Apps of the week: Wi-Fi Checker | CleanSpace | Great Little Place

MAKE your smartphone even smarter with these three useful apps

Fairy lights, microwaves and other common electrical appliances can interfere with wi-fi signal, says Ofcom. Picture: Contributed

Wi-Fi Checker from OfCom

Did you know that Christmas lights could interfere with your broadband connection? Reports from OfCom suggest they can and so they’ve have released a timely Wi-Fi checking app just in time for the festive season. Simple and easy to use, the app runs tests and provides feedback, offering some general advice on how to improve any loss of broadband connectivity. The results seem to differ depending on how close you stand to the router so it’s worth running several tests in different rooms.

iOS and Android, free

CleanSpace

CleanSpace is an app that allows you to see the quality of the air you’re breathing in. It tells you what the air quality is like on upcoming journeys and offers alternative routes with cleaner air space. The air quality data comes from fixed sensors, fed into the app from environmental researchers. CleanSpace hopes to remind you that small changes can make a big difference by connecting you to a community of people who are all keen to make a difference to the environment.

iOS and Android, free, https://our.clean.space/

Great Little Place

A little bit like Tinder for travel, Great Little Place allows you to swipe through the profiles of restaurants, bars, pubs and coffee shops in your location – wherever that might be. Profiles are submitted by local users and the general idea is that they are off the beaten track: unusual gems recommended by people who know the area well. Set your location, get swiping and save any places you like the look of to your ‘Little Black Book’. There are a high standard of recommendations in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, and users are invited to add their own recommendations and reviews.

iOS and Android, free, http://www.glpapp.com/