It seems just a while ago that we were holding Vulcan Post’s first ever Reader’s Choice Awards, but now, it’s time for a second edition — and we’re barely three weeks away from Christmas.
This year, Vulcan Awards is back with 11 categories for you to vote for, including a special category for Weather App of the Year. The award we’re looking forward to giving out the most, though, has got to be App of the Year: we’ve seen some really great ones — and some really not great ones — and we’d like to find out what you think. Here’s a brief introduction to our nominees in this category, as well as a recap of what they brought to us in 2015.
1. GrabTaxi
GrabTaxi started the year as a taxi-booking app, but is ending 2015 as a taxi-booking platform-private car service-carpooling app. It’s been a big year for the team, to say the least.
After launching their private car service GrabCar earlier in the year (read our review here), they introduced their carpooling feature GrabHitch just a few weeks ago, making their takeover of the transport industry more imminent than ever. They’re also known for throwing durian feasts for their drivers and for showing their appreciation with secret parties like these, so plus points for that!
2. Spotify
Spotify’s cemented their position as one of the top music streaming sites, announcing at the start of this year that they had over 15 million paying subscribers. Throughout 2015, they’ve also introduced numerous new features such as Spotify Running and Discover Weekly, among others.
And despite strong competition from counterparts like Deezer and Last.fm, they’ve made a name for themselves with the frequent playlists they curate for every event imaginable (like the haze). Any guesses how high their number of subscribers have risen to by now?
3. Uber
Not one to lose out to GrabTaxi, Uber launched some new features of their own this year, including UberASSIST, the service that’s equipped to help the disabled and elderly travel more comfortably. We’ve seen a number of these vehicles on the roads, so it does seem like their service is taking off rather well.
Who can forget the ice cream and dinner deliveries they offered to passengers throughout the year, which prompted GrabTaxi to retaliate with durians and mooncakes? All we can say is, this war is something we’re looking forward to if it means more treats for us. UberKittens, anyone?
4. Carousell
This online marketplace app has seen quite a few competitors rise up this year, notably Shopee and more niche ones like LuxGlove. Still, they have arguably managed to hold their own, even with the string of scams they had to deal with throughout 2015.
With buying and selling apps becoming a platform that more people are embracing, though, it seems Carousell is set to grow even bigger in the years to come. I mean, where else will we get our hands on SG50 LEGO given out at schools, right?
5. Gmail
Gmail might very well be a permanent fixture on our list of top apps nominees. Because really, who doesn’t use Gmail these days?
Like many of the apps on this list, Gmail has introduced their fair share of new features this year, including Google Contacts and Undo Send — of which the latter was a godsend to everyone who’s sent out an email with an embarrassing mistake. Now how about a feature that will automatically clean up our inboxes for us in the coming year, Gmail?
6. DBS Lifestyle
Everyone loves a good deal. And with the flood of discounts and promotions available out there on the market, it’s great when you have an app that curates deals for you based on the credit or debit card you own — that’s exactly what the DBS Lifestyle app has been doing for a few years now.
But apart from simply showing you what the best deals are, DBS Lifestyle has also begun offering users location-based offers, as well as deals exclusive to app users. Now that’s what we call a true lifestyle app.
So which app impressed you the most this year? Vote for your favourites here, and you might even win yourself a prize in time for Christmas!
