Pastor Approved Apps
November 30, 2011
Over the last few days I've had some friends ask me about my iPad. As many of you know, I jumped into the Apple world a few months back with the purchase of an iPad2 and have been using it in meetings, sermon prep, on my vision trip to Wales and even using it for personal Bible study and preaching from it.
Now, I'm not advocating that other people buy iPads. In truth, I don't care if you have one or not. However, since I've been asked numerous times about it and what I use it for and what apps I have, I figured I'd give you a short list of some of the apps that I have downloaded and found useful.
DISCLAIMER: I get nothing from the app developers (wish I did) and am not truly advocating you use these, but am just stating which ones I like and have found useful. Also, in many cases, there are Android versions of the same apps if you are not on an iPhone or iPad.
STUDY
The YouVersion Bible app is one of the most downloaded in iTunes. It was developed by LifeChurch.tv and offers more than 100 versions of the Bible. Reading plans are available when online. Most versions are downloadable, so you may read the Bible on your smart phone or iPad regardless of 3G or internet connection. This is a free app. Don't pay for a Bible app.
PRODUCTIVITY
I use the Apple software called Pages, Keynote and Numbers. Each is a separate download and costs around $10 each. Pages is a word processor and converts to and from Word seamlessly. Keynote is a presentation software and converts to PowerPoint easily. Numbers is a spreadsheet and works and converts well with Excel.
Another good app for office productivity is QuickOffice. It's n0t free, but offers you the Microsoft Office type software in one package for the iPad.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook is still king of social media and they have recently released an iPad app that is pretty functional and easy to use. However, sometimes I still end up opening Safari and running Facebook from the web browser. I like the web browser version better (mainly because it's the same on all platforms.)
Before the Facebook app came online, I used MyPad. I still like MyPad and use it often. It is basically a Facebook interface for the iPad.
The Twitter app is simple and easy to use.
Hootsuite is a great tool. It allows you to update Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as well as monitor multiple accounts. I have it on my PC and the app for iPad is good as well.
Foursquare is addictive and fun. I love the commercial where the guy says "That's Mayor Dennis. . . of the watercooler." I admit, I'm a lot like that guy. I have unlocked numerous badges and am mayor of First Baptist Church (sometimes) and of Dave's Sofa, which just like the name states. . . is the sofa in my living room. By the way, I was really good at foursquare, the real game, back in sixth grade.
Instagram is a fun app that lets you post photos and track friends uploads. It's an iPhone app, but works on the iPad. Again - can be a royal waste of time, but since when has that stopped people from using an app.
G-Whizz! is an app for connecting your Google accounts on your iPad. Google+ and G-mail can be used through this app.
TEXT MESSAGING
I have the iPad with Wi-fi, but not 3G. So, if I want to text message someone from the iPad, I use TextNow. This app is pretty easy to use. The only thing is that it assigns a strange phone number to your iPad for use. I think mine has an Idaho area code.
STORAGE & CLOUD
Having a virtual hard drive in the cloud is nice. These apps all provide this. DropBox is my favorite, but SugarSync provides more space for free. The Evernote app allows me to take notes and save to the cloud. I have all these programs on my PC as well and can access my data anywhere.
NEWS
In addition to local news channel apps, I have downloaded news apps from major agencies such as CNN, Fox News, USA Today, CBS News, and BBC News.
The Drudge Report app is interesting and links numerous headlines daily, just like the webpage. Tends to be conservative politically.
The Politico app offers the opposite perspective of The Drudge Report.
The following apps will link with your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts to determine your location, likes, dislikes, etc. to push news stories on their app you may find interesting. Each one is formatted a little differently, but I check them all regularly.
Evri - Not my favorite of these multi-site apps, but good info.
Editions - I like this one. It's by Aol, but after compiling news stories, it presents it on your screen in the form of a magazine. You turn pages and go to sections that are interesting.
Flipboard - This one is likely to become my favorite. It's chock-full of information and news stories. I can get overloaded though, so I must be careful. Great app.
SPORTS
I'm just going to list the sports apps that I use regularly. I have more downloaded, but these are the best ones I've found.
CHURCHES, MINISTRIES & RELIGION
The best church app is First Baptist Church of Orange Park. OK, maybe not the best, but it's ours. I think it offers some great information. Like most of the churches out there, this is designed by The Church App and offers many of the same features as others including sermons, calendars, Bible (with daily plans to read or have read to you) and links to pertinent church sites.
The Florida Baptist Witness - the newspaper of our state convention.
OTHER APPS THAT YOU REALLY "NEED"
Since this post is getting long and I know I cannot put every app I use on here, I thought I'd end with some of the "essential" ones. . .
Words With Friends
Movie Challenge
Talking Tom (He has friends like Talking Ben, Talking John, etc. All are worth the download. The Talking Justin Bieber one, however, is not.)
Starbucks
ShopKick (like Foursquare for for shopping and you earn points for discounts)
Google (this app lets you take a photo, it scans the photo and then searches the web for info on it.)
Kindle (I like this better than iBooks that comes with the iPad)
Skype (Perfect video phone for when I'm on mission trips for calling back home and for meeting with church planters in other areas of the world.)
There are many other apps, and I'm sure you have downloaded and are using some that are really great. Leave comments with your recommendations.