Imagine the scene. You are alone on a desert island. Completely clear blue skies, not a cloud to be seen. It’s sunny, and the temperature is perfect – not too hot, not too cold. The only sound is the waves gently lapping at the edge of the sandy beach. You are finally able to grab some of that precious “me” time you have been dreaming of for so long.
You are not abandoned. You don’t need to worry about raising the alarm. You can stay here as long as you like, but as soon as you’re ready to leave you may. You see this particular island has WiFi Internet access, so when you’re ready to leave you can just tweet the coastguard and they’ll come and pick you up. Yes, that’s right – you are accompanied on this desert island by your trusty smartphone or tablet device, and this is your opportunity to spend some quality uninterrupted time with your favourite apps.
Welcome to my new feature – desert island apps. Much like the popular radio show with similar name which asks about your favourite music tracks, here I want to know your favourite apps. I’ll let you choose up to four apps, along with one accessory for your device as your “luxury item”. Remember you’re not abandoned on the desert island so you don’t need to pick apps to help you survive or get rescued. This is a purely hedonistic exercise where you get to spend some time on your own enjoying your favourite apps. I’ll tell you how you can get involved later on; for now, and to get the ball rolling, here are my desert island apps.
Downcast: I listen to loads of podcasts, and Downcast is the best podcast downloading and listening app I have found. I usually have to listen to my favourite shows during my commute to and from work, as that’s pretty much the only time I won’t get interrupted every couple of minutes by a small child. I would make the most of my alone time by lying back on the beach, enjoying the sun and catching up with all the unplayed podcast episodes I’ve collected.
Audible: I really do enjoy listening to my content, more than reading it or watching it, and Audible is a fantastic resource for audio books. I have been a subscriber for a number of years now and have a great collection of audio books. I’m working my way through them gradually, but would love a few hours of uninterrupted time to finish a book or two.
Where’s My Water?: This is still my favourite puzzle game on the iPad. It walks the fine line of driving me completely mad with the harder levels, but being extremely satisfying when you figure each one out. I have been known to throw my iPad at the geekdaddy every now and again to demand he complete a level for me (he has long since completed all the levels available and got all the achievements as well). I still have a number of levels to complete, and I think some uninterrupted time on a desert island might give me the push I need to finish the game.
Blogsy: Some quiet, uninterrupted time alone on a desert island would be the perfect opportunity to finish the backlog of blog post ideas and unfinished drafts that I have. Blogsy is the best blogging app I have found for the iPad – it makes it easy to create blog posts with links, images and videos. I could share pictures of my desert island and make you all jealous!
For my luxury device (accessory) I would have to take my Logitech AV Stand for iPad. This is a combined iPad stand, charger and external speaker, and I actually have two of them – one that lives on the kitchen windowsill so that I can watch videos on my iPad whilst I’m washing up, and one that lives on my bedside table so I can watch videos in bed. Alone on the desert island I would probably put one of my playlists of favourite songs on shuffle and crank the volume right up. I can’t get away with this at home because the geekdaughter will generally come in and insist on putting her music on instead!
So I’ve told you my desert island apps, what are yours? If you’d like me to feature you in a similar post in the future please complete this form to tell me your details.
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This sounds fabulous I like the blogsy one that sounds ideal for me.
Claire Toplis recently posted..White Chocolate and Strawberry Cheesecake
This is such a great idea! I’m now dreaming of being on a desert island with no interruptions
Audible would be on my list too as I’m really getting into audiobooks.
Ruthy @ Minibreak Mummy recently posted..Thrifty Thursday – two supermarket bargains
I’ve just filled your form in. I had a long debate with myself about whether to include the Kindle app but left it out in the end cos I still prefer to read books on the Kindle itself. The reading experience is much nicer (e.g there is no glare from the sun, which would be a big issue on a desert island!). I also left out iPlayer cos it doesn’t work properly outside the UK.
Ruthy @ Minibreak Mummy recently posted..Mamta’s Kitchen
Obviously, some of those apps aren’t available for Android but I have downloaded “Where’s My Water” because I’m nearing the end of my addictive puzzle game – Elemental.
Off to fill your form in now – great idea.
Nickie recently posted..Soundtrack To My Life – Hendo
I’ve just filled in in too – although with an Android twist.
There are just too many good choices though.
Richard J Foster recently posted..Coursera, Human-Computer Interaction, and thoughts about lifelong learning.
That Blogsy sounds interesting. I may download it as I now have the iPad but for some reason logging into Blogger through Safari gives me limited functionality. I don’t have any apps to recommend yet, at least I don’t think so, I’m getting to know it.
Maria @ Feisty Tapas recently posted..An easy guide to Spanish TAPAS
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