Our 5 favourite new Windows Phone apps of the week
If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know how we roll here: every week we find five new or updated apps for Windows Phones 8 and 8.1 that we think will rock your worlds.
We test them out, write them up and link you up. Needless to say it’s a labour of love. And we think this week’s finds are especially enticing – read on to find out more…
Movie Creator Beta
What is it: a video-making and editing app
Why we love it: It’s a neat app to jazz up your home movies and it’s very easy to use: add video files, add a title, press and hold on each clip in the timeline to edit it (rote, trim, zoom, add a filter, adjust the volume) or duplicate it, select a theme and a soundtrack (optional), choose the output quality, watch it and share it! It lets you include photos and cinemagraphs, too. Really intuitive and plenty of fun.
Who it’s perfect for: home-movie makers
Chronos Calendar +
What is it: a calendar app, of course!
Why we love it: This is our absolute favourite non-native calendar for WP: it looks fantastic, it’s easy to use and it’s now made the leap from WP8 to 8.1. We love the various different views options on offer and the smart-add feature that makes it that bit easier to add new events on the fly. Try before you buy, if you like, but we think it’s absolutely worth the money.
Who it’s perfect for: schedulers
Shape Up Battle Run
What is it: a fitness app that doubles as a game
Why we love it: If you’re less than inspired while you pound the pavements, try this on for size. There’s an interval running mode that alternates sprints with slower periods – it gets you to step in time with a particular rhythm while racing a cartoon character – or a story mode, which gives you quests to complete. You can choose difficulty levels and durations to accommodate different fitness levels. It doesn’t work on treadmills (though we don’t really see why not) and you (obviously) have to rely on audio cues rather than staring at your phone while running (which we think makes the funky graphics a bit redundant, but it’s fun nonetheless.
Who it’s perfect for: runners with a sense of play
Dead Earth: Trigger Man Duty & Last Shooter Call
What is it: a shooter game
Why we love it: Clunky name aside, this is a pretty slick and atmospheric game. You’ve got to kill a load of cyborgs and complete various missions and targets, which makes it a little more interesting than the standard ‘kill as many as y can until you die’ format. The super-serious cut-scenes are a little silly and the graphics are, we think, a tad too dark, but overall, it’s a thumbs-up from us.
Who it’s perfect for: Older gamers (a bit too dark and brooding for the little ones).
CBS Local (US only)
What is it: a news app
Why we love it: This is the CBS network’s official app and it’s a good resource if you’re after local news updates, assuming, of course, that you’re living near one of their 24 specified ‘major’ US locations. If you are, it’ll live stream audio and video from your local CBS-run stations and it’ll offer you a bunch of locally-targeted deals on shopping. You can also read news articles and check the weather. Handy!
Who it’s perfect for: news fiends.
So, what do you think? Superb or what? Let us know how you got on, and if you’ve found some other excellent new apps, don’t keep them a secret – share the app love!
Image credit: Daniel Oines