One of the things that most information professionals get asked for every day is straightforward facts and figures. Due to the variety of apps that are now available, an increasing amount of information is directly available at the touch of a button or the flick of a finger. I've chosen a few apps to make getting the information you need as easy as possible.
DIctionaries
I put together a compilation of reviews for the Free Dictionary by Farlex, The Oxford Dictionary of English and the Urban Dictionary. While they're all dictionaries, they really do exhibit many different criteria, so I wouldn't like to suggest to you that you just have one - and since they're all free, I don't need to - you can install all of them!
If you want to watch this on YouTube instead, it's available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kjpYMIEEno
The Farlex Free Dictionary has a website at http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ which you can of course use when you're near a computer or wi-fi connection. However, you can download the apps at:
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/app/id379450383?&referrer=click%3Dea38473a-3f79-4bdd-9454-1e0cfb0411cc
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tfd.mobile.TfdSearch
Oxford Dictionaries have a website at http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ which showcase the range of products that they have available. The apps are available at:
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oxford-dictionary-english/id978674211?mt=8
The Urban Dictionary also has its own website and you can access it at http://www.urbandictionary.com/ If you want to download the app it's available at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/urban-dictionary/id584986228?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandictionary.android&hl=en
General Reference Tools
I put together a second compilation video for other general reference tools, and these cover Films, unit conversions, currencies, country information, history and tube maps. In pariticular, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Flixster, Units Plus, This Day, Today in history, xe Currency, and two tube map apps.
The Internet Movie Database at http://www.imdb.com/ has information on thousands of films, television programmes, actors, directors and more. It's an excellent resource and worth a visit if you're a movie buff, or need information on aspects of the cinema.
If you want the app, it's available at:
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/app/imdb-movies-tv/id342792525
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.imdb.mobile
Flixster, in common with the IMDb also provides people with access to movie information from their website at https://www.flixster.com/ but this has a more commercial feel about it. If you're looking to buy a movie, or to see what is on at the local cinema, this is the app to use.
If you want to download the app it's available at:
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/movies-by-flixster-rotten/id284235722
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.flixster.android
Units Plus is the go-to app to convert one unit of something into another corresponding unit of something else. Weights, measures, time periods, currencies - you can do it all with this simple and very helpful app. If you want to get yourself a copy it's available at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/convert-units-free-app-units/id623691968?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pericamac12.unitsplus&hl=en (Unfortunately this is a paid product at the time of writing and is £1.79 to buy)
Today in History basically tells you what happened on a particular day in history. There - I bet that came as a surprise to you! It's available at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/today-in-history/id312028507?mt=8
Android Unfortunately this app isn't available in Android, but there is a good collection of alternatives available at http://appcrawlr.com/android-apps/best-apps-today-in-history
World Book This Day in History is available at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/world-book-this-day-in-history/id364739528?mt=8
Android Unfortunately this app isn't available in Android, but there is a good collection of alternatives available at http://appcrawlr.com/android-apps/best-apps-today-in-history
CIA World Factbook
They say of themselves "The World Factbook, produced for US policymakers and coordinated throughout the US Intelligence Community, marshals facts on every country, dependency, and geographic entity in the world. We share this information with the people of all nations in the belief that knowledge of the truth underpins the functioning of free societies. The Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, energy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities." It's one of the 'go to' tools for information professionals, and you're already more than likely to be aware that the website is at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
If you want to download it, you can do so at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/worldabc-cia-world-factbook/id412637620?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gsmdev.worldfactbook&hl=en
The XE currency converter website is at http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/ and has always been one of the very best sites to visit for this kind of information.
If you want the free version of the app, it's available at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/xe-currency/id315241195?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xe.currency&referrer=utm_source%3DXE-site
The London Underground Tube map is available at:
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tube-map-london-underground/id320969612?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.visualit.tubeLondonCity&hl=en
The London Tube Map by Bappz is at
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/london-tube-map/id325442036?mt=8
Android https://www.amazon.com/Bappz-Ltd-London-Tube-Map/dp/B008OVMLOU
Location based apps
There are times when you want to know something about the area that you're currently in. You may be asked about the result of the last election, local crime rates or even the position of the nearest toilets! There are a number of apps that provide you with immediate information at your fingertips, and in this video we look at four of them
If you want to watch this on YouTube, please visit https://youtu.be/erpVDfDSrF0
The apps that are included are as follows
My Constituency is available on iOS at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/my-constituency-uk-parliament/id641577373?mt=8 and for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uk.parliament.myconstituency&hl=en
Crime Map is available for iOS at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/crime-map-england-wales/id422541257?mt=8 and for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.ravensoft.crimemapuk&hl=en_GB
iGeology is available for iOS at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/igeology/id392258040?mt=8 and for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.bgs
Flush is available for iOS at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/flush-toilet-finder-bathroom-loo-and-wc-finder/id955254528?mt=8 and for Android devices at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=toilet.samruston.com.toilet&hl=en
Wikigraph
The Wikigraph app is a nice little tool that allows you to search through Wikipedia using a visual format; subjects are displayed as interlinked spheres.
If you want to view this online, it's available at YouTube at https://youtu.be/GsJhgEJy5sE
The iOS app can be downloaded at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/wikigraph/id868705861?mt=8
Unfortunately there isn't an Android version currently available.