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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 crowdsourced map of WiFi hotspots, zombies on pogo sticks and a great iOS mail app from a surprising source.
Wave
For: iOS
Cost: Free
- Email isn’t really that fun an activity. Ok, we’ll be honest, it’s a chore, a massive chore that nobody really likes, but that hasn’t stopped some from making it more fun.
- Wave approaches the concept by turning your Gmail emails into instant messaging chats. So think of your email in the form of WhatsApp.
- Conversations are grouped and there’s no need to refresh your feed as messages come in straight away.
- And even handier, any signatures included with email are left out, meaning you only see what the email is about.
- If you find your emails are mostly conversations anyway, this may be a handy app to have.
waveappteam / Vimeo
Zombie’s Got a Pogo
For: Windows Phone
Cost: Free
- Just so we’re all on the same page here, the title alone should suggest that this isn’t a particularly serious game.
- Zombie’s got a Pogo is an endless runner except instead of being a breathless experience, it’s a easy-going game.
- Controlling your zombie is pretty simple. Tap/hold the left/right part of the screen to tilt your zombie and you’re away. However, getting far is easier said than done.
- It starts out easy with numerous inanimate objects strewn on the ground, but as you progress, cannons, tennis ball launchers and landmines all threaten to stop your zombie from going any further.
- A rather laid-back game with a bit of challenge thrown in for good measure.
WiFi Map
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free
- Keeping your data usage under control isn’t the easiest. That’s why WiFi spots are such a godsend when you’re coming to the end of your billing period.
- WiFi Map is a crowdsourced map of restaurants, cafés, public spaces and other places that include public WiFi and their passwords if applicable.
- Think of it as similar to Foursquare in that you can share the WiFi connection you’re using. (Just be careful not to share a private one if you are using it).
- You can even download the list for future reference so you don’t waste any data looking for hotspots.
- Handy if you’re running out of data and need to find something fast.
TIDAL
For: iOS, Android
Cost: Free (Subscription costs €19.99 per month)
- You may have heard the news that Jay Z bought a music streaming service there yesterday. Well the company that owns it has another service that recently launched here.
- TIDAL is all about high quality music. Instead of using MP3, it uses CD quality music and the difference is apparent.
- On top of that, there’s quite a collection of music here, as well as HD video, playlists, articles
- The obvious drawback is the price. €19.99 a month may be a steep price for such a service but you get unlimited access
- However, there’s a seven day trial which is more than enough time for you to get a feel for it and decide if it’s worth the price.
Outlook
For: iOS, Android (preview version)
Cost: Free
- While it’s a new version of Outlook, this is effectively a rebranded version of Acompli, an app Microsoft bought two months ago, so if you used that one before, you know what to expect here.
- But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a look, far from it. The interface is fantastic and clean, making it easy to wade through your mailbox.
- Alongside the traditional inbox and subsections, it manages to sync up your calendar, files from Dropbox and Google Drive and compile a list of people you’ve emailed recently for easy access. More importantly, it does it well and makes things rather efficient.
- On top of that, there is a decent amount of customisation available to make things even easier. For example, you can decide what action swiping left or right compete or choose the browser links open. They’re small but useful changes.
- If you find using Gmail or Apple Mail on iOS to be a trial, this is a great replacement.
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A bit like Ireland so….
@Tweed Cap: Nothing like Ireland. Ireland is a Utopia compared to this place
@Tweed Cap: Nothing whatsoever like Ireland. FYI, you live in a high income country with a raft of equality legislation and strong redistribution of wealth through taxation and welfare.
@Tweed Cap: Reading the first paragraph of the article, it could not describe Ireland any better.
“They’re tired of the scandal after scandal; election promises broken; politicians profiting while the overall wealth of the ordinary citizen goes down; and very slow progress in terms of human rights or state infrastructure.”
Just to be clear, this is Serbia we’re talking about?
@Piotrek Król: Yes. Most Eastern European countries are very regressive when it comes to human rights and equality, you find in countries where nationalistic fervour is common, that people are scared of change.
@OpenBorders:
Don’t expect a conversation with me, you disgusting creep.
@OpenBorders: The one upside to that nationalism is that they dont appear to be getting invaded by Islamic Neanderthals determined to destroy their way of life..Why is this I wonder?
@Lord Clanricarde: Maybe because they massacred thousands of ‘islamic neanderthals’ in Bosnia in the early 90s. Besides that, Serbia has a sizeable muslim population and was bombed by the US for wanting to ensure that the predominately muslim Kosova remained part of their territory. Don’t forget, that the former Yugoslavia very successfully held together a federation of multicultural Catholic, orthodox and muslim citizens until Milosevic decided he wanted to create a greater Serbia.
I know Belgrade quite well. It’s an extremely dynamic city with a young, creative population. Yet you can feel the uncertainty of which way to turn. On the one hand, the EU is pumping in a lot of money in the form of study abroad grants for students etc. But, they do a roaring trade in I love Putin t-shirts
@Lord Clanricarde: The big downside was a genocide in the 90′s though, you may recall the thousands of Muslims slaughtered and buried in mass graves.
@OpenBorders: I agree with the culture in most East Eu countries which is to not accept open borders and protect their culture. The Eu has no right to dissolve their culture.
Serbia is a classic example of how nationalism and conservatism lead to stagnation, what a dreary outlook for the youth in that country.
Centuries of threat from the Ottomans will leave a people damaged.
@OpenBorders:
Was there last September for the Ireland game. Beautiful country, with very friendly and interesting people. Hope it works out for them.
Serbian yutes
@George Roche: what’s a yute? :)
@William Clay: Rasta slang, from the phrase “wasted youth”. That’s what it struck me as anyway.
@John Considine: oh I thought he was referencing My Cousin Vinny? oops
You were right William :)
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