A new uni semester is about to begin. Good for you! Life at uni can be pretty hectic, though: here are a bunch of our favourite apps to help make life on campus a breeze.
-
(Credit: Apple)
iTunes U
Free
Just launched this year, the iTunes U app aggregates all the iTunes U content in one handy place. You can keep all your lectures here; see all assignments and check them off as you complete them; access audio lectures, videos, books, documents and even relevant textbooks available through iBooks. You can check here to see if your university is available, or browse the full list of participating schools here. -
(Credit: CBSi)
Individual university apps
Some individual universities in Australia have their own apps, either official or unofficial. These range from things like maps and locators, course information and event updates. We've included the ones we've found below.
-
(Credit: Ice Media Creative)
Class Timetable
Free
A very simple but well thought-out customisable timetabling app that allows you to keep track of your classes in real time, with optional multi-week timetables and easily viewable information. -
(Credit: Enfour)
Australian Oxford Dictionary
AU$25.99
A stout dictionary will stand you in good stead for life. There are free dictionary apps available, such as Dictionary.com, but these usually consist of American English; having a grasp of Proper Strine might be a good idea when you're handing in important essays and assessments. The Oxford has an added bonus as well in that it's stored in your phone's memory, so it won't eat up your data. -
(Credit: Enfour)
Oxford Thesaurus of English
AU$25.99
There's nothing worse than being quite unable to find just the right word to explain your concepts, especially when you've already used up half a dozen synonyms. Like dictionary apps, there are also free thesauruses available, so if you're on a student budget and want to save a few shekels, give Dictionary.com a shot. -
(Credit: Maciek Drejak Labs)
Sleep Cycle alarm clock
AU$0.99
Get your sleep cycle in order and wake up refreshed and ready to learn everyday. The Sleep Cycle alarm clock analyses your natural sleeping rhythms based on your movements throughout the night and will wake you up at the best time to ensure bright eyes and a bushy tail. -
(Credit: Ginger Labs)
Notability
AU$0.99
If you're taking notes on an iPad, Notability is pretty amazing. You can type or handwrite your notes, annotate PDFs, add pictures from your photo library, all the while recording your lecture in audio. As the lecture records, it syncs up with what you are writing or drawing, so that you can review both your notes and the lecture at the same time — and it's all backed up to cloud storage as you go. And then you can share your notes via email, Dropbox, iTunes file sharing and AirPrint. (For an iPhone app, try AudioNote.) -
(Credit: Direct Textbooks)
Book$Price
Free
If it's your first semester in magical-university-land, you are probably discovering with horror the very high price of text books. Book$Price scours the web for your textbook, finding you the lowest available price, which is invaluable when each class will otherwise end up costing you several hundred dollars... -
(Credit: CBSi)
E-reading apps
Free
If you have your textbooks in an ebook format, you'll need a reader for them. Alternately, apps such as iBooks and Kindle are places where you can often get cheaper digital editions of your textbooks. It's much easier than lugging around a massive bag of books, that's for sure. Here are some free options for both reading and purchasing ebooks. -
(Credit: Wolfram Alpha)
WolframAlpha
AU$2.99
Need a random fact, figure or calculation on the fly? Wolfram Alpha is your go-to resource, with instant computations, reports and knowledge.Wolfram Alpha also has some assistant apps for chemistry, algebra, astronomy, statistics and so forth; if you're studying these subjects, make sure you check them out.
-
(Credit: Lalit Patil)
CalcMadeEasy
Free
If you need a scientific calculator, this free one is easy to use and includes all general scientific and mathematical calculations. -
(Credit: Sensis)
Citysearch
Free
You can't spend all your time studying. If you're in a new city, check out Citysearch for places to go and things to do in your spare time. -
(Credit: Pinion Systems)
The Happiest Hour
Free
Now this one will come in handy for sure. Using your phone's GPS, it will search for nearby pubs and bars and allow you to search for happy hours for either beer, wine, cocktails or food so that you can have the cheapest night out available. -
(Credit: AllRecipes)
AllRecipes Dinner Spinner
Free
Just because you're a student, you don't have to eat ramen every day. AllRecipes Dinner Spinner will help you find easy-to-cook meals based on ingredient, type of dish and how long it will take to cook. Plus, if you're really stuck for ideas, just give your phone a shake for a random recipe. Easy-peasy! -
(Credit: iStudiez Team)
iStudiez Pro
AU$2.99
There's a timetable integrated into iStudiez Pro, but that's the least of its tricks. It also allows you to enter in homework and assignments to keep track of what you have on and when it's due, it sends you reminders for classes and due dates, and tracks how well your marks are tracking on a cumulative basis. -
(Credit: TED Conferences)
TED
Free
TED may not help with your uni life directly, but you're there to learn things, right? And sometimes your brain gets a bit fatigued thinking about the same topics constantly. Switch it up by listening to smart people talk about interesting things and give your brain some space to just listen and absorb without having to worry about being tested later. -
(Credit: Marco Arment)
Instapaper
AU$5.49
Instapaper is awesome because it allows you to save web pages from your Safari browser to the Instapaper app to read offline later. This saves you data if you have a particular page, for instance, that you return to many times, or if you don't have time to read a page you can hang onto it for later; and for those who have 3G-less iPads or iPods, it's truly useful. -
(Credit: Pocket World Software)
Fast Reader
AU$0.99
A very simple, very useful app that allows you to read documents in a variety of formats — TXT, PowerPoint, PDF, Excel spreadsheets and Word documents — in one beautifully designed and user-friendly place. -
(Credit: AvocSoft)
My Weekly Budget
AU$0.99
This one's actually probably good for everyone, not just students. If you're not used to budgeting, My Weekly Budget will help you keep track of your moolah so you don't blow it all on fancy vinyl records and flared trousers. That's what the kids these days are into, right...? -
(Credit: Cultured Code)
Things
AU$10.49
This is one of those "get yourself organised" apps that allows you to create to-do lists, notes, dates and schedules, and then set reminders so you don't forget to do them. It's simple, clean, intuitive and won't crash out and lose all your important information. -
(Credit: Urbanspoon)
Urbanspoon
Free
With the Urbanspoon app, you can shake your phone to find a place to eat, or search based on location, cuisine and price, which is really useful if you're down to your last tenner. It also uses your phone's GPS to locate restaurants near you, and you can vet venues based on handy reviews provided by other customers. -
(Credit: Robert Chin)
Wikipanion Plus
AU$5.49
Having an encyclopedia to hand is extremely useful for checking quick facts. This version of Wikipedia has been optimised for iPhone — although the information contained therein should always be taken with a grain of salt. However, it's a great starting point to find reference articles at the very least. -
(Credit: TuneIn)
TuneIn Radio Pro
AU$0.99
With access to over 50,000 radio stations, TuneIn Radio Pro will make sure that you're never without some sweet tunes to study by. -
(Credit: Rovio Mobile)
Angry Birds
AU$0.99
In between the classes and the beer and the checking out of local bands, a body sometimes just needs to chill. What better way than putting your feet up and catapulting birds at pigs in houses?
Add Your Comment 4