The humble calculator is an item that many occasionally come across when looking through untouched cupboards, dust-laden desktops and that drawer in the kitchen where you put things like rubber bands and blu-tack. The death of the dedicated calculator isn’t a particularly new thing, in school I remember debates over whether calculators on chunky Nokia and Motorola feature phones were suitable for classroom use (most teachers were wise to this).
These days you don’t even need me to suggest a replacement apps, the iPhone’s in-built Calculator performs a variety of scientific tasks just by using it in landscape mode. For those of you who need graphing try Quick Graph, or if you’d rather input sums using your handwriting then the free MyScript Calculator will do the job. If you’re just bored of the plain-looking calculator app then check out RetroCalc ($1.99) for some of the world’s most memorable math machines.
Scanner
Unless you’re an artist, photographer or busy digitising rolls of 35mm film, you have no reason to buy a scanner ever again. They’re big, clunky, space-consuming and too loud – why not use an app on your phone, instead?
Seeing as you’re probably going to want those documents in digital form anyway, an app like TurboScan ($1.99) uses your device’s camera to make black and white or colour scans at varying contrasts before saving them as PDFs. CamScanner is a free alternative, though TurboScan remains a personal favourite of mine. If you’re really serious about this method you might want to build the ultimate document scanner to accompany your favourite app.
The Diary
This one is pretty easy – just about any app that lets you take notes could be used as a diary, though that’s not entirely practical. Instead there exist some great dedicated journaling apps, and most of these do way more than a boring old dog-eared paper diary could.
Simon recently put DayOne ($4.99) through its paces, a diary solution that syncs with your Mac (the total cost for both apps is less than most Moleskine notebooks, at $15). Another big-name alternative here is Everyday.me, and you could also check out another four other alternatives we’ve tried out.
If you really want to push the limits of what a diary should be and take full advantage of social networking (you forward thinker!) then you could sign up for Path and document your life with a select few other individuals. Hey, it works for Britney and it could work for you.
Remote Controls
Remember those all-in-one replacement remote controls? People still buy them! Idiots, right? Clearly they’ve not seen the light and replaced their remote control with a smartphone app. That, or they don’t have a compatible TV (fair enough). If you own a modern TV that you’ve purchased in the last few years from a named manufacturer then there’s a good chance you can control it from your tablet or smartphone.
I have an LG TV that, when paired with the LG TV Remote app lets me use my phone as a touchpad and general remote control, provides access to useless smart TV apps and even takes screenshots (way more useful that I ever imagined). Samsung owner? Grab Samsung SmartView. Sony? Media Remote for iPhone is your friend. Other TV? Search for “<manufacturer> iPhone remote” and see what comes up, you might be surprised.
There are also other apps that use accessories to turn your phone into a true universal remote, but they involve additional hardware and that’s against the ethos of this article so I’m leaving them out.
Radio
Remember radios? They were once found on kitchen counters, in garages and on bedroom floors. No longer do you need to rely on the airwaves (though in the event of a zombie apocalypse you might) for music and information – use your phone and spend that money you saved on some cheap speakers instead.
I’m not referring to home audio setups here, particularly hi-fi sound, but a cheaper means of getting music or news to your earholes. Spotify and Rdio both provide compelling music solutions (and can now be paired with Twitter #music), while TuneIn Radio can’t be beaten for listening to actual live broadcasts the world over – take that, FM.
Trackpad & Mouse
Ok, so it’s unlikely you’re going to completely replace your mouse or trackpad with your iPhone or iPad, but in the event of peripheral failure you can always use your iOS device as a stop-gap before your replacement arrives. They’re also great for bedroom and living room use, or anywhere else you’re feeling too lazy to move.
There are two strong competitors here, a free option called Remote Mouse which features in-app purchases to unlock additional features and remove adverts, or the completely ad-free and unrestricted app TouchPad ($4.99).
Alarm Clock
We’ve been using small personal devices as alarm clocks for as long as we’ve had small personal devices. Digital organisers, watches and dumb phones all did the job amicably, but now we’ve got an endless sea of software to choose from, not least the stock Alarms app.
Apple’s alarm app is ok, it works, but it’s a little fiddly. If you prefer a minimalist approach then try Rise ($1.99), or if statistics and sleep patterns are of interest there’s always Sleep Cycle.
The Landline
Technically your iPhone already replaces the landline by performing its function as a phone, but mobile charges can be expensive. There was once a time when we’d resort to landlines to avoid carrier charges or steep international rates, but that’s all changed thanks to always-on-us VoIP.
Skype is the first place to start and then there’s fring too. Both these solutions allow you to call landlines, mobiles and international numbers for cheap. If you’d like a different approach (and live in the US) then give Google Voice a go, it routes your outgoing calls through an access number which charges you the standard (inclusive) rate for any number dialled, national or international. Cheapo!
Notebooks & Scrap Paper
Scrap paper gets lost, covered in coffee and crushed in pockets. Handwritten notes aren’t digital, and in this era of accessing all your documents from anywhere with a data connection this is often a problem.
There are so many note-taking apps for iOS I don’t know where to start. The big services all have their own apps: Evernote, Pocket, Remember the Milk and even the stock Notes app which is made a lot more useful thanks to iCloud. Bakari featured a few time-saving apps inhis recent communication app round-up or you could use a document hosted in Google Drive.
iPad users who appreciate a handwritten approach can try Paper for free, though this might not be the most practical of solutions.
Magazines
Last of all while it’s still very much a period of transition for the print industry, more magazines than ever are turning to tablets and smartphones to deliver their content. Instead of physically spending money on a piece of paper which you’ll only forget to recycle, why not grab yourself a subscription to Next Issue and read all you can for a set price per month?
Next Issue provides access to over 80 different magazines from a variety of publishers, but you could also check out Zinio too. Apple’s own Newsstand platform continues to grow, adding more publications all the time. Even if you’re feeling cheap there are a huge number of free iPad magazines to choose from.
What else can you replace with an iPhone and a few apps? What will the future bring? Let me know what you think in the comments, below.
No comments:
Post a Comment