The coronavirus outbreak has had a major impact not just on the global economy but also in our own individual lifestyle. Due to the outbreak, people are now strictly encouraged to stay at home to prevent themselves from getting infected. People who are possibly exposed to the virus and those with mild symptoms are required to undergo home quarantine for at least 14 days. This community quarantine is absolutely necessary to flatten the curve and to prevent the virus from spreading. Most companies are now imposing Work from home strategy to keep their operation going.
It is not yet clear how long this outbreak will last but everyone is strongly encouraged to obey the rules and observe social distancing. Most people will find themselves doing the same routine every day and you might look for various ways to entertain yourself while you are staying at home. Today, we are listing down five of the most essential mobile apps that you must download to make the most out of this community quarantine. These essential apps are extremely beneficial and absolutely useful in many ways.
Zoom – Communication App
The work from home system is now being enforced by most companies today. Zoom is a communication app that was officially launched in 2013. The app, however, rapidly become popular due to the quarantine measures adopted by many countries in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Interestingly, this app allows you to communicate with your friends, family, and colleagues through a video conference. While there are many long-existing apps that offer the same feature, what really set Zoom apart from them is the fact that it offers its services for free. Zoom can be used to connect with your families or you can also use the app as a professional tool for work or educational purposes.
Zoom comes with a simple and neat user interface that allows you to navigate and access its features with no ease. The users don’t have to undergo detailed registration procedures to use the app. Simply download the app either from Google Play Store or Apple AppStore. The app will prompt you to a simple sign up process asking you for your preferred login details as well as email addresses of people you want to be part of the meeting or virtual conference. This amazing communication app allows you to invite up to 100 participants in one video conference which makes it an ideal communication tool for companies that are imposing the work-from-home environment.
Download Zoom
Scribd – Educational App
Book lovers will surely love this very essential app. Scribd is a digital library that allows you to access an unlimited number of audiobooks, books, magazine articles, sheet music, and more. This incredible e-book and audiobook digital library offers more than a million different titles and hosts over 60 million documents. Those who can no longer visit those land-based libraries or those people who only have limited access to the books they need are turning to Scribd and enjoy its huge collection. Scribd, however, is not entirely free. It’s a subscription-based app that comes with various monthly and annual fee-based plans. A Scribd membership is your ticket to a world of books. With its monthly subscription plans, Scribd will allow you to get access to its library of bestsellers, award winners, obscure indie titles, and reader favorites.
Wonderfully, in observance with the current pandemic, Scribd recently announced the 30-day free access to their library. They understand that many people are staying close to home and yet still looking for information, distractions, and perhaps a mental escape. They now offer a 30-day free trial with no commitment or credit card information required. You can also cancel the subscription at any given time. It generally works like Netflix but instead of streaming service, the users get full access to their digital library.
Whether you are a certified book lover or you are trying to explore new things while we are all in-home quarantine, having Scribd on your phone is absolutely beneficial. You can never tell what things you can learn from these books! Currently, Scribd is available for both Android and iOS devices and you can download the app for free.
Download Scribd
Todoist – Productivity App
Since we are all staying at home all day, chances are, we will lose track of our daily activities. Our day-to-day routines have been drastically changed since the home quarantine was imposed. Normally, for a typical working environment, your attention is mainly focused on your work. You probably have your designated working area and your time schedule is fixed to certain tasks. Working at home, however, comes with an entirely different scenario. Chances are, you will be dealing with different distractions in your house. You might get distracted by your kids or other family members and you might also find yourself with other activities like watching movies, playing with pets, and many others. Since the work is not strictly supervised by our bosses, it feels free to do other things yet it greatly affects our productivity.
This is exactly the reason why you need a productivity app like Todoist. As what the title of this essential app suggests, Todoist allows users to create their “to-do lists”, organize tasks and set reminders. With more than 20 million downloads, it has become the world’s most popular task management app to ever exist. Todoist is a strong, powerful task management app that can be applicable to small teams, individuals and professionals to manage anything from a shopping list to major projects at work. This wonderful app can be a simple task manager or a solid collaborative tool for teams alike.
Although you can do tons of things with its free version, you can embrace more perks when upgrading your account to Premium. These include unlimited reminders, the ability to add important details to your projects, labels, filters, and special themes. Currently, Todoist is available for both Android and iOS devices and you can download this amazing productivity app absolutely for free.
Download Todoist
Netflix – Entertainment App
We cannot deny the fact that many people are very hooked with Netflix. With their huge collection of tv series and movies, it is not really surprising at all. So if you do not have Netflix yet, you have no idea what you are missing. With the rise of online streaming services, people are now more engaged with their mobile devices to watch their favorite shows produced by different online streaming companies. Netflix is a subscription-based entertainment app that allows you to watch various movies, tv episodes and even original shows on your mobile device. The best part, this app offers a free one month trial which you can cancel anytime.
Whether you are looking for an old and classic movie or those who were recently shown on theaters, Netflix offers tons of great movies for you. It comes with an impressive library of movies and tv series for your very own entertainment. What makes it more fascinating is the fact that Netflix is not just a library for old movies and tv shows, they also produce original content which is absolutely worth watching. Some of their most successful series include the Stranger Things, Orange Is the New Black, Kingdom, The Umbrella Academy, Sex Education, 13 Reasons Why, The Crown, Money Heist, and many more. Critically acclaimed movies like Birdbox, The Marriage Story, and many others are also originally produced by Netflix.
Google News – News App
Do you know what else we need to stop from becoming viral aside from the coronavirus? The fake news! Internet is indeed a powerful tool and it can become a source of all things that are happening all over the world. However, we have many so-called “internet trolls” who do nothing but to spread fake news. This is not really a good time to embrace negativity so no matter what kind of information you see on your social media feed, do not believe them unless they are from reliable sources. It is very important to observe if the information comes from a real credible source and not from any trolls or satirical sites that alter information for their own benefits.
Google News is a smart news app that organizes what’s happening in the world to help you learn more about the stories that matter to you. It is definitely the best place to get fact-checked news. Simply download this essential app either from Google PlayStore or Apple Appstore. Once done, it will prompt you right away to your dashboard. The news that will generate on your feed is based on your current location. This ensures you that all the news you are getting is absolutely relevant. Interestingly, Google News welcomes you to a very simple and easy-to-navigate interface. The screen is divided into four navigational tabs including the For You page, Headlines, Following, and Newsstand.
Download Google News