SURVEY SAYS: Favorite Smartphone Apps

Last week, I asked NewsDash readers, “Do you have a Smartphone, how many apps have you downloaded on it, and what is your MOST favorite app and why?”

More than 80% of responding readers indicated they have a Smartphone and 19.6% do not.

Asked how many apps they have downloaded on their Smartphones, 8.7% said less than five, 21.7% chose “five to 10,” 8.7% said 11 to 20, and 34.8% chose “more than 20.” Thirteen percent of respondents indicated they’ve downloaded too many to count, and 13% have downloaded none.

Repeats in the most favorite apps list included Starbucks, Weather Bug, Kindle, Facebook, FitBit and Google Maps. Most readers favorite apps fell into the weather, music, fitness and games categories.

Among those who left general comments about Smartphone apps, quite a few said they loved them or that they were helpful, but many expressed how they lead people to disconnect and miss out on life. Some are new to using apps and still learning, like the reader who said his/her son downloads all his/her apps, and the son says no one older than 45 should be allowed to own a Smartphone. Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said: “What did we ever do before smartphones? Oh yeah I remember, we called back later when someone wasn’t home, and we played board games with people face-to-face.” 

Most favorite apps 

Starbucks - coffee, free coffee, and coffee.

Outsider - It's a weather app that lets me plan my outdoor activities around the weather. It includes hourly forecasts that include lots of detail.

Local News app

Starbucks - because I can order in advance and I hate waiting in line!

The Weather Channel. I'm a weather freak and always want to know what's going on with the weather. Although it failed to send severe weather warnings yesterday during severe storms.

Garden Answers, I've committed to learning the names of the flora in the neighborhood, since I walk around it so much.

Netflix with Chromecast since there is never anything on tv anymore. Thank goodness technology has advanced enough that cable is not only no longer a necessity but really easy to live without!

the "myradar" app is my favorite. I can check the weather anytime. It also notifies me of any inclement weather on the way (flood watch, tornado warning etc)

MOVIES ON THE GO

Google Maps I can find out where I am, where I'm going and traffic delays.

Most favorite apps (cont.) 

Life360 - I can keep track of my kids' locations without constantly asking them to check in. When they start to drive life gets scarier! They call if spying - so be it!

FitBit app -- trying to improve

toss up - Pandora, Bus Tracker, Spider solitaire - maybe in that order.

My favorite app is Map My Tracks for mountain biking because it is accurate, detailed, pauses when you do, and doesn't use up the battery. The flashlight app is very handy too!

I only have one and it syncs my activity tracker.

Kindle -- I always have something to read.

My smartphone is my brain and it has numerous apps. People need to get their heads out of their phones and realize there is a world out there.

Daily yoga is my favorite app, because it helps me still physically active

I'm from New England - My favorite app is my Dunkin Donuts app - nothing like not needing cash every morning - and you can't beat the free coffees!

Most favorite apps (cont.) 

Gas Buddy - it allows me to get the best price on gas in my area

For pension plan work, my faborite is the "12E Financial Calculator" by Vicinno Soft LLC. Looks the same as the H-P financial calculator I used to have to borrow from a co-worker, and seems as accurate. For games, my favorite is "Jigsaw Puzzle" by Critical Hit Software. Guess that proves my Nerd status...

Facebook - maybe not the favorite, but the most used.

Actually I have 2: 1) Weather Bug - more accurate than the $1 million weather person...on any channel; and 2) EZ calculator -great for any number of calculations.

It's a tie between the two that interact with my cars. Both allow me to download destinations to the navigation systems (avoiding distraction while driving). Both address my middle-aged memory ("Did I lock the car??") by allowing me to see that status remotely. The app that presents my grocery list in order by aisle in the supermarket comes in at a close second.

Amazon music, because it allows me to take my favorite music and listen anywhere with out having to use data.

Most favorite is my Kindle app; even on a small 5s screen you can still read your back stuck in an airport or anywhere really.

I'm not sure favorite is the right way to characterize an addiction, but Words With Friends has saved me from many boring conference calls thanks to the 15+ plus games I have going at any one time.

Hard to pick one. Love Yelp, Uber, ESPN. Don't have time to sit and watch sporting events, but the ESPN app keeps me up to date on scores, standings, etc.

Most favorite apps (cont.) 

So far, Raindar. (We ride motorcycles and it is nice to have this to see if we want to take an alternate route!)

really can't just pick one the Music apps I have on the phone are tops. Spotify and the music in my iTunes library are the two I reach for most often. Music gets me through the day working on all sorts of tedious projects...

Facebook. I stay in touch with family and friends, no matter the physical distance.

MyFitnessPal is great for tracking my food and exercise. I use it everyday.

Beat the Traffic - Traffic conditions between you and your destination, signifying speed by green, yellow or red. Coolest app is SkyGuide - Will show you what constellations, stars, planets and satellites/rockets are around you day or night.

The Fitbit app is my favorite. I'm obsessed with it. I constantly checking it to see where I stand in the four (4) Fitbit challenges I'm in. And now that Fitbit has added the 250 steps per hour goal, I've been known to jump up from a meeting when I realize that I only have 5 minutes to get those 250 steps in before the next hour. It totally disrupts my day! But I'm addicted! The good news is that at my annual physical, my doctor was so excited that I thought something was wrong. It turns out that my blood pressure is down so low that he's talking about taking me off medication, and I have lost 30 pounds over the year. I knew that I had lost a few pounds but never weighed myself. No wonder my clothes don't fit anymore. Time to shop! Is there an app for that?! Yes, there is!!!!

Google Maps which tries to help keep me from getting lost.

Twitter

Weather

Verbatim 

I'm the worst about updating apps. I think I have 42 currently waiting for an update. It's bad enough I have to use space on my phone to have an app, but then more space to update it? What happened to functional websites?

I dislike all the notifications so I turn them all off.

Too many. After this week's survey question I realize I can delete about half of the apps on my phone. They just take up space and I rarely open them.

You need to be really careful; some of them note that you are giving them the right to access your address book, photos, etc. Tricky.

Removed a few of the games so I could participate in life more!

I'm just learning, have had my smartphone for less than a year.

MY SON DOWNLOADS ALL MY APPS AND SAYS NO ONE OVER 45 SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO OWN ONE!

Finally got one this year and, although it is nice to have, I still prefer the "old days" when I didn't have or need one.

I'm sure there are many apps out there that I would enjoy, but don't want another reason to be staring into my phone & missing out on what's going on around me.

They all sound good at the beginning, but I probably use 5% of all the apps I have on my phone.

I'm quite sure there are many more I would enjoy -- I'm convinced that only the young 'uns have the time and patience to search through the Stores and find them all.

Verbatim (cont.) 

I would be surprised if you have any respondents that don't have a smartphone.

Considering the amount of time I already spend in front of a screen on a daily basis both at work and at home, I've resisted the urge to get a personal smartphone and spend even more time with my eyes on a screen.

Best invention ever!

Helpful as long as they don't become your life.

Amazing technology at our fingertips! I used to think a camera on a phone was a silly idea.."

Most of them are too distracting, especially when people try to use their phone and drive at the same time. These days when I drive, I feel like Ben Hur in a chariot race.

My smartphone and its apps are definitely smarter than me!

I use my phone for convenience; it's not a major source of entertainment for me.

I am old school and STILL have a flip phone and praying that lasts a long time.

How did we ever survive without them in the past?

Phone apps are overrated. Most are hard to use on a phone, and come on -- it's a phone! Just use it like one, except for reading of course.

Verbatim (cont.) 

Love 'em! So much information in the palm of my hand.

I just got my first smart phone 3 weeks ago and am still learning how to use it. It came with a lot of apps already installed, which I'll likely delete, and then I may consider adding some, as I learn of their usefulness.

The battery sucks!

I don't have a Smartphone, but I don't have a flip phone. No internet. And that's fine with me. Was not born with a phone connected to my umbilical cord.

If you pay for the app, you are the consumer. If the app is free, you are the product.

If it's not free, it's not for me...

I've been bumped into by more phone-gawkers than bargain hunters on Black Friday. Now, I only have my head down when I pray or to pick up the cash they drop on the sidewalk.

I am in my 60s and am constantly amazed at all my phone can do, having grown up with landlines. I sometimes get scared at how smart my phone is, so much smarter than I am...

Entertaining and informational if you follow the right accounts.

Slow and tedious

What did we ever do before smartphones? Oh yeah I remember, we called back later when someone wasn't home and we played board games with people face-to-face.