16 July,2016 11:00 AM IST | | Hassan M Kamal
With the reopening of colleges, it means settling into timetables, routines and for many, a new city. Here’s our guide to handy apps that will help students ease into another academic year
Android, iOS, Windows Phone, PC
From the house of Google, Spaces is the latest entrant in instant messaging and sharing. With Google Search, Chrome, YouTube and Google Photos built into the app, you can find and share articles, videos and photos without having to switch apps. You can also use it to create study groups, and share study material, notes, files, or any information that might be useful to nail the semester. You can also use the app to plan outstation trips. The best thing is it allows you to create multiple groups to ensure you don't mix studies with recreation.
Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Chrome Browser
Manage all your college activities with My Study Life, a free-to-use tool available across platforms. Right from lectures, assignments, and projects to exams, you can use the app to keep track of all the work things in college, so that you don't miss on assignments and projects. You can also set reminders for important events and submissions using the app. Your data is synced automatically across devices be it your phone or PC (on Chrome browser).
Android, iOS, Windows Phone, PC
Make a study plan and let Todait help you finish it in time. Whether reading books, study notes, or solving questions, the app helps you prepare study goals across subjects, set deadlines and track your performance during that period via graphic charts of number of hours spent, portion finished, etc. Developed by the South Korean company, Todait Inc, the app is available for free usage and gets a highly interactive and easy-to-follow design. The app will ask you for an invitation, but don't worry you can sign up without that as well.
Utilities
Android, iOS
If you live away from your college, and trains and buses are not your thing, you may as well get a bike for transportation. Considering your short stay, a second-hand bike or car from Droom may be an apt choice. You can check their catalogue on a browser as well.
Android
Does your college offer no hostel accommodation, or, you applied but didn't get in, try NoBroker.in. The real estate service offers sweet deals on apartments and paying guests in the city, without making you a prey to brokers in the city. You can also Whatsapp your requirements to 8107555666.
Also TRY: Furlenco (to rent furniture), Help Chat (for help on almost anything in the city), FlatChat (to find out rental properties including paying guests)
Daily commute
Android, iOS, Windows Phone
M-Indicator is one of the most popular apps in the city, and that is largely because it's accurate and up-to-date when it comes to timings of trains, buses and metro as well as announcements of train delays and blockades. And it works offline too.
Android
The official app of the Indian Railways is a modern ticketing platform to book paperless tickets across any of the suburban lines in the city. However, you need to be within two kms range from the platform. Download the app on your phone, add money to the R-Wallet, and you are good to go.
Also try: Instago (to search, compare and book autos and taxis), Ridlr (to stay updated of traffic), Tripigator (to find places to visit in the city), LocalOye (to hire local services)
Discounts and deals
Android
Make the most of your monthly allowance by signing up for SavePocketMoney. The app offers student-only discounts to its registered users on food, clothes, footwear, books, gadgets, e-commerce portals, eateries, mobile recharges, and more. You will need your student ID to sign-up for the service, though.
Work tools
Android, iOS, PC
Working on a college project requires you to research through tonnes of material - offline as well as online. And among all this, tracking citations can be a painful task. EasyBib: Citation Generator makes that easy while working with multiple books. Scan the barcode of a book, and it will help you add all details about it to the cited information.
Android, iOS, PC, MAC (on Chrome Browser)
The four apps from Google are sufficient to meet most of your project needs, whether it's making a spreadsheet, slideshow or filing reports. They are available for free, and can be accessed from any device with an Internet connection. Since all files are saved on the Google Drive, it also protects you from system crashes or corrupted files. You can also use the apps on your smartphone and work offline. The built-in file sharing is well integrated with other Google apps and allows you to collaborate with your colleagues on the same file, and record their contributions using file history. You can also add remarks and notes for them.
Create with free software
There is a whole world of Open Source Software out there, which can save you lot of money. There's Inkspace and My Paint for vector drawing (alternative to Corel Draw), LibreOffice (as a replacement for MSOffice), Scribus for desktop publishing (alternative to InDesign and QuarkXpress), and Wings 3D, K-3D and Blender for 3D animation (as alternative to apps like 3D Max). For computer aided design (CAD) you could try FreeCAD, BRL-CAD, LibreCAD. Those studying architecture can try Archimedes for free. There are also tools like Synfig Studio (for 2D flash animation). You can also try several of the web tools like Canva to make professional leaflets. And in case you get a bright idea for an app, sign up for free prototyping web tools like Invisionapp.com. There are also limited free options like Popapp.in, Marvel and Pixate studio (now part of Google).
