Our 5 favourite new Windows Phone apps of the week
As the summer carries on – with blistering sunshine around our parts, hurrah! – we know your priorities may not include slavish devotion to the Windows Phone Store and all its new releases and fancy updates; but we also know that you guys and girls love your Lumias!
That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you: check out the listings below for our top five recommended apps of the week. Whether you’re a sports fan, a hardcore gamer, a tech geek or a traveller, we’ve got something for you.
Modern Combat 5: Blackout
What is it: a 3D shoot-em-up game
Why we love it: Whether you opt for single-player or team mode, this is a superlative war game –much as we’d expected, having been fans of the previous titles in the series. The graphics are great, the game-play options decent, the missions fun and challenging, and the controls nice and customizable: what’s not to like? It does need an internet connection to run, so make sure you’re on wifi, and, like many games, it won’t work on 512MB phones. While it’s a fairly pricey game, there aren’t any in-app purchases, and we think the gameplay warrants the price-tag.
Who it’s perfect for: adult gamers

Cyan Update
What is it: an update tracker app
Why we love it: Like us, many of you are itching to upgrade to WP8.1 and, if you’re a Lumia user (as we reckon most of you are) the Cyan update. This app takes some of the guesswork out of the waiting process: as well as giving you a run-down of Cyan’s features, it’ll tell you what the status of the update is for your carrier in your region (ours is ‘under testing’). This isn’t one for long-term use, obviously, but a pretty nifty little number for the time being.
Who it’s perfect for: WP8 users

My O2
What is it: an app that gives you account info for your mobile phone usage
Why we love it: This is somewhat niche, but if you are an O2 customer in the UK, it’s invaluable. Pay monthly customers get Instant access to their itemized phone bills, notifications when they’ve neared their allowances, integrated access to their phone book so they can see who they’ve called and texted, and the ability to pay bills from within the app; PAYG customers get tariff and allowance details, amongst other features. This big update (v2) is easy to use and secure (PIN-protected), and a really useful resource for O2 UK users.
Who it’s perfect for: O2 users in the UK

Uber
What is it: a car hire service
Why we love it: Unlike conventional car-hire or cab services, Uber is a ridesharing service that’s running in multiple cities worldwide: if you live in London, Manchester, LA, Boston, Chicago or any other of the 42 participating areas, check it out. It’s on demand, so no need for reservations; you pay for your ride within the app, so no need to carry cash; and you can get fare quotes online. Uber came out on WP a few months ago and was quickly pulled, so this improved v2 update is very welcome!
Who it’s perfect for: car-less folk on the go

F1 Reminder
What is it: a Formula One schedule app
Why we love it: This is a simple but handy app if you’re into fast cars. Past grand prix races are listed with winners, and upcoming meets for the rest f this year’s season are listed with dates for the races themselves as well as the qualifying and all three practices for each race. Each Friday you’ll get a notification reminding you of that weekend’s schedule. Free and easy to use.
Who it’s perfect for: F1 fans

That’s all from us for this week – see you in August! In the meantime, if you’ve got recommendations of your own, please let us know in the comments – we’re all about the info here, and we’re sure our other readers would love the skinny on even more fantastic apps and games.
Image credit: Alex Pepperhill