I’m not a big user of apps or games on my phone but there are a few that I do get lots of use out of.

When traveling, I find TripIt and Currency to be extremely useful. TripIt is also essential when planning trips. I also get lots of use out of AwardWallet which is great for keeping track of all of those easy to forget frequent flyer account #s and passwords.

During flights I’ll use my phone for a few minutes here and there to kill some time. If I have wifi, I’ll usually just surf the web. When I don’t have wifi, which happens to be the majority of the time I might play (the free versions) of Temple Run or the puzzle game KaGlom for 5-10 minutes to pass a little time during the flight.

Thanks to a USA Today article that I recently came across, I now have some new apps to consider using to stay busy and maybe even be a bit more productive during flights.

The article- Seven apps to tackle in-flight boredom has a bunch of apps that might be useful when flying.

Check out the list:

1. Offline Reader (Apple)- Allows you to download and save articles and links for in flight reading.
2. Video App (Apple devices)- Download the pilots of popular TV shows for 99 cents to check out their first episodes.
3. Podcast App (Apple)- Download free podcasts in loads of topics
4. TED Talks (Apple & Android)- Download talks on a variety of interesting topics
5. Gmail Offline App (Chrome)- Gain access to e-mails off-line and sends e-mails you responded to automatically once you have an internet connection again.
6. Pocket (Apple & Android)- Save articles, photos & tweets in your virtual pocket.
7. Paper by Fifty Three (Apple)- Brainstorm ideas & let creativity flow. There is also a structured format for taking notes and writing.
   

Which of these apps am I most interested in trying out? If I had to pick 3, I’d go with Offline Reader, Video App and Pocket. I haven’t looked into Offline Reader or Pocket yet but they both sound like they provide a similar service. The idea of saving articles to read while in the air sounds like a really useful possibility. The Video App is already on my phone but I like the idea of downloading a show’s pilot to pass a little time.

Do you currently use any of these apps? If so, which one & do you recommend it?

Check out the article from USA Today HERE.