My Recommended Apps!

UPDATE: 26 August 2014

Hi, it has been a long time since I last blogged. Suddenly, I have the itch to write and have it readable in a mobile phone...

Today, I shall start off my fresh wave of blogging with a list of apps which I have been using on Android, Linux and Windows. These are what I would recommend people to install and try out too. Of course, I spend most of my time in Singapore, so many of the apps below are really my use case scenario here, which means that Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).

COMMUNICATION

First up the list would be... TELEGRAM. This little Whatsapp "clone" is more than just a lookalike. Telegram allows you to chat using different phones and even your desktop - all at the same time! Just like Google Hangouts, Skype and Facebook Messenger. Not only this, Telegram has a nifty feature known as "Secret Chat" which self-destructs and leaves no trace of your chat. I hardly find use for this function, but it is great to know that it is there.

Next, good old SKYPE. Until this day, I still cannot find any other app or service which can call phones reliably and cheaply. Do note that 4G LTE is highly recommended if you intend to use Skype for your outgoing phonecalls.

Note for the technically-inclined - 4G LTE was created specifically with latency in mind. That is, 4G was built to reduce latency, which in turn produces "lag" in VoIP. So, any place with 4G, you can safely say that your VoIP, including Skype calls, will sound perfect.
Having said all, Telegram and Skype alone cannot handle all of the features that an active individual or team needs. Unfortunately, the bottomline is this - I have NOT yet found any messenging app which has ALL of the following features...

1. Broadcast List (Whatsapp, Telegram, WeChat [rudimentary level]) 
2. Group Chat with cool "Read Up To Here" notification (Hangouts - But Hangouts FAIL at many other Group Chat elementary features... eg. Group founder cannot remove anyone!) 
3. Voice Calls to Phone Numbers (Skype)
4. Voice Calls to Others On The Same App (Hangouts, Skype, FB Messenger, WeChat, LINE) 
5. SMS (Hangouts, SMSdroid and many other dedicated SMS apps, such as Textra, Hello SMS, Chomp SMS) 
6. Web-based SMS such as Fishtext (SMSdroid) - especially useful when overseas and/or using Nexus 7! 
7. FREE Group and One-To-One Video Calls (Hangouts) 
8. "Look around and make new friends" (WeChat) 
9. Status Update similar to Facebook status update (WeChat) 
10. Voice Recording/Walkie-talkie... great when cycling! (WeChat, Whatsapp, FB Messenger) 
11. Server-based multi-device chats (Hangouts, FB Messenger, Skype, Telegram)
12. Device-based Chats (Whatsapp, Telegram, WeChat, LINE)
13. Device-based Secret Chats which can self-destruct and is encrypted end-to-end between users (Telegram) 
14. Option to sign in with either Phone Number OR Email Address... phones do get lost, you know!
15. Ability to secure your app with in-built PIN Lock (LINE)

When time permits, I should be able to update the list above and create a comparison table for all of the messenging apps.

NOTE: I did not include KakaoTalk, Viber, Tango etc. because their functions are largely present in the more popular apps I have mentioned in the list above. Maybe in the next update. I may have also missed out on specific functions within specific apps, so my apologies if I had done so to your fav app!


TRANSPORT
In this area, UBER ranks as my most commonly used app. Use the following Promo Code (even if you already have Uber installed) to get a $10 credit for your ride!

1xokk

Disclaimer: I will receive a $10 credit when you redeem your $10 credit. It is all Uber money...

This post TO BE CONTINUED...