5 HANDY DIGITAL APPS TO USE DURING LOCKDOWN
THE lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic has managed to disrupt how we interact each other digitally, with people increasingly using apps like WhatsApp or Zoom in even greater numbers to stay connected with each other, often in difficult circumstances.
Now, with the lockdown having entered a new phase, many of us can travel that bit further around our county and get outdoors, but apps can still help enrich our lives on a daily basis. We take a look at five apps that could help you during the current phase of the lockdown.
LeafSnap
Available for free on Google Play (for Android devices) and on the App Store (for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch), the plant identification app LeafSnap is a nifty and useful app that enables you to take a photo of a plant or flower, upload it and the app will then identify it.
This app could prove very handy if you are out for a walk within your locality and you see a wildflower or shrub along your route but don’t know its name. Apparently, LeafSnap currently recognises 90% of all-known species of plants or trees.
Having tried it on a plant at home, this app has an easy to use interface. Once you take a photo using LeafSnap and upload it, the app swiftly offers results (names plants both via their Latin name and common name). It also offers multiple photos of the same species of plant, so LeafSnap can offer useful information on plant names if you’re planning to buy plants in future.
LeafSnap is free to download and you can use it like this for seven days. After a week, however, you have the option of paying a subscription. The subscription to premium is optional (there are no ads). If
opting for the premium route, there are three options: €4.99 a month / €11.99 for three months / €20.99 for six months via Google Play.
Links: Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=plant.identification.snap&showAllReviews=true
AppStore
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ leafsnap-plant-identification/ id1487972880
InsightTimer
Covid-19 is like nothing we have ever lived through before and the pandemic has caused much stress for people in different ways, be that juggling working from home and minding children, looking after older relatives while keeping a social distance, or trying to stay positive during all of the uncertainly about jobs, finances and the future.
Mindfulness and meditation are two terms that we have been hearing lots about over the past few years, with experts reminding us often that all we have is the present moment and pointing to the value of switching off for a few minutes each day to help protect our mental health. It can be hard to detach from everything happening right now, but a couple of minutes of mindfulness could help.
InsightTimer has won many awards for its usefulness and offers guided meditations, plus talks from experts such as neuroscientists and psychologists on topics such as how to calm the mind. It also has guides about ways to reduce anxiety.
Free to download on both Google Play (for Android devices) and the AppStore (for iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch), the meditation app InsightTimer is very user-friendly and easy to use.
*To use this app, however, you must begin a seven-day free trial and then the app costs €64.99 a year (Google Play). Subscribers to InsightTimer will get access to some 200 courses on topics ranging from stress to anxiety and sleep. A subscription will also give access to music, plus there’s a section dedicated to courses and meditations suitable for kids.
Links: Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.spotlightsix.zentimerlite2&gl=IE
App Store
https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/ insight-timer-meditation-app/ id337472899
SleepSounds
Insomnia and broken sleep affects many of us from time to time – and for many reasons – but the current pandemic could also be impacting our quality of sleep. And if you’re someone who finds it hard to drift off to sleep, SleepSounds is an app that could help.
This app offers many sleep sounds – ranging from rain and ocean sounds to white noise and sounds of nature. For instance, if you choose Rain sounds, you can set the timer for the sounds to play for as little as 10 minutes to 40 minutes to eight hours.
It also gives you many options for the type of sounds you would like to hear, be it light rain, the soothing sound of rain on a tent, rain on a roof and even thunder.
Nature sounds include wind and forest sounds and the sound of a waterfall.
You can also opt to hear animal sounds such as seagulls, crickets, whales or owls. A very visual app, SleepSounds is fairly straightforward to use.
SleepSounds is free to download on Google Play for Android devices and on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
To opt for the premium version of the app, SleepSounds costs €1.09 for one month, €3.89 per year or €16.99 for a ‘lifetime’ on Google Play. (Prices are correct at time of going to print).
Links: Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=net.metapps. sleepsounds&gl=IE
App Store
https://apps.apple.com/us/ app/sleep-sounds-relaxingsounds/id1190758709
DIY Furniture Project Ideas
The start of summer often signals a great time for finishing those DIY jobs around the house that we’ve been putting on the long finger.
One app that could be useful for people who love both DIY and being creative is DIY Furniture Project Ideas.
While this app is targeted at an American audience, it is easily adaptable and features a range of tutorials on how to make everything from a shoe storage cabinet to a DIY map table. It also offers furniture hacks.
Quite an easy app to navigate, DIY Furniture Project Ideas could come in handy on one of those summer days during Covid-19 when you’re looking for a project to keep your mind occupied.
DIY Furniture Project Ideas is available for free on Google Play for Android devices and also on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.
Links: Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=com.snowfallmobile.diy.furniture&gl=IE
App Store
https://apps.apple.com/nz/ app/diy-furniture-project-ideas/id1098192347
BirdNET
With many of us spending even more time outdoors, be it walking, cycling or running, the amount of birds around our skies is even more apparent during Covid-19.
The app BirdNET: Bird sound identification (only available for Android devices) is a nifty little creation that enables you to pinpoint the type of bird you are seeing/hearing from their songs.
Currently in testing mode (prototype app), this app is a joint collaboration between researchers at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Chemnitz University of Technology and uses artificial intelligence as part of its identification of bird sounds.
Despite being in testing mode, the app aims to help you track the type of bird you might encounter, be it in your back garden or while out for a wander in the great outdoors.
Apparently, BirdNET is able to identify 984 of the most common species of bird in Europe and North America at the minute.
BirdNET is currently only available on Google Play for Android devices.
Link:
https://play.google.com/store/ apps/details?id=de.tu_chemnitz.mi.kahst.birdnet&gl=IE
Disclaimer: All of the prices we have given for apps that you have the option of subscribing to, either on Google Play or via the App Store, are correct at the time of going to print.