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 news reader for your lock screen, a simple way to unlock your Mac and an immersive strategy game for the iPad.
Tether
For: iOS
Cost: Free
- To clarify, this only works for Macs so you will need to download the accompanying app for this.
- Tether is a way for you to unlock your mac or Macbook without touching it.
- Once you’re within a few metres of your device, it will automatically unlock. Walk away and your computer automatically locks.
- You’ll enjoy how handy this is to use and how easy it makes things. Although it’s better for home use since you might not want your work computer to unlock simply because you’re in the vicinity.
- As long as you remember to turn on/off Bluetooth so you don’t waste battery power (although if you have Bluetooth 4.0, this won’t be as bad), you’ll find this very useful.
Corgi for Feedly
For: Android
Cost: Free
- Tying in with last week’s disappointment about Meerkat, Corgi has nothing to do with dogs (although to make up for this, have a look at this story and some photos from Crufts).
- Corgi comes from the same people who made Feedly, one of the more popular RSS readers out there. You don’t need it, but if you can link up your accounts if you do.
- It changes your lock screen from the standard notifications and updates into a news feed. Swipe left to cycle through stories, swipe right to unlock and up to read.
- It prioritises a few stories instead of many so you’re not overwhelmed, and you can save or share stories. Although it’s not perfect, the gestures recognition could do with some refinement.
- Still, it’s handy if you’re want to get a glance of the news every time you unlock your phone. Just keep it focused.
Onyu
For: Windows Phone
Cost: Free
- Contact books are pretty standard for the most part. As long as they’re secure and easy to use, that’s all you can ask for really.
- Onyu separates itself from other contact apps by saying it encrypts all your info on the cloud (Also, make sure you know what your password is as it can’t recover it for you)
- It’s incredibly sleek, even on older phones, and easy to use. Everything is accessible through one or two taps and easily identifiable.
- A nice little feature is being able to push updates to your contact list to people you chose, as well as vice versa. This takes the worry of making sure your contact details are up to date away from you (provided they use the app).
- It’s not perfect, but so far, it’s a great little app for WP users.
Peeq
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free
- Vine and Snapchat have inspired quite a number of video apps, some go for messaging, others go for broadcasting.
- Peeq goes for a mixture of the two, allowing you to broadcast and find new people at the same time. Shoot or share six second videos with friends and/or stranges
- You can find out who has shared a video and who wants to share a video in your area through telescope. Although you do have the option of keeping it private when necessary.
- You can only log in with Facebook though which is a bit limiting, but it is clear and if you want, you can share your videos on Facebook.
- If you get a few friends using it, it can be fun.
Sid Meier’s Starships
For: iOS (iPad)
Cost: €14.99
- PC gamers will already be aware of the Sid Meier series, but for the uninitiated, the series contains some of the best strategy games released.
- The concept of Starships is all about space travel. You visit worlds, trade with new races, build cities and battle with enemies.
- While there is a civ game in this, the main focus would be on battles as you figure out how to best position your ships, and figure out the right strategy to overcome your enemies.
- There are some minor niggles regarding presentation that’s down to the iPad size It’s not a dealbreaker as you never have to rush through any decisions. The nature of the game means you can stop mid-battle and pick it up where you left off.
- For those who appreciate deep strategy games and would like to have one on the go, this is going to take up a lot of your time.
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