I have an Android oneplus 6 which I know is a minority product but it suits me well enough so just for fun I’m going to share what features I use and why I enjoy using them.   Brian, Ed.

SANTANDAR I’m amazed how quickly and expenditure appears on my account. If it is not instant it is a few minutes. There are exceptions where the arrangement with the retailer who is a small seller or petrol and that takes a day or so but to Tesco’s will appear instantly as does my Wetherspoons breakfast. The advantage is that if you have been charged the wrong amount you can show them the entry and that makes a fine basis for a resolution of a dispute. For example, someone may have put a decimal point in the wrong place say 57 instead of 5.7.

COOPERATIVE – not quite so quick here but I find the process of logging on is much easier than with my PC which requires more security clearances, passwords etc.

THEAA a blessing to see how long the traffic jams are  ahead of you. I know the advanced GPS does the same but I like seeing things on a map and they have a very good A2B route planner as well

NOTEPAD – this is a great one for recording ideas and comments. You can speak into it as well as type which is good because when I’m in a public place and need to so-called write something down it just takes too long and is too clumsy to enter everything even with predictive word text.

WHATSAPP – I came across this at a very late stage but I quite like it for groups and keeping in touch with a  small focused group say who have a meeting on a particular evening. I’m sure others develop this far more than I do

PHONE – I try to make as many calls as possible and almost ignore my landline as via another app. all calls are recorded and when you’re on the move you don’t have to write things down.

CAMERA – I love this one. I can make high quality photographs,  many of which you see in this diary and when my camera is within a certain distance of the PC it links into it and before I sit down at my PC the images are already loaded.

CALENDAR – I have used this forever (actually since 2007) and I find it has a very useful purpose in keeping an historical record of when I went on holidays and when I first met so and so. The search facility is quick and effective.  I often use the ‘schedule’ view which I find much easier on the eye then just looking through the dates

FASTMAIL – I have used FastMail for years now and although I pay for it I feel I get superior service to Gmail and the usual free clients. I noticed I have 30,000 messages. I’m not very good at deleting messages as I think I may need them at some time. If I need to clear them, if I am reaching my limit, I do a search by size of email and delete all the photographs and big files that do bulk up the memory so much

MYRAC – I have not had to use this for some time but I believe you don’t have to phone anymore and you just enter your details. They even know where you are and everything is done by text message.

JINA SIDEBAR – (illustrated) this is a great one for sorting out my numerous apps. When you first upload the app it sorts them out into folders such as business, social, travel, finance, and if it gets it wrong you can move an app from one folder to another

LEAFSNAP – you can photograph a leaf or flower and it  will identify which plant it is from. You need to be within range of 4G though so it does not work in the deep country side

LENS it’s a rather predatory app. It is a Google thing that looks at all the products in a given photograph and then points to where you can buy then. They have made it easy to get on to. I tend to ignore it but who knows I may need it one day

HYPERLOCAL WEATHER – this was advertised by a farmer friend of mine. It is very detailed in its results and I like the graphics but of course you can upgrade, which is where they make their money, and get a few extra features in. I like the real time radar

RTNEWS – you get more real objective news here than looking at the BBC as if that wasn’t blindingly obvious but I like the pragmatic style of the Russian reporting. They cannot be described as emotional.

COMPASS MAPS I use this one I’m out walking and it combines the compass point with a map so you know where you are and in which direction you need to walk in order to get to your destination

OSMAPS is good in that you can purchase detail maps which include footpaths, which in my view is essential when going on cross country walks

MAPS – I like to know exactly where I am when I’m driving and also I can speak into the microphone and say where I want to go to. If I say ‘ from where I am now’ it will understand that and direct me accordingly.

BLUETOOTH SCANNER I have been to  country fairs and found that within my phone’s range their can be over 150 transmitter receivers which probably explains why I feel a bit sick and numb. This is especially true in country areas where the phone has to work harder to find a meaningful  signal from the nearest transmitter.

TESCO CLUB CARD – you have to spend zillions of pounds to get any meaningful discount but I suppose every little bit helps. Maybe I have just been drawn into the system

CAR CHECK UK – I’m extremely nosey about other people’s cars and it is great fun so when I’m passenger in a car I can check the registration and condition of the car in front of me. It tells me when the car was first registered, whether it passed its MOT, if it failed, what were the reasons for the failure.

EASY JET  I have not had cause to use this but it does seem to give latest information on flights and I can use it for preliminary booking inquiries so the verdict is open on that one.

NATIONAL EXPRESS coaches and FLIXBUS are very useful for keeping a virtual record of your booking as are the other travel apps.

GOOGLE EARTH I tend to look at this from my PC. It works perfectly well but I would rather see the thing on a larger screen. I’m sure it would be fine on a tablet.

SPOTIFY is good if I want to listen to music when I’m in a coach. I would never listen to music when I’m in the street as it would decrease my attention towards other people who might be distressed or in need

BIBLE – is useful when I go to my bible group. The less I have to carry around the better, and the Bible has several translations, several versions I should say and it is very convenient just to take it out and when directed to look at it and read the appropriate verse

MUFON UFO – this is for reporting UFO’s.   I have not used it since I have not seen any UFOs but when I do so I will let you know.

CHATGPT I get the impression the mobile variant  is a cut down version because when I use it on the PC I get reams and reams of information but this just gives me two or three paragraphs. This is just a reflection not a criticism

EBAY – again I do not like using this when I have a small screen but it works perfectly well

FACEAPP – I can take a photograph of someone and wickedly distort it though you have to pay a premium to use most of the adaptions that are possible. However, it is quite fun to freely age yourself back or forward 20 years or so

PLUTO TV – okay so you can watch it free but I don’t find anything of much value it seems to be a collection of B movies

MESSAGING – I’m still a text message person so I use this quite frequently very I have to learn to check it otherwise I tend to miss messages and people get upset even if you don’t respond after a few hours.

QRSCANNER is becoming increasingly useful taking pictures of TV and using it as a link. It is also useful when paying for casual services. I am waiting for the time when street people will show a QR code in order to pay them.

RINGO it’s very useful parking app. These days few people take cash so when I switch on the app it knows where I am and can see where the nearest paypoints are and how much you have to pay.

RAILCARD – I use this to store my ‘two together’ card and just flash it and anyone who has the right to see it

SOUND METER – I enjoy this to see how loud is loud conversation. In my office it is 37 decibels which goes up to 72 when I speak. The only trouble is that I’m invaded by adverts from Temu and audio adverts ask which time without my permission. I’m invited to remove them for £1.50 so I suppose that’s not too bad

ZOOM – I have used this for zoom meetings but I don’t get the same involvement as sitting at a desk and watching a large screen. I think it’s very much a compromise

WHAT3WORDS – this is extremely useful if you get lost or have an accident and you don’t know where you are. If you have the strength and the ability to tap the app it will give you three words unique to a four square meter section of the planet. How you useful is that? It really is if you are in difficulties.

TRANSLATOR – you can speak English into it and it will translate it to for example Polish. You then cause the phone to talk in that language. Then the Polish person can speak in Polish back to you and will be translated to English. It does require some dexterity but it is really worth it if you do a lot of traveling and are in that environment

TWR 360 – I am a fan of trans world radio which is  and evangelical station broadcasting words of wisdom from the Bible.

THE NATIONAL LOTTO – I tend to have a flutter once or twice a week. I buy one Lucky Dip ticket for the Euro lottery and regularly win massive prizes of £2.80 or £5.20.  Why do I do it? I have no idea . But someone has to win

Finally

TOILET FINDER – which helps you when you get caught short in a strange place. I tend to use the toilet of mother nature or go into the nearest Wetherspoons. I have spent enough with them so they owe me a favour or two.

There are currently 2,700,000 Android Apps on the planet (just thought you would like to know)