Five’s the magic number here at Nokia Conversations: we’re not happy with recommending one app, or two, or even our top three apps of the week—nope, we like to recommend five kickass new Windows Phone apps every Friday! That means you’ll have a new plaything each working day next week – and then we’ll give you more. Hey, that’s us—always thinking of you…
App title: Audiocloud
What is it? A SoundCloud client for Windows Phones
Why we love it? SoundCloud is one of the Internet’s best audio distribution platforms: musicians upload and promote their tracks there, and fans stream the tunes. In the absence of an official app for WP, Audiocloud is a killer solution: it’s easy to use, it looks good, and while this latest update doesn’t come with any huge UI alterations, it does stabilize the whole experience pretty well. Plus, the app is not only free, but ad-free, too.
Who it’s perfect for: audiophiles
App title: Polyhegrams
What is it? A word-puzzle game
Why we love it? It’s a little it peculiar and a little bit addictive. Spin multi-sided 3D shapes (polyhegrams, if you will) and spell out words, either answering clues, or Boggle-style, finding as many words as you can out of the limited letters. Play single-player, multi-player, against the clock or head-to-head (online or with a local pal via wi-fi. The options are extensive. While it’s as compelling as the likes of Wordament if you like puzzles, it’s also got a crazy backstory (think aliens) that kept us grinning as we messed up our spellings…
Who it’s perfect for: wordsearch players
App title: Pouch
What is it? A client for Pocket
Why we love it? Pocket (formerly known as Read It Later) is one of those handy apps that lets you save online articles to read later, and Pouch is one of the snazziest ways to access your Pocket content on your Windows Phone. Its minimalist style is a perfect match with the WP environment, and this new version (v2.0) features a rejigged interface that we really dig. It’s also improved its Live Tile and Lockscreen settings, amidst a long list of other fixes. There’s a free trial, but the price to buy is super low and we recommend it.
Who it’s perfect for: people with a lot to read…
App title: OneShot
What is it? A photography app
Why we love it? OneShot’s been around a while, but we’ve always been fans of it, and now that it’s been updated to v2.0, we love it even more. Its previous incarnation boasted live filters—always a plus—but the latest release introduces a fully-fledged photo-editing kit, including live sharpen and blur options, a few handy grids for better picture composition, and the ability to change effects after the photo’s been taken. It’s comprehensive and fun.
Who it’s perfect for: shutterbugs
App title: The Sun Live
What is it? An app that lets you watch our very own sun, live!
Why we love it? Who doesn’t love the cosmos? If you’re at all fascinated by astronomy, this is a must-have. The Sun Live displays regularly updated images of the sun straight from the Solar Dynamic Observatory—images of the chromosphere, the photosphere and the corona that you can set as Live Tile and/or Lockscreen images, or share with friends. You can see prominences, sunspots and flares almost as they happen. It’s a really simple idea, but staggeringly and properly awesome. And, unlike the real sun, you can look directly at this one! We don’t like to pick favourites, but we can’t help ourselves this time: The Sun Live is out of this world.
Who it’s perfect for: astronomy fans
But that’s enough from us; what are your favourite apps of the week that’s passed