Our favourite 5 new Windows Phone apps of the week
Happy May Day week, Lumia lovers! It’s a brand new month and we’ve got some brand-new apps to tickle your fancy.
Well, most are brand-new and one has been radically overhauled, but either way, we think you’ll like them. Music, photos, games and more – don’t ever say we don’t give you an eclectic mix!
Flickr Booth
What is it: A Flickr app for WP8.
Why we love it: Take pictures with the in-app camera and edit them with all sorts of filters and effects, and upload them to your Flickr account. Use the app to view the public photos of people nearby, check out your friends’ images and download them to your phone, and share their photos and yours on Facebook and Twitter from within the app. Before this update, this app was known as 2flicka, and as well as the name change, it’s picked up a huge list of functionality bonuses and fixes. Well worth a look if you use Flickr.
Who it’s perfect for: photo-sharing folk
Parkopedia
What is it: An app that finds nearby parking spaces
Why we love it: Disclaimer: this won’t tell you how many spaces are actually free at any one time, but it will tell you where you’re allowed to park in whatever area you specify, and what the associated costs might be. It’s not limited to expensive multi-stories, either: we put in our hometown and we got shown a wide variety of free options. It also says how far away those places are. It’s not exhaustive but it’s not lacking in information either – a very handy guide for drivers!
Who it’s perfect for: anyone with a car
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
What is it: The official game to go with the blockbuster
Why we love it: It’s a Marvel game, so expect excellent comic-style graphics and a supercool superhero storyline. Plus, of course, fights galore! The trial version includes two levels, and then you pay to access the rest – if you like the movies, you’ll like the game, and in that case, it’s only a small outlay. Note: though you can download it to most Lumias, the game will only run on the more high-spec devices (1520, 1320, 1020, 9xx, 8xx)
Who it’s perfect for: Fans of the Captain America movies
My Talking Penguin
What is it: a kids’ game
Why we love it: It’s cute and a great distraction for little kids. Very much like Talking Tom, this little critter will repeat whatever you say to it. You have to find fish to feed it, and you can play a mini-game, too. It’s not particularly complicated, but it’s sweet, and little ones ought to get a kick out of it.
Who it’s perfect for: young children
Magic Ruler
What is it: a virtual ruler
Why we love it: Okay, this is a weird and wonderful gizmo. Take a picture of the thing you want to measure, next to a card (debit or credit – they’re all the same size anyway). There’s a virtual card onscreen – drag/rotate/resize this to match the card in your photo. The virtual rules uses that card, because it’s a known size, as a reference for scale – so once you’ve calibrated your virtual card, use the ruler to measure your object. You can update the card specifications if you’re worried your card isn’t the right size. Amazing!
Who it’s perfect for: DIY fans
Mayday, mayday! Will we ever do anything but tap our phones again? Not with apps like these around we won’t! But then again, how many other things does tapping our phones help us do: share our pics, park our cars, save the world, feed a penguin and measure our surroundings, and that’s only the beginning. Don’t we just love the world of smartphones…
So, which of these apps got your fingers tapping? Or have you got your hands on a fab new app that we’ve missed? Please share your answers in the comments below.