I want to tell you about several applications that will help brighten up hot summer days.
Summer is the time for vacations and vacations. I would like to rest, bask in the sun or, conversely, hide in the shade. The only thing that remains unchanged at this time is our smartphones. They are always with us, almost no one is ready to let go of their favorite gadget, even on vacation. While you sometimes need to take a break from all your mobile devices, sometimes your phone can be really useful. It can help you plan a route, book a ticket, book a hotel and much more. But even if you work in the summer or decide to spend your vacation at home, then your smartphone will help you during this hot period. And I want to tell you about five applications that you might find useful in the summer.
PackPoint
I don't know about you, but I never liked getting ready for the trip. You constantly worry if you have forgotten something important. Of course, you can create a note in a notebook with a list and write down everything you need on the trip, but even here you can forget to write something down, and sometimes you need to take a huge number of things, so the list can consist of 30-40 items. If you go somewhere very often, then each time it is problematic to make such lists of things.
But then I found a way out with the PackPoint application. Basically, it's an advanced to-do list designed specifically for travel. At the same time, the application is very easy to use: you choose a place, purpose (work or tourism) and the date of the trip, and then the program itself makes a list of things for you. You also mark your travel plans – lie on the beach, climb a mountain, take pictures, work, and so on. Based on this data, the program will automatically compile for you a list of things that you need to relax on the beach, travel uphill and photographs. Of course, some things may be superfluous, but this is not a problem – they are removed from the list with a simple swipe. And, of course, you can add new things to the list.
When it's day to pack, you simply open the app and mark the items that you put in your bag. This way you will not forget anything and take everything you need. By the way, if you do not like the interface of the application, then these lists can be synchronized with Evernote. PackPoint can be flexibly customized for yourself – create new to-do lists for travel or edit standard ones, add new things or remove unnecessary ones.
In general, an excellent application for those who travel frequently and are afraid to forget something on the road.
MAPS.ME
It is important to think over your travel plans in advance – to plan a route from the airport / train station to the hotel and choose interesting places to visit. If the place where you are going is unfamiliar to you, then it is imperative to have a map at hand. Since now almost no one uses paper maps, you need to download it to your smartphone. The main criterion for this is offline access. After all, it is not always possible to buy a local SIM card and not everyone is lucky to have high-quality Wi-Fi at the place of arrival. MAPS.ME service will help with this.
MAPS.ME is based on the maps of the OpenStreetMap project – they are created and updated by the users themselves. Thus, on the maps you can find unique places (POI) that are simply not marked in other services. At the same time, MAPS.ME provides not only detailed information about places in the city, but also convenient navigation, pedestrian or car. But the disadvantages of the service stem from its advantages – some information on the maps may be inaccurate or completely erroneous. However, it should be noted that this rarely happens.
Otherwise, MAPS.ME is essentially no different from other services – GoogleMaps, Yandex.Maps, maps Apple, etc.
izi.TRAVEl
The latest travel app for today. We learned how to make a list of things, navigate the city too, all that remains is to choose the places to visit.
Many people do not like guides and ready-made tours, as often they want to get to know some places better, but they have to follow the whole group, and some places may simply be uninteresting. I would like to explore new places myself, and in this, again, a smartphone will help. As it turned out, it is quite difficult to find a good Russian-language guidebook. I liked the izi.TRAVEl application.
In it you can not only get acquainted with the sights, but also take advantage of ready-made tours. Following the directions on the map, you can familiarize yourself with all the interesting places and listen to comments about the sights in parallel. In this case, the route plan can be downloaded to the smartphone's memory, including voice comments.
I highly recommend the application to those who do not like to travel in large groups and prefer to think over their route on their own.
Cocktail party
In the summer you always want to refresh yourself with something. And what could be better than a cool and tasty cocktail in hot weather?
The Cocktail app is not very easy to use, but it contains over 1000 recipes for a wide variety of soft drinks with detailed descriptions of the cooking process, ingredients and cooking tools. You can also search for recipes for those products that you have. For example, you search for 'Cola, Ice, Lemon, Rum' and the app comes up with a Long Island recipe. But in the 'Cocktail' there are not only alcoholic cocktails, but also soft drinks – all the recipes are divided into categories.
If you only love alcoholic cocktails, then I have another application for you that is more convenient to use.
My bar
The possibilities of the application follow from the name – 'My bar'. The first thing to do is add all the food and drinks you have at home. Then the application will select all the cocktails that you can prepare from what you already have. The program will also suggest recipes for which several ingredients are missing. Replenishing a virtual bar is very easy – you select food or drinks from a ready-made list and mark it with a tick.
If you do not have enough ingredient for a cocktail, then you can add it to a separate shopping list so that you do not forget to buy when you are in the store.
In general, everything is as simple, fast and convenient as possible – just right for lovers of alcoholic cocktails.
Ingress
If you have nothing to keep yourself busy on a summer evening, when the sun is no longer so hot and it's time to go out for a walk, there is a great way to while away the evening – the game Ingress. The game is being developed by the NianticLabs team, owned by Google. The game was released back in 2012.
Ingress is introduced into the real world. In the universe of the game, there are two factions – the Enlightened and the Resistance, which are at war with each other. The player will have to accept one of the warring parties. Its purpose is to collect matter and capture portals, which are usually located on landmarks in real life. But the main nuance of the gameplay is that the virtual card is, as it were, layered on the real one. That is, in the game you see a portal instead of a monument or statue, and in order to capture it, you need to approach it in real life.
In fact, I have only briefly described the gameplay, and it sounds too simple, in reality everything is a little more complicated. There are various items in the game that help to hack strangers and protect their portals.
It should be noted that the game drains the battery quite a lot, so I highly recommend getting an external battery. For a comfortable game, you need a device in which positioning using GPS and networks works well.
Thus, you not only brighten up your evening, but you can also discover new places in your city that you did not even know about before. As the in-game level increases, you will have to travel even more, and to hack some portals, you will need to cooperate with other players, so you can add your friends to the game. Go for it!
Conclusion
It is difficult to find something to match the summer theme, because I want to please you with something unusual. I hope you found something useful. And, following tradition, I would like to hear from our dear readers what applications you can recommend for summer days. It will be interesting to discuss.
And finally, I want to wish you a great summer, good weather and interesting people who will brighten up your everyday life.