Last year we launched a very cool program called AppCampus that’s designed to help ambitious indie developers build amazing apps and make them available on Windows Phone first. Already the program has brought more than 40 exclusive new titles to the Store—from apps that teach you Chinese to karaoke titles to educational kids games.
Today I thought I’d spotlight five of my favorites—all free—to give you a taste of some of the innovative things up-and-coming indie developers are doing on Windows Phone. I’m really just scratching the surface here. You’ll find many more worthy program graduates in the new AppCampus Showcase collection. Check them out and let me know what you think.
Foundbite
It’s one thing to pass along a quick snapshot of a place, but it’s nothing like what you can share with this app. Foundbite marries location info with recorded sound and photos to capture the real ambience and energy of whatever you’re experiencing. Shared via Facebook and Twitter, it’s a great way to immerse friends in the sights and sounds of your town or travels.
ArtGuru
Visiting the Louvre museum in Paris can be challenging due to its expansive layout and vast collection of masterworks. But this handy app makes just about everything in your visit easier, providing a digital guided tour no matter how you decide to roam the galleries. ArtGuru provides indoor walking instructions through the nearly 200 rooms. Or you can just point your Windows Phone camera at any individual piece of art and info about the piece is automatically pulled up.
Rayzit
Rayzit is an innovative messaging app delivers your questions and thoughts to the closest users around you – regardless of who they are. There’s no sign-up required and you stay anonymous, so it’s just about the experience of sharing, by text, audio, video or photos.
The Machine
Here’s a fun twist on the endless climbing genre: You control a small ink droplet working its way through the vast blueprints of a complex machine. Help your little droplet attach to some surfaces and leap to others, all the while clearing 30 levels and evading numerous traps.
TipRanks
When it comes to investment advice, it’s always hard to know who to trust. TipRanks is designed to assist your decision making by showing you the track record and performance of top analysts—which might make you think twice before pulling the trigger on some future stock tip.