Festival Essentials: Our picks of the best mobile festival kit

It’s festival season, and as we pack our bags ready for Glastonbury this weekend, we've brought together what we think are the essential mobile gadgets you need.

Phones keep developing at an amazing speed, and if you own a smartphone, you could find it replacing plenty of other gadgets in your bag - making more space for snacks, a change of clothes - and more paracetamol.

Festivals are the perfect place to make the most of your smartphone - it’s the Swiss Army Knife of gadgets, and apps are its pull-out blades.

First, check to see if the festival you’re headed to has its own app. Glastonbury and the Isle of Wight Festival both released apps in conjunction with phone networks.

The Glastonbury app has a great schedule feature that allows you to plan out your time in Somerset, and attempt to avoid missing your favourites. It’s also good at linking to social media services, so you can make friends and family jealous quickly and easily as you update your status or add photos.

Make sure to setup the alarm on your clock app too. We know it’s very easy to sleep-in after a big night, but an alarm should help gently nudge you out of your tent to make the most of the festival.

If you’ve packed headphones and have an Android phone, it may be worth putting your FM radio app at the front of your phone. You’ll then be able to keep up with which acts are where from the Beeb’s live coverage.

Spotify is our music app of choice, and we’ve already downloaded a playlist that features music from a load of artists set to play at Glastonbury this year to get into the mood. Spotify is also great for discovering new music - may of whom may be performing live at one of the festival’s smaller stages. Check out ShareMyPlaylist for plenty of festival-related Spotify playlists curated by other users.

Download a photo app like Instagram or Hipstamatic to make the most of your summer snaps; with the high-resolution cameras found on phones, you may want to leave that compact camera at home.

Onavo for the iPhone could also help dodge a huge tax bill after a data-heavy festival. It uses compression algorithms to ensure data traffic is kept to a minimum, meaning more cash for falafel and noodles.

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