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How do I work out percentages? Why do we need to sleep? Where do words come from? What in the world are atoms? Kids are full of questions. Luckily, BrainPOP's full of (awesome) answers. We create animated movies that explain concepts from across the curriculum. Make homework fun, revision enjoyable, and boost kids' confidence. BrainPOP is a global leader in digital education content with 5+ million app downloads to date. Our learning resources are designed to support teaching in class, and learning at home. Download our free app and learn something new every day. Schools should call 0113 278 9096 to claim their free trial and learn about our volume app subscription licence.
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[email protected]
Sep 2013
BBC Click
WELCOME
WELCOME TO APPS MAGAZINE Your essential apps guide every issue
The team recommends…
NICK ROBERTS
JACK PARSONS
Following success on desktop, free-toplay game World of Tank Blitz (page 24) for iPhone and iPad shows how to adapt to mobile with streamlined controls and short, sharp action.
One of the Nobel Prizewinning poet’s last projects before he died, Seamus Heaney: Five Fables (page 28) is a collection of five Scottish folk stories translated into English and animated.
DOM PEPPIATT
PHIL MORRIS
VVVVVV (page 40) is the new game from Terry Cavanagh and can easily rival his previous mobile hit Super Hexagon.
Designing an app can be a strenuous process to say the least, but Marvel (page 42) makes it easy to turn your ideas into a prototype.
Editor in Chief
Contributor
Deputy Editor
Contributor
Once upon a time, everyone would tune into the radio to find out what song had topped the charts that week. In the Spotify era, the Top 40 is largely irrelevant, but we all regularly check the top ten paid and free lists on iTunes to find out what apps are popular. Requiring 70,000 downloads per day to break into the top ten free position, or 4,000 to get into the same position on the paid list, this is a good measure of an app’s quality. That’s why this issue we have cherry picked from the charts to give you our 50 All-Time Greatest that every device should download (page 14 onwards). We also talk to the creators of Monument Valley, the breakout indie game hit that reached number one in the App Store charts (page 8). Thanks to another game that has found success on both iOS and Android, we’re also giving away a Nexus 7. Now that’s what I call a bumper issue!
WORLD OF TANKS BLITZ
[email protected]
OiPad+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium | v1.1.1
SEAMUS HEANEY: FIVE FABLES
OiPad+ | iOS 7.0 | £7.99/$11.99 | v1.0.0
VVVVVV
OiPad+ | iOS 4.3 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.01 OAndroid | OS 2.2 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0
MARVEL
OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | Free | v.2.2.1
Follow Apps Magazine at @Knowyourapps
/AppsMagazine
Plus: Get the latest news and previews online… www.knowyourapps.com
3
CONTENTS 290 APP REVIEWS FREE
19 APPS
WORK
14 APPS
022 Get the gossip
034 Tinker
023 Beatwave
035 The Converted
Always be up to date on the latest celebrity buzz Impressive music-maker with plenty of depth and flexibility
024 World of Tanks Blitz Mobilise your troops
024 Instagram Up your selfie game with Instagram’s new editing tools
ENTERTAINMENT 19 APPS 026 Say it with Emoji Get your message across without saying a word
027 Bernhoft Islander The star resurrects the album sleeve for the Spotify era
028 Trap Studio
Create, record and share multi-track music
028 Seamus Heaney: Five Fables
Set more realistic goals with this task manager Can Ideon’s new app change the way you convert currency?
035 Scanbot
A user-friendly PDF and QR code scanner
GAMES
19 APPS
038 Fast reaction games Test your reflexes to the max
039 Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Universe in Peril
14
CHECK OUT THESE CHART-TOPPING APPS
Can it live up to the hype?
040 Godfire So outdated, it could be Promethan
040 VVVVVV
Innovative 8-bit cracker
Aesop’s Fables get interactive
EVERYDAY
19 APPS
030 Get ready to go back to school
22
Apps that every student should have in their backpack
031 Spotmark
Straightforward navigation
032 Paperbag
Make grocery shopping less of a chore
032 BrainPOP UK
Learn something new every day
4
Flick straight to page 44
GET THE GOSSIP
CONTENTS
APPS + PEOPLE + GEAR 006 Save the world with apps
Become a mobile ‘citizen scientist’ to help protect the planet
008 Q&A
The creators of Monument Valley discuss the making of the game
009 Take professional quality photos Top apps to compose, take and edit pictures on your iPhone
010 Win! Nexus 7
Celebrate the launch of Thomas Was Alone with this top tablet
011 My home screen
Must-have apps for fashionistas
20
012 Gear roundup
GET MORE DONE WITH THESE ESSENTIAL DOWNLOADS
This month’s essential gadgets
IT WITH 26 SAY EMOJIS
30
GET READY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL
PLUS
38
LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR APPS! 042 Create your own app with Marvel
FAST REACTION GAMES
Use Marvel’s new features to turn your development sketches into creativityboosting interactive prototypes
HOW WE REVIEW OPERATING SYSTEM
Certain apps only work on specific operating systems; check your device meets the specifications here.
FORMAT
Some apps are very specific to iPhone or iPad, however if listed with a plus symbol, apps will work on both devices.
PRICE
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Free | v4.5.2 O Android | OS 2.2 | Free | v4.6.3
VERSION
We always review the latest versions of apps when going to publication, but bear in mind issues we outline may be fixed in updated versions.
We list the most up-to-date price possible, but check the App Store before purchasing. Free apps may still include in-app purchases.
5
LIKE THIS? CHECK OUT OUR TOP APPS FOR CHARITY WORKS IN ISSUE
APPS + PEOPLE + GEAR
48
BECOME AN EXPERT NATURALIST
WHAT’S IN YOUR BACK YARD?
Use the My Spottings feature to take photos and record sightings of wildlife in your garden, whether it be a fleeting visit from a robin or a couple of frogs getting busy in your pond.
The app also offers a Field Guide to all living things, from birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians to the less lively fungi and plant life.
EARN THE RIGHT TO SHOW OFF
There is a gamification element to Project Noah; every time you make a sighting or contribute to a mission, you can embrace your inner nature scout by earning yourself patch.
JOIN A MISSION
Help scientists with their research and do your bit to conserve local wildlife by joining missions with conservation charities, and organisations like National Geographic. Record a spotting and you can share it.
GET EXCITED ABOUT…
SAVE THE WORLD WITH APPS
BECOME A MOBILE ‘CITIZEN SCIENTIST’ TO HELP PROTECT THE PLANET
6
IN TOUCH
T
he average smartphone possesses a hundred thousand times the processing power of the supercomputer used by NASA to send a man to the moon back in the Sixties. Every single person in the western world carries around this computing power in their pocket. So why not put that power to good use, and start solving planet Earth’s biggest problems? Citizen science is a movement which does just that. With a smartphone, everyone can be a scientist; you don’t need knowledge, just passion. It’s easy to forget that when you’re checking in via Foursquare or posting a status to Facebook, your phone is essentially acting as a wireless sensor, recording and transmitting time, location and an array of other data. And this data can be used to make the work of ecologists and anthropologists a lot easier. More and more apps are being developed to turn everyday smartphone users into on-the-ground scouts, gathering information that will help reduce pollution, battle global warming and even save species from extinction. Project Noah is a prime example of one of these brilliant crowd-sourced science apps, in that it makes every user an active participant in the on-going mission to document and protect our endangered wildlife. The application has been designed for use all over the world, and has a database that includes every creature from the common seagull to the African elephant.
Project Noah has partnered with biodiversity organisations and wildlife foundations to promote awareness of endangered species and encourage active involvement in keeping indigenous habitats free from outside influence. Equally importantly, Project Noah appeals to younger users, and can be used as a tool to foster conversations about conservation and ecology between teachers and students. So next time you have a spare five minutes to kill while waiting for your bus, instead of playing Angry Birds or Candy Crush, why not be a hero and check out the pigeon situation across the road?
PROJECT NOAH
OiPhone | iOS 4.0 | Free | v2.6.1 O Android | OS 2.2 | Free | v2.1.4
“Project Noah is a prime example of one of these brilliant crowd-sourced science apps ”
TOP APPS TO HELP MAKE A DIFFERENCE
GREAT BRITISH BEE COUNT KINSEY REPORTER
SENSR
BOINC
O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Free | v1.1.3 O Android | OS 4.0 | Free | v1.1.4
O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Free | v2.0.7
O Android | OS 2.3 | Free | v7.3.12
The Great British Bee Count crowdsources vital information on the health of bee populations for research at the National Biodiversity Network. Each time you spot a bee in your garden, simply select the species from a helpful visual chart, and provide your location. Bees are vitally important, so it’s a great cause.
The Kinsey Reporter app is constantly sourcing data (anonymously, of course) with the aim of providing accurate, accessible, non-judgmental information on modern sexuality and sexual health. As a result, it is a valuable resource for anyone who has any slightly embarrassing questions about their sex life. O iPhone | iOS 5.1 | Free | v2.1.2 O Android | OS 2.2 | Free | v2.1.1
If this has given you a taste for citizen science, download Sensr to browse grassroots projects that are going on right now, all over the world, in a wide range of fields, including the the environment, education, or health, and offer to help. No expertise is required, and often it’s as easy as snapping a photo.
Help make the world a better place in your lunch hour, through volunteer computing projects. Universities, research labs and companies are harnessing crowdsourcing via BOINC to cure diseases, prevent climate change, and study the stars. Use your idle time to work on these projects, and track your progress using the app.
7
APPS + PEOPLE + GEAR QUESTI QUE STIONS STI ONS & ANS ANSWER WERSS WER
A MONUMENTAL BREAKTHROUGH FOR USTWO
Monument Valley is continuing to receive much praise for its optical illusionbased puzzles. Neil McFarland, director of games at Ustwo, puts it in perspective for us MONUMENT VALLEY Released in April for iOS and May for Android, Monument Valley was put together by game designer and artist Ken Wong and it has been called one of the most beautiful games of all time. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £2.49/$3.99 | v1.0.3 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | £2.49/$3.99 | v1.0.5.8
Although it has made smartphone apps since 2007, digital design company Ustwo turned a great deal of heads when it published Monument Valley. Although the game is relatively short, it has not stopped it from being a major success, having been downloaded more than 500,000 times. It is even doing well in the notoriously difficult Android market. You have been creating smartphone apps since 2007. How have things changed in that time? Very little. Sure, some fads have come and gone but barring the rise of the freemium game model, the range of apps felt just as broad years ago as it does now. Do you find more resources are needed to make games and apps now? The quality of all apps continues to increase, so the answer to some extent is yes as the design and implementation of the app has to be so incredibly well polished to meet customer expectation and that takes both time and money. What is needed for a game to become a success? As we don’t pay to advertise we’ve always worked hard to promote our work through press as well as social media. It’s all about engaging with customers, and if you’re lucky enough, turn them into fans who’ll help spread the word about what you’ve made. Has Monument Valley’s success been a surprise or did you feel this would be your breakthrough? We knew MV was a special game that had the potential to reach a lot of people but we have been overwhelmed by the massively positive response it’s had. Almost all of our apps and games have felt like they’ve been successful, but so many things aligned with MV that it’s impossible for us not to feel like we really got things right this time.
Monument Valley was designed to showcase exactly what Ustwo believe a game should be How has the praise translated into sales? Before launch we forecast that making our money back inside 12 months would be acceptable, we managed it in nine days – so yes we’ve really seen that praise reflected in the downloads. Has it been difficult selling a premium game to Android users? MV has done pretty well on Android, especially through Amazon. We always knew the figures would be smaller than on iOS, so in that respect, no it’s not been that hard. We decided to treat the customers on both platforms the same, not looking to sell cheaper on Android just because some people think its customers have a reputation for not spending money. Can you tell us how development of Monument Valley came about? MV is really our statement on what we think games should and can be; having broad appeal, stunningly presented and not over staying their welcome with the player. Which of your other games and apps are you particularly proud of? Whale Trail continues to sell and continues to generate really a heartfelt response from its fans, looking at the hashtag on Instagram or reading the emails we get from happy players has made that game something special to us. What would you like to see in iPhone 6 and the next generation of Android devices? More of a push to get these devices playing their games through the TV. I’d also like to see high capacity micro SDs being added to the iPhone.
“WE HAVE BEEN OVERWHELMED BY THE MASSIVELY POSITIVE RESPONSE IT’S HAD”
NEIL MCFARLAND’S TOP 5 APPS
SHAZAM PHOTOSYNTH This song-scanning app Made by Microsoft but
YELP If you travel a lot it takes IMDBIf MOVIES & TV a smartphone was
is still an astonishing piece of technology – quite simply ground breaking. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Freemium | v7.7.1 O Android | Varies | Freemium | Varies
the stress out of choosing a wellreviewed restaurant or bar. O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Free | v7.9.2 O Android | Varies | Free | Varies
8
essential on the iPhone, letting you create 360-degree panoramas, Photosynth is perfect for noniPhone 5s owning photo fans. O iPhone | iOS 5.0 | Free | v1.6.2
made for anything it was cheating at pub quizzes. Here's your culprit. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free | v4.3.1 O Android | Varies | Free | Varies
APP ANNIE ANALYTICS You always need to know how well your app is selling, this lets you stay in touch on the move. O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Free | v1.2.7
IN TOUCH
HOW TO…
TAKE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS
TOP APPS TO COMPOSE, SHOOT AND EDIT PICTURES LIKE A PRO USING JUST YOUR SMARTPHONE Taking a good photograph is just as much about the ‘moment’ as it is the technique. But while having a good eye for photography is something that comes with time, perfecting the way you take shots can be learnt with a little know-how and encouragement. In this issue’s How-To we teach you the basic principles behind photography and suggest a handful of apps that can help you on your way to becoming a better photographer. 03 Well-balanced shots Users simply drag one exposure box to the lighter area of the scene and one to the darker area. Pro HDR then takes two shots; using an appropriate exposure for each and then blends the two together. This results in an image with clear detail.
01 Using light The light you use to illuminate your subject can make or break the shot. The best light is diffused and softened: so use clouds, shaded areas of veiled window light for optimum results. A light meter app, like Pocket Light Meter, is ideal.
02 Balancing exposures For images to resonate in accurate colour, they must be accurately exposed. The trouble with most devices is they only expose for the focal point of the scene. An app like Pro HDR allows users to calculate an exposure for both the focal point and the backdrop.
04 Composition Photographers who are yet to develop an ‘eye’ for photography often rely on a set of compositional rules to make scenes dynamic, such as the rule of thirds, which sees key areas lie a third of the way down or across the screen. Photosynth helps here.
05 Line it up As most smart device users are limited to capturing images that are the shape of the device’s screen, Photosynth allows you to take shot after shot around the subject in an all-encompassing, multidirectional panorama so you can use more. 06 Colour conundrum While colour can energise and drive a scene, it can also detract from the emphasis you are trying to place on a subject. For these occasions, apps like Black & White Master (Black & White Camera) are superb at generating moody monochromes.
APPS USED POCKET LIGHT PRO HDR This easy-to-use app METERMeter the light that falls lets photographers on your subject to calculate the exposure. O iPhone+ | iOS 4.3 | Free | v.9.0
create full-resolution HDR images, by merging two different versions together. O iPhone+ | iOS 4.1 | £1.49/$1.99 | v.4.5.1
PHOTOSYNTH Useful for a variety of situations, Photosynth enables you to extend the size, area and shape of your photograph. O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Free | v.1.6.2
9
APPS + PEOPLE + GEAR COMP CO MPET MP ETITITITIOIOIONN ET
COMPETITION
WIN! A NEXUS 7
GET YOUR HANDS ON THIS TOP TABLET AND GREAT GAMES FROM BOSSA STUDIO To celebrate the launch of Thomas Was Alone on Android, after becoming a breakout indie hit on iPhone and iPad, we have a Nexus 7 and a copy of the game to give away. Runners-up can also win Surgeon Simulator and exclusive merchandise to mark this other Bossa Studio game, which is also now available on both iOS and Android. Part puzzle, part puzzler, Thomas Was Alone won a BAFTA Games Award for its endearing narration. However, this bestseller could be praised for so many different things – its unique polygon visuals, melodic soundtrack, and heartwarming story of a curious rectangle named Thomas who is in search of friends.
Like Thomas Was Alone, Surgeon Simulator started out on PC before going onto mobile success, but that is where the similarities end. With a hilariously dark sense of humour, Surgeon Simulator is like a touchscreen version of the board game Operation except when you go wrong, the patients nose doesn’t buzz and flash – blood spurts everywhere! While this is not a game for the squeamish, it has won legions of fans for its slapstick take on heart surgery, eye transplants and dentistry. For your chance to win the Nexus 7 and copies of either Thomas Was Alone or Surgeon Simulator, answer the following question:
WHAT SHAPE IS THOMAS IN THOMAS WAS ALONE? A: Circle B: Triangle C: Rectangle
ENTER TODAY AT WWW.KNOWYOURAPPS.COM
The closing date for entries is 12 September 2014. Please be aware that answers must be submitted to the above website only. This competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland only. Imagine Publishing has the right to substitute the prize for a similar item of equal or higher value. Employees of Imagine Publishing (including freelancers), their relatives, or any agents are not eligible to enter. The editor’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. Prizes cannot be exchanged for cash. Full terms and conditions are available upon request. From time to time, Imagine Publishing or its agents may send you related material or special offers. If you do not want to receive this, please state it clearly on your competition entry.
10
IN TOUCH
MY HOME SCREEN
THE FASHIONISTA
APPS TAILOR MADE TO KEEP YOU ABREAST OF WHAT THE WORLD IS WEARING STYLE ZONE
What’s hot and what’s not is constantly changing in the fast-moving world of fashion. Thankfully, when it comes to keeping up with the latest trends, apps are always in style and bang on trend. Whether you want to update your wardrobe, show the world what you’re dressed in or eye up the outfits of the rich and famous, the App Store on your device has something in your size. Here are ten top titles every fashionista needs.
ALTERNATIVE TO: VIDEOS This app is like a mobile TV channel made up just for fashion lovers. The classy interface gives easy access to numerous channels populated with videos on fashion and the brands behind it compiled from numerous sources. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Freemium | v2.0.0 O Android | OS 3.0 | Freemium | v1.1.2
ALTERNATIVE TO: MESSAGES This app’s marketing boast not only of news content that covers lifestyle and fashion but also of how secure the real-time chat component is. Only 100 messages are stored at a time and those will eventually all be erased. O iPhone | iOS 5.1.1 | Free | v1.2.3 O Android | OS 2.1 | Free | v1.0
WARDROBE JOURNAL
ALTERNATIVE TO: REMINDERS If you wish to impress your friends, you won’t want to be seen wearing the same thing twice. This app lets you to keep a record of what you wore when and lots of search options for checking later to save embarrassment. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v3.9.10
ALTERNATIVE TO: CALENDAR This app has the same features as your stock calendar. What sets it apart is the glamorous graphical content and a rundown of the dates of the world’s fashion events. O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Free | v1.1
FASHION FREAX STREET STYLE
BERLIN CLASSIC ALARM CLOCK
Log in and create a fashion photo gallery by following brands, bloggers, events and anyone else who posts pictures of their favourite outfits. You can upload yours, too. O iPhone | iOS 6.1 | Freemium | v3.15 O Android | Varies | Freemium | Varies
Being fashionable is also about having nice things, such as a stylish timepiece. This application, with its designer look and faux fine craftsmanship won’t fail to impress. On the practical side, it also has an alarm function. O iPhone | iOS 3.2 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.0
ALTERNATIVE TO: PHOTOS
GIRLBOM
STYLERANKING FASHION CALENDAR
ALTERNATIVE TO: CLOCK
“THIS IS A MUST-HAVE APPLICATION FOR FASHIONISTAS WHOSE SEARCH FOR STYLE IS GLOBAL”
VOGUE DAILY NEWS
SHOPTROTTER
MALLZEE
SNAP FASHION
As you would expect from one of the most famous names in fashion, this app delivers the news that matters at the intersection of celebrity and style. Short articles and lots of pictures come with Vogue’s trademark look. O iPhone | iOS 4.3 | Free | v1.8 O Android | OS 2.1 | Free | v1.3.5
This must-have application for fashionistas whose search for style is global, lists top fashion shops in major shopping-mad cities throughout the world. It is also possible to search by pre-planned route and keep a record of favourite stores in the app. O iPhone | iOS 7.0 | Free | v1.1 O Android | OS 2.2 | Free | v1.1
Instead of share prices, this app will show you how much it will cost to stock up your wardrobe. Log in with your Facebook account and you can search for fashionable products by brand complete with UK prices and delivery information. This is a fashion mall in your pocket. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v1.4.1
See something you like when you’re out and about, snap a picture of it with this app and its clever algorithms will search thousands of items for something similar with alternatives, price and delivery information. O iPhone | iOS 5.0 | Free | v1.4 O Android | OS 4.0 | Free | v1.21
ALTERNATIVE TO: NEWSSTAND
ALTERNATIVE TO: MAPS
ALTERNATIVE TO: STOCKS
ALTERNATIVE TO: CAMERA
11
APPS + PEOPLE + GEAR GEAR GE AR ROU OUND NDUP ND UP
BLUELOUNGE SANCTUARY 4
Bluelounge tends to impress with its multi-device charging stations, and the Sanctuary 4 doesn’t disappoint. Charging up to four smartphones and tablets simultaneously, the Sanctuary 4 also looks great while doing it. Sitting just a little bit wider than an iPad, it ensures that it doesn’t take up too much space on the desk, and has ample space for cables to sit hidden inside. If you’re looking for a clear solution to your home charging desires, the Sanctuary 4 is one of the better options available to you.
+++++ £90/$110 | Bluelounge | www.bluelounge.com
GEAR ROUNDUP
SURFACEPAD FOR iPAD AIR
If you have an aversion to purchasing official Apple products, may we introduce the SurfacePad - it might just be the best iPad Air case on the market. You’ll get protection all over, ensuring you’ll no longer find your tablet covered in mysterious scratches. Interestingly, the SurfacePad actually sticks to the back of your device, though we were happy to see it left no sticky residue when removed. It also comes equipped with internal magnets that let you prop the case in a variety of angles, perfect for watching YouTube in bed.
+++++ £60/$80 | Twelve South | www.twelvesouth.com
EVUTEC KARBON SP
The iPhone has ruined the art of conversation. Should you find yourself out with friends, and a fact needs to be checked, it’s common practice to pull out a smartphone and fall back on the intellect of the internet. That’s why it’s more important than ever to keep it protected. The Karbon SP Shockproof case for iPhone 5 and 5s is the answer: at just 2mm thin and boasting an outer shell protected with Kevlar fibres, this is one case that doesn’t need to sacrifice weight and pleasing aesthetics in aid of providing durability.
+++++ £40/$50 | Evutec | www.evutec.com
12
SLIM FIT iPAD AIR SLEEVE
We’ve always been big fans of Mujjo’s Apple products, but it does tend to put style on a pedestal. The Slim Fit iPad Air Sleeve doesn’t disappoint in that respect, made from a single piece of tan leather. It’s pleasing on the eye, but doesn’t offer a great deal more. Expect your iPad Air to fit very snuggly into the sleeve, and a subsequent wrestle to get it out. The case also boasts a front compartment, while it can hold a couple of documents, but you would be lucky to cram any critical accessories inside.
+++++ £69.99/$115 | Mujjo | www.mujjo.com
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50 ALL-TIME GREATEST APPS
APPS FOR YOUR DEVICE 14
50 ALL-TIME GREATEST APPS
ADOBE VOICE
LEFT A grid of icons makes it easy to find and launch desktop apps
This ingenious app enables you to quickly create an animated slideshow video with voice narration. It’s so easy to use that within minutes you’ll have created your first, professional-looking video. It’s very versatile, so you can make anything from a business presentation to a personal message for loved ones. For each slide, you can choose a photo (your own from your iPad’s Camera Roll or search for a Creative Commons image), icon (from over 25,000) or text. These can also be combined in some of the slide layout options. Then you hold the mic button and record your voice commentary. Background music can be chosen (from the built-in jingles or your own library), along with a visual theme (from a selection of 32) to determine the background, colour scheme and text style. Once happy with your video, you can upload it to Adobe’s servers and share a weblink for it via all the usual channels like Facebook, Twitter, email or Message. The only downside is that there’s no option to export it to use it other apps, but videos are stored locally in the Projects tab so you can view and re-edit them later as you see fit. OiPad | iOS 7.0 | Freemium
PARALLELS ACCESS
Remote access to your Mac or PC is made easy with Parallels Access, which adapts everything for your mobile device. Desktop apps are launched via a grid of icons, run in full screen and switched between via a toolbar. Customisable gesture-based controls make it easy to navigate, highlight text, and drag and drop files. The iOS version even includes a special file browser. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free OAndroid | OS 4.0.3 | Free
Cook up something tasty with BigOven’s vast database of recipes, searchable and browsable in themed collections. Or scan in your own. Try the Use Up Leftovers option to find dishes to make from up to three ingredients in your fridge/cupboard. Favourite recipes can be saved to two lists, and to a handy meal planner calendar, while ingredients can be put on a shopping list.
OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium OAndroid | Varies | Freemium
“Customisable gesture-based controls make it easy to navigate”
LEFT Use Mixologist to tell you what to make with the drinks at your disposal
MIXOLOGIST™ DRINK & COCKTAIL RECIPES
Ideal for shaking up a cocktail, Mixologist contains a huge database of over 8,000 drinks, searchable and browsable by category. Plus over a thousand ingredients with descriptions. Best of all, it can tell you what you can make with the contents of your drinks cabinet. There’s even a fruit machine-style option for random recipes based on a mixer, liquor and glassware. O iPhone | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 O Android | OS 2.1 | £1.49/$1.49
MONUMENT VALLEY ANGRY BIRDS Inspired by the isometric STAR WARS II optical illusions of MC Escher, this stylish puzzler involves moving and rotating parts of each level to create a path to the exit for a princess. As perspectives are dramatically altered by your manipulation, it’s brain-boggling stuff at times. The game is on the short side, but utterly captivating while it lasts. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £2.49/$3.99 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | £2.49/$3.99
BIGOVEN 250,000+ RECIPES AND GROCERY LIST
The best of the excellent Angry Birds games, it’s based on the three prequel movies and allows you to play as the goodies or baddies. The classic catapulting gameplay sees you firing familiar characters (there are over 30 to unlock) at enemy forces, making use of each one’s special powers, while some levels feature multiple gravity fields. O iPhone+ | iOS 4.3 | Free O Android | OS 2.3 | Free
INFINITY BLADE III
The final part of the trilogy is the best, and hardest, with the oneon-one slashing battles honed to perfection. Hero Siris is joined by a second playable character, Isa, each using different collectable weapons and equipment; between them there are six different fighting styles to master. A central mission hub adds to the RPGstyle depth. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £4.99/$6.99
COACH’S EYE – INSTANT REPLAY VIDEO ANALYSIS Improve your sporting performance with thi powerful app. After recording a HD video of some action (eg a golf swing), you can review the footage in slow motion, compare sideby-side videos, add an audio commentary and even draw annotations. The community aspect lets you share videos and discover the coaching tips that others have posted. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99 OAndroid | Varies | Free
PLANTS VS ZOMBIES TRAINYARD This classic may have an incredibly simple concept, but it’s so addictive. The tower defencestyle gameplay sees you strategically placing plants to stop the advancing zombies in their tracks. As you progress, lots of new plant types and amusing zombies appear to add to the challenge and entertainment. O iPhone+ | iOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | £0.58/$0.99
This golden-oldie puzzler sees you placing railway tracks to guide trains to the correct colour-coded stations. It starts off simple ut you soon need to merge tra ns to get the correct number, or collide them to blend their colours. Later levels require some highly complex track layouts and may drive you loco, but you’ll keep coming back. O iPhone+ | iOS 3.0 | £1.49/$1.99 O Android | OS 2.2 | £1.99/$2.99
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50 ALL-TIME GREATEST APPS GARDENATE If you want to
LEFT Duolingo takes you on an incredible languagelearning journey
grow your own food, Gardenate will come in useful. It informs you when to plant and harvest a large range of vegetables and herbs. Not only that, but you can use it to record your own plantings, make detailed notes and add photos. A handy Planting Now option tells you what you can sow or transplant now in your location. O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99 O Android | OS 2.2 | £0.99/$1.99
BELOW Use your six robots to get building
DUOLINGO – LEARN LANGUAGES FOR FREE
TOCAOutBUILDERS of the many excellent children apps made by Toca Boca, this is our favourite. Kids can get creative using the unique abilities of six cute robots to build all sorts of constructions out of Minecraft-like blocks. It’s really a leisurely sandbox affair rather than a game, but even a lot of adults will have fun playing around with it. O iPad+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 O Android | OS 4.0.3 | £1.99/$0.99
Amazingly, this highly polished language-learning system is completely free – no in-app purchases or even adverts. You can use it to learn any of six languages: Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian and English. Each course starts with some basic vocabulary and phrases, before progressing to modules with themes such as animals, clothing, time and feelings. However, if you’re not a complete beginner, you can take a test to skip to the appropriate starting point. Modules comprise several lessons, each featuring a combination of multiple-choice questions, translation (either way), transcription of audio and speaking – you can skip the latter if you’re in a public place and can’t use the mic. Helpfully, you can replay speech in slow motion, while tapping newly introduced words gives you a translation and correct pronunciation. It all works well and a fun bonus is the ability to test your knowledge against your Facebook friends that use the app, giving it a competitive edge. OiPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free OAndroid | Varies | Free
“With Audiobus support, Figure’s great for sketching musical ideas” FIGURE Even if you’re new to musicmaking, you can create coolsounding tunes in mere minutes with Figure. It’s incredibly easy to use: just record loops for drums, bass and lead, using touchpadstyle controls and knobs to set rhythm patterns. You can then have fun tweaking the sounds. With Audiobus support, it’s a great sketchpad for musical ideas. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99
RIGHT Use the knobs to adjust the rhythm, then hold the pads to play the drums
FLIPBOARD
Read news stories by flipping the pages of a virtual magazine. Stylishly presented, Flipboard lets you choose the topics and news sources you’re interested in, so no more boring bits to skip. Not only that, but you can take stories to compile your own personalised magazines, brimming with content that you can then share with others and even build your own following. O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
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COMICS WEATHER UNDERGROUND Partially powered by crowdsourced data from users, this weather app delivers particularly accurate, hyper-local forecasts. Along with detailed information for each day and hour, an interactive map shows various overlays including an animated radar to show approaching rainstorms – viewable on a handy homescreen widget in the Android version. O iPhone | iOS 7.0 | Freemium O Android | OS 4.0 | Freemium
THE GUARDIAN Recently rebuilt, this slick news app is a spinoff from the popular newspaper and website. By signing in, you can personalise the layout of the main screen with your favourite sections, topics and writers – and even receive alerts when the latter add new content. Articles can be bookmarked and also downloaded to read when you’re offline. O iPad+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium O Android | Varies | Freemium
POCKET
If you want to save news stories and other web content to read later, even when offline, Pocket is your best bet. You can save anything, including videos, and from other apps too. Even better, all your saved content can be accessed from any device or computer signed into the same account. A bonus is the ability to have stories read aloud to you. O iPad+ | iOS 6.0 | Freemium O Android | OS 2.3 | Freemium
ComiXology’s app is great for fans of digital comics, even though the iOS version now lacks an in-app store – so you’ll need to buy titles via the website and sync them in the app. However, the reading interface is still second to none, its unique ‘Guided View’ technology enabling users to view comics on a fullscreen panel-by-panel basis. OiPhone+ | iOS 5.1 | Free OAndroid | OS 2.2 | Free
YAHOO! NEWS DIGEST
For those too busy to wade through websites, this app delivers a twicedaily ‘digest’ of eight-12 top stories. The article-reading UI is very swish, with the body text broken up by coloured pullquotes, photo montages and videos. If you need further info, there are links to related articles and news sources. O iPhone | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | OS 4.0 | Free
UMANO
If you would rather listen to news stories, perhaps on your daily commute or while exercising, Umano is ideal. Far better than AI text-to-speech, it has human voice-actors narrating the stories to you. There’s a wide range of articles– which can also handily be saved for offline listening – and you can follow topics to get content based on your interests. O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Freemium O Android | Varies | Freemium
50 ALL-TIME GREATEST APPS
IFTTT
IFTTT stands for ‘if this then that’ and it lets you automate a wide range of tasks, using Recipes that comprise a Trigger and Action. For instance, you could set it to save any Facebook photos you’re tagged in, text your partner when you leave work, or mark new contacts in your calendar. The uses are almost limitless and it’s a great time-saver. Best of all, new Triggers are being added all the time. Watch this space. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free OAndroid | OS 4.0 | Free
BBC iPLAYER Most TV networks have catchup apps, but the BBC’s iPlayer is particularly good and offers extra features. As well as streaming earlier programmes from the past seven days, you can download them to watch later, even when you’re offline. Shows can also be favourited to automatically add new episodes. UK-based users can watch live TV channels, too. O iPhone+ | iOS 5.1 | Free O Android | OS 2.2 | Free
EVERNOTE Never forget anything again with Evernote. More than a mere note-taking app – though it’s most certainly great for that – it also lets you snap photos, digitise documents, scan business cards, create to-do lists and more. Everything’s synced to the cloud to access on any device, while notes can be organised using notebooks and category tags (similar to hashtags in Twitter). O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
“Everything’s synced to the cloud to access on any device”
POCKET UNIVERSE: VIRTUAL SKY ASTRONOMY
In a galaxy of impressive astronomy apps, Pocket Universe’s star shines brightest. Its interactive map of the night sky looks stunning and is highly customisable, enabling you to filter out various types of celestial objects and visual details so you can focus on what you’re interested in. A search facility makes it easy to find whatever you’re looking for, complete with on-screen directions, and you can even ask the app questions like ‘where does Jupiter set?’. You can also see what the sky will look like at a certain date and time, to help plan your stargazing, which is further aided by a news section, monthly overview and ‘what’s visible now?’ option. The app is crammed with extra features, too, including enjoyable quizzes and even Game Center achievements and leaderboards. Further content includes an orrery, Moon map and phases, moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and virtual views from the Moon and Mars.
ABOVE Pocket Universe provides a highly customisable interactive map of the night sky
OiPad+ | iOS 5.1.1 | £1.99/$2.99
FACEBOOK
While third-party alternatives are available, they may well omit some friends’ posts, so the official app is well recommended. It’s pretty slick and even auto-plays videos as you scroll through the News Feed. Advanced options are available via the More menu, but note that the messaging side has been moved to a separate app, Facebook Messenger. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
TWITTER
The official app works really well, matching the design of the website with its sections for Home, Notifications, Discover and Me. So it’s all very familiar to regular users, making it easy to catch up with your favourite people and see what’s trending in the Twittersphere. When writing your own tweets, you can even add a photo or video along with your location. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
PATH
With a focus on privacy, the Path social network gives you fine control over who sees every post you make, whether it be text (now with no character limit), photos, videos or music clips. So it’s ideal for sharing with a small, select group of friends or family. Just like Facebook, the chat aspect has been spun off into a new app, called Path Talk. O iPad+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium O Android | Varies | Freemium
TINDER
The mobile equivalent of speed dating, Tinder enables you to view photos of other users in your area and invites you to either like them or pass. If two users like each other, it results in a match and they can then chat, share photos and maybe even choose to meet up. Whether you find true love or not, Tinder is a lot of fun and very addictive. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
VINE
Great fun, Vine lets you create looping sixsecond videos comprising either one continuous shot or several combined – it can even be used for basic stop-motion animation. You can share your videos with friends via other social networks, view those made by other Vine users and even ‘revine’ (repost) any you really like on your own stream. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
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50 ALL-TIME GREATEST APPS
SNAPGUIDE
YOUTUBE This slick official app offers
Snapguide is all about sharing knowledge with the community, enabling you to view and create step-by-step guides for all manner of topics – everything from food to DIY to make-up tips. You’ll be amazed by the choice available and the detail other users go into. The application itself is beautifully presented and simple to navigate. Creating your own guide is easy, too: snap photos (or videos) and add text captions, plus a supplies list. Other users can then like and comment on it. OiPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free
all the functionality of the website and also offers an easy way to upload videos. Sign in to see and manage all your subscribed channels, playlists etc. You can navigate menus while the current video plays in an inset. The app can even be used as a fancy remote control, to queue videos and cast them to smart TVs. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
CLEARIf finding the best to-do list app is on your to-do list, the choice is quite simple in our eyes. Say hello to the brilliant Clear app. This elegant gesture-based application will help you to stay organised in style, using separate lists for different things, and with alerts to remind you. Helpfully, it syncs lists to other devices (even your desktop-bound Mac) via iCloud and lists can be shared with other users too. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
“This elegant gesture-based app will help you to stay organised”
iMOVIE
ABOVE iMovie gives you all the tools to become a moviemaking master in no time at all
Budding movie-makers will love playing around with Apple’s superb video-editing software, which even includes a selection of Hollywood-style trailer templates with storyboards telling you what shots are needed for each scene. A range of graphical themes are also available for making standard movies. Either way, the process is the same: you import video footage or photos from your library (or even newly shot material) into the main timeline and use the start/end handles to trim the footage to your exact needs. You can drag and drop clips to rearrange the order, or tap the icon between them to alter the transition effect and fine-tune its timing. It’s all incredibly intuitive to use, as you would expect from an Apple app, yet offers some highly advanced editing options, such as the ability to create split-screen, picture-in-picture and cutaway effects. You can even alter the playback speed of clips, split or freeze them and add captions in a variety of styles, while audio can be added via the mic, built-in effects or your music library. OiPad+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
iPHOTO While the built-in iOS
INSTAGRAM SEENEThis unique camer The photo/video-sharing
SNAPSEED One of the best things
VINYLIZEME Ever wanted to be on a
Photos app offers basic editing facilities, iPhoto features far more advanced tools that enable you to finetune your pictures to perfection. You can alter things like exposure and colour saturation, and add a variety of effects and filters. The brushes include a clever repair tool for fixing specks and scratches. It's all done with your finger. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
social network has recently updated its application to allow you to adjust the strength of those familiar filters (20 of them in total) and opt whether to add a frame. Nine editing tools, including tilt shift and sharpen, enable you to fine-tune photos. So you may well never need to edit them elsewhere before uploading and sharing. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
about this superpowerful photo editor is the selective adjustment facility, which lets you apply edits to just a small area of the image. In addition, there are a myriad of tools and effects to experiment with, including cool grunge textures, tilt-shift, retro scratches and light leaks, plus an impressive HDR Scape filter. A must-have app. O iPhone+ | iOS 5.1 | Free O Android | OS 4.0 | Free
vintage record cover? Now you can with this novelty app. Just import your photo to one of the 22 retro designs, altering the colour balance if you like. You can then edit the default text, including the record label, and switch the header before adding one of the ‘wear and tear’ effects. It’s great fun to play with and the results look amazing. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99
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app lets you take quasi-3D images of items; you then view the 3D effect by tilting the device. The capture process is pretty selfexplanatory, although the subject must stay still and complex backdrops avoided. While the 3D angle of rotation is currently quite limited, the developer is working on an update to allow for full 360-degree capture. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free
50 ALL-TIME GREATEST APPS SKYPEWhether you want to chat by voice, video or text, the recently redesigned Skype app makes it quick and easy with a more fluid UI. Group chats are possible and you can send messages if the other person is offline. The main advantage over FaceTime is that Skype is cross-platform. You can also use it to call standard phone numbers at very competitive rates. O iPhone | iOS 7.0 | Freemium O Android | Varies | Freemium
RIGHT Swipe quickly between contacts, recents and favourites in the new app
PROCREATE
There are many excellent art apps that enable you to get creative. The big players include Brushes, Sketchbook Pro and Inspire Pro – all highly recommended – but our vote goes to Procreate with its plethora of studio-grade features. Serious artists will appreciate the ability to create canvases of up to 4K pixels (Ultra HD), plus the ability to add countless layers, altering their type (eg darken) and opacity. Then there’s the huge selection of brushes, each of which can be fine-tuned using a large range of parameter sliders – you can even create your own custom brushes. Handy sliders at the side enable you to quickly alter brush size and opacity, while the smudge tool is great for smearing and blending. All the time, gesture controls make it easy to zoom, pan and rotate around the canvas. And if you make a mistake, there are up to 250 undos. The app even records your actions, which can be exported as a time-lapse video! OiPad | iOS 7.0 | £3.99/$5.99
“Serious artists will appreciate the ability to create canvases of up to 4K pixels” RIGHT Keep track of your finances in OnTrees
IMDBTheMOVIES & TV Internet Movie Database has long been the go-to site for movie and TV show info – cast lists, trivia, actor bios etc – and this app delivers all its content in style. Look up a movie and you can watch the trailer and find out cinema times near you. By signing in, you can also rate movies and shows and manage your personal Watchlist. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
GARAGEBAND
Apple’s multi-track recording studio enables you to create your own songs using its virtual instruments – including keyboards, drums, guitars and violins – or by connecting to other music apps. You can add vocals, sample sounds and even plug in a guitar (via an adaptor). While not as sophisticated as its Mac counterpart, it’s an amazing app considering what it crams onto mobile devices. O iPad+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium
DJAY 2
your personal finances by letting you view all your bank accounts and credit cards in one place. So, unlike most other similar apps, you don’t have to keep logging daily expenditure. You can then easily see where all your money is going, with transactions sorted into colour-coded categories. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free
SHAZAM
If you want to know what that tune is (in a TV advert, for instance), Shazam has the answer. It can analyse and identify nearly any song. You can then play the full track in Deezer, Spotify or Rdio, or view a YouTube video. Lyrics are available for most songs so you can sing along. Shazam also offers artist news and lets you book concert tickets. It remains unrivalled in its category. O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Freemium O Android | Varies | Freemium
RUNMETER GPS PEDOMETER
Designed for running, cycling, walking and other exercise, the app turns your iPhone into a powerful fitness computer. Logging your routes via GPS, it works out the distance covered, your pace, calories burnt, heart rate and more – viewable on graphs. It can also be used to design a personal training plan and everything is synced via iCloud. O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Freemium
KAYAK FLIGHTS, HOTELS & CARS Out of the many
ONTREES PERSONAL FINANCE Moneysupermarket’s app helps you keep track of
This fully fledged DJing app features twin turntables, onto which you can load songs from your own iTunes music library and Spotify Premium. Even if you’re a novice, the auto-syncing and key-matching options aid successful mixing. Advanced features include waveforms, multiple cue points, loops, EQ, auto-gain and audio filters. A simplified iPhone version is also available for £1.49/$1.99. O iPad | iOS 7.0 | £6.99/$9.99
LEFT Runmeter GPS is the most advanced fitness app available to iOS users
holiday-planning apps, this is our favourite. It handles every aspect of your trip, enabling you to book a hotel, flight and car – after reading the reviews and checking the prices, of course. By forwarding booking confirmations to KAYAK, it’ll create an itinerary for you in the app. You can also track flights and get alerts. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | 2.3 | Free
RIGHT A one-stop shop for holidays
TUNEIN RADIO
While the old live tiles view has been replaced by a more standard main screen, it still enables you to browse a selection of the songs currently playing – for your chosen genres – on the 100,000+ stations available. It’s great for discovering new music and you can also listen to podcasts. A premium Pro version adds the ability to record shows to your device. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
SPOTIFY
Unlike most musicstreaming services, even a free Spotify account permits you to listen to full tracks on mobile devices – although it’s limited to shuffle play on phones. You can queue songs, create playlists and use the Radio option to discover similar artists. Premium account holders can also download tracks for offline listening, but you need a subscription. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free O Android | Varies | Free
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TOP 10 PRODUCTIVITY APPS
TOP 10 PRODUCTIVITY APPS WE’VE TAKEN A CLOSE LOOK AT E VERY BEST APPS FOR TAKING
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TOP 10 PRODUCTIVITY APPS
IFTTT
MAILBOX
Using your phone to automate your digital life is going to be big news in the coming year. Easily the best of the bunch of apps that let you do that is IFTTT, a mightily impressive and highly powerful automating service that is proving to be one of the most popular new apps of 2014. IFTTT, which stands for If This Then That, lets you create recipes based on the app’s self-explanatory title. You need to select two available channels to create the recipe, but once you’ve done that, you’ll open your device to a whole new world of automation. Taken a photo on Instagram? Get it automatically uploaded to Twitter or Facebook. Shot a video on your phone? Get it backed up to Dropbox instantly. You’ll be amazed by how many recipes you can conjure up. And it’s getting bigger all the time. The developers are constantly adding new channels to make the most of, including compatibility with the Nest Thermostat, Fitbit and Philips Hue. IFTTT provides the easiest way to automate your digital life, giving you an easyto-comprehend app that does all the powerful work behind the scenes. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free OAndroid | OS 4.0 | Free
EVERNOTE
LEFT Evernote is the ultimate all-in-one productivity software
When it comes to all-in-one productivity apps few come as highly recommended as Evernote. It’s everything your built-in Notes app should be – and more. Make sure you never forget anything ever again with this note-taking, to-do list compiling, voice recording and business card scanning app that lets you sync everything across all your devices. You can upgrade to premium features too. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium OAndroid | Varies | Freemium
“Mailbox sets out to solve that problem, using a collection of intuitive gestures”
SUNRISE CALENDAR LEFT Dropbox gives you 2GB of free storage to play with
DROPBOX The original daddy of cloud-based storage, Dropbox provides an outstanding app to make sure all your most important files, whether they be documents, photos or videos, are safely backed up in the cloud and easily accessible on multiple devices wherever you are in the world. A basic account gives you 2GB of storage to use, but getting more for free is as simple as inviting your friends to join in. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium O Android | Varies | Freemium
PAGES
Part of Apple’s brilliant iWork productivity suite, Pages is the ultimate app for creating stunning documents such as posters, invoices or CVs. Make the most of the brilliant templates and you can customise until your heart’s content. Its standout feature is the iCloud integration that enables you and colleagues to remotely edit work on the go. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £6.99/$9.99
Being able to achieve ‘inbox zero’ is a quest many of us strive, very unsuccessfully, to achieve with our email accounts. With so many emails populating an account, your inbox size can bulge under the pressure. Mailbox sets out to solve that problem, using a collection of intuitive gestures to restore order. It’s brilliantly designed, very much in iOS 7’s spirit, and makes dealing with email a joy as a result. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free OAndroid | OS 4.0.3 | Free
MICROSOFT OFFICE SWIFTKEY MOBILE KEYBOARD We’re finally able to get our hands on Microsoft’s world-famous Office suite. If you want to create a Word doc, tackle a spreadsheet or deliver a presentation, look no further. Beware iPad users, you’ll need a subscription. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free (subscription required) O Android | OS 4.0 | Free (subscription required for business use)
You can only be as productive as your phone lets you and the keyboard plays a vital part in that. So why settle for anything other than the best? Android lets you do that, and SwiftKey is the best third-party app. This keyboard has brilliant autocorrect that gets better with time and productivity-boosting next-word prediction. O Android | OS 2.2 | Free
Currently compatible with iCloud and Google Calendar, Sunrise Calendar is the new calendar app on the scene, and it’s making quite a splash because of the weight of features it gives its users access to. Whether that’s its agenda view or month view, Google Maps information or tasteful social network integration, Sunrise is sure to boost productivity.
OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free OAndroid | OS 4.0 | Free
1PASSWORD
With so many log-in details requested by so many web services and apps, password safety has never been so relevant. 1Password takes the pressure off by creating unique passwords, remembering them all and logging in with a single tap. Sound too good? It also comes with data encryption. O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £12.99/$17.99 O Android | OS 4.0 | Freemium
SHIFT WORKER
Shift Worker is designed for those workers who need a quick and easy way to enter and view their shift patterns. The app provides you with customisable icons to help workers differentiate between shifts. Sun and moon icons are instantly recognisable, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you fill up your week, month and even year. One of the top grossing apps in this category. O iPhone | iOS 4.3 | £1.49/$1.99
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FREE
GET THE GOSSIP
ALWAYS BE CLUED UP ON CELEBRITY BUZZ WITH THESE APPS
IMDB BUZZ You should expect
Hollywood scoops from the makers of the world’s most famous movie and TV database and this app dishes them out in comprehensive, if unimaginative, style. You can swipe though the latest buzz, follow your favourite stars and check each day’s celebrity birthdays. There is also a photo gallery where you can judge the latest fashion statements. With input from multiple sources, this is the ideal rumour and celebrity resource for screen junkies. O iPhone | iOS 4.2 | Free | v1.2.1
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OK! MAGAZINE LITE OK! Magazine’s coverage
MTV NEWS (UK) Given that it comes from
of celebrities from across pop culture has made it one of the world’s most popular gossip magazines. This app (called OK! Magazine Updater on Android) provides a detailed rundown of the latest stories with a UK twist. The format is colourful and there are separate sections for TV and fashion-related gossip. Coverage of soaps, style and celebrities make this much more than just okay. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v4.0.1 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | Free | v1.3
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GLAMLIFE
one of the foremost television channels in the world, it’s not surprising this app includes videos alongside the usual feed of headline gossip and a daily collection of the best celebrity pictures. It’s largely music oriented but other stars get in, too, if they’re in a relationship with a musician or have big name appeal. With everything from rock star rumours to on-stage antics, this app is in the groove.
If you don’t mind the interruptions for advertisements, this app will provide you with more comprehensive content than any of the others reviewed here. It includes a top stories feed, an extensive collection of photobased articles as well as videos and polls where you can vote on questions about celebrities and pop culture. You can’t share stories on Facebook, though. Don’t be misled by the name: this app is aimed at all ages.
This cleverly designed app covers fashion, gossip, Hollywood stars and pop music and allows you to produce a personalised feed based on any or all of these topics. The UI makes good use of gestures, live tiles and animations to add visual interest and there are plenty of links between stories to make it easy to search for related content. An stylish interface makes it easy to get the hot gossip.
O iPhone | iOS 5.0 | Free | v2.0.5 O Android | OS 2.3 | Free | v2.0.2
O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | Free | v2.4.2 O Android | OS 1.6 | Free | v1.0
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v4.1 O Android | OS 2.2 | Free | v4.1.3
FREE PROS/CONS
V Suitable for both
beginners and advanced musicians V Plenty of depth and flexibility, particularly with the Pro upgrade W Not all of the app is covered by the existing tutorials W Lacks some advanced features such as MIDI input
IMPRESSIVE MUSIC-MAKING APP WITH PLENTY OF DEPTH AND FLEXIBILITY
BEATWAVE BELOW Spend more time with the application and the advanced features come to the fore
BELOW You can record your new composition and share it via SoundCloud or social media
Being able to compose tunes with a few taps of the finger is an appealing prospect whether you’re a seasoned musician or a complete beginner and therein lies the beauty of Beatwave — returning in a revamped, refreshed version 2.0 skin, the app lets you use grids to layer repeated beats and melodies on top of each other. Ten instruments are included for free with the app, with another 200 available as in-app purchases, or you can buy the whole shebang and upgrade to the Pro level for a respectable £6.99/$9.99 (Beatwave Pro 1.0 users get the upgrade for half price). Beatwave is intuitive and straightforward enough to be able to dive straight in with no introduction — just tap a few dots on the grid and press the play button. To take advantage of the advanced features, however, you’ll need
to run through the tutorial. Everything is easy to get to grips with, and you can very quickly create some catchy tunes even if you’re just experimenting and exploring the different options on offer. The app is geared more towards electronic sounds and structured compositions, but there’s still plenty of flexibility in terms of what you can create — echo, flange, overdrive and tremolo are some of the effects you can overlay on top, for example, and you can layer up to four different instruments on top of each other. There are options to share your creations to SoundCloud and social networks, but Beatwave’s greatest strength is its depth. You can fool around for a few minutes with it or take an afternoon to plan out an audio masterpiece, and the app will keep right up with you, particularly if you invest in the Pro upgrade. Even if you’ve never made music before, you’ll feel like a maestro after a few minutes with Beatwave. The new Beatwave is better than ever, a treat for musicians at all levels. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium | v2.0.1 http://bit.ly/beatwaveios
HOW TO... Get started with Beatwave
01
Drum tracks The bottom two lines of the grid are drums and percussion; tap here to set a beat
02
Melodies Then there’s the rest of the grid: the higher the grid square, the higher the sound.
03
Sounds Draw notes together along grid rows to create a sustained sound that lasts.
04
The layer menu The thumbnails in the top-right let you layer four instruments on top of each other.
05
Instruments Tap on any instrument name to choose a different sound style to be applied.
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FREE
WORLD OF TANKS BLITZ There’s a fairly good chance you’ve heard of World Of Tanks. It’s that free-to-play online game that puts players into the driver’s seat of behemoth tanks and encourages you to blow up everyone in sight. It’s one of the biggest games in the world, and so it’s no surprise that developer Wargaming has taken the concept and transferred it to mobile devices. What is a surprise, however, is how solid and enjoyable the experience of playing World Of Tanks Blitz is. World Of Tanks on console and PC had a tendency to seem overcomplicated,
MOBILIZE FORCES IN THIS DESKTOP ADAPTATION
but Wargaming has streamlined the entire experience for mobile. The team size has been reduced from 15 to seven, the eight maps are smaller and denser than their PC counterparts, and there’s only three countries represented across the game’s 90 tanks. World Of Tanks Blitz has successfully captured the essence of the original game; distilled what made it fun to begin with and pumped that into rounds that last no longer than eight minutes. With these sorts of releases, there’s always a worry that play-to-win culture will dominate. World Of Tanks Blitz approaches monetisation smartly, ensuring that it’s only for those who want a wider variety of options – it doesn’t seem to give any immediate advantages. This war game will blow you away. OiPad+ | iOS 7.0 | Freemium | V1.1.1
INSTAGRAM UP YOUR SELFIE GAME WITH INSTAGRAM’S NEW TOOLS
24
There are two types of Instagram user. There’s the kind who sees it as a network in its own right, and then there are those who simply use the filters to doctor their selfies before uploading them elsewhere. Since Facebook and Twitter added their own filters, this second group has had less of a reason to use Instagram. But this might be set to change. Now, in addition to filters like Lo-Fi, Walden and Nashville, you can control the brightness, contrast, warmth, saturation and sharpness of the image using a 100-point slider. The great thing about these new functions is that you don’t even need to be a ‘proper’ photographer to enjoy them; you can simply watch the image change as you use the slide controls, until you find a setting that you really like. The downside to this, of course, is that it takes away much of the simplicity that originally made Instagram so appealing. You might think you’re happy with a picture, but then when you upload it, you may find yourself obsessing over whether a tilt shift or additional contrast are required to really bring your
http://bit.ly/wotbios LEFT Wargaming has already released 90 tanks, but we expect more to come as DLC in the future LEFT Instagram’s new editing sliders let you get more precise
cappuccino to life. But if you can master the balance between sepia-toned and psychedelic, these new tools will encourage you to spend more time on Instagram. New photo-editing features in Instagram 6.0 turn taking the perfect snapshot into a science. OiPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v6.0.3 http://bit.ly/instagios OAndroid | Varies | Free | Varies http://bit.ly/instaand
FREE
ADOBE SKETCH
LISTD
MARCOPOLO OCEAN
For inspiration alone, Adobe Sketch is worth considering because you do get the opportunity to see the works of fellow users and to admire what can be done with this app. You will, however, need some serious talent to create distinctive sketches because the tools on offer may feel slightly limited for the average sketcher. The interface and set up do work well to produce a clean and creative environment, but a few extra features would help it to work perfectly. A well presented sketching app with some minor limitations in terms of tools.
We really can appreciate the way Listd attempts to help you make new friends by letting you chat photos you’ve taken of nearby places with people from that area - it’s like a hyperlocal Flickr. However, we struggled to find other users outside of big towns. We also like the simplistic interface that keeps every control and interaction to a minimum, but we also admit to struggling at first to understand how it works. It works better the more you use it, but it may take too long for some to understand this before they delete it. A competent photo-sharing app which is almost too simple to work effectively.
This app is effectively a ‘place the object’ game for young children, but it is one that attempts to inform them about the oceans and the creatures that live within them. The narration is very friendly and the background music adds a playful tone, but together it all works perfectly to create a place for any child to relax and learn. Even on a phone, the animations are very clear and colourful. An absorbing and friendly app for children and adults.
OiPad | iOS 7.0 | Free | v1.0.2
OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | Free | v1.0.1
OiPad+ | iOS 5.0 | Free | v2.0.1
STAY CHARGED
01 BATTERY DOCTOR
The thorough Battery Doctor can help monitor your CPU and memory usage, let you see your battery status in real time and clean the cache. It makes a note of every phone charge for comparison.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Free | v6.4 O Android | OS 2.1 | Free | v4.10.2
02 JUICE DEFENDER – BATTERY SAVER By allowing you to monitor your CPU speed, Wi-Fi and mobile data, Juice Defender lets you shut off services you don’t need in order to preserve battery life. It has many handy presets too.
+++++
O Android | Varies | Free | Varies
SLINGSHOT
TERM1NUS
WEBMD TRUSTED HEALTH AND WELLNESS INFORMATION
There is no denying this is a shameless attempt for Facebook to get on Snapchat’s self-destructing photo app gravy train. Despite its mercantile origins, Slingshot has been made with care. The presentation throughout is remarkable and shows just how well Facebook is performing in mobile design these days. The twist on Snapchat’s winning formula: you can sling photos and videos to friends, but they cannot view them until they sling you something back. It could be considered forced sharing, but it works surprisingly well. A novel method of sharing photos and videos with friends within a sublime interface.
For a free game, TERM1NUS offers impressive graphics and a raft of sensations that you may not expect. It is very fast and as you guide your ship through ever more difficult tunnels, you really do have to focus. The end result is a thrilling ride that messes with your mind, but over time it does start to feel repetitive. If it had more variety and a slower pace in complex areas, it could feel like a completely different game. However, the lack of in-app purchase was refreshing. An intense and dizzying app that suffers too much repetition.
In WebMD we have a health app that offers a myriad of features including targets, step tracking, a medicine database and much more. The presentation is excellent and the potential is huge, with an excellent healthy recipes feature being added in the latest update that lets you share dishes with friends. Sadly the syncing features remains unreliable. A complete health promotion app with many features, but with one minor problem.
OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | Free | v1.0.2 OAndroid | OS 4.1 | Free | v1.0.2
OiPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v1.0 OAndroid | OS 4.0 | Free | v1.3.2
OiPhone+ | iOS 6.1 | Free | v5.1 OAndroid | OS 2.3 | Free | v3.5
03 GO BATTERY SAVER &POWER WIDGET A popular app for Android, GO Battery Saver tells you how much power you would save by turning off various unneeded features. The widget keeps key functions to hand.
+++++
O Android | OS 2.2 | Free | v4.31.1
04 BATTERY LIFE PRO – ALL-IN-1 No matter what mode you switch into with this app, it will estimate the amount of battery power left. Easy to use, it logs your phone’s charging times.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v1.4.3
05 BATTERY DEFENDER – 1 TAP SAVER If you want an app to just get on with things, then this app will automatically enable the battery-saving features such as turning off Wi-Fi at night. It gives battery percentages in the notification bar.
+++++
O Android | OS 2.1 | Free | v1.1.7
25
ENTERTAINMENT
SAY IT WITH EMOJI GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS WITHOUT WORDS USING THESE EMOTICON COLLECTIONS
TEXT N TEASE
ADULTICONS
This app is rated as suitable for anyone over 18 and does include some rather risqué images. Most of those are unlikely to offend anyone, however, and they make up the minority of emoticons you can choose from. Whatever kind of message you’re in the mood to send, though, you can share it using instant messaging, email, and social networks. Discount price makes it good value for money. Harmless fun for flirting with adult friends by text.
Like Text N Tease, this app offers adult emoticons for messages intended for mature recipients. One section is themed on recreational drugs but otherwise there is little that is lewd or overtly suggestive. The collection consists largely of colourfully drawn faces and the biggest criticism of these is that they have to be pasted into messages one at a time. This collection isn’t for kids but it’s not as mature as the title might suggest.
O iPhone | iOS 5.0 | £0.69/$0.99 O Android | OS 2.2 | £0.60/$0.99
O iPhone | iOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99 O Android | OS 2.2 |£1.20/$1.99
26
EMOJI EMOTICONS ART If it is both quantity and quality of emojis you’re looking for, this app will serve your needs. It includes over 700 individual emoticons, preset artistic combinations in 11 categories, fancy fonts and an emoji word maker. With so much content, it’s a blessing that the app also has intelligently designed menus. If you can’t find anything his collection, must have the wrong message. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99
TALKING EMOJI
EMOJIWithANIMATED PRO this app you can
This app combines an emoji keyboard that lets you add the usual range of emoticons to text and social media messages with a feature that enables you to record your own voice and have it spoken back to your message’s recipient in a squeaky voice. Most emoticons have to be unlocked with an in-app purchase but they should entertain the younger texters out there. When they’re not making up messages, these emojis can speak for themselves.
easily create animated emojis by combining text or emoticons from the included keyboard set. If you create an online user account, you can then share your creations with other users and view their animations. It’s surprising what can be created with a little imagination thanks to this large selection of emoticons. An easy and creative means of making picture messaging more personal.
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99 O Android | OS 1.6 | Freemium
O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | 0.69/$0.99
ENTERTAINMENT
ABOVE The social media section is again just a duplication of existing web content.
LEFT Several videos are included, but you’ll find most of them on YouTube regardless.
BERNHOFT ISLANDER
BELOW The lyrics and thank you section add to the album sleeve notes feel.
THE ALBUM SLEEVE UPDATED FOR THE 21ST CENTURY PROS/CONS
V Some interesting
ideas here, including the option to remix a track V High-quality music tracks are a welcome inclusion for audiophiles W Many of the app’s sections lack any real depth to them W Doesn’t play nicely with other music apps on your iPhone or iPad
If you’re of a certain age, you’ll know that downloading a handful of MP3s to your hard drive or clicking a link in Spotify isn’t quite the same as opening up a CD or vinyl album, and this is Jarle Bernhoft’s attempt to bring back “the true voice of the artist” to the album-making process. The Islander app is essentially his new Islander album, wrapped up with a pile of extra features and add-ons that flatter to deceive. There’s some very average fare here — the obligatory merchandise links and photo galleries are pretty ho-hum — but the 8-track mixing console and loop station are more interesting. Unfortunately there’s only one track you can remix, and the loop station ends up being pretty limited too once you dig into it. On the plus side, the software design and interface is polished throughout, and everything flows together in a nicely done carousel front-end. It’s a similar story with the Inside Islander section (a lukewarm attempt at digital sleeve notes) and the 360-degree video, which are both diverting but only for a few minutes. You do get the album in high-quality 48k 24-bit HD audio (hence the hefty 1.48GB download size), which is certainly welcome, even if you are going to have to upgrade your speakers or headphones to notice. The trouble is, you’re going to have to break out of Rdio or iTunes every time you want a little dash of Bernhoft, which isn’t ideal.
Overall, the app doesn’t really fulfil its potential — it feels a little half-baked throughout — but as you get the entire album as well it’s difficult to complain too much (buying standard quality MP3s alone would cost you about half the price). It’s a shame the extras don’t have more meat to them, but we’d like to see more artists going down this road in the future. More exclusive content and more tracks to play around with and we’d really be interested. Some decent ideas here, and the high-quality audio is to be applauded, but it’s largely disappointing. OiPad+ | iOS 6.0 | £13.99/$19.99 | v1.1 http://bit.ly/bernhofislios
SHOWCASE
The best and worst extras in Bernhoft Islander
01
The Studio There’s one track to remix, which can be fun — you can even add your own vocals on top.
02
Loop Station The chance to create your own tune is interesting, for about four or five minutes.
03
The album Having high-quality audio is a plus, and it continues to play while you’re in other apps.
04
Merchandise Perhaps I do want a Bernhoft T-shirt — but surely it’s easier just to order one on the web?
05
Photo gallery The photo gallery section isn’t particularly inspiring or well put together either.
27
ENTERTAINMENT
TRAP STUDIO
THE EASY WAY TO CREATE AND SHARE MULTI-TRACK MUSIC For anyone who has ever lusted over the possibility of laying down tracks in their bedroom and becoming an overnight music sensation, then apps like Trap Studio are a great gateway for understanding the principles that go into making hits.
Priced at a very reasonable £0.69/$0.99 (currently discounted), the app allows wannabe-music producers to create, record and share Trap music; a gritty fusion of dubstep and hip-hop. Fans of the genre can layer tracks using a variety of drum, bass, synth and SFX samples as well as create their own additions
“There’s a lot of potential here; it’s easy to understand and it’s certainly great fun to use”
ABOVE Music-making fans can use the in-app synthesiser to create their own original samples
SEAMUS HEANEY: FI
ABOVE The affordable app caters for all levels using the in-app synthesiser. What’s more there’s a whole host of onboard wizardry to perfect the tracks such as: splitting, trimming, looping, fading, duplicating as well as being able to import samples from your iTunes collection. There’s a lot of potential here; it’s easy to understand and it’s certainly great fun to use, but currently in its debut version the app can be a little glitchy and it isn’t the most intuitive of its kind on the market. At this point in time the app is a fantastic tool of entertainment, particularly for the musically-minded or a Trap-enthusiast, but as far as actual hit-making goes the app may need a little progressing for anyone to achieve fame and fortune from using it. Trap Studio is an enjoyment rather than career-focused app for laying down hiphop-come-dubstep tracks. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.0 http://bit.ly/trapstudios
CLASSIC FABLE STORIES BROUGHT TO LIFE Whether you have a love of literature or have a child who loves animation, the Seamus Heaney: Five Fables app is sure to become a fond favourite for all the family. The app presents Seamus Heaney’s (Irish poet, Noble Prize winner of literature and most likely author of a fair amount of poetry you studied at GSCE English) adaptation of Aesop’s Fables by 15th Century Scottish poet Robert Henryson. The well-known and much-loved tales, such as ‘The Two Mice’ and ‘The Mouse and the Lion’, have been enchantingly animated
for all ages to enjoy. Comedian Billy Connolly lends a narration in English, while medieval expert Ian Johnson offers a rendition in the original Scottish, allowing users to seamless switch between the two. As well as the charming stories, owners of the app can watch videos of leading academics including the creator himself, read the original and translated text, and study the supplied academic notes to help to add context. What makes this app particularly poignant is Five Fables (originally broadcast on the BBC) was one of Heaney’s last endeavours before his death in 2013. As five animated tales the price could be considered rather steep, but when you consider all the bonus material included, any fan of the written word is sure to get their money’s worth. Entertainment meets education in this heart-warming, story-led animation app
ABOVE The five fables appear in this colourful grid layout
OiPad | iOS 7.0 | £7.99/$11.99 | v1.0.0 http://bit.ly/fivefablesios
28
ABOVE Users can read Seamus Heaney’s translation alongside Henryson’s original
ENTERTAINMENT
QUU
Quu looks like an app that is perfectly suited to any serious music fan who plays music when travelling. The Last. fm integration is very useful and brings tour information, artist details and histories plus a UI that is sublime to look at. The extra information is nice to have and the minimalism is a treat on the eyes, but the reality is that it can be difficult to control. An example of design that concentrates on the visuals far too much. The minimalism works in this music app, but at the expense of playback control. OiPhone | iOS 7.1 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.2
TOCA TOWN
Many games for children have set mechanisms which they can play within, but in Toca Town we have a game that offers a free world to explore. Children can move the characters and give them objects to play with, and move from location to location instantly. It is incredibly flexible and will teach them a lot about dealing with people as well. A splendidly cute world for young children to explore. OiPad+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.1 OAndroid | OS 4.0.3 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0
MILOGENERATOR
If you are a huge fan of the pop-punk band Descendents then this app may have a place on your phone, but for everyone else it will be hard to understand what the point is. You use different facial parts and bodies to create your own Milo which you can then share. If we are honest, even diehard fans may struggle to find more than a tiny bit of fun in this app because it is incredibly short on depth and any longevity at all. It needs much more. Descendents fans may get some fun from this app, but we are far from convinced.
PLAY THE PIANO
01 PLAY THE PIANO It may look like a very gaudy piano but it is brilliant for learning how to play. You hit the keys as the notes fall and it has a staggering 100 songs built in.
+++++
OiPhone+ | iOS 6.1 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.1
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.4.457
02 NOTA FOR iPAD By tinkering with the piano keyboard, you get to see the corresponding notes. The idea is that you become more familiar with reading music. It will test you on your knowledge to boost learning.
+++++
O iPad | iOS 4.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.18
THE IMPOSSIBLE QUIZ!
GODFREY
We cannot criticise the questions in The Impossible Quiz! at all because they are extremely clever. When you fail to answer correctly, take a moment to think hard and it will become clear. It’s very addictive and great fun, but there are some bizarre design misses included. The interface is landscape, but messages pop up in portrait and it does not take advantage of the larger screen sizes in new phones. It’s a case of very good alongside some small annoyances. A selection of very clever questions housed in a almost unusable interface.
Godfrey is an excellent storybook for children that has an interesting story running in every page. Add to this graphics that verge on the quality we expect in comics and it comes together as very good value. It would be nice to see the story lengthened because it ended too quickly, but the sheer quality of the presentation is hard to argue with. The card game and narration do add even more benefits. A visually pleasing children’s story with a great storyline running throughout.
OiPhone+ | iOS 3.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.50
OiPad+ | iOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.0
SAGO MINI SPACE EXPLORER
This app offers a glimpse of what children’s titles will be able to do in the future, but it is doing it now. Very young children get to control Harvey the dog as he meanders through space and meets other characters while interacting with objects that are lying around. The sounds and graphics are spot on and it is a joy to use and watch. Kids will love this! Parents get downloading now. An immersive and brilliant virtual toy for younger children. OiPad+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0 OAndroid (Kindle Fire only) | OS 4.0 | £1.74/$2.99 | v1.0
03 iGRAND PIANO FOR IPAD For audio quality, iGrand Piano for iPad is magnificent but you’ll have to be serious if you want to splash the cash. It has low-latency response, which feels very real.
+++++
O iPad | iOS 5.1 | £13.99/$19.99 | v1.1.1
04 MUSICAL PRO A great piano and learning app for Android, this comes with 20 songs, a scrolling grand piano and the ability to export tunes you create as MIDI or a ringtone.
+++++
O Android | OS 2.1 | £2.63/$3.99 | 6.0.7
05 BETTER EARS FOR iPAD Another piano-learning app, Better Ears ensures you are more musically aware of tempos and intervals in order to enhance your overall piano-playing ability. It’s a little expensive, though.
+++++
O iPad | iOS 5.0 | £10.49/$14.99 | v2.0.1
29
EVERYDAY
GET READY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL APPS THAT EVERY STUDENT SHOULD HAVE IN THEIR BACKPACK
BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING LIST This app lists a range of items students might need when they return to the classroom. The attractive, well-organised interface divides items into relevant categories by academic level. You can also add items that aren’t listed and compile a shopping list. Together these features make it easy to ensure you or your child are well equipped for a new term. The best guide to what to buy when shops stock up on back-to-school stuff. O iPhone+ | iOS 4.1 | £1.99/$2.99 O Android | OS 2.1 | £0.69/$0.99
30
iSTUDIEZ PRO
This application will help students keep up with busy academic and recreational schedules. It includes reminders for the current day, an eye-catching colour-coded calendar, an assignment tracker that can be ordered by date or course and a class planner that can be decorated with attractive icons. Once entered, this information can be backed up online by registering for an account. This app has won plenty of awards in the past and it’s easy to see why. Well recommended. Cool features and design will mean you have no excuse for being late for class. O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £1.99/$2.99
POWERONE SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR Mobile devices come
BRAINPOP UK FEATURED MOVIE This colourful app is a
DOCUMENTS TO GO® PREMIUM Among the advantages
with a calculator app pre-loaded but not one as comprehensive as this tool. It can do algebraic and reverse Polish Notation calculations, graphing (iOS only), conversions and a range of statistical tests. It also saves previous calculations and lets you create customised templates own functions. This powerhouse adds up to an essential app for mathematicians.
great source of entertaining general knowledge for young students. It includes a limited selection of short animated movies for free but many more are accessible with a subscription. The material covers all the standard topics. A paid account also opens up instructional guides on reading, writing, biography, history and science. Impressive use of animation should help young kids get excited.
of this costly but versatile office suite app are compatibility with current and older versions of Microsoft Office and support for several cloud storage providers. The word processor is particularly well designed, making it easy to write up assignments on the bus at the last minute. A cheaper version without cloud support is also available. You’ll give this app full marks if you need to edit homework on the move.
O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99 O Android | OS 4.0 | £3.01/$4.99
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | Freemium O Android | OS 2.2 | Freemium
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £11.99/$16.99 O Android | Varies | £8.98/$14.99
EVERYDAY
ABOVE Adding a Spotmark is easy and is effectively a four-tap process.
ABOVE There is a night mode that is much easier on the eye in dimmer light.
SPOTMARK
X MARKING THE SPOT? THAT’S JUST SO LAST CENTURY PROS/CONS
V Marking spots is very
easy and can be done in seconds V The distance and location of spots is incredibly clear W The distance could change at times despite being still W If you use maps, it takes you out of the Spotmark app
Spotmark is a navigation tool that wants to reduce your reliance on maps. It figures that maps can be too prescribed and, in the majority of cases, you need only be pointed in the right direction in order to get to where you need to be. As long as you have a series of landmarks, you can not only avoid getting lost but have a mini-adventure along the way. It works by letting you mark various spots. This could be your car, a campsite, a place of interest or whatever else indicates a specific location. You name the spot that you are currently at, lend it an icon (there are six to choose from) and tap Done. If you need to go back to that place, you just find it in the list of spotmarks and it will tell you the direction and the distance you are away from it in metres. Handily, it does not need a data connection, which is brilliant if you are abroad. And while it does have a map facility – throwing you out of the app and into the hands of Apple Maps – the idea is that the direction pointer and distance should be more than enough. Why follow a set
route, it asks, when you can find your own way there and potentially spot something of interest. Unfortunately, the distance displayed on the screen can, at times, vary for no apparent reason. We marked the location of our car, for instance, took the phone to a coffee shop and sat it on the table. The distance went down to zero at one point, then changed to 23, then went to 17 even though we had not moved. It also seemed to point in the wrong direction. In most cases it was accurate, though. Certainly as we walked around it configured itself. There are some neat additional features. You can view the screen in night mode, making the screen grey instead of white. You can also share locations via Mail or Message and you can copy it for pasting elsewhere. A well-designed and simple spot-marking navigation tool that can take you off the beaten track. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.0 http://bit.ly/spotmarkios
HOW TO…
Set markers when you are out and about
01
Add Spotmark Press the + in the top-right of the direction screen and then choose from one of six icons.
02
Add a name Whether you choose location, a place to stay or a vehicle you must name the spot.
03
See direction As you walk you will see the direction of where you’ve come from and how far away it is.
04
Share location Tap the Share button and share the location with others via Mail, SMS or copy it.
05
See a map It goes against the ethos of Spotmark but you can see your location on a map.
31
EVERYDAY
PAPERBAG
ABOVE Add groceries to your list and it will automatically detect amounts and units
LEFT Set reminders so that you don’t forget your shopping bags
MAKE GROCERY SHOPPING LESS OF A CHORE
Whether you’re a student doing your own food shopping for the first time, or a harassed parent buying enough fruit and veg to feed the five thousand, one experience is universal: the horror of forgetting your shopping list. You can spot these people in the supermarket from afar; wandering from aisle to aisle with a basket full of frivolous confectionary and an expression of growing frustration as they try to remember what it was they actually wanted. Paperbag is an incredibly simple way to keep on top of multiple shopping lists. Say, for example, you want to cook a meal or make a batch of cocktails with a very specific list of ingredients; you can create a special list just for these items, and Paperbag will remember exactly what you bought, ready for the next time you need it. You can even include exact quantities, and scratch each item off with a simple swipe gesture as you make your way around the dreaded shop. Paperbag also helps you do your bit for the
BRAINPOP UK
environment, by setting a reminder for each list so you won’t forget your reusable shopping bags. Remembering to bring your shopping ‘bag for life’ has never been cooler. A simple but effective app that ensures you’ll never leave the supermarket without toilet paper again. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.0.0 http://bit.ly/paperbagios
A UNIQUE AND INTERACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE
This app offers many unique features and uses logical tools to teach children about different topics. From science to maths to the arts, the range of content is broad, but it is in the presentation that it truly shines. You
get to watch a new animated movie every day that includes many interesting facts, and when you have finished, you can take a quiz to see how much of the information was taken in. The ability to view all of the movies at any time is also available via a reasonable monthly subscription for parents, or through a special rate for school that makes the app accessible to students in the classroom and at home. Add to this a set of questions that are incredibly well designed and a high level of care and attention throughout, and we have an absorbing and fun app that offers a huge amount of longevity. There are many ways to teach children, but the combination of humour, visuals and carefully considered factual information in BrainPOP UK Featured Movie come together to create an experience that takes away all of the fear of learning instantly. When learning is fun, it is likely to be more beneficial and here we have an app that offers benefits to anyone who uses it. A compelling and enjoyable way to teach children, and adults, new facts in many topics.
OiOS 5.0 | iOS 5.0 | Freemium | v3.0.2 http://bit.ly/brainpopukios ABOVE The quiz questions are well OAndroid | OS 2.2 | Freemium | v1.0.1 http://bit.ly/brainpopukand thought out and educational.
32
EVERYDAY
LENKA
PILLOW: SMART SLEEP CYCLE JUICES
Lenka is designed to produce artistic photos in an interface that presents as few barriers as possible. We commend the interface and the way it works, but admit to struggling to capture photos that stand out in comparison to other offerings, and indeed the default iPhone camera app. We feel that the results could be edited in to any photo and thus are left with limited choices here. The hand-picked filters don’t quite lift it above the competition. A simplistic photo app that struggles to produce quality images every time.
Pillow is one of a number of sleep recording apps, but the feature set included here is phenomenal. With sleep tracking and the ability to provide an optimal wake up time we are off to a good start, but the list continues. Powernap modes, sleep aid melodies, synchronisation, history tracking and so much more come together to offer all that you need. Once you understand how to place your phone in your bed, you can track every detail. You should never underestimate the importance of sleep.
Making tasty smoothies is not as easy as you may think because getting the balance right for each ingredient is crucial. Juices includes more than 400 recipes and fully explains how to make each smoothie with full ingredients listings and some exceptional photography. You can even check the energy, immunity and digestion of each recipe and see if any work well for particular ailments. You can then create schedules to help you get healthier. In a fiercely competitive area, Juices stands up and offers many tasty recipes.
OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0.1
OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.1
OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.0
GET THE WEATHER
01 WEATHER HD
Featuring beautiful videos, Weather HD is preferable to looking out of the window. The 3D weather maps show cloud cover and heat and you can see the weather in multiple places.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v2.6.2 O Android | Varies | £0.63/$0.99 | Varies
02 WEATHER+ Weather+ visualises the weather, gives lots of fine detail and breaks down reports into three-hour chunks for a duration of five days. It comes with a world clock too.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v2.50
SNORRT!
AIRPANO TRAVEL BOOK
03 RADARSCOPE Aimed at meteorologists and
Snorrt! is highly unusual and could be described by some as taking advantage of those who snore, but if used responsibly there are some real benefits here. You can view videos of other people snoring and record your own to show your partner or, if you are feeling wicked, share with other users of the application. The main feature though is the ability to analyse the snore using various methods, which could potentially help to indicate a medical problem. Unusual, but useful if you’re a noisy sleeper. A quirky app that offers some fun and potential education for loud snorers.
The AirPano Travel Book is quite brilliant because it will take you around the world to many beautiful locations and let you explore them in the most immersive of ways. The panoramas are genuine 360° aerial shots that you can manipulate by swiping in any direction. It feels as if you are flying over each location and we struggled to put the app down once we started. It is a work of art throughout. Stunning. A breathtaking app that amazes and surprises.
Pictorian has one aim and that is to help you to separate the photos you like the most from your main Camera Roll. When you copy an image from any other app, simply open Pictorian and it will offer to import it. Each photo will then be displayed in a visually impressive way with the ability to tap any photo to view it full screen, at which point you can then share it or add a description. With some more features it could be a near perfect photo app. A pleasing way to separate your favourite and special photos from the rest.
OiPhone | iOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.0
OiPad | iOS 6.1 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0
OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £0.99/$1.99 | v1.0.0
PICTORIAN
weather enthusiasts, RadarScope has high-level data so you can view information about tornados, thunderstorms and other natural happenings.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.1 | £6.99/$9.99 | v2.2.1 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | £6.26/$9.99 | v2.2.4
04 CELSIUS – WEATHER & TEMPERATURE This apps puts the temperature on its own icon, giving you an at-a-glance guide to whether it’s too hot or cold. The temperature also appears on the lockscreen and in the Notification Center.
+++++
O iPhone | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0/99 | v2.11
05 DARK SKY The app has been simplified and lost some of its accuracy in the process, but it can still forecast the weather minute-by-minute given you adequate warning of a downpour.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.49/3.99 | v4.1.2
33
WORK
TINKER
SCHEDULE AND KEEP TRACK OF ANY SHORT-TERM PRODUCTIVITY TASKS PROS/CONS
V A simple interface
makes inputting time efficient V You get notified of when goals should have been achieved W The colour-scheme won’t be to everyone’s taste W Some may want a greater number of features
When you set up a list of reminders, it’s easy to plough through them, ticking items off the list to great satisfaction. One problem with this, though, is running out of time. Some tasks can be more absorbing than others and it can knock you off schedule. But what if you could set a limit for each task and focus your energy and mind that bit more? Tinker - Tweak Your Productivity is the solution to this problem. With an emphasis on duration-based goals, you simply pinch the screen to create a goal and fill in the small amount of required detail. The app presents you with a countdown clock showing how much time you have left to complete the task. Although you can pause each goal with a single tap or double-tap to edit, by letting it run and sticking to the time allowed, you should be able to achieve your aims that bit faster, boosting productivity in the process. Tasks can be scheduled for the future and it gives you a countdown to when these are due to start. When your time is up, a notification is sent to your phone and the goal is removed. Goals can also be removed manually and this is great if you find you have finished a task ahead of time. By keeping everything so simple, Tinker ensures you don’t
ABOVE The instructions within Tinker are clear and you will soon get going with it
waste time filling in forms and organising tasks and that makes it such a treat to use. You can set as many duration goals as you like, with each task being anything from one minute in length to 24 hours. It is easy to be exact too, since the increments are minuteby-minute. Pull down on the screen and you can turn off sounds and even allow Tinker to pause a task by covering the screen. The tasks can be seen by swiping up and down the screen. It’s all so simple. If there is any criticism, it would have to be the colour scheme. Although the black screen is sleek and minimalist with a few splashes of colours to denote the passing of time it would be nice in future updates to be able to customise it. Tinker is a single-minded, distraction-free app that helps make you efficient. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.1.1 http://bit.ly/tinkerios
ABOVE You can customise Tinker to silence alerts and change the gesture for pausing tasks
HOW TO…
Stay more productive by setting specific timers
34
01
Begin task Pinch out on the screen to start a new goal. A circle will appear before fixing into place.
02
Fill in task Now fill in the details, giving it a descriptive title using the iPhone keyboard.
03
Select time Tap on the button that says Now and use the slider to indicate when it should start.
04
Select duration Now indicate exactly how long the task needs to last for, again using the sliders.
05
Get cracking Now the goal is underway, you can see exactly how long you have until deadline.
WORK
THE CONVERTED
REQUIRES LEARNING CURVE BEFORE YOU’RE CONVERTED
SCANBOT
Conversion tools are not sexy. They’re functional and they serve a quick purpose. At least, that’s what we thought until we used The Converted by Ideon. Although it can take a few minutes to get your head around the refreshing way the app approaches conversion, users are helped by a great guided tour. You soon realise the main action takes place on a conversion line that runs from top to bottom on the screen – and that there is no keyboard entry whatsoever. Instead, you slide up and down the line finding the figure you wish to convert from. By moving your finger out towards the edges of the screen, you can get greater precision but, in all cases, the converted result is instantly displayed. It is a rather fluid non-cumbersome process that can be performed one-handed. Each category lets you select what you wish to convert, giving you a wealth of options.
And yet having to swipe to access the different units can be annoying. There will be users who want to just tap a number in and see the result too without having to swipe around. There is a sense that this app is a gimmick and that, for both light and heavy users, manual input is always the best way. A clever, unique approach to currency conversion that will either enthrall or repel you. It’s the Marmite of mobile applications.
LEFT The central line shows you the two different units you are comparing
OiPhone | iOS 6.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0.3 http://bit.ly/conideonios
ABOVE You can choose which units you wish to use
ABOVE There is a guide to see exactly what you need to do
“It is a rather fluid non-cumbersome process that can be performed one-handed”
SCAN YOUR EYES OVER THIS USER-FRIENDLY MOBILE SCANNER Scanner apps for mobile devices are nothing new but they can be fiddly to use. Using your phone to take a shot of an A4 sheet in paper in most instances can lead to a many retakes. This is still the case with Scanbot, especially since it doesn’t straighten scans like rival CamScanner. But, given that it puts speed at the heart of its operation, the process of getting a good shot was made far easier. To get going, you press a large + button to access
the camera. You can make use of the flash and decide if you want to scan multiple pages. Then you just snap away using the camera shutter icon. Once a scan has been made, you can apply colour, grey and black and white filters, use the crop tool to fine-tune the scan and rotate the image. The resulting scans are of brilliant quality and the app creates PDFs and JPGs that are 200dpi and higher. Each scan is then saved. You can then send them to all of the major cloud services. You can also add a signature, email or attach them to SMS, open them in iBooks or Adobe Reader. With automatic uploads and the ability to save JPGs to the camera roll, Scanbot is versatile. Add more tools and it will become much-loved. Scanbot is a quality mobile scanner which, given greater user controls, could seize the market. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v2.0.4 http://bit.ly/scanbotios OAndroid | OS 4.0.3 | £1.42/$1.99 | v2.0.0-12 http://bit.ly/scanbotand
ABOVE Scanbot can detect the edges of a document
ABOVE With cropping tools, you can get in really close
RIGHT The editing tools allow for signatures and notes to be placed within the documents
35
WORK
TRACK TIME
01 TIMESHEET A clean and intuitive timetracking app that lets you title and tag your tasks. Use a stopwatch to time how long tasks take or schedule them for later.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.1.0
02 HOURSTRACKER HD
With a battery-saving feature, HoursTracker HD keeps track of time without running in the background. This iPad app will also calculate your earnings and let you retrospectively start a clock.
LOOKUP: AN ELEGANT DICTIONARY
Checking the meaning of any word can be undertaken through the internet fairly quickly, but there will be occasions when a bespoke solution that works in an instant is a more suitable tool for the job. LookUp could well be that tool because all you need to do is type the word and the full meaning will appear. Links to Wikipedia are included and at no point does any feature trip over the others. Sometimes you just need an accurate and convenient dictionary. This could be it. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0.2
GLASSBOARD — PRIVATE CHAT LLUMINO
Glassboard - Private Chat fulfils its main aim of providing a messaging service that groups and businesses can use to communicate privately, but we were left feeling a little cold by the user interface and the overall experience. You can share images, videos and files with your own groups, which works as it should, but the entire setup needs much more personality and depth to thrive. A private messenger that works well, but it lacks a broad scope of features. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v3.0.2 OAndroid | OS 4.0 | Free | v2.7.1
If you need a calculator that can keep a lengthy history of all of your recent calculations and which has a cool and simple UI, Llumino could be the one. Throw in a selection of customisable themes that never dominate the experience and some subtle button effects, and you end up with a likeable calculator. It is quick to use, offers just the features you need and will prove to be a very reliable workhorse in the future. Less can be more in the world of calculations – providing the basics are covered. OiPhone | iOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.1.4
+++++
O iPad | iOS 4.2 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.8 O Android | OS 4.0 | $4.19/$6.99 | v2.5
03 HOURS KEEPER PRO Produce weekly and monthly timesheets with ease and see exactly how much you are earning for each period. This app also generates PDF invoices and it exports in the CSV file format.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £4.99/$6.99 | v2.4 O Android | OS 3.0 | £2.39/$3.99 | v1.2
04 ETERNITY TIME LOG It may be on the expensive side but Eternity Time Log is a comprehensive offering that allows for multiple timers, colour coding and editable daily logs that can be exported to Excel.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £9.99/$13.99 | v2.3.2
05 TIMESHEET PRO This app will automatically calculate each days’ pay and it will create invoices too. As well as passcode protecting your data it will safely back it up. It also works with multiple currency.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 4.3 | £1.49/$1.99 | v2.0
36
SUMHOLD
It is incredibly difficult to change a tool as embedded in our culture as the humble calculator, but Sumhold does this and somehow makes the new way of working feel completely natural. When you have completed a calculation and want to save the number, simple swipe it down and it will be shown to use in your next calculation. The more you use it the more convenient it gets. Why has nobody thought of this idea before now? It works brilliantly. A brilliant take on the traditional calculator. OiPhone | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.0
UK POSTAGE CALCULATOR
It is not easy to calculate postage costs because there are so many variances such as parcel size, destination and the type of service you want to use. With this app, however, you can see exact pricing just by tapping a few onscreen buttons. It’s useful for home use, but is potentially a must-have solution in businesses that send lots of letters and parcels and a daily basis. For home or work, this app will save you a lot of time calculating postage. OiPhone | iOS 5.1 | £1.99/$2.99 | v2.0.1 OAndroid | OS 2.2 | £1.99/$3.31 | v2.0.1
WRITE FOR iPAD
Write for iPad is packed with advanced features, but somehow manages to hide all of this complexity in an app that feels destined for the iPad form factor. The keyboard includes a magic cursor for quicker navigating and there is also rich markdown editing support. Add to this a seamless synchronisation system, image support and an interface that feels like the calmest word processor in the world and we have a winner. A superb writing tool. Complexity meets simple elegance in this writing app. OiPad | iOS 7.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v2.6.1
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GAMES
FAST REACTION GAMES MOBILE GAMES THAT WILL TEST YOUR REFLEXES TO THE MAX
SKYLANDERS CLOUD PATROL
TAPDOT The concept of this
IMPOSSIBLE FLIGHT SUPERIn thisHEXAGON No roundup of fast game you control
In this mobile spin-off from the Activision toy/ game combo you use your airship cannon to shoot down trolls before they can lob guns and bombs at you. Ostensibly you play one of the titular heroes but your character is effectively static. The first few rounds are easy but you have to tap faster as the number of armed trolls rises. More fun than you might imagine from a franchise largely aimed at youngsters.
addictive game is simplicity itself: the screen shows a series of dots in quick succession and you have to tap the right combination of colours and shapes as quickly as possible to succeed. It has a polished user interface to explore, Easy, Hard and Insane levels and Game Center integration on iOS so you can show off your speed. Easy to play but hard to beat, this will have you seeing spots.
a triangle trapped at the centre of a series of ever-contracting hexagons. The objective is to avoid getting crushed by moving the triangle left or right through gaps in the sides of the relentless geometrical shapes. The levels start at hard and get harder, which is appropriate because you need lightning reflexes. Infuriatingly challenging but it could use an obvious way to pause a game that you’ve already started.
reaction games would be complete without mentioning Flappy Bird. This clone is available on both iOS and Android and has cuter, higher resolution graphics than the original. The objective is identical, though: you have to tap quickly at exactly the right times to guide a little bird through small gaps in an endless series of brick walls. The title says it all but you’ll be unable to resist trying to prove otherwise.
craft down the sides of a wireframe tunnel and avoid crashing into walls that suddenly appear along the way. You manoeuvre through gaps by tapping the screen but you must be fast even on the easiest level. A neat touch is the ability to record your race attempts and post them online for others to marvel at. Makes Luke’s last run at the Death Star in Star Wars look like child’s play.
O iPad+ | iOS 5.1 | £1.49/$1.99 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | £1.22/$1.99
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99
O iPhone+ | iOS 4.3 | £1.99/$2.99 O Android | OS 2.2 | £1.99/$2.99
O iPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 O Android | OS 2.1 | £0.59/$0.99
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99 O Android | OS 4.0 | £0.73/$0.99
38
BEATInDRIFT this game you guide a
GAMES
LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES: UNIVERSE IN PERIL
A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF HOW NOT TO PORT A CONSOLE GAME TO TABLETS
PROS/CONS
V Family-friendly and
largely designed for children V Excellent fan service and hidden references to spot W Awful controls that don’t work on either the X- or Y-axis W Watered down with IAPs that undermine the whole experience
The LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game (minus the Universe in Peril suffix) released to critical and commercial success last winter; operating around a New York hub world in between missions, players could do anything they wanted during non-story gameplay. The corridor-led level design was broken up in the hub, allowing the player to be anarchic and free, wreaking havoc on New York’s docile inhabitants as your favourite heroes or heroines. Unfortunately, the iOS and handheld console ports of the game took this vital facet of the game away, leaving the player with a slew of linear, repetitive missions that don’t bring anything new to what LEGO Lord of the Rings was doing on iOS years ago. The option to play as any of the Marvel heroes you’d recognise from the cinematic universe is certainly a draw, and the fan-service in the game will prompt smiles from Marvel aficionados, but clunky handling and lack of imagination on the designer’s part will quickly
“Lack of imagination will quickly make this game feel like a chore”
make this game feel like a chore, rather than a treat. Seeing each hero’s unique moves and animations is fun, but with a roster comprised mostly of pallet swaps, even that becomes tiresome after a few hours. At £2.99/$4.99, you’re getting a much better deal than the 3DS or Vita versions of the game (each retailing at £30/$50). However, the economy of unlocks and super moves (the best parts of the game) are skewed in favour of in-app purchases. You can complete the game without paying more, but it’s a far more boring experience. Comic book fans will still find a lot here to enjoy, but this slipshod port has turned the tried-and-tested LEGO formula into something that doesn’t quite work. OiPad+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99 | v1.0 http://bit.ly/legomshuipios
RIGHT The tablet game struggles to render LEGO pieces
ABOVE The cutscenes will raise a smile amongst Marvel comic book and movie fans
ALTERNATIVELY
Here are five other games that might scratch that LEGO fascination of yours
01 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS A faithful reimaging of Tolkien’s world that makes the most of the movie license, and though it misses out the RPG elements of its console brothers, it’s still a fun fantasy romp.
+++++
O iPad+ | iOS 6.0 | £2.99/£4.99 | v1.0
02 MINECRAFT The closest thing you’ll get to the LEGO philosophy, Minecraft has become the darling of creative parents and children everywhere.
+++++
O iPad+ | iOS 5.0 | £4.99/$6.99 | v0.9.5 O Android | Varies | £4.99/$6.99 | Varies
03 STAR WARS: TINY DEATH STAR
04 LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE TRILOGY
05 LEGO BATMAN: DC SUPER HEROES
Be creative within the Star Wars universe while tasking yourself against time limits, staff incompetence and all manner of disasters.
This is the best LEGO value for money, rounded out with slapstick silent comedy and visual gags. The first episode is free, too, so you can try before you buy
If you fall into camp DC, rather than camp Marvel, this is for you: Batman may be the highlight, but flying around as a little LEGO Superman certainly has its perks as well.
+++++
+++++
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | Freemium | v1.4.1 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | Freemium | v1.4.2
O iPad+ | iOS 6.0 | Free | v1.3
O iPad+ | iOS 5.1 | £2.99/$4.99 | v1.4
39
GAMES
GODFIRE: RISE OF PROMETHEUS SO OUTDATED, IT COULD BE PROMETHEAN
If you’re a console gamer, then you’ll be familiar with the growing niche of hack ‘n’ slash action adventure games: Devil May Cry, God Of War, Dante’s Inferno, Bayonetta – they all take their cues from classic mythology, and Godfire adheres to their template in every single way imaginable. Thing is, console hardware has the power and framerate to accommodate this, and unfortunately the iPad doesn’t: Godfire is a 3D adventure that sees player character Prometheus embark on a saga-inspired
VVVVVV
OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99 | v1.0.0 http://bit.ly/godfireios LEFT The combat looks sharp and vibrant, but unfortunately it handles a bit too heavily to impress
A VISAGE OF VALUE AND VERACITY VICARIOUSLY VIVID AND VALOROUS
Developer Terry Cavanagh is known for his anarchic but familiar approach to games design, and four years ago he solidified his status as a master of the form with VVVVVV; an uber-precise Metroidvania-style game whose centre of gravity rested on adventure, while its limbs explored platforming, pixel-
perfect skill jumps and intrepid exploration. The iOS port has been a long time coming, but ultimately worth it. Captain Viridian’s ship has crash landed on an 8-bit realm of gravity defiance: you can’t jump in VVVVVV, you can only ‘flip’. ‘Flipping’ is by default mapped to the right side of the screen, but the option to use a D-pad exists, too, though we found that was
“It’s a stylised, less-is-more approach to gaming executed superbly on the touch interface”
ABOVE Narrative components of the game are thin, but present – never intrusive or overblown
40
campaign against the hordes of Hell. It looks very pretty, but that’s about it – for a game that revolves around combat, every encounter feels bloated and top-heavy, the block button redundant and the attack animations repetitive. The boss battles, which the genre is famous for doing well, would have felt cliché in the PS2 era, but now they’re beyond textbook simplicity. End-level foes always fall into a very basic and sludgy routine – attack, block, attack, block, rinse and repeat. The same goes with the puzzles; uninspired and drab. You have to admire, though, developer Vivid’s insistence on including so many facets to the game – adventure, combat, boss encounters, puzzling and RPG elements combine to make a cumbersome beast, but an ambitious one. Godfire tries to run before it can walk, and ends up face-down in cliché. A jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
ABOVE Some of the levels and challenges look almost impassable at first glance obstructive: you really need a decent view of everything, at all times, if you want to plan ahead and scope out the myriad of hidden offshoots and secrets. VVVVVV is pseudo-open world, meaning you have a hub to return to after every Module (read: level). Each section away from the hub introduces new obstacles to overcome in a user-friendly, iterative learning curve – the game is challenging, but never impossible. It’s a stylised, less-is-more approach to gaming executed superbly on the touch interface of the iPad or iPhone. Don’t let its classic arcade game skin put you off – beneath is a delicate, responsive masterpiece. Both retro and innovative, this game could be decades old yet still feels excitingly fresh OiPhone+ | iOS 4.3 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.01 http://bit.ly/vvvvvvios
GAMES
RAVENSBURGER BRICKS – PUZZLE ARCADE GAME THE JIGSAW
VENTIVIAN DEFENDER - PIXEL STEAMPUNK SOLVE PUZZLES
We could reasonably expect a puzzle game to work adequately on a tablet, but here we have one that is just as easy to use on a phone. The controls are brilliantly thought out and are as simple as tapping to rotate and sliding to put pieces together. There is a decent variety of sets and you can buy more if you like, but our impression is of a game that is always relaxing and which sucks time away very quickly. It is an achievement to create such a relaxing puzzle game
Bricks is a highly unusual game that requires you to rotate your phone to let the ball hit each panel. When it hits, it is removed and your goal is to completely remove the circle surrounding the ball. It sounds simple, but as you progress it starts to get much more difficult and you will be frantically spinning your phone around to connect each object. The classic game of Pong comes to mind, but this is a new take that works very well indeed. It’s great fun. An original game that feels like the classic Pong modernised for the mobile age.
Our first impressions of this game were not particularly positive, but as we persevered the experience started to grow on us. Think of this game as a 2D tower defence offering that lets you deal with the expected waves of enemies, but from the top and bottom of the screen. It is quite tricky at first and this is why we grew to like it because it makes you think about what you are doing at every step. A retro 2D tower defence game that creeps into your mind and won’t let you go.
OiPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.3
OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.1
OiPad+ | iOS 5.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.0
01 THREES!
Match two – not three – numbered tiles and create higher-numbered ones in a game that looks amazing and takes pattern-matching to a new level.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.1.1 O Android | OS 4.0 | £1.17/$1.99 | v1.1
02 THE ROOM TWO A 3D puzzler that has players exploring various objects in order to crack the logical puzzles they present. It advances on the original, equally compelling game.
+++++
MONTY PYTHON’S THE MINISTRY OF SILLY WALKS AXL & TUNA
This game has the genius of Monty Python running through every pixel. From the silly walks to the splendidly traditional music, it is an enlightening experience as you attempt to avoid obstacles while walking in a very silly way. It is very good fun, but we do wonder if hardcore gamers will find the entire experience too easy. This game is bonkers in a good way, but serious gamers may find it too easy. OiPhone+ | iOS 7.0 | £0.99/$0.99 | v1.0.3 OAndroid | OS 2.3 | £0.99/$1.69 | v1.0.3
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0.3 O Android | OS 2.3 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.0.4
03 MONUMENT VALLEY A gorgeous game that also
JELLIES!
There is actually little in Axl & Tuna that has not been seen in many other games, but the way everything has been put together makes for an experience that is much more difficult to succeed at than may be obvious initially. You have to control Axl as he slides along a never ending platform and jump to avoid robots while trying to collect Fuzzbots. It’s cute stuff, very fast paced and devilishly difficult at times. This game looks easy, but it requires some serious skill and quick reactions.
JELLIES! is a classic title for any mobile device and everything from the simple and colourful graphics to the friendly soundtrack work well. Your goal is to catch as many jellies as possible by connecting them and also by avoiding obstacles. Once you have connected jellies, they all move so you are dealing with a constantly changing environment, which is good, but overall we feel that more variety and originality would help. A fun puzzle game with lots of good traits, but it needs much more variety.
OiPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99 | v1.3
OiPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99 | v1.0.1
plays incredibly well with lots twisting in order to solve some mind-bending architectural puzzles.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 6.0 | £2.49/$3.99 | v1.0.3 O Android | OS 2.3.3 | £2.49/$3.99 | v1.0.5.8
04 WORLD OF GOO HD World of Goo is still very much a top physics-based puzzle that has transferred very well from home consoles. Your brain will ache!
+++++
O iPad | iOS 4.3 | £2.99/$4.99 | v1.5 O Android | OS 2.2 | £2.99/$4.99 | v1.2
05 LYNE
It’s a game of dot-to-dot that, while simple, is strewn with uncrossable lines and junction boxes and needs intelligent planning.
+++++
O iPhone+ | iOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 | v1.1.0 O Android | OS 2.3 | £1.60/$2/50 | v110
41
TIP
Draw with a stylus
We struggled to get much control with our fingers when drawing onscreen, but our luck changed when we moved to a stylus. A great accessory to have in your armoury.
CREATE YOUR OWN APP PROTOTYPE WITH MARVEL
Use Marvel’s new features to turn your development sketches into creativity-boosting interactive models
App development can be a muddy water of sketches, design woes and coding nightmares. It’s not for the faint hearted. But there’s a brilliant solution to getting your ideas from simple sketches to interactive prototypes, and any one can put their hand to it. The app is called Marvel. What initially made Marvel stand out as leading prototype software was its hotspots feature, which enables you to define touchable areas that link to other screens you’ve made. This gives you, the developer, more feel for how your app can be navigated. It brings app development to life, specifically your sketches, and that can only be a good thing. The developers have made big advances with version 2.2 of the app, implementing a slew of brilliant new features to make creating your own app prototype a proverbial walk in the park. One of the standout new features is being able to draw on the screen with your finger, while improved Dropbox integration for adding PSD, PNG, JPEG and GIF files into your demo is a welcome addition. As too is being able to add icons from your Camera Roll and customise slide transitions with all-new flip, slide and pop motions. There’s also improved sharing facilities to show off your new creation and a new printing option for iOS users. Everything is synced with Dropbox and pushed to your Marvel account, which is automatically set up for you at www.marvelapp.com. In this tutorial we’re going to showcase the new features and walk you through the basics of creating your own app prototype. Earning millions on the App Store is just hours away.
INSIDE YOUR NEW APP PROTOTYPE
> Let’s take a look at Marvel’s highly powerful layout Share
A very important step. Share your prototype via all the usual networks and get some feedback from a fellow developer or your target audience.
Play
This brilliant feature gives you a run down of exactly how your app works. Navigate via touch and see how the interactive parts flow smoothly into the next page.
Add
That big green plus sign is your key to adding more of your sketches. This can come from various sources, or you can draw your own.
Your sketches
FOR INSIGHT INTO MAKING AN APP, READ OUR Q&A ON PAGE
08
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Keep populating your prototype with screens and watch this space fill up. Tap on one to view it full screen and make edits to its hotspots and links.
About the app…
MARVEL
A must-have for all app designers looking to experiment OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | Free | v2.2
Marvel’s latest update has given new life to this alreadysuper app. The basics remain very much the same, but improved Dropbox integration, new transitions, app icon creation and being able to draw on the screen are all welcome arrivals. There’s isn’t an app on the App Store like it, and that’s the biggest compliment we can pay it. Marvel has over 40,000 creative users onboard, and it’s easy to see why they keep coming back for more. This is a free download from the App Store too, and there’s not an ad in sight. You even get a free desktop account to use. The App Store’s best app prototype service just got even better – get your app ideas on paper with ease
“The developers have made big advances with version 2.2 of the app, implementing a slew of brilliant new features”
1
2
3
4
5
6
MARVEL > Design your new app prototype
1 GETTING STARTED
2 ADD SKETCHES
3 EDIT YOUR HOTSPOTS
4 CHOOSE A TRANSITION
5 PRINT IT OFF
6 SHARE
Go through all the standard sign up procedures. You need a Dropbox account. Add a title for your project and confirm which device you are prototyping for. You end up at a blank canvas, readiy to get designing your first app.
When you’ve done that, you can choose the type of transition that shows onscreen when you move between actions and menus. Play around until you find something suitable and then select the image to link it to.
It’s time to add your sketches, whatever quality they may come in. Hit the + sign at the bottom and choose to import from Dropbox, your gallery, take a fresh picture with your camera or even draw with your finger.
Keep adding hotspots. Soon enough your app will begin to take shape. Hit the Play icon to be taken on a journey through your app. It’s a great way to see how it flows. You can also print off sketches in PDF form.
Hit one of your newly imported sketches and tap on the square Edit & Add hotspot function, aka an animation, in the top-right. Move the placeholder around and customise the size to the area you want to be interactive.
Proud of what you’ve created? You should be. Now it’s time to share your prototype to the masses for some critical analysis. Use this feature well and you could get some honest feedback from the developer community.
43
BOOKS iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/Android
For functionality and design we would take Kobo every time. Free books and cool reading stats.
Scan business cards for easy storage and import contact details directly into your address book.
KOBO
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
GREATEST APPS EVER
iPhone/ iPad
iBOOKS
Apple’s own native bookstore comes with iCloud features, as well as the ability to change reading settings to suit you.
OiOS 7.0 | Free iPhone/ iPad/ Android
GOODREADS
A great app for book recommendations, Goodreads also has wishlists and social links.
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 1.5 | Free iPhone/ iPad
AIRBNB
Whether you’re looking for an apartment for a night, a castle for a week or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, with over 500,000 listings worldwide. Recently redesigned with a new layout for listings, it is now easier to discover nearby places to stay based on your location. OiPhone | iOS 6.0 | Free | v4.0 OAndroid | Varies | Free | Varies
TIMEHOP
Timehop is like a time capsule for your digital history. It aggregates Foursquare check-ins, Facebook status updates, photos, Twitter updates and Instagram photos from one year ago and shows you exactly what you were doing on today’s date, one year ago. Completely free and with a colourful interface – including the whimsical Abe the dinosaur – Timehop is a fun way to relive old memories. OiPhone | iOS 7.0 | Free | v2.6.4 OAndroid | OS 4.0 | Free | v1.3.10
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE APP? TWEET US WITH YOUR FAVOURITE APPS
@Knowyourapps
OR RECOMMEND THEM ON FACEBOOK
/AppsMagazine
SEND US AN EMAIL TODAY WITH YOUR FAVOURITE APPS
[email protected]
44
BUSINESS
CHOPSTICKS NOVEL
In this novel experience you are given bits of people’s lives as you weave the story together in your own mind.
OiOS 4.0 | £4.99/$6.99 iPad
THE FANTASTIC FLYING BOOKS OF MR MORRIS LESSMORE
Breathtaking visuals and a heartwarming story. Essential.
CAMCARD
OiOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 OOS 2.0 | £1.90/$2.99
EDUCATION iPad
THE ELEMENTS: A VISUAL EXPLORATION
View hi-res images of every element in the periodic table.
OiOS 7.0 | £9.99/$13.99 iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone
SECRET FOLDER & VIDEO VAULT
Securely store private files on your smartphone with passwords and decoy folders.
OiOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 iPhone/ iPad/ Android
LOGMEIN
Remotely access your desktop from your mobile so you can take your business on the go.
OiOS 5.1 | Freemium OOS 2.3 | Freemium iPhone/ iPad
SAYHI TRANSLATE
Speak into this app and have your words translated into 40 languages, either spoken back to you or sent as a message.
OiOS 6.1 | £1.49/$1.99
STAR WALK
This AR app helps you explore the stars, planets and constellations in the night sky.
OiOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 OOS 4.0 | £1.90/$3.17 iPhone/ iPad
KHAN ACADEMY
A library of over 3,000 videos enables users to learn pretty much anything they want, no matter what their interests.
OiOS 6.0 | Free iPhone/ iPad
iTUNES U
One of the most powerful educational tools around, with full university courses available directly on your device.
OiOS 7.0 | Free
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Create a stunning CV with this step-bystep app that creates a polished final product that can be easily exported.
Regular programming with remarkable speakers and lectures for free via this learning app.
CV EXPRESS
TED
OiOS 5.1 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99
OiOS 6.1 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPad
iPad/ Android
iPad
Schedule meetings, plan seating, save notes and record your minutes all in this one app.
Takes you on a journey deep into the human body, with video content and annotated graphics. A fine iPad app.
THE WASTE LAND
Discover TS Eliot’s epic and revolutionary poem, view interactive notes, and watch related videos.
MEETING MINUTES
OiOS 5.0 | £9.99/$13.99
OiOS 5.0 | £2.99/$4.99 OOS 3.0 | Free
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPOE 2
Interactive illustrations and music bring the macabre magic of Edgar Allen Poe’s haunting poetry to life.
JAMES CAAN BUSINESS SECRETS
Find out about hiring staff, raising money, and more in this app.
DK THE HUMAN BODY APP
OiOS 4.0 | £4.99/$6.99 iPhone/ iPad
HENRI LE WORM
Top chef Raymond Blanc and actor Simon Pegg teach children about food and cooking. Includes recipes.
ENTERTAINMENT iPhone/ iPad/ Android
NETFLIX
Cross-device viewing thanks to the cloud. An absolute must for subscribers to the service.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free iPhone/ iPad/ Android
PLEX
Stream music and video from your desktop, and enjoy content from Plex’s channels.
OiOS 5.1.1 | £2.99/$4.99 OOS Varies | £2.98/$4.99 iPad
PROCREATE
Paints, inks and abstract shapes are all readily available, so you can achieve just the effect you’re looking for.
OiOS 7.0 | £3.99/$5.99 iPhone/ iPad
SNEAK
In this game you literally have to sneak up on your phone from a distance to capture photos of the shy monsters.
OiOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99 iPhone/ Android
iPLAYER RADIO
So much more than an extension of the iPlayer catch-up service, with a great interface.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 4.0 | Free iPhone/ iPad
REMOTE
This handy app lets you connect to iTunes wirelessly and play music and movies that are on your Mac or PC.
OiOS 7.0 | Free iPhone/ iPad
HAUNTING MELISSA
A horror movie for the mobile era, the producer of The Ring directs this experimental but highly gripping ghost story.
OiOS 5.1 | £2.49/$3.99
OiOS 4.0 | Free OOS 2.1 | Free
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
iPad
iPhone/ iPad
A convenient portal to read over 12,000 comics, and over 500 of them are absolutely free.
OiOS 5.1 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
Turn your iDevice into a portable scanner. Snap a photo of a document to create a PDF and export to Dropbox.
Explore 600 million years of evolution with a fossil timeline and multimedia treatments that explain the science.
OiOS 7.0 | £4.99/$6.99
OiOS 4.3 | £9.99/$13.99
Give your home videos some truly epic Hollywood effects with this brilliant free app for your iOS device.
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Learn a new language for free, from grammar basics to translating entire websites.
The streaming service allows you to share media from your desktop to your device.
COMICS
FRANKENSTEIN
The classic horror story is brought back to life in this interactive adaptation.
OiOS 4.3 | £2.99/$4.99 OOS 4.0 | £2.99/$4.99 iPhone/ iPad/ Android
AUDIOBOOKS FROM AUDIBLE
Part of the Amazon family, so you have plenty of choice.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
SCANNER PRO BY READDLE
HOW TO TIE A TIE ANIMATED ANIMATED GUIDE
Top tips and AR projection for tying 30 nifty knots – perfect for any occasion.
OiOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99
NHM EVOLUTION
DUOLINGO
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium
ACTION MOVIE FX
OiOS 5.0 | Freemium
VLC STREAMER
OiOS 6.1 | £1.99/$2.99
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad
This app instantly translates the spoken word into text. Send notes and reminders to yourself, and so much more.
Everything NASA in one place, including news on missions and stunning imagery.
Make talking 3D masks of absolutely anyone with this clever, customisable app. Then share the results via email.
DRAGON DICTATION
OiOS 4.0 | Free
NASA VISUALIZATION EXPLORER
OiOS 5.1 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99 OOS 2.2 | £1.35/$1.99
MORFO 3D FACE BOOTH
OiOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99
THE TOP 200 GREATEST APPS EVER FINANCE
FOOD & DRINK
GAMES
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
The price you pay for this app is fully justified, thanks to its superior functionality and the useful tips it divulges.
Step-by-step photo recipes, plus extra kitchen tips such as how to sharpen knives.
Fly your jetpack as far as you can in this side-scrolling platform adventure.
POCKETMONEY
JAMIE’S 20 MINUTE MEALS JETPACK JOYRIDE
HEALTH iPhone/ Android
ENDOMONDO SPORTS TRACKER
Endomondo is the most social fitness experience around.
Run to stay alive in a world infested with zombies in this immersive AR workout.
Record your life with this magazinelike app for your memories, ideas and photos. Share online or keep private.
This app tests your vision through a series of exams, and includes an optician finder.
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Check your current balance, view your account and send money via 16 currencies.
Find and book a restaurant table in just a few taps, if it’s last minute or planned.
Perform high-octane aerial stunts to get the edge on other racers in this arcade game.
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 2.3.3 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone
iPhone/ iPad
An absolute must for all foodies, this app features mouthwatering fullscreen photos and some clever features.
Spooky game set in 19th Century Sweden. Solve puzzles using logic, touch and sound. Contains adult themes.
One of the best finance managers around, with easy-touse functions.
OiOS 5.0 | £2.99/$4.99 OOS 2.3.3 | £3.00/$4.99 iPhone/ Android
BLOOMBERG
Bloomberg is a must for City traders and anyone who is interested in the stock market.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 1.6 | Free iPhone/ iPad
DEBT MANAGER
Offers a clean, simple interface so you can visualise your debt, organise your incomings and outgoings, and pay it off.
YEAR WALK
OiOS 5.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 4.3 | £2.49/$3.99
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
The app that’s perfect for any level of experience, from oven wizards to toast burners.
of troops and attack alien invaders in this top-down strategy game.
HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING ANOMALY KOREA Protect your convoy ESSENTIALS
OiOS 6.1 | Freemium
OiOS 5.0 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 2.2 | £2.99/$4.99
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
THE PHOTO COOKBOOK – QUICK & EASY
With images of every ingredient and steps to each recipe, it couldn’t be easier to follow.
ANGRY BIRDS STAR WARS II
Play as 30 avian versions of characters from the films.
OiOS 4.0 | £0.69/$0.99
OiOS 5.0 | £2.49/$3.99
OiOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99 OOS 2.2 | £0.79/$0.99
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
An essential destination for when you want something different and great to eat.
A mix of fast-paced fun and subatomic style makes this endless runner very addictive.
iSPREADSHEET
Compatible with Excel, Google Docs and Open Office – manage all of your finances on the go with this app.
FOODSPOTTING
BOSON X
OiOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
OiOS 4.3 | £1.49/$1.99 OOS 2.2 | £1.49/$1.99
iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Keep track of your incomings and outgoings with this app that filters paid, planned, and overdue payments.
File away your favourite web recipes in this dedicated cooking database.
BILLS FOR iPAD
PAPRIKA RECIPE MANAGER
GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS
Control the criminal underworld in this epic mobile version.
ZOMBIES, RUN!
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone
iPad
Simply hold your thumb over your device’s camera lens to monitor and track your heart rate.
Minimalist, gesturedriven alarm clock and stopwatch that will launch your favourite apps for when you wake up.
This dissection of the human skeleton goes into incredible detail with plenty of room for adding your own notes.
CARDIOGRAPH
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone
Your ultimate calorie guide with a massive database as well as exercises and social links.
Searching and sharing items on Fancy is all about becoming a curator of cool.
Monitor your baby’s development week by week with 3D visualisation, plus a log to record doctor’s appointments.
CALORIE COUNTER
OiOS 6.1 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
This app requires a pair of Nike shoes that have an insert for the Nike+ sensor.
This is a handy app to use in an unfamiliar place when you need to find local amenities.
NIKE+ RUNNING
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
Military-grade workout app that requires no fitness equipment bar your device.
Create your own bespoke icons for your apps either by painting a design in-app or by uploading an image.
YOU ARE YOUR OWN GYM
OiOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99 OOS Varies | £1.99/$2.99 iPhone
7 MINUTE WORKOUT CHALLENGE
A fast-paced work out with 12 exercises, instructional videos and health and weight tracker.
iPhone/ Android
A stylish interface and inspiring recipes prove healthy eating doesn’t need to be bland.
Part puzzle, part stealth, all rhythm action. Tap your screen to the beat of the music to navigate levels.
Moves automatically tracks your everyday exercise to motivate you to do more and set goals.
OiOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99
MOVES
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium OOS 2.3.3 | Freemium
OiOS 6.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 3.1.3 | £1.99/$2.99
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 4.0 | Free
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Send money between accounts, using just a mobile number, from your device.
An absolute must for culinary masters and budding chefs alike.
MINECRAFT – POCKET EDITON
Create your own personal Minecraft world, block by block.
AROUNDME
OiOS 6.1 | Free OOS 2.3.3 | Free
iPhone/ iPad
EPICURIOUS RECIPES & SHOPPING LIST
FANCY
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
iPhone/ iPad
BARCLAYS PINGIT
SKELETON SYSTEM PRO III
OiOS 5.0 | £0.69/$0.99
iPhone/ iPad/ Android Monitor your spending and save money thanks to the charts, graphs and stats in this app.
START BY TACK
OiOS 5.1.1 | £1.49/$1.99
OiOS 6.0 | £4.99/$6.99 OOS 3.0 | £4.99/$6.99
BEAT SNEAK BANDIT
VISION TEST
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99 OOS 2.2 | £3.11/$4.99
GREEN KITCHEN – HEALTHY VEGETARIAN RECIPES
DAY ONE JOURNAL
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 7.0 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 4.0 | £2.79/$3.99
OiOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99
SPENDING TRACKER
View rotatable 3D images from Gray’s Anatomy of selected organs or regions of the body.
VISUAL ANATOMY
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ Android
OTTOLENGHI
This communitydriven guidebook is a wonderful resource. Browse its many topics and get all sorts of handy tips.
iPhone/ iPad
OiOS 6.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
MONEYWIZ
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
SNAPGUIDE
iPhone/ Android
OiOS 5.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
ASPHALT 8: AIRBORNE
iPhone/ iPad
OiOS 4.3 | £1.99/$2.99 OOS Varies | £1.60/$2.49
OiOS 3.1.2 | £4.99/$6.99 OOS 2.0 | £4.99/$7.69
OPENTABLE UK
MEDICAL
OiOS 6.0 | Free
OiOS 4.3 | £2.99/$4.99
PAYPAL
LIFESTYLE
ICONICAL
OiOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99 iPad
eBAY FOR iPAD
This app is not only great to keep up with your shopping, but also a wonderful place to browse for bargains.
OiOS 6.0 | £6.99/$9.99
PREGNANCY+
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium iPhone
SNORELAB
Worried about how much you snore? Find out how loud you sound with this app, then get tips on how to reduce it.
OiOS 6.0 | £1.49/$1.99 iPhone
uHEAR
As hearing loss usually happens over a period of time, uHear is a good app for monitoring your hearing.
OiOS 2.2.1 | Free iPhone/ iPad/ Android
PROGNOSIS: YOUR DIAGNOSIS
Uses case studies for better diagnosis in patients by doctors.
OiOS 5.1 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.3.3 | Free
iPad
iPhone/ Android
MARTHA STEWART CRAFTSTUDIO
Create decorative cards in-app with hints and tips provided by Martha herself.
BREATHING ZONE
Reduce stress and see your breathing patterns displayed in colourful graphics.
OiOS 5.0 | Freemium
OiOS 5.1 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 2.2 | £2.49/$3.99
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPad
iPad
Plan your workout in this stylish app and receive motivation from the voice coach.
Plan everything, from your big day’s budget to the colour scheme and the seating plan with this detailed wedding app.
Life-like depictions of the heart and circulatory system that can be rotated 360° to appreciate its complexity.
OiOS 7.0 | £6.99/$9.99
OiOS 6.0 | £6.99/$9.99
RUNTASTIC PUSH-UPS PRO
WEDDING PLANNER FOR iPAD HEART PRO III
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 1.5 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | £4.99/$6.99 OOS Varies | £4.99/$6.99
OiOS 7.0 | £1.49/$1.99 OOS 2.2 | £1.49/$1.99
iPhone/ iPad
iPad
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad
Compare mortgages side-by-side, work out what the true price would be and manage all of your payments.
Create your own recipe book, complete with customisable colours and fonts, then share it with your friends online.
Escape from a prison in this stealth-action adventure. Avoid guards and solve puzzles to earn your freedom.
Post your concern and a qualified doctor will respond with a diagnosis fairly swiftly.
Aspiring novelist? This is the perfect space to express yourself in a clean, distractionfree environment.
Keep a digital diary of your family’s shots, vaccinations, medicines, illnesses and more.
OiOS 4.0 | £1.49/$1.99
OiOS 7.0 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 3.1.3 | £1.49/$1.99
MORTGAGE MENTOR
COOK
REPUBLIQUE
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
HEALTHTAP
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
iA WRITER
FAMILY ILLNESS AND SHOT TRACKER
45
MUSIC
APPS EVER This app can easily identify the name and artist of any track from hearing just a few bars.
OiOS 6.1| Freemium O OS Varies | Freemium
FACEBOOK
You can now save links that appear in your timeline to view later.
OiOS 7.0 | Free O OS Varies | Free
DARK SKY
Incredibly accurate, know within the hour if it's going to rain where you are.
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Use simple gestures to play piano, organ, guitar and drums. Upload tracks to YouTube, SoundCloud and more.
Back on iOS and still the undisputed king of the mapping world. This app is all you need.
It’s not only one of the best news apps around; it’s also great fun to use on your device.
Stream videos from the popular website, now with voice search and picture to picture.
FLIPBOARD
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
Make music in minutes with this easy-to-use interface. Export results to iTunes Audio Sharing.
View near real-time air traffic maps that let you track the paths of aircraft above you.
This app allows you to watch live news feeds over Wi-Fi, so you can always stay current.
Apple’s official app for iPhoneographers, iPhoto comes with an astonishing suite of editing tools to tweak images.
FIGURE
PLANE FINDER
OiOS 6.0 | £0.69/$0.99
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$3.99 OOS 2.2 | £1.99/$1.99
iPad
Take tracks from your iTunes library and start mixing them together on this brilliant fullfeatured turntable app.
DJAY 2
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
iPad/ Android
Join the world’s biggest treasure hunt by becoming a Geocacher. It’s great fun.
Stay up-to-date with all the latest podcasts with one easy-to-use cross-platform download.
GEOCACHING
iPad
iPhone
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
SPOTIFY MUSIC
Build customised playlists from millions of tracks and share them with the world.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free iPhone/ iPad/ Android
SOUNDHOUND
Hum a tune or sing a lyric and SoundHound will give you the full name of the song and artist.
HOPSTOP TRANSIT DIRECTIONS
Get real-time subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and biking directions in an instant.
POCKET CASTS
OiOS 7.0 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 2.3 | £2.70/$3.99 iPhone/ iPad/ Android
POCKET
Pocket lets you save any article, image or video you find online for you to read it later.
OiOS 6.0 | Freemium
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone
iPhone/ iPad
Ideal for the mountains, view 3D maps and aerial images and plan your route.
Download and listen to your favourite podcasts directly from your iPhone or iPad without the need to sync with iTunes.
MAPS 3D – GPS TRACKS FOR BIKE, HIKE, SKI & OUTDOOR
DOWNCAST
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 5.0 | £1.99/$2.99
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
WAZE SOCIAL GPS, MAPS & TRAFFIC
Get instant travel updates from other users on the road.
LINKEDIN PULSE
With a focus on business news, tailor this reader to follow all of your favourite RSS feeds.
O iOS 7.0 | £2.49/$3.99
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
SNAPCHAT
Discover new music with this running feed of what everyone is listening to.
Augmented reality navigator and compass that lets you track your location and work out bearings in real-time.
Save feature articles and blog posts for later offline reading in this paper-like reader.
The easiest way to write on iPhone or iPad without distracting fonts, colours or complicated interactions. O iOS 7.1 | £2.99/$4.99
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE APP? TWEET US WITH YOUR FAVOURITE APPS
@Knowyourapps
OR RECOMMEND THEM ON FACEBOOK
/AppsMagazine
SEND US AN EMAIL TODAY WITH YOUR FAVOURITE APPS
[email protected]
SOUNDWAVE
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
SPYGLASS
INSTAPAPER
OiOS 6.1 | £2.49/$3.99
OiOS 5.0 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 2.3.3 | £1.93/$2.99
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/iPad
iPad
An extraordinary app, Shazam can identify songs by listening to them for a few seconds.
Provides geographical details for highland, hilltop and mountain walks across the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Watch live streams from the TV station in the palm of your hands. Feature-rich, brimming with content and totally free.
SHAZAM
OiOS 6.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
iPHOTO
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 5.0 | £6.99/$9.99 OOS Varies | £6.99/$9.99
OiOS 6.0 | £9.99/$13.99
BBC NEWS
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
OiOS 6.0 | £6.99/$9.99
Explore three centuries of classical music with this interactive mix of music as well as video content.
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iA WRITER
YOUTUBE
OiOS 7.0 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
O iOS 5.0 | Free O OS Varies | Free
46
GOOGLE MAPS
OiOS 6.1 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
Recently updated with video-chatting and instant messaging.
PHOTO & VIDEO
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
THE ORCHESTRA
SOUNDHOUND
NEWS
iPhone/iPad
GARAGEBAND
GREATEST
NAVIGATION
HILL LISTS
OiOS 5.1.1 | £1.49/$1.99
SKY NEWS FOR iPAD
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP TOUCH
Edit images on the go with a range of touch-control tools using this essential software.
OiOS 5.0 | £6.99/$9.99 OOS 3.1 | £6.99/$9.99 iPhone/Android
INSTAGRAM
With a wide range of cool filters and a great community you can create amazing photos.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free iPhone/ iPad
HALFTONE 2
Create a comic book starring your friends and family by applying speech bubbles and borders to images.
OiOS 7.0 | £1.49/$1.99 iPhone/ iPad/ Android
CAMERA ZOOM FX
Take up to ten shots per second with this high-speed snapper, then apply filters to photos.
OiOS 7.0 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 1.6 | £1.79/$2.99 iPhone/ iPad/ Android
SNAPSEED
This app has quite simply become the go-to image editing app across all devices.
OiOS 5.1 | Free OOS 4.0 | Free iPhone
MEXTURES
Create and combine your own filters and textures for truly individual Instagram photos.
OiOS 5.1 | Freemium
OiOS 6.1 | £1.49/$1.99
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Create multi-track music projects. Works with a desktop program for advanced features.
Explore your city with these user-generated walking tours with turn-by-turn directions or share your own with others.
Get twice-daily summaries of the top news stories, complete with infographics.
Offering 1TB of online storage, this app is great for showcasing and sharing your best photos.
FL STUDIO MOBILE
KAMINO
YAHOO NEWS DIGEST
FLICKR
OiOS 6.1 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 4.0 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 2.3.3 | Free
iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone
iPhone
Quite literally a wall of sound for users to interact with, as each ‘brick’ hosts an artist, their music and cool photos.
Get off the beaten track with this map app, ideal for planning hikes.
Scan articles in select newspapers to create a digital version on your iPhone, which you can save for later or share online.
Capture 3D photos with this unique photo app. Share them online or embed them on your website.
OiOS 6.1 | Freemium
OiOS 6.0 | Free
OiOS 5.1 | £10.49/$14.99 OOS2.3.3 | £12.95/$19.99
AWEDITORIUM
OiOS 3.2 | Free
VIEWRANGER OUTDOOR GPS & MAPS
OiOS 5.1.1 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
PEEKSTER
SEENE
THE TOP 200 GREATEST APPS EVER PRODUCTIVITY
REFERENCE
SOCIAL
SPORTS
WEATHER iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone
With wonderful images, animations and video content, it’s a must-have for any stargazer.
Perfect for heavy Twitter users, it includes multiple timelines and smart gestures.
OiOS 7.0 | £3.99/$5.99
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Access your images, documents or any other type of digital file you like, anywhere.
Translate to and from 64 languages, speech from 17 languages, and listen in 24.
The ultimate social networking tool has regular updates. Easy to use and fairly foolproof.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
It sets the standard and changes the way people order their taxis on iOS or Android.
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium OOS 2.2 | Freemium
View leaderboards, lap times and exclusive news throughout F1 season.
Create your own weather station with customisable features and great graphics.
OiOS 6.0 | Freemium OOS 4.0 | Freemium
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
OiOS 5.0 | £1.49/$1.99 OOS Varies | £1.29/$1.99
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/Android
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/iPad
This spreadsheet was designed for your touchscreen, allowing you to calculate figures and create graphs with ease.
Find essential information that is well-presented and easy to use in this clever app.
A simple and satisfying interface that Facebook and Twitter can only dream about.
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
This is one of those definitive apps, giving you access to pretty much anywhere on the globe.
Vivid, real-time animated radar images of weather across the United States, with storm alerts and bookmarks.
OiOS 7.0 | £6.99/$9.99
OiOS 6.0 | £1.99/$2.99 OOS 2.1 | £1.86/$2.99
All the latest soccer stats displayed with infographics and animations of in-game events.
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
EVERNOTE
Create a note on your device and save it to the cloud, where it can be picked up and edited.
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
DROPBOX
NUMBERS
CLEAR
This purely gesturebased app has one of the most innovative and intuitive interfaces of virtually any app around.
BRIAN COX’S WONDERS OF THE UNIVERSE
GOOGLE TRANSLATE
WOLFRAMALPHA
SCRIBD – THE WORD’S LARGEST ONLINE LIBRARY All the reference books you’ll need, available offline.
TWEETBOT 3 FOR TWITTER (iPHONE & iPOD TOUCH)
FACEBOOK
PATH
SQUAWKA
Hotel and restaurant reviews, cheap flights and virtual tours.
HAILO
GOOGLE EARTH
BBC WEATHER
Simple and clear design with onetouch controls for easy navigation of forecasts.
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
WEATHER LIVE RELOADED
NOAA RADAR PRO
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Bring your loved ones closer to you with the free video and audio calls of the Skype service.
View maps and track your position on golf courses across the world with this GPS app.
Plan your route around live travel info with this smart map of the London Underground.
OiOS 5.1 | £20.99/$29.99 OOS 2.2 | £18.57/$29.99
OiOS 6.0 | £2.49/$3.99 OOS 2.3 | £2.39/$3.32
This stunning app backdrops the forecast with photos of conditions in your location.
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ Android
For the amount of info at your fingertips, this app is a must for every sports fan.
Book last-minute trips and holiday lets in over 34,000 cities around the world.
A slick UI with a wealth of useful data, you get weather info for over 58,000 cities.
SKYPE
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ Android
This exquisite app brings the night sky to your device, with all major planets and constellations displayed.
OFFICIAL F1 APP
TRIPADVISOR HOTELS FLIGHTS RESTAURANTS
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium OOS Varies | Freemium
This versatile app allows you to create, edit and view documents as well as create attractive, customised pages.
Covering a wide range of sports, the app brings you news, videos and stats in one place.
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
OiOS 4.3 | Free OOS Varies | Free
OiOS 6.0 | Freemium OOS 2.2 | Freemium
REDSHIFT – ASTRONOMY
BBC SPORT
O iOS 6.0 | Free OOS 4.1 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
PAGES
iPhone/ Android
TRAVEL
PINTEREST
This growing community is a great way to discover new things, and a hell of a timesink.
GOLFSHOT: GOLF GPS
YAHOO! SPORTS
TUBE MAP PRO
AIRBNB
OiOS 5.0 | £2.49/$3.99
YAHOO WEATHER
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.3 | Free
FIZZ WEATHER
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium OOS 2.2 | Freemium
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPad
iPhone/iPad
Send photos to friends that vanish after viewing. Also includes video and messaging.
Improve your team’s performance with video analysis and draw directly onto images.
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99
OiOS 5.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
OiOS 7.0 | £2.99/$4.99 OOS Varies | Freemium
Discover exciting destinations or share your experiences with this vivid, photo-driven network for jet-setters.
As well as 24-hour and 7-day outlooks, Dark Sky specialises in incredibly accurate, minuteby-minute forecasts.
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
Create a world-class presentation with this top app. Including a range of impressive themes and customisable features.
Browse Wikipedia using this excellent reader, which offers great formatting and customisation options.
Find, follow and shares the things you love on this highly customisable blog network.
Watch the hottest action live with this streaming app (monthly subscription fee).
A list-making app specially designed for your holiday packing, with a detailed pre-departure to-do list with over 100 tasks.
OiOS 7.0 | £6.99/$9.99
OiOS 4.3 | £7.49/$10.99
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone
iPhone/ iPad
Ideal for the travelling businessman, track the time in different cities around the world and set location-based alarms.
Interactive 3D globe for children, beautifully rendered with details of all the countries of the world.
OiOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99
GLOBO
KEYNOTE
BAREFOOT WORLD ATLAS
ARTICLES
SNAPCHAT
TUMBLR
COACH’S EYE
EUROSPORT PLAYER
OiOS 7.0 | £6.99/$9.99
OiOS 6.1 | Free
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
OiOS 6.0 | Freemium OOS 3.2 | Freemium
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone/ Android
iPhone
Make your life easier by putting the internet to work and automating online services.
The place to go with your burning questions, with the community providing answers.
Shoot six-second videos of your life and share them with this booming community.
IFTTT
QUORA
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 4.0 | Free
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS 2.2 | Free
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Write a list and sync it between devices so that you and your flatmates can all keep track of who’s buying what.
Clear, accurate and occasionally witty definitions, plus a detailed thesaurus.
BUY ME A PIE CLASSIC
CHAMBERS DICTIONARY
VINE
THE MASTER TACTICIAN PRO (MOBILE)
Create winning football strategies with this great animated playbook app.
TRIPTEASE
OiOS 6.0 | Free
PACKING PRO
OiOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99 OOS 2.1 | £0.99/$1.62
DARK SKY
OiOS 7.0 | £2.49/$3.99 iPhone/ Android
THE WEATHER CHANNEL
A solid and professionally produced app, it offers very detailed info.
OiOS 5.1 | £1.99/$2.99
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
Download full city guides, plus maps, for over 60 of the most exciting destinations.
Fill your screen with some great themes to accompany your weather forecast.
GUIDEPAL CITY GUIDES
WEATHERWISE
OiOS 4.0 | £7.99/$11.99
OiOS 5.0 | Freemium OOS 2.1 | Freemium
iPhone/ iPad
iPad
iPhone/iPad
iPad
View all of your social networks in one place with StatNut and display them in a simple, colour-coded interface.
The Sky Sports channels on your device, as well as some impressive in-game stat screens and graphics.
Discover great adventures around the world, then create your own wish list of places you want to visit.
View animated hourly and weekly weather forecasts for up to nine different places around the world simultaneously.
OiOS 6.0 | Free OOS Varies | Free
STATNUT
SKY SPORTS FOR iPAD
SULLIVAN’S LIST
OiOS 4.3 | Freemium OOS 2.2 | Freemium
MAGICAL WEATHER
OiOS 5.0 | £1.49/$2.99
OiOS 4.3 | £4.99/$6.99 OOS 2.2 | £4.99/$6.99
OiOS 4.3 | £0.69/$0.99
OiOS 5.1 | Freemium
OiOS 4.3 | £1.99/$2.99
iPad
iPad
iPhone/ Android
iPhone/ iPad
iPhone/ iPad/ Android
iPhone
A wonderfully character-filled sketching and creative app where users can purchase other themed tools.
Explore 2,000 years of one of the world’s greatest cities with articles, photos and video.
Quickly turn your device into a radar dish and see what air traffic looks like in real-time.
Forecasting with a difference as this app is truly social, allowing users to share their climate and what they’re doing in it.
OiOS 7.0 | Freemium
OiOS 5.0 | £9.99/$13.99
PAPER BY FIFTYTHREE
LONDON – A CITY THROUGH TIME
TIMEHOP
Relive the past with daily updates of your tweets, photos and check-ins from one year ago.
OiOS 7.0 | Free OOS 4.0 | Free
CURLY’S POCKET GUIDE TO SPORT
The rules to 74 major sports from golf to Greco-Roman wrestling, with illustrations.
OiOS 7.0 | £0.69/$0.99
FLIGHTRADAR24 PRO
OiOS 5.0| £1.99/$2.99 OOS Varies | £1.99/$2.99
OiOS 5.1 | £0.99/$0.99
WEATHERMOB
OiOS 6.1 | Free
47
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Disclaimer The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any unsolicited material lost or damaged in the post. All text and layout is the copyright of Imagine Publishing Ltd. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the publisher. All copyrights are recognised and used specifically for the purpose of criticism and review. Although the magazine has endeavoured to ensure all information is correct at time of print, prices and availability may change. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to Imagine Publishing via post, email, social network or any other means, you automatically grant Imagine Publishing an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free license to use the material across its entire portfolio, in print, online and digital, and to deliver the materials to existing and future clients, including but not limited to international licensees for reproduction in international, licensed editions of Imagine products. Any material you submit is sent at your risk and, although every care is taken, neither Imagine Publishing nor its employees, agents or subcontractors shall be liable for the loss or damage. © Imagine Publishing Ltd 2014 ISSN 2047-1580
ISSUE 50 ON SALE FROM 11 SEPTEMBER
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