I confess, currently I use a mobile with Ubuntu Touch. I used Android since the first day it was released. My mobile was always perfectly tuned with the best Android ROMs. No complaints.
I like my current modest mobile with Ubuntu Touch. It works well, Ubuntu Touch is a very usable operating system and I am proud to see how it progresses. It is true that it does not have many applications as Android. But it is very easy to make or use webapps and countless web services looks perfect from a webapp. The excess of Android applications made me lose much time. Now I am moderately happy :-)
And it is also true, the need for applications for all kinds of things is not as acute. Nor it is essential to have a next-generation mobile to enjoy a deep technological experience. Besides, things are changing a lot lately. There is a clear tendency to use bots for things that previously required a specific application.
Bots?
Telegram have bots
Yes, smaller or larger artworks with code that only require a messaging application to run. Basically I am referring to the bots operating in Telegram, which are becoming more and more interesting.
The beauty of the bots is that, having Telegram, is not necessary to install anything else. It is not essential to have a powerful (and expensive) device to interact with a bot. In fact, the bots do not spend more battery nor RAM nor CPU nor occupy the available space, beyond the resources required by the Telegram itself.
Therefore, what I am telling is not limited exclusively to Ubuntu Touch but to any device regardless of its operating system.
These are some of my favorite bots.
Qwasapbot. Obviously I want to list firstly my dearest creature. I really wanted to have a means to interact with people who are located in specific places in the world. Qwasapbot resolves this issue. You do not need to share personal information with anyone, you can locate yourself wherever you want and start interacting with people who also are in that area. This is extremely useful for me because the experience of visiting a place and having direct contact with people there if I need ask, inquire or comment something is simply wonderful. So when I’m not traveling, I locate myself (inside the bot) at somewhere known or where really I live. So I am also available to anyone who might need to know something about there.
Tweetit. It allows me to manage my Twitter account from Telegram. I can see the timeline, notifications, twitting, retweeting, reply. Virtually everything you need.
Cloud space to store files or share? No problem. Although there are bots for such thing, since Telegram allows you send messages to yourself you have infinite virtual space to store whatever you want. If you say you can not organize your files into folders, I say you that it is almost the same to add a #hashtag after each file you upload. As the internal search engine of Telegram is extremely effective and powerful, it is sufficient to search for that #hashtag. This is the same as going to a folder and open it. The same, but otherwise.
Tlgur. You can create an URL to a file that you have uploaded to Telegram so you can share it with anyone even if that person does not have Telegram. It seems simple but is extremely useful.
Etlgr_bot. You can get as many email addresses you want (all ending in @ etlgr.com). So now I read and answer mail from there. It’s so versatile that you can create addresses for use as disposable and delete them, when I no longer need them, and create others. You can leave some addresses as your personal email. It’s great.
There are many bots to apply effects or retouch your photos. They work very well and, for daily use, you do not precise any other more sophisticated application.
DoToBot. It serves to make ToDo lists and to share them, too.
Delorean_Bot. You can send messages to the future. That is, messages that are activated on a certain date. If you think about it, you will find interesting applications for this.
Bnotebot. It’s a notepad for short notes and annotations.
Tadam. There are very sophisticated applications to recognize music but this bot works as well as them, without abusing the resources of your device without advertising and without anything weird.
ReadMe. As you know, there is a very good application for iOS and Android that allows comfortably read the text of any web, eliminating all sorts of additional things. Well, this bot does exactly the same. If you send an address of a website, the bot returns the text cleaned.
Weatherman. We agree that there are wonderful applications for weather forecasting, in all aspects, including aesthetics and visuals. But if you just want the weather forecasting, this bot will fulfill all your desires.
Utube. To download videos from Youtube or just their sound in MP3 format, you do not need nothing more.
There are also bots doing multiple things, as a sort of Swiss Army knives, as imandabot. Even fun stuff: Alexfase1_bot
These are just examples of quite useful Telegram bots able to replace any application that does more or less the same. Overall, I collect bots that catch my attention: Best Telegram Bots.
It is interesting to transcend the compulsive need to install apps. Sometimes I commented, half-jokingly, that Telegram will end up being the only “operating system” necessary for a mobile.
Enjoy bots!