Our 5 favourite new Windows Phone apps of the week
Apps, apps, apps – did you know we deal in apps…? That’s right: if you’ve got space on your Lumia, we’ve got the skinny on the best way to fill it!
Each week we dig through all the shiny new releases and the overhauled updates to find the most interesting, odd or entertaining apps and games for you, and we list our top five right here. This week’s brought a particularly interesting set of updates, so scroll on down to see what’s gotten us excited in the past seven days…
What is it: the world’s most popular social media tool
Why we love it: Love it, hate it, there’s no getting away from Facebook, and the official WP app is always, pleasingly, being tweaked and improved. The regular app’s been updated this week to incorporate a slicker design, improved performance, video uploads and new messenger support, which makes for a more rounded experience if you use it on the go. Nice!
Who it’s perfect for: social media addict
NFL Fantasy Football
What is it: a fantasy football app for the US NFL
Why we love it: The 2013 version of this app was criticized for being little more than a web-wrapper and not supporting double-wide tiles, the lockscreen or pinning, but the developers have sat up and taken note, because the whole thing has been revamped to take all this into account. Stay tuned for the yet-to-be-added 2014 player details and, once the season kicks off, video highlights and more, but for now, set up your account and get ready…
Who it’s perfect for: American football fans
Viber
What is it: a messaging/calling service
Why we love it: Viber is one of those indispensible apps for many WP (and cross-platform) users, so this update will rock quite a few people’s worlds: the change-log lists instant voice-messages (kind of like listening to your parents’ old answering machine as the caller talks to the tape!), a sticker menu, a nicer UI with a better call screen, new supported languages (Persian and Bulgarian) and general performance tweaks that make it all load faster. We’ve tried it and have found it a definite improvement: what do you think?
Who it’s perfect for: text and chat users
Amazon.in
What is it: The official Amazon app for the Indian market
Why we love it: The lack of an Amazon app for the Indian branch of Amazon has been a gap in the WP market, but now it’s here, and it’s got all the browsing, purchasing, tracking and scanning features that Amazon customers in other markets worldwide are used to playing with. It’s about time, we say!
Who it’s perfect for: online shoppers in India
1941 Frozen Front
What is it: A WWII combat game
Why we love it: Play either as Germany or as Russia on the wintery Soviet front in this strategy battle game; take part in multi-player online missions or concentrate on taking care of your troops and kit. The actual military units are based on historical Soviet and German troops, so it’s practically educational! Plus it’s entirely free apart from some optional in-game purchases, but you’ll get on fine without these. This game has actually been out for longer than a week, but we wanted to get a mention in because we’ve found ourselves returning to it more than we expected. If you like war games and military history you’ll get a kick out of this one.
Who it’s perfect for: gaming history fans!
Amazed? Satisfied? Wishing we’d be quiet so you could get on with your downloading…? Let us know in the comments if you liked these recommendations, and also if you’ve found even more newbies that you think our readers will appreciate. Until next week, Lumia lovers!