EACH WEEK, WE highlight five apps that are worth downloading for your smartphone and tablet. There are a lot of apps released on a daily basis, but not all of them are worth paying attention to.
This week features a way to improve your public speaking, the launch of one of the world’s best-known gif-libraries on Android, and a game in which you control a bucket of paint with legs.
Ummo
For: iOS
Cost: €1.99
Public speaking is something that gives many of us cold shivers. From a best man’s speech, to a work presentation, to accepting a trophy in front of thousands of fans (fine not many of us get to experience that one), the opportunities for public terror are endless.
Ummo isn’t designed to cure your fear, so much as it is to sharpen your technique. So for every ‘umm’, ‘you know’, ‘like’ and whatever your own particular conversational space filler is, the app will track same and report back to you when you’re done. A great idea for novice speakers and powerpoint presentation veterans alike.
Giphy
For: Android
Cost: Free
Who doesn’t love gifs? They’re the perfect way to illustrate a point, celebrate the fact that it’s Friday/Christmas/Summer/Payday, or even simply to take total pleasure in the fact you’ve just won an argument hands down. Like this:
Anyway, of all the gif catalogues out there Giphy is one of the best. And now it has its own Android app. With options to share, save, and react using the site’s vast gif library you’ll never be lost for the perfect ‘sad cat’ reaction to the news that your flatmate is feeling a bit hungover.
Radon
For: Android
Cost: Free
There are many, many different ways to share data using your phone. Near-Field Communication (NFC), Bluetooth, Whatsapp, Email, the list is endless. Not many apps claim to use ultrasonic waves though. That’s right. What bats use to see. Well, Radon does, using sensors you probably didn’t know that your phone has.
The chief benefit of Radon is that it can broadcast to multiple devices at once without the need for QR codes or NFC. So if you’re among a large group of people (and assuming they all have the same app), sharing something with everyone is as easy as a tap on the screen.
There are limitations – large files and images are a no-no. But as a first stab at a pioneering technology, Radon deserves a second look.
Talkshow
For: iOS
Cost: Free
This is an interesting one. Talkshow basically is an app that lets you broadcast text conversations in public. The idea is that anyone can choose a topic and time to air, grab a co-host or hosts and then share the conversation.
Developer Michael Sippey took inspiration from this screenshotted text conversation between Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran:
His idea was to allow people to share their conversations. Given the interesting directions social networks can divert into, it’s not implausible to see Talkshow being something of a hit. Who wouldn’t tune in to see Miley Cyrus telling Eddie Izzard what she had for dinner?
Certainly, if an entire novel can be released via Twitter, then there must be room for an app that allows people to broadcast their conversations. And you can be sure many will want to do so.
Telepaint
For: iOS
Cost: €2.99
This game is a little mind-bending, but very addictive. In a nutshell, you control a bucket of paint that you need to guide through portals in order to navigate a set of increasingly-complex levels. Still with us? Good.
It’s more engaging than it sounds. There’s over 100 levels set across six different worlds, and the whole thing is quite easy on the eye in a sort of retro-pastel way. Worth a look.
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