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 way to get kids to do their chores, the nerdiest headphones you’ve ever seen, and DIY emojis.
App name: Chore Monster
For: Android, iOS, Windows
Cost: Free
– Getting kids to muck in around the house and do their fair share can be a nightmare. This app tries to make chores fun. No, really.
- Kids sign into the app and can see their chores for the day. If they complete them, they earn points (and random monsters).
- Parents have to approve the chores that the kids have done, unlocking the points for the kids.
- Once kids unlock a certain amount of points, they can get a reward, which can be anything from money, to extra time watch tv, to going to the zoo. Or maybe more chores, depending on how cruel you’re feeling.
- The reviews from parents suggest that this is a really useful way to get kids aged between 6 and 8 to help out around the house.
App name: Normal
For: Android
Cost: Free
- As gimmicks go, this one is pretty wonky but intriguing.
- Basically it’s earphones which you get to design and which are personalised to fit the nooks and crannies of your ears.
- The app ‘captures your ears’, taking photos of them to create the perfect earphones.
- The Normals (that’s what the earphones are called) are then 3D printed and assembled based on your unique set of ears – at a cost of $199 (!).
- The cost is prohibitive but if you’re REALLY into your earphones then this could be worthwhile. Or else you can just play around and take some photos of your ears. Whichever works for you.
App name: Imoji
For: iPhone
Cost: Free
- If your conversations on your smartphone consist of lots of emoji and images then you may appreciate this one.
- In a nutshell, it lets you turn any image into a sticker or emoji which you can text to your friends.
- You can take any image – a selfie, a photograph you’ve taken, or any one from the web – and then use a pair of virtual scissors to cut it so it looks like a real emoji.
- It’s easy to be snobby about this, but there’s something weirdly appealing about it. It’s tricky to get the hang of it – it’s not intuitive – but once you’ve done it once, it’s straightforward.
App name: Facetune
For: iOS, Android
Cost: €2.69
- We can promise you already that you’re either going to think this is genius or else a complete waste of time.
- Facetune lets you fix your selfies: you can remove blemishes, heighten cheekbones, whiten teeth, cover up dark circles – all the little things to make you look like a better version of yourself.
- Basically it’s like a mini-Photoshop, just for your photographs of yourself.
- The app was released on iOS earlier this year and proved popular, and this week was released on Android.
App name: Personal Food Trainer
For: Windows Phone
Cost: 99 cents
- Given the explosion in health and fitness apps in the market, here’s a relatively new one for Windows phones.
- This app is straightforward: it lets you track your daily intake of calories and nutrients, as well as your water intake and your weight loss (or gain…).
- There are also plenty of charts to keep an eye on your progress.
- The big downside is that this app, unlike others, doesn’t have a food database, so you have to enter your food manually. While it’s not a huge barrier, if you’re used to other apps which have databases then you may find this hard to get used to.
- Overall, a useful one if you’re looking to track what you’re eating, look for patterns, and set goals.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say