It’s August already, and we hope you’re making the most of the summer holidays- we, on the other hand, have been slaving away over a hot Windows Store all week, gathering the finest ingredients for this blog post! Are you hungry? We hope so, because this week’s batch is a real feast…
App title: JobLens
What is it? Only one of Nokia’s most exciting releases EVER: an augmented reality job-finding app!
Why we love it? What’s not to love? Plenty of job-hunting sites let you search by subject area, salary bracket, and type of contract; JobLens, though, uses the augmented reality lens we already love in CityLens to show us jobs in our area. View via a regular map of old up your phone and see the locations through the camera lens. Not only that, though, but it syncs with your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts to find jobs based on your profile and those of your friends and contacts, meaning that you get results targeted at your past employment, your skills base, and your location. In these money-strapped times, this is a game-changer.
Who it’s perfect for: jobseekers
App title: Uno & Friends
What is it? The Xbox LIVE version of Uno, the mutliplayer cardgame
Why we love it? It’s a classic! This game is free, and though there are in-app purchases if you want to get an edge on your opponents, it’s perfectly good without. Gameplay is on a timer and you’re playing against real-life opponents. The tutorial is fairly straightforward, though we’ll wager most of you know how to play already. It’s as addictive as its real-life counterpart and though the screen is a little crowded, it’s still manageable. This one’s a keeper…
Who it’s perfect for: kids and their grownups
App title: Vixl
What is it? A video app with real-time filters
Why we love it? Vixl lets you take 20 second video clips for sharing, which is fun, of course, but its real selling point is that you can apply filters to the video while you’re shooting. There are fourteen options, from Sepia to Pixels and Night Vision, so it’s all rather funky.
Who it’s perfect for: fun-loving videographers
App title: Scoopt
What is it? A fashion/shopping app
Why we love it? This smartphone fashion-mag showcases independent fashion labels, pretty much entirely from the UK (at the moment, anyway). It’s not just a shop though: for a start, the interface is beautifully clean, showing only a large picture of the product, reminding us very much of Pinterest. Scroll down to see more items, and swipe right to see news stories (new shops, designers and locations) highlighted by the site’s editors. Swipe right again to check out (and comment upon) shopping locations near you. You can add comments and likes to all the items for sale, as well as adding them to your shopping cart. A decent and stylish alternative to the high street retail experience. Our only critique so far is that it’s all a little London-centric, but we’re sure it’ll get more diverse with time.
Who it’s perfect for: fashionistas
App title: App reinstaller
What is it? An app that reinstalls your other apps
Why we love it? There are other apps out there that do more or less the same thing, but the newly updated version of this one feels pretty robust. When you get a new Windows phone, download this app and log on to your Microsoft account to access a list o all your previously downloaded and installed apps, and then select which ones (and which version: trial or full) you want to reinstall on your new phone. Very handy.
Who it’s perfect for: new phone owners
That’s our five crackers for the weekend. Let us know if you’ve found any new or updated apps we can add to the list in the comments below.
Image credit: Miamism