Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

10 Apps to help you stay sane during load shedding

26/03/2023

10 Apps to help you stay sane during load sheddingApps to keep you busy can come in handy during long and boring hours without power supply in your household.

by Siso Naile

26-03-2023 09:53

in Entertainment

10 Apps to help you stay sane during load shedding. Photo: TCL/ Supplied

Apps to keep you busy can come in handy during long hours without power supply in your household. Load shedding has thrown many lives into disarray, and it's likely to remain with us for at least a couple of years.

--

APPS USING YOUR SMARTPHONE TO CONSIDER A fully charged smartphone with your favourite apps can help you to keep productive and stay entertained when the lights are out.

ALSO READ: Minister of Electricity: Eskom workers will resolve load shedding

TCL recommends some Android apps to help you make the most of your time during load shedding.

1. Amazon Kindle

One of the best ways to pass some time while you wait for the power to return is to snuggle up in bed with a good book. The Kindle app puts over 1.5 million books at your fingertips, plus a selection of comics and magazines.

2. Battery Guru

There are few things worse than running out of power on your smartphone with two hours of load shedding to go. Battery Guru gives you detailed information about your battery usage, helps you monitor its health, and offers tips on how to extend its lifespan.

3. Comixology

Comixology lets you explore over 200,000 digital comics, manga, and graphic novels from Marvel, DC, Viz, Kodansha, Dark Horse, Image, and more. Comixology titles span every genre, including superheroes, sci-fi, crime, horror, and slice-of-life.

--

ALSO READ: 5 Reasons to consider 5G Networks for your next smartphone

MORE SERVICES FOR YOU DURING LOAD SHEDDING

4. Coursera

If you want to use load shedding hours to better yourself, Coursera is the app for you. It helps you build job-relevant, in-demand skills by learning with experts from world-class companies and universities.

5. DStv

Don't have a battery and inverter setup to power your TV during load shedding? There's no reason to miss the big match just because the power is out. As a DStv customer, you can enjoy the shows, movies and sport you love with the DStv streaming app on your Android phone.

6. Duolingo

If you've always dreamed of learning Chinese or French, why not use the hours without power to do so? Duolingo is a fun, free app for learning 35 languages through quick, bite-sized lessons. Practice speaking, reading, listening, and writing to build your vocabulary and grammar skills.

7. ESP EskomSePush

This app monitors load shedding status and sends Push notifications when you're going to be impacted. It makes it easy to see your slot without having to read a complicated schedule and reminds you to get ready for load shedding with 55-minute and 15-minute warnings.

GOOGLE FEATURES WORTH EXPLORING

8. Google Podcasts

With Google Podcasts, you can play the latest episodes from your favourite shows, explore podcast recommendations just for you, and manage your listening activity.

--

ALSO READ: PANIC as Capitec bank App malfunctions AGAIN

9. Mr D

Tired of firing up the braai or eating leftovers every night when the power's out? Treat yourself to a fresh, hot meal from your favourite neighbourhood restaurant or takeaway chain. Mr D delivers hot food as well as groceries if you prefer not to brave dark streets and load-shedding traffic.

10. Tiny Flashlight

Tiny Flashlight LED is a simple, free, torch app with LED lights and several screen modes. It can come in handy when you're looking for something in the dark.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES BY SISO NAILE

How much of a rugby fanatic are you? FIVE simple answers could win you R1 000 in cash!
LINK: https://www.thesouthafrican.com/culture/entertainment/10-apps-help-sta...
See more stories from thesouthafrican

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

15/05/2026

Join Calrec at MPTS 2026

Join Calrec at MPTS 2026 | May 13-14 | Stand A40 | Olympia, London We're looking forward to meeting up with customers and partners at this year's Media ...

15/05/2026

CTV's Data Gap Holding Back Bigger Ad Budgets, New Gracenote Research Finds

86% of media planners would move more linear TV budget to CTV if they had show-level targeting and reporting - and 65% would also shift dollars from programmati...

15/05/2026

Scripps Completes Station Swaps with Gray Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

Clear-Com Takes Communications Further at InfoComm 2026

Clear-Com will showcase new communications solutions and major platform updates at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005), June 17-19, in the North and Central Halls of t...

15/05/2026

Rise AV Launches Second Year of UK Elevate Programme Foll...

Following an outstanding inaugural year in 2025, Rise AV is proud to announce the return of its flagship leadership initiative, Elevate. The programme continues...

15/05/2026

Berklee Announces Lineup for Inaugural AI Music Summit

Berklee Announces Lineup for Inaugural AI Music Summit The three-day event puts musicians at the center of the future of music creation, ethics, and the indus...

15/05/2026

Lightware Highlights Scalable USB-C and AV-over-IP Innova...

Lightware returns to InfoComm 2026 with a focused showcase of scalable USB-C connectivity, next-generation AV-over-IP solutions, and technologies that help over...

15/05/2026

IAB Releases Campaign Data Standards 1.0 for Public Comment

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

ARRI Expands Management Board

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

Gray Media Names Joanie Vasiliadis SVP of Transformation

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

Study: Data and Measurement Problems Reduce CTV Ad Budgets

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

Upfronts: WBD Expands Advanced Ad Capabilities and AI Ad Tech

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/05/2026

VLAST Powers PLAVEs Asia Tour Encore with AJA Gear

Delivering a live, arena-scale production of a massively popular band is no small feat. Between expansive in-arena LED walls and a global live stream fed to onl...

15/05/2026

Sun Broadcast Futureproofs Dayalbaghs Multimedia Van with...

Connection is the heartbeat of any strong community, and with live streaming becoming more accessible in the modern era, it's much easier for faith-based or...

15/05/2026

Disguise and Creative Technology Power Eurovision for the...

Powered by GX 3 media servers, optimised IP-VFC workflows and on-site engineering expertise, the production delivers high-performance visuals for one of the wor...

15/05/2026

Why Trusted Measurement Matters More Than Ever in Retail Media

Against that backdrop, IAB UK has added retail media to its Gold Standard. Jan Pitt, Commercial Director at ABC, spoke with Liv McCullagh, Retail Media Lead at ...

15/05/2026

RT's statement on Derek Mooney's Earnings for the Years 2020-2023

Further to RT 's statement released yesterday and in the interest of full transparency, with the full permission of Derek Mooney, we are now publishing the ...

14/05/2026

Sweetwater and Airstream Unveil Mobile Dolby Atmos Recording Studio

Sweetwater and Airstream have announced a custom-built Dolby Atmos mobile recording studio inside an Airstream trailer, set to tour music festivals, schools, tr...

14/05/2026

American Association of Professional Baseball Expands Broadcast Distribution for 2026 Season

The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has announced a new par...

14/05/2026

ESPN to Establish Week-Long Super Bowl LXI Broadcast Center on Santa Monica Beach

ESPN has announced plans to transform Santa Monica Beach into a broadcast hub du...

14/05/2026

Amagi Announces Major Upgrade to CLOUDPORT Cloud Broadcast Platform

Amagi has announced a significant update to Amagi CLOUDPORT, its cloud-based broadcast playout platform. The update includes 250-plus features shipped in FY25-2...

14/05/2026

Clear-Com to Showcase New Products and Platform Updates at InfoComm 2026

Clear-Com will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7005, June 17-19, Las Vegas Convention Center), introducing a new product that builds on Arcadia Central Station...

14/05/2026

Ikegami to Exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 with Two New Viewfinder Premieres

Ikegami will exhibit at BroadcastAsia 2026 (Stand 5D3-1, Singapore Expo, May 20-22), introducing two new viewfinders alongside its existing camera, control, and...

14/05/2026

dB Broadcast Delivers IP-Based OB Trucks for Cloudbass Featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Cameras

Grass Valley has announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside ...

14/05/2026

NAGRAVISION and WPBSA Launch Play Snooker Digital Platform

NAGRAVISION, a Kudelski Group company, has announced a partnership with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) to launch Play Snooker,...

14/05/2026

Belden To Acquire RUCKUS Networks for Approximately $1.85 Billion

Belden Inc. has announced a definitive agreement to acquire RUCKUS Networks from Vistance Networks for approximately $1.85 billion. The transaction has been app...

14/05/2026

NVIDIA Releases Content Localization Blueprint for AI-Assisted Dubbing and Speech Translation

NVIDIA has released the Content Localization Blueprint, a modular reference arch...

14/05/2026

Disney+ To Stream Banana Bowl Championship Live This October

Disney has announced that Disney will be the exclusive U.S. streaming home of the Banana Bowl, the Banana Ball league season championship, streaming live this ...

14/05/2026

Arkona and Manifold To Exhibit on Magna Systems Stand at BroadcastAsia 2026

Arkona technologies and technology partner manifold will demonstrate their production solutions on the Magna Systems and Engineering stand (Booth 5D1-1) at Broa...

14/05/2026

Haivision Webinar: New Broadcast Contribution Products Featuring Minor League Baseball Case Study

Haivision will host a webinar on Thursday, May 21 at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET cov...

14/05/2026

The CW Network and ESPN Announce ACC Sublicense Agreement Through 2030-31 Season

The CW Network and ESPN have announced a sublicense broadcast agreement for The CW to televise ACC football and men's and women's college basketball gam...

14/05/2026

Detroit Pistons Ink Local Media Rights Deal With Scripps Sports

The agreement marks Scripps Sports' first NBA local rights deal...

14/05/2026

Report: Broadcasting Among Hardest-Hit Industries as AI Reshapes the Workforce

A new report from education-technology company Wiingy testing post-ChatGPT predictions against three years of real-world data has identified broadcasting as one...

14/05/2026

Madonna, Shakira, and BTS to Headline First-Ever FIFA World Cup Final Halftime Show

Global Citizen and FIFA have announced that Madonna, Shakira, and BTS will headl...

14/05/2026

Sundance Institute Names 2026 Episodic Lab Fellows

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 14, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the cohort selected for the 2026 Episodic Lab program, taking place at Dunaway ...

14/05/2026

Spotify Expands Music Access for Young Listeners, Extending Managed Accounts to Free Tier

At Spotify, we're focused on making every listening experience feel intentio...

14/05/2026

Spotify Brings Nashville's Songwriting Community Together for Mental Health Summit

Spotify recently welcomed songwriters, artists, executives, and music students t...

14/05/2026

Sonuscore update Lux Orchestral Strings

New articulations, ostinatos, Motion Scoring Articulation Sets & more Sonuscore's flagship cinematic string library has just been treated to a significa...

14/05/2026

Pr Recording & Residence

World-class studio opens on T rkiye's Aegean coast P r Recording & Residence have announced their official opening, introducing a new world-class reside...

14/05/2026

Nugen Audio update DialogCheck

Now supports channel layouts up to 9.1.6 Nugen Audio have just released an update for their AI-powered dialogue intelligibility and compliance tool. Set to ...

14/05/2026

UVI release Orchestral Suite 2

New recordings & one-key chord tool UVI have just announced the release of Orchestral Suite 2, a ground-up redesign of their all-in-one symphonic orchestra ...

14/05/2026

Rob Papen launch eXplorer 11

Two new arrivals & expanded factory content Rob Papen's all-encompassing plug-in and virtual instrument collection has just been treated to another upda...

14/05/2026

FSK Audio release QRonicle

Embed QR codes into DAW sessions FSK Audio's latest plug-in doesn't process audio, but serves as an organisational tool that allows QR codes to be e...

14/05/2026

SBS Board appoints Jane Palfreyman Managing Director

SBS Board appoints Jane Palfreyman Managing Director 13 May, 2026 Media releases The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Board of Directors is pleased to an...

14/05/2026

Transforming bold ideas into market-ready productions: Digital Originals returns

Transforming bold ideas into market-ready productions: Digital Originals returns 14 May, 2026 Media releases SBS, NITV and Screen Australia have announced ...

14/05/2026

Australia Uncovered Returns to SBS with Bold New Season Featuring John Safran on Free Speech and Powerful Stories of Justice and Survival

Australia Uncovered Returns to SBS with Bold New Season Featuring John Safran on...