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 includes an old-school shoot-em-up, a way to ensure you never lose anything you type ever again, and a tranquil adventure.
R-Type II
For: iOS, Android
Cost: €1.79
- Anyone who had an Amiga during the early 90s surely had one game from the R-Type series.
- For those unfamiliar with it, R-Type is an old-school shoot-em-up that’s hard. Not impossible but it does require a lot of concentration.
- It’s frantic from the word go. If you’re looking for a laid-back and easy game, you may want to look elsewhere. You have the option of choosing unlimited lives, but that defeats the purpose of the game.
- Touch controls and auto-fire mode are there to compromise for the small screen, and you may need them if you’ve never played it before.
- A refreshing change from the casual and freemium games that currently flood the app stores.
(Video: TouchGameplay/YouTube)
Bing Health & Fitness
For: Windows Phone
Cost: Free
- We’re finally arrived at March and while it’s still rather chilly and wet, the evenings are getting longer so chances are you’ll be more likely to exercise as a result.
- Bing Health and Fitness enters a crowded market, but its aim is to be your sole resource for everything fitness related. To its credit, it does a great job.
- The calorie tool lets you set goals for what you eat and has over 300,000 foods on its database.
- On top of that, it has the usual fitness functions, GPS tracker, workout suggestions, tutorials and even info on possible health conditions, although we’d be hopeful you won’t have to rely on that.
- If you’re not already using a fitness app like Endomondo or MyFitnessPal, you should try this out first.
Telegram
For: iOS, Android, Windows Phone (unofficial version)
Cost: Free
- Telegram has received a lot of attention in the last week. It was downloaded over 8 million times in the space of four days and for good reason.
- The focus is on speed and security, allowing you to send messages fast without having to worry about your messages being intercepted or used for third-party purposes.
- Alongside the usual multimedia features associated with messaging, you can share videos as large as 1GB, which gives you a lot of leeway with photos as well.
- If you want, you can create group chats that have 100 people involved. Again, you probably won’t need it, but it gives you an idea of what the service is capable of.
- The only caveat is a messaging app is only useful if all of your friends are there, but those who download it will discover a clean, and quick app that’s deserves the praise it’s received.
Type Machine
For: Android
Cost: €1.49
- Ever type something and accidentally delete it or the app you were using crashed without warning, wiping out everything you’ve written?
- Type Machine keeps track of everything you’ve written on your phone. Find the app you were using and everything you’ve typed is found there.
- Every native Android app is supported, and if you don’t want text from certain apps saved, you can blacklist them so they don’t appear.
- Passwords aren’t logged in and you can set it so it deletes all info every day, or during a set period.
- If you use your smartphone or tablet to write more than one word responses, it will save you a lot of hassle.
Temgani
For: iOS
Cost: €4.49
- A lot of smartphone games put a lot of time and focus on 3D graphics, which while it shows what your phone’s hardware is capable of
-It’s been said about other games here, but Temgani is a beautiful game. The origami-style visuals and pop-up book setting is frankly stunning. It’s preferable if you play it on an iPad as you’ll appreciate the level of detail on a larger screen.
- It’s an adventure game that is slow and peaceful, a simple interface and the pop-up mechanics leads to some relaxing gameplay.
- The score playing in the background is also worth a mention, adding atmosphere to a tranquil game.
- If R-Type (mentioned above) doesn’t appeal to you, this will be right up your alley.
(Video: TouchGameplay/YouTube)
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