Another week, another round-up! We’re here to highlight the best Windows Phone apps that have been released (or overhauled) in the last seven days, and, as always, it’s been tough to choose our favourites. But never fear! We’ve whittled it down to the top five, and they’re good ‘uns! Check them out:
App title: BBC iPlayer
What is it? The official mobile app for BBC television and radio
Why we love it? This is the first official iPlayer app for Windows 8 phones. It’s limited in appeal for worldwide users, of course, but a must for UK TV fans. The interface is easily navigable (exactly the same as the iPhone version, if you’re counting) and streaming works over 3G and Wi-Fi. No live streaming, but the recent archives are all there.
Who it’s perfect for: UK TV fans
App title: Creative Studio
What is it? A substantial update to one of the best photo-editing packages for Nokia Lumia phones
Why we love it? Creative Studio has long been one of our more beloved apps, but this new version has some incredibly nifty features, and now we’re even more in love. Focus + Blur lets you alter the apparent depth of field of your photo; Colour Pop lets you isolate a single hue and make the rest monochrome; Collage is exactly what you think it is. Combined with all the other fixes (red eye, colour balance, crop, etc.) this is a fantastically comprehensive and fun editing app.
Who it’s perfect for: Photographers
App title: Bing Translator
What is it? A multi-language translator that works via text and voice.
Why we love it? This is a versatile gizmo. Point the camera at some written text, choose a language, and the app will start to translate on-screen—it was a little patchy in our tests, but it was fascinating to watch the text emerge. If you type or speak a phrase, the translation appears on-screen, and you can tap an icon to hear it read aloud. Download languages so the app can work offline, but be warned, the voice translation feature only works online. Geek bonus: one of the on-board languages is Klingon…
Who it’s perfect for: Travellers
App title: Rain Alarm
What is it? A weather app that uses radar data to notify you about rain and snow heading your way.
Why we love it? Anyone who lives in Northern Europe has got to love this: push notifications letting you know the skies are due to open. It uses the radar systems of various countries’ weather services, and its notifications give you info about how intense the precipitation is in your area (a 22km circle around your current location). Aside from the fact that it’s really accurate, watching the on-screen map update with the radar images of rain clouds is mesmerising. PS: You need to be online for this app to work.
Who it’s perfect for: campers
App title: Vyclone
What is it? An app that takes videos shot by different people and cuts them together to form a master video.
Why we love it? It’s collaborative and fun: multi-camera film-making for amateurs who don’t have fancy video editing skills or software. Shoot a film with your phone, and the app uploads it; it then automatically generates a master video from all the clips filmed at the same time and place, whether that’s a gig, a wedding or a birthday party. No need to do clumsy file-transfers and watch each person’s film in isolation: Vyclone makes a proper multi-angle movie from the individual shots. And now it’s in the Windows Store! You’ll have to encourage your pals to download it too if you really want to have fun.
Who it’s perfect for: Budding film-makers
That’s our fantastic five for this week, but what about yours? Unearthed any new or updated app treasures you want to share? We’d love to hear about them in the comments below.