Our favourite 5 new Windows Phone apps of the week
Appy Easter, Lumia lovers! We hope you’ve got plenty of chocolate coming your way on Sunday – or, if you don’t celebrate this most sweet-toothed of holidays, appy weekend!
We do love the weekend. And why’s that, we hear you cry? Well, because that’s the time we get to kick back with our Windows Phones and enjoy exploring all the fantastic apps we’ve found over the previous week! And this weekend’s going to be a good one. Read on to hear about our five favourite finds…
Counter (trial)
What is it: Not very surprisingly, an app for counting things
Why we love it: It’s got limited functionality, maybe, but keeping track of stuff is very handy! Whether you want to poll the number of times in a day your boss says something daft, your baby has a feed, or how often you have a drink of water, this saves you creating a laborious entry in a more robust note-taking app. Create a list, title it, set it as a Live Tile (or not) then increase or decrease the count accordingly. Easy and useful. It’ll also give you the stats on your counting – when each number went up, on which day of the week, etc. This trial version isn’t time-limited, but it only lets you count one thing; check out the full version (link within the trial app) if you want lists upon lists…
Who it’s perfect for: Organised people
Instafont
What is it: An app that lets you add text to photos
Why we love it: This isn’t a new app, but it’s just had a massive upgrade and we didn’t want you to miss out. Take or choose a photo, crop it, and then add filters, weather info or text. There’s a bunch of fonts and filters (more filters have been added in this upgrade) and you can buy a lot more as in-app purchases. The latest version also lets you add animal stickers – always a hit with the little ones. It’s cute and fun and it’s pretty much purpose-built for sharing funny pics with friends.
Who it’s perfect for: social media users
Plarm
What is it: A super-charged alarm clock for Windows Phone 8.
Why we love it: If you’ve ever been late for work thanks to the snooze button, then this is the app for you. Once you set the alarm here, you won’t be able to switch it off again unless you input the answers to a series of fiendish questions. Once it goes off, you swipe up to access the quiz, and you have to get it done in a set time. You can set the difficulty level yourself, but even on easy, it’ll need you to pay attention. Give the wrong answer or take too long, and the noise starts up again. So not only can’t you snooze but you have to actually wake up to switch off the racket. Perfect and horrific in one neat bundle…
Who it’s perfect for: masochistic malingerers
Dragon’s Blade II
What is it: An RPG game
Why we love it: If you’ve played the first installment, you’ll know what you’re in for, but if not: adventures, battles, monsters, guilds, a huge word to explore, and lovely graphics! Play on your own or online with or against others. It takes a little while to get going, but the characters are sweet and the story’s interesting, so be patient and it’ll kick off soon enough. As RPGs go, this is a good one – immersive and fun.
Who it’s perfect for: gamers of all ages
Enigmatis 2
What is it: An adventure game
Why we love it: Another sequel! Again, though, you don’t need to have played the earlier one to enjoy this. Our heroine is on the trail of an evil preacher. To solve the mystery you have to sort out a whole bunch of mini-mysteries – find evidence, solve clues, and think, think, think! This one’s really engrossing if you like puzzles. Thumbs up!
Who it’s perfect for: puzzle fiends and gamers
For those of you brave enough to install the rather menacing Plarm alarm clock app, it’s lucky Lumia devices are known for their robustness… we can see some phone-throwing against the wall on the cards! But if that one’s not your favourite this week, which one is? We’re keen to know in the comments section below.