NEW YORK: This week Digital Spy highlights include new Google email software, an age-guessing app from Microsoft, and the arrival of MixRadio on iOS.
- Inbox
Available on: Android, iOS
Price: Free
Publisher: Google
One email app was never enough for Google, which is why it launched Inbox to supplement the ever-popular Gmail.
Inbox comes with additional features that help you stay organised and make content easier to find, bundling together invoices, flight itineraries, and important documents.
The app was originally available via an invite-only scheme, but is now free to anyone on iOS, Android and the web.
- SMS+
Available on: Android
Price: Free
Publisher: Better Diary
Reports suggest that services like WhatsApp are killing off SMS, but if you favour traditional texting, there’s no reason to stick with your handset’s no-frills app.
SMS+ adds bonus features to your texting experience, including encryption, extra emoji, the option to schedule messages ahead of time, and the ability to send quick-fire responses from the notifications box.
The software also supports Android Wear, so you won’t miss out on smartwatch notifications.
- Microsoft How-Old
Available on: Windows Phone
Price: Free
Publisher: Microsoft
Microsoft has been offending people by guessing their age using its How-Old web-based tool, and now the software has come to Windows Phone in the form of an app.
Simply load a pre-taken photograph into the app and it will estimate your age. Often it’s comically inaccurate, but there are cheap laughs to be had when it misjudges one of your friends by a good decade.
Users can share the results in-app via Weibo, Wechat and by email, but not Facebook or Twitter for some strange reason.
- Moleskine Timepage
Available on: iOS
Price: £3.99
Publisher: Moleskine Srl
Calendar apps are usually bland, uninspiring affairs, but that certainly doesn’t apply to Moleskine Timepage.
The software clearly has ambitions to become the most stylish planner on the App Store, and it also wants to be one of the most productive.
Drawing data from iCloud, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Exchange, Timepage brings all of your calendars together in one place and pads them out with weather data, travel directions and contacts.
- Google Photos
Available on: Android, iOS
Price: Free
Publisher: Google
The rumours were true. Google was spinning off the photos portion of Google+, and the result is a standalone Photos app for iOS and Android.
Photos is a cloud storage service for your images that offers 15GB of free space, as well as sharing features, editing tools, and an efficient search engine.
Images are searchable by the people, places and objects in them, and are arranged based on their subject matter.
- MixRadio
Available on: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Price: Free
Publisher: MixRadio Limited
MixRadio began life as a Windows Phone exclusive, but it has since come to other mobile platforms, most recently iOS devices.
Rather than full on-demand listening like Spotify and Tidal, the service is a collection of playlists complied by theme and mood.
Custom radio stations are the headline feature. After naming a handful of artists that float their boat, users are served with an endless stream of similar musicians.
- Make My Day
Available on: iOS, Android
Price: Free (with in-app purchases)
Publisher: Lonely Planet
Make My Day is a new app from Lonely Planet that helps users in London, Barcelona, New York, Paris, San Francisco and Tokyo plan their perfect day.
It deliberately steers users away from the obvious tourist hotspots and highlights hidden gems, recommending morning, afternoon and evening activities.
Make My Day works as an alternative travel guide if you’re planning to visit any of the cities it covers, and might even flag up a few new experiences for residents in those locations.
- Hooks
Available on: iOS
Price: Free
Publisher: Oleg Kozynenko
Hooks is an iOS app for creating custom alerts for just about anything, including sports scores, weather reports, lottery results, and product release dates.
There are more than 100 channels that users can subscribe to for notifications, and new ones are added on a weekly basis.
Apple Watch support allows users to receive their personalised alerts on their wrist.
- Google Maps
Available on: iOS, Android
Price: Free
Publisher: Google
There’s been a Google Maps app for almost as long as there have been app stores, but the latest version of the software comes with a handy new feature.
Live transport data is included in the latest update, bringing users real-time information about buses and trains across the UK, Netherlands, Budapest, Chicago, Seattle, and San Francisco.
The update is gradually being rolled out to Android users on a per-territory basis, and is expected to come to iOS shortly after.
App of the week
Hooks for iOS is our app of the week as it negates the need to install dozens of services to receive alerts for news, sports scores, weather reports, and much more.
It’s good to see an app with notifications that serve the user, rather than the developer’s engagement agenda. This one’s worth getting your hooks into.
