There are very few more frustrating and useless things we can think of than a phone without service. Day by day the WiFi networks and mobile connections expand their reach and improve their quality, but there are still a lot of places where reception isn’t great. Even in the cities, they sometimes don’t work as well as they should.
I really do hope that one day the whole world can make use of fast, stable and safe internet service. But until then, we have to learn how to deal with what we have, so here are some essential apps that can rescue you in times of need.
Sweater weather?
Global warming and unreliable weather forecasts can make our lives difficult. Especially when it’s about bringing an umbrella or leaving it at home or taking that big and uncomfortable-to-carry-around jacket. Those things can make a huge difference on our days.
Accuweather (Android, iOS) or The Weather Channel (Android, iOS), offer 7 or 15 weather warnings per day based on recent facts and weather statistics from previous years. Both of them can also show you weather info from all over the world; you just need to set up your favorite cities for that.
Need a file?
Thanks to cloud storage systems, smartphones are basically external hard drives that show you information whenever you need it. To enjoy this futuristic and handy feature, we needed to have an Internet connection until Google stepped up its game with Google Drive (Android, iOS).
This remarkable and well-known tool keeps your documents up-to-date on the phone as well as in the Google cloud. And while offline, it allows you to read and even edit them. The changes will be saved locally on the phone and will be updated in the cloud when you get an Internet connection.
Keeping up with the world
If you are the kind of person who likes to read the news during your daily commute, and the subway connection is not always on your side, you might be grateful that Pocket (Android, iOS) exists. This app allows you to download videos and articles for you to read them, no internet needed. You can also use Pocket to do that with the latest TechAcute articles. 😉
Settling disputes with friends
Arguing with your friends about something can be hard, but genuinely knowing you are right and not being able to prove it? Too much. Kiwix (Android, iOS) promises to settle small disputes between friends and with no internet connection. Significant parts of encyclopedias (e.g. Wikipedia) or full TED Talks will be available locally without the need to use a data connection. Just download an app to cover my back and having the means of shutting my friends up and proving them I’m right? Pfff… YES, PLEASE!
Did I miss any good ones? Please share your most useful and favorite apps that run without permanent data connection with us below in the comments!
Further Reading: Offline Social Media: Is that even possible?
Photo credit: Marco Verch / Liam Moloney / Seniju
