Following on from my last post on apps that are actually helpful and vaguely deliver on their life changing promises, here’s my three latest downloads that I’m loving:
VIVINO
Photograph the label on almost any bottle of wine and this beauty will tell you everything you need to know: the price, (extremely handy, especially when living out here; I have my Vivino set to UK sterling which is a pretty good benchmark of the real price of wine) the wine’s rating, even a vintage comparison chart as well as a bunch of other things. Also hilariously good fun to do when people bring a ‘boast’ bottle to, say, a restaurant; find out if it’s really as good as they claim.
Bad points: None; it fails to recognise only very few bottles, which is impressive.
Cost: free
2. WATERLOGUE – Turn any photo into an unbelievably decent watercolour
I am fussy about these kind of things and usually find them way too chocolate-boxy for my taste but love this one (thank you Sis, above with her son, for introducing it to me). Also lets you choose from masses of different filters. Hit the heart to save it on your phone. I also love its little captions like ‘wetting brushes’ and ‘painting’, as it coverts your snap into art.
Bad points: it’s not great at capturing eyes
Cost: £1.99/US$2.99
3. HEADSPACE – A meditation app that has garnered some pretty impressive testimonials including this one from the New York Times: “Andy Puddicombe is doing for mediation what Jamie Oliver has done for food.”
I have done a course in mediation but I am terrible at taking ten minutes out of my day to actually practice it. I always forget or get carried away with whatever else I am doing…and it doesn’t happen. This app acts as a great reminder and also manages to demystify the whole process of what it means to meditate.
Created by a former buddhist monk, Andy, who spent two years at a Tibetan Monastery in the Himalayas, this is the real deal and has been created by someone who really does know what he’s talking about. Has some great, light-hearted illustrations too.
Bad: Originating from Yorkshire, I know some people who couldn’t stand his voice and had to give up. I don’t find it at all annoying but if I listen to him when I’m ready for bed, it sends me straight to sleep; best done in daylight hours!
Cost: First ten sessions are free. After then you pay around £3.74/S$7.80 per month depending on how much access you want.
Meditation picture courtesy of LinkedIN, Vivino image from the app store
