Skip to main content



5windowsphoneapp

It’s the end of May already, and this week has brought another stupendous bundle of Windows apps and games to blow us all away. To see you into June, here’s five of our particular favourite new releases or major updates.

App title: I’m Here

What is it? A location map that sends a message telling people where you are.

Why we love it? The perfect solution for directionally-challenged smartphone users. I’m Here grabs your GPS location and lets you send it to your contacts via sms, email or social media. Your recipient gets a message with your approximate postcode, your exact latitude and longitude, and a link to the Bing map with your location. No more screenshots, clumsy directions, or confused parents. It’s more multi-purpose than the built-in location sharing via sms, and it’s more private than apps like Foursquare.

Who it’s perfect for: Stranded folk begging their families to come and collect them.

f764afbf-1383-44b7-add8-6f1021280499

App title: UC Browser

What is it? An alternative browser for Windows phones

Why we love it? Although Internet Explorer uses tabs, which we love, UC’s functionality takes a different approach. The homescreens include a speed-dial page for your favourite shortcuts (which you can also pin to your phone’s start screen, of course), a menu of handy sites like news, music, sports and social pages, and ‘My Collection’ – the place where your history, downloads, and bookmarked pages are all kept. Settings include a night-mode with lowered brightness, and a speed mode that reduces data usage by up to 80%.  It looks good and it’s free.

Who it’s perfect for: Internet addicts.

9f65a1b8-20f1-4c17-b1f6-7b5715ccfaf6

App title: ProShot

What is it? A camera app

Why we love it? ProShot is the closest your phone will get to emulating an SLR camera; it’s got auto and manual controls for ISO, shutter speed, white balance, aspect ration, exposure compensation and more. The latest update improves performance on lower memory devices like the Nokia Lumia 520 and 620, which should excite our readers, and, amongst other adjustments, it also includes a better tutorial, which is good news for new users.

Who it’s perfect for: photographers

d0a12f97-d404-4348-965d-e5d98c790c88

App title: Flight Factory

What is it? An app that checks flight data worldwide

Why we love it? This handy number scans data from over 1500 airlines and 16000 airports just to keep you posted on the status of your flight. As well as searching by flight number or route, you can check a flight’s progress on a map and get local info on your destination airport, like the weather and time-zone. This update takes full advantage of the Windows 8 OS by adding flights to your lockscreen and using Live Tiles to keep you up to date as much as possible. There’s no free trial available, sadly.

Who it’s perfect for: Frequent flyers

7c96b63f-9a77-4116-9b42-9da59b2d15b3

App title: Shazam

What is it? An app that can identify and tags almost any piece of music

Why we love it? Shazam isn’t the only music ID service out there, but the latest update makes it particularly appealing to Nokia smartphone users, because it’s now tied in with Nokia Music, so that you can immediately purchase the songs you tag. Plus, you can pin the scanner to your Start Screen for easy, one-touch access, which is just what you need to tag music on the fly. There’s a new interactive map so that you can see what users near you have been tagging. Add to that the fact that the app will show you the song’s lyrics, let you set the album artwork as your lockscreen background, and let you share your finds over social networks, and you’ve got a winner.

Who it’s perfect for:  Music fans.

475a2a3f-3393-40e3-b49d-2e81014c764c

These are our fantastic five, but what about yours? As ever we’d love to hear about them in the comments down below.

Image credit: Gunnar Bangsmoen