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 notifications for (almost) everything, email encryption made easy and a CEO fighting werewolves.
Hooks
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free
- Notifications can either be incredibly useful or incredibly annoying depending on how they’re used. But what if you could control the exact alerts you see?
- That’s the premise of Hooks which will alert you to updates to a large number of situations and moments throughout the day.
- There are over 100 channels to choose from ranging from sports, games, weather, AMBER alerts, mentions, site updates and lotto results.
- Getting ones up and ready is easy and you get a number of suggestions to start you off.
- An app that has great potential so long as you don’t overdo the number of channels.
mlist
For: iOS
Cost: Free
- If you’re the type of person who signs up to a large collection of newsletters, you’ll know the trouble of keeping up with them daily while your inbox is flooded with new mail.
- Mlist tries to simplify this by bringing some of the biggest newsletters together and giving you one easy place to access them.
- There are a number to choose from, covering a number of different sectors and industries.
- It’s rather basic though. It’s only limited to a specific number of newsletters and there’s no search option for the smaller ones. If you want to sign up to one, you’re redirected to its browser page which may stop some people from completing a signup.
- For those who subscribe to a number of newsletters but has trouble keeping them organised.
Flick
For: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Cost: Free
- When we share files between devices, we normally use the cloud, email or a service like Apple AirDrop, but what if you wanted the latter but to share with different devices?
- Flick allows you to do this with the flick of a finger. provided you have the app running on both or all devices (desktop or smartphone), you can share them.
- The app covers all major devices and allows you to share any file you may have, provided you’re all using the same WiFi connection.
- There are a few other features on display like ‘auto destruct’ which gets rid of shared images or notes after a set amount of time.
- If you have multiple devices and find sharing items between them to be a bit of a pain, this will speed things up.
Jumble
For: iOS
Cost: Free
- It’s true that some email providers use an encrypted connection so you’re safe when checking your inbox, but what about encrypting the mail itself?
- Dublin company Jumble offers this service, and it doesn’t require any knowledge to use. Just install the app, and follow the steps to add it (it doesn’t manage or access your emails, just adds an extra layer of security to it).
- While it’s an iOS app, there’s also a Chrome extension as well for your browser so you can keep your mail secure while on desktop.
- If you send a mail to someone who doesn’t have it installed, they will be directed to a secure page where it can be unencrypted.
- For anyone who’s conscious about security but don’t know where to start with encryption, give this a go.
The Executive
For: iOS
Cost: €2.99
- Being the CEO of a large multinational company is tough. You have to grow the company, hold shareholder meetings, fight supernatural creatures, keep employees happy. You know, the usual stuff.
- As well as running a company, you need to save your employees and eventually the entire city from a horde of werewolves and demons. It’s incredibly silly, but more importantly, it’s a lot of fun.
- It’s part beat-em-up, part management sim. It’s the former that will keep you addicted thanks to a well-designed interface and a system that is surprisingly deep.
- Fighting isn’t a case of mashing buttons. Knowing where to aim and whether you should go for a quick punch or a slow but powerful kick is key to winning.
- If you enjoyed 2D beat-em-ups of old like Street Fighter II, you’ll enjoy this.
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