pull in my Outlook/Apple calendar information.
Can’t live without a particular iPhone app? Have a secret app for organizing your life through your phone? Tell us in the comments below or on our Facebook page.
