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7 Free Apps That Will Make Your Life In Singapore Better

Did you know that in 2011, CNN dubbed Singapore as the “2nd Coolest Nation in the World” because of its technology savvy nature? Most of the nation’s population is computer literate that even children aged 4 are encourage to use laptops in some learning centers. This is why it comes as no surprise that there are a lot of Apps out there that are making living in Singapore easier. Here are some of the good yet free apps available on the market now…

1. WHERETOGO.SG

Available on ITunes and Google Play

Do you find yourself lost in this fine city and short of cash? Fret not. WhereTo.sg App has a complete range of information on ATMs, AXM machines, bus stops, food centers, wet markets, supermarkets, dialysis centers, S’pore Pools outlets and so much more. This App will show you the location of the place, the estimated time, the exact distance, and the establishment’s operating hours.

2. MOH IHEALTH SG

Available on ITunes and Google Play

Wishing you can easily search for Singapore’s healthcare establishments and healthcare professionals? Wish granted! Lucky for you, Singapore Ministry of Health has compiled a list of clinics locations and its telephone numbers. An interesting feature is that you can view the live feed of the queue in the reception area.

3. SINGAPORE TRANSIT

Available on ITunes

There is a more convenient way to travel. Singapore Transit App has the SMRT rail map, taxi numbers, and bus schedules – all in one handy App.

4. ICHANGI

Available on ITunes, Google Play, and BlackBerry Webstore

Are you traveling through Changi Airport soon or maybe just picking up some of your loved ones? Then feel at ease with the IChangi App. This free app gives you real-time flight arrival and departure information so you would not miss a flight. Its push notifications feature will allow you to receive updates automatically. Information about latest promotions, shopping, dining, and terminal services are also available.

5. THE STRAIT TIMES SOSHIOK

Available on ITunes and Google Play

Shiok, in Singlish, is an expression of excellence or satisfaction. What better way to reach satisfaction than indulging in delectable dishes? The Strait Times SoShiok App is packed with reviews from Strait Times’ food critics. It has restaurant listings that are organized per dish or cuisine. The best thing about this App is its rewards system. Users can win monthly prizes or redeem goodies from their store.

6. HUNGRYGOWHERE

Available on ITunes and Google Play

HungryGoWhere App allows its users to search for island-wide or nearby by dining places arranged per cuisine, price, and distance. You can also post reviews or read articles to check the latest food trends such as the “Top 10 Japanese Restaurant”.

7. HOSAY!

Available on ITunes

Master the language of Singlish with this cool and free App. It comes with 80 unique Singaporean expressions and their meanings. Learn how to pronounce phrases such as “wah lau” or “jialat”. A review by Kitty966 even added that this really funny App has accurate pronunciations.

Image Credits: Hosay! via Itunes

Complete with insults, kopitiam, gambling, and character lingo – this App will surely brush up your Singlish skills while tickling your funny bone.

5 Free Video Editing Apps You Should Download Now

Do you want to share your beautiful memories captured on videos but think that it needs extra effects or finishing touches? Fret not because many Video Editing Apps that have a near-professional quality are available for free on iTunes and Google Play store. Check these 5 Video Editing Apps to add a personal shine to your videos…

1. SOCIALCAM

Available for IOS and Android devices

Socialcam App fuses the power of video editing and social network. It allows you to add vintage filters to your videos that you can share to your friends anywhere. You can also view the other videos uploaded in the community. What is great about this App is that it lets the users shoot at a 720p HD quality while using its HDR functionality to color-correct videos in real time. Also, you can shoot as long as you want.

2. MAGISTO

Available for IOS and Android devices

Magisto App is basically an editing shortcut right in your fingertips. All you need to do is upload a video, choose your theme and background music then, the App will do the rest. It automatically selects the best scenes to create a better video.

3. CINEFY

Available for IOS devices

Basic yet productive are the words to describe Cinefy. Cinefy App has a user-friendly interface that lets you select from over a hundred of special effects and animations that you can add on your video. You may also add your favorite song from ITunes.

4. MONTAJ

Available for IOS devices Montaj App allows you to shoot a series of 5-second clips that you may sort in a storyboard where you can add music and filter. A cool feature if you are willing to try your luck is to shake your smartphone to let the App choose a random song and filter for your video. Here is a sample:

5. CUTE CUT

Available for IOS devices

As a user myself, if I were to describe Cute Cut briefly I would say it is a handy moviemaker. The Cute Cut App guides the newbie with its pop-up help tips. Its features include: drawing on your video, changing the videos’ borders, drag-and-drop layout, and customizing your video with music effects, texture, transitions, and shadows. Not bad for a Free App!

4 Free Transportation Apps in Singapore

Traveling through bus or train is certainly cheaper than owning a car. But, it is not a problem for commuters in Singapore. Singapore is celebrated by its tourists and residents because of its globally efficient public transportation services. If you think this is an exaggeration, you need to experience it yourself.

To further aid your journey, a number of mobile application rose. As you dove into iTunes and Google Play, here are 4 powerful yet Free Transportation Apps in Singapore.

1. SINGAPORE MAPS

Itunes
Google Play

One of the challenges you will encounter if you are traveling in an unfamiliar place is to find out how to get from Point A to your destination. With Singapore Maps, you will know which route to take through bus, car, taxi or MRT. Slow internet is never a problem because you can download and unitize the maps offline!

For someone who is highly reliant on Transportation Apps, this simplistic app is the way to go. Aside from Offline Maps, it also has real-time bus arrival time when you tap the bus stop icon.

Image Credits: William Cho via Flickr

2. SGNEXT BUS

Itunes

SG NextBus, displays the estimated arrival time of public buses (SBS and SMRT) in Singapore. It can not only display the distance of the bus stop from the user but also display a widget that shows the bus arrival time. To start using it, simply tap the bus number to get its expected time of arrival.

3. SMRT BOOK A TAXI

Itunes
Google Play

If you don’t enjoy busy phone lines and long taxi queues, request taxis right on your fingertips. With the SMRT Book a Taxi app, you can book a cab without even saying your locations to a call agent. Although, booking details to be confirmed at your convenience. You may also add frequent pickup addresses through their “Favorites” feature.

Keep in mind that getting a cab during a heavy rain might be hard so it is best to secure a taxi by tapping the app and by queuing at the same time.

4. MYTRANSPORT SINGAPORE

Itunes
Google Play

The Land Transport Authority itself developed an app called MyTransport Singapore, to empower the traveling experiences of the nation. This award winning app, allows you to locate nearby bus stops and get its real-time arrival information, dial taxi booking services, determine your MRT/LRT journey fare, and receive notifications about expressway traffics.

Since the government focuses of improvements, you may report road defects through its Snap & Send feature.

Thus ends the list of efficient travel Apps in Singapore. Best of all? All of these can be downloaded for FREE in both iPhone and Android hand phones!

Confide: A Free App to Keep your Business Secrets from Getting Hacked

These past few days, the news of a huge entertainment company being hacked shocked most of us. This big company is no other than Sony Pictures. A hacker group called LulzSec sent out a message on Twitter saying: “1,000,000+ unencrypted users, unencrypted admin accounts, government and military passwords saved in plaintext. #PSN compromised. @Sony”.

Image Credits: TRF_Mr_Hyde via Flickr

Various collections of data were accessed and stolen easily without the need of outside monetary support. Among these data are admin details including their passwords. Truly, it is very scary.

This is not the first time Sony has been hacked. In 2011, hackers stole the personal information of over 24.6 million Sony Online Entertainment users with more than 20,000 credit card information. This is such an embarrassment for a company as big as Sony.

This “simple” attack by LulzSec will surely make Sony paranoid to the extent of further improving their technological restrictions, security, and privacy. Luckily for Sony, a private messaging company offered their services to them for free.

Confide, a relatively new private messaging App for Android and iPhone, mimics the capabilities of Snapchat. The only difference is that, Confide does not let the people you send messages to take a screenshot. It’s a way to send messages to your contacts without having to worry about the information getting hacked or leaked out.

Screenshot Credits: Confide App via Google Play Store

Other features of the Confide App include: messages disappearing forever once they have been read, messages being encrypted, messages can be sent to email addresses or phone numbers, and getting notifications once your message has been read.

Best of all? It can be downloaded for FREE in Google Play or ITunes.

Along with Sony, Confide App is now trying to capitalize on the Sony hack by pitching its services to other big companies. If you asked me, I would say that perhaps Confide App has an association with the recent hack in order to market their business, but that is just my crazy conspiracy theory talking.

Image Credits: michael davis-burchat via Flickr

The main agenda of the hackers was to warn the nation of how “simple” it could be to access information with security flaws, and how it is paramount to tighten privacy measures in this age and time.

4 Smartphone Mishaps that You Can Repair Yourself

Nowadays, almost everyone uses a hand phone or a digital device (e.g. tablet, laptop). And as these devices grow in popularity, its complexity, features and parts also increase.

When a hand phone or cell phone is broken during the 1990’s, people will probably self-repair it by the use of small screwdrivers or even a pair of tweezers. But, self-repairing a Smartphone is not possible now…or is it?

The truth is…there are some repairs you don’t have to pay someone for. I bring you the ultimate list of 4 Smartphone Mishaps that You Can Repair Yourself (and save money in the process)…drum roll please!

1. REVAMP THE CHARGING PORT

With continued use; your charger may not fit as well into the port as it did before. The simple way to fix it is to use a sharp toothpick to remove the lint and dirt from the port. Clean the rest of your phone by using cotton swab/ cotton buds/ cotton tips with drops of distilled water on it.

Image Credits: Yutaka Tsutano via Flickr

2. IMPROVE THE AUDIO QUALITY

Overtime, you may experience hearing an inferior sound when you plug the earphones into the “jack” (usually on the upper-right hand corner of the phone). To fix this audio quality, stick a cotton swab into the jack and use it to clear out any dirt.

3. REPLACE A SHATTERED SCREEN

Replacing your smartphone’s screen is usually do-able and it is easier than you think! All it takes is the right tools and a little courage. Get concise instructions online (here or here) and buy a repair kit if you don’t have a toolbox. You may buy a repair kit on IFIXIT or Ebay.

Image Credits: Toby Charlton-Taylor via Flickr

4. REVIVE A SOAKED SMARTPHONE

One of the common mishaps is water damage. Even I experienced it myself. So, if your phone takes an unexpected swim, remove the battery (if possible), and place it in a bag of rice for one day or two to absorb the moisture within. With luck, this will do the trick.

Image Credits: rharrison via Flickr

Sources: Reader’s Digest Magazine, Lifehacker.com

Spare yourself some money and time by subtracting Smartphone repair to your expenses! Truly, there are some mishaps that you can handle yourself. All it takes are tools, courage, determination, and a little help from the Internet.

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