A Lifestyle, Grooming And Technology Blog

Tuesday 28 July 2015

Weekly Wish List | City Break Style



Here's my top picks for the perfect city break. All chosen from MR PORTER. I'm loving the chino shorts by AMI teamed with this navy cotton pique Maison Kitsuné polo.

Keep all the travel essentials with you whilst exploring with the stylish Yoshida & Co. backpack. They are made in a specialist workshop in Japan and crafted from durable blue canvas. 


Shop the Wish List

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Monday 27 July 2015

Top 5 Watch apps - July 2015




Here's my top 5 Apple Watch apps for July 2015:


1. Tube Map Free from the App store 

This is one of the best free apps for Apple Watch right now and essential for London commuters. Tube Map gives you up to the minute service updates for all London underground lines, as well as DLR, overground and even selected TFL rail services. You can also save specific lines as favourites and you'll get service update notifications right on your wrist. 

The home screen for The Tube app. All lines showing a good service.


The great thing about this app is that it avoids checking service update boards at busy stations, or trying to reach into your pocket for your phone whilst negotiating the ticket turnstile. Plus, with many tube stations now integrating free WiFi you'll even get notifications beneath the streets of London


2.  BBC News - Free from the App store 

This one's a no brainer. The BBC news app combines notifications of top stores directly to your wrist on the fly, plus a snippet of written articles to get a more detailed look at the headlines. 
The headlines. A simple tap gives more detail.

The iPhone app also has some clever features that improve the watch experience. You can build a list of news categories that interest you the most, which avoids scrolling through dozens of stories that aren't relevant to you.  

Secondly, if you're reading a story and want further details you can utilise Apple's Handoff feature to keep reading on your iPhone or iPad. This comes in handy when a notification comes through on the watch and you instantly want to find that story in the main iPhone app to read more.

A more detailed view of today's top story.

This is another perfect example of the Apple Watch at it's best - stopping you needing to reach into your pocket when you feel the vibration of an incoming notification. Just raise your wrist at stay up to date on news stories from around the world. Whether you're on your daily commute or just relaxing at home, this is a must have.


3.  Things  - £9.99 from the App store 

Things is a great app for creating and working through lists. You can set a to do list for the day on your iPhone when you wake up or on your way into work, then check them off throughout the day directly on your watch. You can even create additional to-dos on the fly using the built-in voice command capabilities of the watch, which work flawlessly even in noisy environments.



Things for Apple Watch revolves around the idea of a "Today list", which as the name suggests acts as a home for all of the goals that are due to been accomplished today. 

The app is also included within Glances on the Apple Watch. Simply swipe up and navigate to the Things glance for updates your your to-dos that's due today, plus a handy graph that shows performance for the current week.

All to-dos complete.
4.  Spark - Free from the App store 

Spark is an alternative mail app to Apple's built in option, and comes with some pretty neat features. Using the iPhone companion app, you can set up various folders and account settings that determine which mail notifications you'll receive on your wrist. For example, I have several personal e-mail account set up on Spark plus a work account. However, I've only included my personal accounts in the notification settings to avoid reading through work e-mails outside of the office.

Spark also aims to automatically filter out what the app calls "newsletters" to allow you to focus on your most important mail. These messages aren't deleted but instead saved into a separate folder, which can also be accessed directly from your wrist (shown in orange in the image below). I've found this feature to be a real aid to productivity.

The Spark home screen.


5.  Vouchercloud - Free from the App store 

If you love a deal then this app is for you. The voucher cloud app uses your iPhones location data to notify you of offers that are nearby. This comes in particularly useful when you're in a shopping centre and looking for a meal. I have regularly found myself relying on the app to suggest a restaurant nearby that includes a percentage off my bill or a free starter for example.
The voucher cloud home screen.

The app also features a "My Offers" section which uses the favourite retailers and restaurants you've previously set up on your phone as a guide for which notifications to ping directly to your wrist. These updates aren't just based on your location but rather when new offers become available.


Thanks for reading this post. I hope you've found a few great additions to your watch!
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