I’m back with another Top 7 apps list. This week we have Stu Grey of Shinobicontrols.
“Since its inception in 2011, shinobicontrols has been creating comprehensive, powerful and highly interactive User Interface (UI) controls for iOS and Android developers. The company’s first product, shinobicharts, was launched to market in 2012 and the business has since grown rapidly to provide UI solutions and an expanding portfolio of products to thousands of global customers and a growing number of enterprise clients.“
Let’s have a look through his list.
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Trainer Road: I’m known around the office for being a fitness fanatic and Trainer Road is a fantastic app for anyone who’s serious about cycling. I use it every time I need to do a stationary session, it connects to all my sensors and gives me the data I need in real-time.
It uses shinobicharts so the charts are great as well.
Strava: The gamification of the fitness has arrived well and truly with this app, and I absolutely love it. On the face of it, it looks like another social fitness tracking app for runners and cyclists but I soon discovered it’s much more. You upload your activity and then you can compare your data against friends, or even pros. Any distance over 100m can then be turned into a contest for everyone to compete over.
Not to brag, but I’ve got a few king of the mountains myself.
Netflix: I use this app a lot, maybe even too much, but after a hard days ride there’s nothing better than watching House of Cards and Frank Underwood battle with congress. I barely watch “TV” anymore. Netflix is quick, easy to use, and doesn’t waste my time with annoying adverts.
A tip for other parents out there: Create a separate profile for your kids, or face embarrassing questions on why Peppa Pig is on your recently watched list.
Uber: I don’t UBER because it’s cheaper than taxi companies, I use it because of the experience. I can call a cab much quicker than before, share my ETA and most importantly for me it makes business travel easier. There’s no need to carry cash and I get an invoice for my expenses straight away.
Any business traveller should give it a go. For those in the USA or London, check out UBER pool. I used it around San Francisco and was amazed by how good it was.
TomTom: When I do have to drive anywhere, I use the TomTom app. I’m an Apple fanboy at heart, and this is a little hard to admit, but their Maps app is terrible.
In and around the city, their live traffic reports and points of interest interface are better than both Apple Maps and Google maps. For longer journeys to the remote parts of north-west Scotland where mobile phone signal is a luxury, having the whole of Western Europe stored on my iPhone for offline usage is a life saver.
Audible: On a long car journey I often get bored of my Spotify playlist and that’s when I turn to audible to make the tiring journey fly. I like reading, you have to use your imagination and you get much more detail than in a 90 minute movie, however I rarely get time to read a whole book and that’s why I love audible.
I accept it’s not as good as sitting down and reading a book, but it’s a great experience all the same.
Instagram: I’m a keen amateur photographer and Instagram has an amazing ability to make my photo looks a lot better than they might actually be. On my runs and long bike rides I come across some amazing landscapes and I enjoy experimenting with all the different filters.
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Thanks to Stuart for his list of apps today. I’ve just got back into using Audible myself as I never have the time to sit and read at the moment. Love it!
You can find out more about shinobicontrols on their website and also on their twitter and LinkedIn.
If you’d like to contribute your Top 7 Apps or if you are the PR representing someone you’d like to see featured, everything you need to know about participating is right here.