If you could have listened to the App Smart column the other week instead of just reading it, you’d have heard the tick-tock of timer apps counting down. Far more flexible than kitchen timers of old, or even wristwatch timers, timer apps for smartphones and tablets can be very useful in helping you keep track of all sorts of timings.
For running several different countdown timers at once the Tmrrrs app, free on iOS, is worth trying out. Tmrrrs follows one of the big design trends in apps at the moment, which is to have a very clear and simple layout and graphics with large panels of plain color. This generally results in apps that are easy to read and control, and this is true of Tmrrrs. When you’re setting a countdown timer in Tmrrs, you can set up a main time and a secondary time. You can even put these two times into a repeat loop, which is useful if you want to program in both exercise and rest intervals into a timed exercise session.
It’s relatively easy to use this app, once you’ve learned how to control it through its various icons, menus and gestures. In the free edition, some of the features are limited, like not being able to set a different color scheme for each timer you have running. These restrictions are lifted if you spend $2.99 to unlock the app through an in-app purchase.
A far simpler repeat timer app, handy if you just want to set one timer at a time, is the appropriately named Repeat Timer Free app, free on iOS. It’s very simply designed, and maybe handy for timing daily chores or your exercise routines. Though it’s easy to use, this app is limited to one timing feature, which is to count down a main time and a secondary time within a repeat loop.
A very popular Android app that combines both countdown timer and stopwatch functions is the free StopWatch & Timer app. In terms of looks, the app is designed to be minimalist, and the display is dominated by the numerals of the countdown clocks you’ve set plus prominent buttons for easy access to its controls. The app remembers the last three countdown timers you’ve set, which will be useful if you find yourself regularly needing to time the same intervals. In stopwatch mode this app can log lap times, and you can customize its look so it suits your preferences. The free version is limited, so you can’t run multiple timers, for example, but the full version is just 99 cents.
The Windows Phone platform doesn’t have quite the range of timer apps that iOS and Android devices have. But one good option is the free Quick Timer app, available for both Windows Phone 7.5 and 8. It can run up to six countdown timers at the same time and has all the usual stopwatch features. It’s a very good-looking app, but though it has a good range of features it’s not quite as flexible as some of its rivals on other smartphone platforms.
Time’s a-wasting: Check out these apps on your app store because you’ll kick yourself if you need to time an event soon, and haven’t downloaded one to your device yet.
Quick call: Pheed is a social networking app that’s a little like Twitter but with more emphasis on sharing photos and audio or video content. It’s finally available as a free Android app.
