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 alarm app that can only be turned off with a smile, a way to avoid awkward voicemail calls, and a cutesy puzzler featuring sheep.
Calltag
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free
- Ask anyone and they will tell you one of the most annoying things is having to listen to voicemail.
- CallTag tries to remove that annoyance by allowing you to send tags to the person you’re contacting so they know what it’s about.
- Acting as a modified phone app, you select your contact and tags about what you want to talk about.
- It’s likely this will be more useful when you’re ringing someone you’re not overly familiar with.
- If you’re sick of people ignoring your voicemails, could be worth looking in to.
Haunt The House: Terrortown
For: iOS, Android
Cost: €0.89
- Yes, we’re only just finished with Halloween, but there is still time to play some spooky games, right?
- In this case, the premise of Haunt the House is simply taking control of a ghost and trying to scare everyone before the night is out.
- The art style is bright and cute and figuring out which people to scare first to create mass pandemonium is always fun.
- Although the only drawback is when you’re finished, there isn’t a whole lot to bring you back to it, and is over relatively quickly.
- Despite that, it’s a fun and charming puzzler that’s worth playing any time of the year.
OneRoom
For: Windows Phone
Cost: €1.99
- There’s certainly no shortage of photo editing apps out there for Windows Phone, with newer ones trying to offer something a little different to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
- The focus of OneRoom is very much on providing a user-friendly experience, therefore the design is minimalist.
- It does take a little bit of getting used to, but once you do, it’s surprisingly adapt at offering quick fixes for your photos.
- There are some minor niggles. For one, you can’t control cropping, you have to choose from preset crops and only supports vertical photos.
- If you’re looking for a different take on the usual editing apps, it’s worth playing around with through the trial alone.
Hey Ewe
For: iOS
Cost: €4.49
- Yes, it’s another game, but this one is developed by Irish games company Rainbow Games and Team17 (of Worms fame) so it’s worth looking at.
- Hey Ewe has you controlling Matilda who is trying to round up lost lambs. Controls are swipe based and it’s very easy to get the hang of. Map a route out for Matilda while dealing with obstacles and enemies like foxes and bulls.
- Power ups and new mechanics are introduced gradually and there’s a level editor should you tire of the main game.
- Although it is recommended that the bigger a screen you have, the better. Not only is it easier that way (playing on a 4S is probably a little too cramped and definitely won’t help when you’re playing the more complex levels), but you’ll be able to appreciate the vibrant art style more.
- A decent first effort from a new games studio, and one that will keep younger players occupied.
Smile Clock
For: Android
Cost: Free
- There are enough apps out there which promise to wake you up by getting you to solve puzzles, forcing you to spin around, or getting strangers to call you.
- Smile Clock has taken another approach, only allowing you to turn off the alarm by, you guessed it, smiling.
- It does this through face recognition technology, which to its credit, does a decent job in recognising your smile. There is a snooze button should you require some extra shuteye.
- To help you out, you can choose any photo you wish to help out, so long as it’s one that makes you smile.
- It only works in landscape mode, which is a little bit annoying, but still, it’s there should you wish to start the day with a (forced) smile on your face.
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