Dear Doc,
In case Santa has put me on the
naughty list, I plan to treat myself
to a stylish Bluetooth speaker
that neither sounds weedy or is
overly heavy to carrywithme for
weekends away. Any suggestions?
lg, brussels
consider the new
Go speaker
(£79, simpleaudio.com)
from Simple
Audio. The swankier choice is the Braven 710
(£150, braven.eu)
, a small,
aluminium speaker that punches well above its weight in sonic terms
and has an impressive 20-hour battery life. However, to really get the
party started, plump for the Loewe Speaker 2go
(£269, loewe.tv)
,
a deluxe affair that looks the part in
the most fabulous suites, though
its chunkiness may strain your
handbag. They all recharge a phone
and have built-in mics, so you can
use them as speakerphones.
WORDS
ALEX PELL
. WE REGRET ALEX CANNOT ANSWER QUESTIONS INDIVIDUALLY AND NO CORRESPONDENCE WILL BE ENTERED INTO
Glomper Free
Time
Free
iOS, Android
A first ingredient
of any socialising is
friends. Glomper lets
yours know when (and
where) you’re free to
play, as well as the
kind of thing that
you’re up for doing.
As with many
social-planning
apps, this one ties in
to your Facebook or
Twitter feeds.
Glympse
Free
Most platforms
Once you’ve got the
gang together, the
next step is not to lose
anyone and this is
where Glympse
shines. It enables you
to share your location
with a small group of
pals in real time, but
only for as long as you
specify. This makes it
ideal for shepherding
a bar crawl or keeping
a car convoy in tow.
Barchick
Free
iOS
Dip into a curated
selection of great
bars in cities around
the world with this
app from our very
own cocktail
columnist. The
emphasis is on quality,
making it useful for
unearthing hidden
gems in cities as
effortlessly as
dropping an olive
into a martini.
Yelp
Free
iOS, Android,
Windows
Yelp showcases
establishments in your
vicinity alongside
reviews from its own
community, and it’s
just modified the app
to let you post your
own. It’s a good way
to get a feel for a
venue or an area, find
a local business and it
will even tell you of
new openings.
YPlan
Free
iOS
This app is a cool tool
with which to discover
events taking place
in the next 48 hours
and book impromptu
tickets before your
brain even kicks in to
query the wisdom of
it. This one can be
tailored to your tastes
and is a slick operator.
It’s currently London
and New York only,
but likely to expand.
Drink, dance and be merry
With party season in the offing, this month’s apps will transform your
smartphone into a must-have social organiser
Gadget Doctor
B E S T
A P P S
V I E W P O I N T S
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