Five Offline Apps for your Smartphone
By Mike Agerbo
October 06, 2015
Product Discovery
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Thanks to smartphones, we’ve become accustomed to being connected to the Internet at all times. In fact, most apps require an Internet connection to work. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to be connected all the time. For example, if you’re traveling overseas it can be expensive to roam or get a local data plan. There are a number of apps to make withdrawal from an Internet connection a bit easier by giving you the ability to use them offline. Here’s a collection of five of my favourite offline apps:
MAPS.ME
iOS, Android | Free
Maps.me lets you download maps directly to your device and use them to find addresses, routes, or point of interest without an Internet connection. If you’ve ever found yourself looking for a specific location while traveling abroad, you’ll quickly understand how much of an advantage this is.
To use a Maps.me map, you simply need to find the map by selecting the continent and country you’ll be traveling to and download it. Once the map is downloaded, you’re ready to navigate. Just don’t forget that these maps will take up storage space on your phone, so it’s wise to delete maps as you finish using them.
Google Translate
iOS, Android | Free
Another great app for travelers, Google Translate lets you translate words into other languages offline. As you might guess, you’ll need to download the languages you’d like to translate between to your device before you try to use Google Translate without an Internet connection. To use the app, you can either type or speak the words you’d like to translate and the app will provide you their equivalents in the language you’re translating to.
Pocket
iOS, Android | Free
Pocket is a popular app available for your smartphone and computer. One of Pocket’s great features is its ability to download articles, videos, and other content right to your device so you can enjoy it offline later. If you’re a planner, you can store enough content to Pocket to get you through a flight or trip where you don’t have access to the Internet.
Google Docs
iOS, Android | Free
Google Docs are another fantastic Google product that can be used both online and offline. If you’re not familiar with Google Docs, they allow you to work on and store documents such as spreadsheets and presentations in the cloud. Typically, Google Docs syncs your documents as you work on them but if you’d like to work on them offline, you can do so and sync them when you’re back online. This comes in handy on business trips when you’re spending precious time on flights but still want to be productive.
Evernote
iOS, Android | Free
The popular note-taking and organization app, Evernote, also offers offline features. You can work on existing notes or notebooks that you’ve synced using the app, or you can create new ones. Once you’re back online, you can sync changes and new work.
With these apps in your arsenal, you can survive being offline for at least a few hours. If you play your cards right and plan
MAPS.ME
iOS, Android | Free
Maps.me lets you download maps directly to your device and use them to find addresses, routes, or point of interest without an Internet connection. If you’ve ever found yourself looking for a specific location while traveling abroad, you’ll quickly understand how much of an advantage this is.
To use a Maps.me map, you simply need to find the map by selecting the continent and country you’ll be traveling to and download it. Once the map is downloaded, you’re ready to navigate. Just don’t forget that these maps will take up storage space on your phone, so it’s wise to delete maps as you finish using them.
Google Translate
iOS, Android | Free
Another great app for travelers, Google Translate lets you translate words into other languages offline. As you might guess, you’ll need to download the languages you’d like to translate between to your device before you try to use Google Translate without an Internet connection. To use the app, you can either type or speak the words you’d like to translate and the app will provide you their equivalents in the language you’re translating to.
iOS, Android | Free
Pocket is a popular app available for your smartphone and computer. One of Pocket’s great features is its ability to download articles, videos, and other content right to your device so you can enjoy it offline later. If you’re a planner, you can store enough content to Pocket to get you through a flight or trip where you don’t have access to the Internet.
Google Docs
iOS, Android | Free
Google Docs are another fantastic Google product that can be used both online and offline. If you’re not familiar with Google Docs, they allow you to work on and store documents such as spreadsheets and presentations in the cloud. Typically, Google Docs syncs your documents as you work on them but if you’d like to work on them offline, you can do so and sync them when you’re back online. This comes in handy on business trips when you’re spending precious time on flights but still want to be productive.
Evernote
iOS, Android | Free
The popular note-taking and organization app, Evernote, also offers offline features. You can work on existing notes or notebooks that you’ve synced using the app, or you can create new ones. Once you’re back online, you can sync changes and new work.
With these apps in your arsenal, you can survive being offline for at least a few hours. If you play your cards right and plan