Stannah has put together a list of the 14 Top Mobile Apps for Older People. I loved the idea so I put my spin on it, making it a bit more applicable to Australia and identifying the top 10 for us down under.

Pokemon Go has been a real revolution when it comes to mobile games and Apps; it allows people to “interact” with their environment and at the same time gets them off the couch and into the outdoors. Unfortunately you won't have much luck when trying to catch a Sadler, Siena or Solus when playing the game – sorry. Stairlifts might not have much to do with chasing Pokémon around your neighbourhood, but they are ideal for enabling older people to retain their independence and energy in older age.

Similarly, there are quite a few apps that are aimed at an older demographic and can help you maintain a high quality of life in later life or just assist you in finding that phone…

These are the top Apps as identified by Stannah for older people:

1. Find My iPhone - Find my iPhone is a great app that saves you from running all over the house trying to find your phone. It helps you to locate your phone very quickly and easily and even lets you lock it remotely in case you lost it in a public place. To do this you simply have to download the App, it’s completely free, log in to Apple’s iCloud and it will help you find your phone.

2. Instapaper – Do you know the feeling when you find a great article or recipe online, and later when you want to show it to someone or use it to cook dinner for friends you can’t find it anymore? This is where Instapaper comes in handy. This free app enables you to save things of interest such as recipes, videos or news articles to your phone, by just clicking on them.

3. Fade Free – Download Android Fade is a fall-detection app which uses your mobile’s sensors to track whether you have had a fall. If you have a fall, the app alerts an emergency contact with a message and then the phone call to inform them. This can be life-saving and is especially valuable for older people who live alone.

4. Pill Reminder – As the name suggests this is a cheap and straightforward app that can replace handwritten notes and other unreliable reminders. The app allows you to create a customised schedule with reminders for when you need to take your medication across a week. This way you can easily show your doctor your current plan and work out any adjustments or improvements if necessary.

5. Dragon Dictation – Technology is great, but sometimes it can be fiddly and annoying trying to type a message on the keypad of your smartphone. Dictation is a free app that can be used to write texts, email messages and even Facebook posts.

6. Skype – an oldy but a goody, you most likely know about Skype and how it allows you to talk for free to family and friends using video. However, not everyone knows that you can also use the app to send messages and make regular phone calls. I use this app a lot to stay in touch with friends and family overseas. We usually schedule in a Skype “date”, and it’s easy to see if the other person is online and free to take your call. You can use Skype of a variety of different devices, smartphones, tablets, Laptops and more.

7. iBP Blood Pressure – This cheap app is a blood pressure tracking tool which syncs with your blood pressure monitor. Using colour codes, this app helps you indicate your blood pressure levels. The data is then fed into a graph which displays trends through highs, lows and averages. The great thing about this app is that it eliminates the need of recording the data by and can easily be taken to the doctor with you to discuss.

8. Epicurious Free – I LOVE this app, the only problem beeing never having enough time to try out all of the things I want… So lucky you, if you are retired! The apps hosts over 30,000 recipes and can recommend meals based on your cooking style. Another feature allows users to search for recipes based on ingredients which are in season near you.

9. Song Quiz  – This free App promises hours of fun for the whole family or friends. Song Quiz plays clips of songs from across genres; players then have to guess the song and artist, competing against other players. It’s a great app for a family get together, but watch out – it can get very competitive!

10. Dog Whistler –Whistler is a free dog training app which replaces the need to carry around a whistle. The whistle has different tones and users often train their dogs to each to have their individual sound.