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 a pie-shaped controller, the camera app all professional photographers should have, and a way to find covers of your favourite songs.
Pie Control
For: Android
Cost: Free (Full version costs €1.90)
- Considering the number of fast access apps for Android, you’re pretty much spoilt for choice, but it’s always good to add another one to the list.
- Pie Controller allows you to access the most frequently used settings by swiping in from the side or bottom of your phone.
- You can adjust it to include two options per button, one activated through a tap while the other is activated through long press.
- The full version allows you to set a second row of apps and display recent apps for quicker access.
- Very convenient if you regularly switch between the same few apps.
Manual for iPhone
For: iOS
Cost: €1.79
- There are no shortage of camera apps out there, but there are very few which cater to professionals, instead opting for more handholding experiences.
- Manual hopes to rectify this by giving smartphone users access to features you would normally associate with DLSR cameras.
- The app gives you full control of settings like ISO, Focus, White Balance, and Exposure among others.
- If you’re not a seasoned photographer, then you may find the settings here confusing, but if you’re willing to play around with it, you can get some fantastic shots from it.
- For pro photographers who want to get more out of their iPhone camera.
Tile Editor 8.1
For: Windows Phone
Cost: €1.49
- Windows Phone 8.1 has certainly allowed greater personalisation for users when it comes to their home screen, but what if you wanted to take that a step further?
- That’s where Tile Editor 8.1 comes in, which will certainly separate your phone’s design from everyone else.
- For one, it says it’s the most advanced Transparent Tile editor in the store, and judging by the number of features available, it mostly pulls it off.
- There is genuinely a large amount of customisation options available, and you can practically create an icon for everything, including contact email, SMS and phone calls.
- Should you want to make your phone truly unique, then there’s no better place to start.
WhoSampled
For: iOS, Android
Cost: €2.69 (iOS) Free (Android)
- So you have Spotify, Deezer and Soundwave for discovering and listening to music, and Shazam for finding out new tracks, but what about covers?
- That’s the premise of WhoSampled which shows you all the tracks that are covers, samples and remixes of your favourite artists’ songs.
- Should you wish, you can go through the most popular songs covered or scan through your own music collection.
- The only drawback is it only checks the music saved on your phone (remember MP3) and not through streaming apps, otherwise you will have to browse through the collection manually.
- Otherwise this is a nice way to find twists on familiar songs.
Asphalt Overdrive
For: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Cost: Free
- The Asphalt series is probably one the best racer series on smartphones, but the latest addition takes things in a different direction.
- Asphalt Drive is the sequel to the popular racer, Asphalt 8: Airborne, but with an 80s twist.
- The basic gameplay is as such. You have three lanes where you swipe to switch and ram cars and hit nitro to avoid the cops. It plays a lot like Temple Run or Sonic Dash, which may annoy some people looking for a pure racing game.
- If you can get over that, it’s rather stylish and the gameplay does work in this context, making it feel more like an arcade game.
- If you’re looking for a more traditional racer, go for Asphalt 8: Airborne, otherwise there’s much to enjoy here.
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