Three have teamed with the BritMums blogging community to help show parents how they can get the most out of their smartphones and use the internet on the go.
It’s not often you get asked to take part in a brainstorm with ten of your friends to come up with an idea for a time-saving app. Five bloggers were asked to invite their network of parents to a series of brainstorming events from Oxford to Ipswich. We chatted about tasks that take time and how our phones could make life easier. It’s resulted in five app ideas that could help parents across the UK. The thing is, Three’s only going to develop one of the ideas so we’re battling against each other to get our app idea created.
Take a look at the ideas below and then head to the Three UK Facebook page, on the ‘On the Go Mums’ tab to watch our videos and vote for your favourite. The winning app will be announced on 19 July.
1. Pig-e-Bank (my personal favourite, and that, ahem, has nothing to do with it being my team idea).
‘Learning while earning’ is the aim of the Pig-e-Bank app. Parents can track the pocket money of various children and deduct any ad-hoc purchases while out shopping from future payments. Savings goals can be set to help children learn how to manage their money. View the Pig-e-Bank video.
2. Weekly Meal Plan.
Forgetting items during the weekly shop will be a thing of the past with Weekly Meal Plan. Parents can plot recipes and meal ideas on a calendar, automatically creating a weekly shopping list that calculates the quantities of ingredients needed based on the number of adults and children in the household. View the Weekly Meal Plan video.
3. Make a Date.
Take the pain out of social planning with the Make a Date app. Simply select the times and dates you’re available for an event you’re organising and select the friends you’d like to invite. Friends are sent a note to input their availability, and once everyone has responded the app calculates a time and date and notifies all guests. View the Make a Date video.
4. Who, What, Where, When?
The Who, What, Where, When app is just like having a PA in your pocket. It synchronises family members’ smart phone diaries to show everyone who is responsible for the week’s tasks, as well as where people are and when – from picking up the kids to business meetings. Users can set reminders and add notes so they never forget an appointment again. View the Who, What, Where When? video.
5. Family Quest.
Nagging will be a thing of the past with the Family Quest app, which aims to bring the family together to complete their respective weekly chores. The household’s tasks are uploaded to the app and rewards (set by the parents) can be unlocked from a ‘Family Fun Treasure Chest’ if they are all completed. View the Family Quest video.
To vote: go to www.facebook.com/ThreeUK -- go to the “mums on the go” tab on the left and “Like” your favourite! Or try this link.
Also -- join our Time Savings Twitter Party today at 1. Just tweet a time-savings tip #mumsonthree for a chance to win and iPhone and Mifi.
-Susanna (A Modern Mother)
