Wow – after a ton of voting and exciting matches, we’ve done it…we’re down to the Fantastic Four!

This semi-final round is very interesting to me because we have some scrappy independent applications going up against some established powerhouses.

We’re split down the middle this year – meaning Conversations readers love these indie apps along with the known brands.  So, this next round of voting will be most interesting!

To see the full bracket, updated with the Fantastic Four challengers, it is viewable here. 

Voting is simple. Under each pairing, select your favorite from the choices below. We’ll take it from there.

Kicking off the voting

Games Winner: Asphalt 7 Heat

Asphalt 7 Heat has generated a lot of interest since its launch on Windows Phone 8 last month. This fast playing racing game boasts realistic 3G gaming and the 15 tracks look stellar on the Lumia’s screen.

Love to drift as you race down the track? You can do it easily with Asphalt 7 Heat! The game uses the accelerometer for controlling the car and players use easy controls to hit the gas or brakes depending on your course.

As you play through and start to master the courses, you can buy new cars with added acceleration, nitro speed and better handling, depending on your taste. Asphalt 7 Heat can be played either alone or online for multi-player action.

[Ian’s Comment] Asphalt 7 feels like a real console arcade game. It has weight, detail and performs amazingly well, considering the graphics intensity. It’s also a sure-fire way to get young nephews to leave you alone for a few hours

News & Entertainment Winner: AAWP

All About Windows Phone is an app that corresponds with the terrific Windows Phone publication aptly named All About Windows Phone.

The AAWP is a great mobile app experience featuring a clean look and feel. By using the Metro user experience, app users can easily see the latest headlines, browse the sections of All About Windows Phone (including news, reviews, features and media), Search and Podcasts.

Once inside an individual article, you can browse photos and text easily. You can even browse the links in each article and share the article via social networks and email. Last – comments are enabled in AAWP, making the app an amazing way to interact with the fresh content that is updated daily on the site.

[Jason’s comment] The authors at AAWP speak about Nokia and Windows Phone with authority. The app gives me easy access to their articles, comments and even podcasts. It’s a winner.

Social Winner: Twitter

Twitter recently got an update to version 2.0 that brought a whole new design to the application, aligning it with the apps on the other platforms. The new app features the four tabs Twitter users are used to seeing including:

• Home: view Tweets from accounts you follow
• Connect: See your mentions and also who’s followed you or re-tweeted your content
• Discover: See friends and find new content based on categories
• Me: read and reply to your direct messages, see your lists and favorites.

The new app also brings functionality that was missing in the prior version including a Live Tile that lets you Pin Twitter accounts, lists and searches to give you instant access to your preferred content on Twitter.

With the updated app, Twitter has gained new fans on Windows Phone.

[Boc’s comment] The latest version of Twitter is the best yet. The clean and simple interface works perfectly with Windows Phone’s sideways swiping motions

Utility + Productivity Winner: ProShot

Looking for a richer photo-taking experience on your Lumia? ProShot offers an alternative to the native Camera application that gives you key settings such as shutter speed, ISO, exposure compensation and white balance.

 

ProShot is a perfect application for professional photographers (or someone who knows their way around a camera) who want to snap the photo using settings they know work for a particular situation.

Once you capture the perfect photo, you can easily share to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and other photo sites.  In addition to snapping photos, you can view all the pictures in the camera roll, add a live tile to pin camera modes directly to your home screen and customize the color menu inside the application.

ProShot is easy to use and more professional mobile photographers will love this application.

[Jason Black’s comment]

Knowing my way around a DSLR, I like tweaking the camera setting on my Lumia. For pros, ProShot is a fantastic app.