Chromebooks are becoming quickly popular among users because of their flash storage, high speed, long battery life and many other features. However, most of the people still prefer desktops and a common reason given by many is the necessity of internet connectivity. On the other hand, some argue that they face difficulty when they try to prepare lengthy documents. However, these hurdles can’t prevent the users to get charismatic attraction of Chromebooks. There is a huge number of apps which have made this device as comfortable as standard desktops with no compromise over originality and functionality.
Let’s have a closer look at some of the most useful apps that can help you feel like you are working on a real desktop computer with great ease.
1. Gmail Offline
The dependency on WiFi is no longer a hurdle to stay in touch with your emails. With Gmail Offline App, you can have a continued access to your important mails. Using the cached Gmail data, it enables users to read, archive, and reply to emails even without internet. After you click “send”, the replies are stored and will be sent as soon as the device connects to internet.
2. LastPass
Resembling a “masterkey” that can “open any lock”, LastPass is a remarkable app that eases the burden of remembering lots of passwords to login different sites. This app saves all passwords, and, in return, generates a master password that can be used the next time you login any account. Apart from this, it not only helps in generating stronger passwords, but also auto-saves and auto-fills them wherever required. This app will be a worthy addition on your Chromebook.
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3. Pixlr Touch Up
A free photo-editing app makes it easier for low level photo-editing. It provides all basic editing features such as resize, rotate, crop, color enhancement, effects and level adjustments, red eye removal, coloring filters, etc. The changes in an image are saved either on the system, or on Google Drive. Though it’s not as powerful as Photoshop, for quick editing and sharing images, it’s an easy way for the users.
4. Caret
A web-based graphical editor that works fully offline! It allows editing and saving files on the hard drive without internet connection. Some key features like command palette and multiple cursors enables editing multiple lines simultaneously, while using different commands. On the other hand, with tabbed editing, multiple files can be opened at the same time. There are a lot more features which make editing much easier!
5. Clipular
You see anything interesting on the web and want to capture it then and there, taking screenshots is a primitive method to do so! With Clipular, you can take images or screenshots of your focused object, right there on the web, and can save and share it later on as you desire. With this web based camera tool, images can be saved on Google drive, and can also be edited easily. By dragging the save images on the desired icon, they can be shared on the social media swiftly. It saves the source link with the image(s) taken, so that the users can go back to the original link whenever required! Sharing web images is so easy!
6. Quick Note
Another wonderful app that runs offline – With Quick Note, taking and accessing notes is way easier. By registering on Diigo, notes can be accessed from any Chrome device. It’s a simple app that can be used as a notepad, clipboard, a to-do list, or an organizer!
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7. ShiftEdit
With work offline feature, ShitEdit is an online IDE for Chromebooks that enables editing web languages such as HTML, PHP, Ruby, Java, CSS, etc. Without having the need to download any software, this online app has made life easier for Web developers!
8. WeVideo
An excellent video editor supporting 8 different languages, WeVideo enables users to quickly edit and publish videos. Some key features of this app are; three different editing modes, making it easy-to-use for anyone; video trimming, so that you can focus on key moments as you desire; splitting long clips into smaller ones; entering captions and titles in language of your choice, and adding sound and visual effect to the clips. It is fully connected to Facebook and other social media, so users can either publish videos, graphics, etc. on Google Drive or DropBox, or can straight away share them on social media.
9. Numerics Calculator & Converter
It’s a user friendly app that makes complex calculations and conversions much easier. With this application, users can also create their own functions using JavaScript. It also works offline by saving all data to browser’s storage, so that working can be continued even without internet.
10. Pocket
A popular web app that saves articles, graphics, videos etc. together, which can then be viewed even without internet! It offers customizable fonts, backgrounds and other features. Now there is no need to save links or pile-up tabs in your browser; just save the desired content into Pocket, and you can view it later from your device, even when you are offline.
11. Weatherbug
This weather app not only provides conventional meteorological information, but also provides interactive maps, real-time weather forecast, as well as offers live weather images of your location. It also generates severe alerts and DTA’s (Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts) for faster warnings. Now there is no need to access your browser, this app gives instant access to all weather related information.
Final Words
With these exciting apps, Chromebooks are much more comfortable for use, even for those who opt desktops for conventional working! The offline compatibility of these apps also rules out the criticism of WiFi dependency of Chromebooks.
