Apps we can't LIVE without! March 31, 2016 08:00

Everyone has those apps on their phone (or other device) that they just can't live without. The ones that when you stumble upon them, you can't imagine going back to doing things the hard way!

To aid you in stumbling across that perfect app, we've included our "made our life so much easier" app list below. We are both cheap people, so all of these are FREE!

Just a forewarning, we are both iPhone users, so for you Android and Window's phone users out there, we aren't sure if all of these are offered (but we hope they are for your sake).

Repost for Instagram
Prior to starting UPstudio we didn't really have too many instances where we needed to repost pictures on instagram from other's accounts. But now, we run into that need pretty frequently. We have found that Repost is the best free app to handle this. You can move the source banner and change its color to not interfere with aesthetics of the picture. It also opens the image in instagram automatically and it generates automatic text you can copy and paste if you so desire. 

Wunderlist
We've mentioned on multiple occasions how much we love lists! List of all kinds. I use my planner for most of my lists but I also use Wunderlist. There are times that I don't have my planner with me, or I'm out on the go and I have a great idea I want to jot down. I find inspiration everywhere and if I don't write it down in the moment, it will escape me. Within Wunderlist you can categorize your lists, you can make sub-lists, and you can even share your lists with other users. I find new amazing features everyday. 

Gmail
Most phones have their own interface where you can set up your e-mail. For my personal Gmail I typically use the default iPhone e-mail app, but for UPstudio the Gmail app is clutch, we can still look professional on the go. Google Domains hosts our domain for our website, through that we can have alias e-mail address. So our hello@upstudionc.com is just a cover that really sends e-mails to our upstudio.nc@gmail.com account. (Makes us look more professional though, right?) From the iPhone default e-mail app we can only send e-mails from our actual e-mail account whereas through the Gmail app we can send an e-mail directly from hello@upstudionc.com or any other alias we have set up. Another great benefit is that our signature comes through when using the app (note you can't see it when transcribing an e-mail, but it is there, see image above). Also, not sure if you all are as folder crazy as we are, but sometimes you label an e-mail multiple things, so you can find it in multiple folders, well you can do this with the "label" feature in the app. Lastly, you can be logged into multiple accounts at the same time.

Google Drive
Not sure how many of you out there are Google Drive users but if you haven't gotten on the bandwagon you should. It is similar to Dropbox. Today we aren't focusing on all the #awesomeness of Google Drive, (we'll let you discover that on your own) but when you start using it, the app on your phone is pretty awesome. The app lets you view all of the documents in your drive. It allows you to have multiple accounts logged in as well, so I can view my personal documents and UPstudio documents without logging in and out. You can't edit your documents in this app, you will have to get the corresponding app based on your document type in order to do that (like Docs, Sheets, etc).

Goodreads
Goodreads is one of the best ways to keep track of books you've read and books you want to read. It is also a great way to discover books because you can see what friends are reading. The app has all the functionalities as the website making it easy to quickly add a book to your "to-read" list that a friend tells you about over lunch. One other cool feature is that you can scan books to search for them. So if said friend had the book with them you could just swipe the barcode instead of typing it all in.

Solid Joys
With our lives pretty hectic right now, it is hard to spend time in the word. Solid Joys is a daily devotional app from the ministry of John Piper. They are short but substantive.

Candy Crush
Don't judge me, I'm on level 508 and still haven't tired of this game.

Bloglovin'
If you're a blog reader, I recommend Bloglovin'. The app has almost all the same functionality as the website. I personally group blogs together so I can easily read in specific genres. You can create and edit groups from the app. In order to read full posts or to comment you will have to follow links to open the blog post in your internet browser, but that is pretty standard with mobile blog reading.

Dirty Dozen
This is the app version of the report and study done by the Environmental Working Group which talks about pesticides in foods. We're not afraid of a little bit of 'unclean' food in moderation, but we do like to be aware of what we're eating. This app is a quick reference guide to help you decide whether you need to buy organic or not (because let's face it: that can get expensive!)  The guide lists the 'dirty dozen', or the top 12 fruits and vegetables that commonly have the most pesticides found on them, and the 'clean fifteen', or the top fifteen cleanest (least pesticides) fruits and vegetables.

What apps do you use? We are always looking for new recommendations!