13. Zinio Magazine Reader
Price: Free
While most of the publishing world plays
catch-up, there’s a service that’s been around for some time, offering digital
versions of magazines for perusal on a tablet or computer.
It may have got in first with ditching the
paper for digits, but it has only just released an Android version.
Zinio on Android is optimized for Android
2.2 and is a joy to use, though its browsing leaves a lot to be desired.
Read
your favorite publications on the go with the Zinio Magazine Reader
If you are new to Zinio, you need to sign
up, then you can start browsing. Well, that’s the theory but the only way we
could get to a magazine was by searching for it by title. The A-Z searching
just wouldn’t play ball.
Once you purchase a magazine, you can view
it wherever you want, either through the desktop reader, or on an iPad or
Android tablet - it’s pay once, access from anywhere.
The viewing of a magazine is slick, with
Zinio optimizing it well for a handheld device. The service even categorizes
magazines that have extra content only available on Zinio.
Be warned, though, unlike mags specially
made for the iPad, a Zinio magazine feels more like it is adapted. Most people
won’t notice this, though.
14. Layar
Price: Free
Layar
Augmented reality is the next big thing in
mobile entertainment. It overlays virtual information on to real world places.
You see a version of this every time you watch football - those team badges on
the pitch aren’t really there, and this is what Layar does.
Layar is the best augmented reality app by
miles. It uses your phone’s camera to display real-time digital information
wherever you may be. If you want to know more about a cafe you are standing
beside, load up Layar and point your phone at it.
In the main, you’ll get info such as phone
numbers, but there may be a menu and user-generated reviews.
The way it displays information in the
world around you is impressive.
15. Skype
Price: Free
Reduce
your monthly bill by using the almost ubiquitous Skype for your calls
Skype cemented itself as the go-to choice
for free video calls years ago but its move to mobile isn’t so clear cut. This
is because it is not about video calling; well, not in the case of Android.
What you get is free Skype-to-Skype chats, low global rates to mobiles and
landlines at home or abroad, and some IM functionality.
There’s a number of things you can do to
integrate Skype into your phone. The first is the opting to sync your Skype
contacts with the rest on your phone. Speaking through Skype to another Skype
user works extremely well. To be honest, you won’t notice a difference, except
for the lack of a bill.
The IM is fine, but as you’re likely to get
loads of texts bundled with your phone contract, you may not use it much. To
use the low-cost calling you do need to set up a credit system with Skype,
which is a bit of a pain. Couple this with the lack of video calling (which
could be a massive rival to the iPhone’s FaceTime), and what you have is a very
competent app but one that’s missing something special.
16. Slice It!
Price: Free
Slice
It!
There’s nothing like that back-to-school
feeling. The smell of chalk on board, smoking behind the bike sheds... Slice
It! tries to recreate this feeling with geometry puzzles that use your index
figure. Unlike that other swipe game, Fruit Ninja, Slice It! slows things down
and you get points by slicing objects the right way. If the picture says you have
to slice a triangle into three equal pieces, you have to get as close as
possible to this.
While this sounds like hard work, it’s
actually great fun. The use of a steady finger and a smooth motion is needed,
so this isn’t a game for a bumpy train. It also depends on the size of your
digit. Our podgy fingers meant that accuracy wasn’t great. But that didn’t stop
us trying over and over again.
17. Yahoo Messenger
Price: Free
Yahoo
Messenger
Letting you IM from one mobile phone to
another or to a desktop, you can chat, share photos and video, send emoticons
and get direct access to Yahoo! Mail. You can also chat to friends using MSN
and Windows Live.
Handsets running on Android 2.2 or above
can install the Yahoo! Messenger Voice and Video Plug-in to access free voice
and video calling between other Android phones, the iPhone and PCs.
The first to thing to notice is the app’s
speed. It’s extremely responsive opening new screens and selecting features.
Striking up IM conversations is seamless and there’s great ease in searching
out new contacts. The video calling feature is still at testing stage, but with
landscape video calling and the ability to video chat across other smartphones,
it should cover all your communication bases admirably.
18. Tap Tap Revenge 4
Price: Free
Tap
Tap Revenge 4
Veteran app developer Tapulous is back with
the fourth installment (plus numerous spin-offs) of its legendary I
tap-to-the-beat music sim. Inspired by the Guitar Hero franchise, Revenge
mirrors the gameplay, substituting the awesome plastic guitar for your dextrous
pointers. You get points for timing and accuracy across the varying difficulty
levels.
The fourth iteration features a host of new
tracks from the likes of Lady Gaga, My Chemical Romance and Katy Perry, all of
which need to be purchased from the store (the 24-song Lady Gaga pack is a
tenner). The backgrounds that feature in the gameplay are a visual delight,
(especially on the Samsung Galaxy S2 we tested the game on), and the online
mano-a-mano battles are a lot of fun. Just like Guitar Hero, though, Tapulous
can keep adding songs and tinkering slightly with the gameplay, but there’s not
much here that wasn’t there on the first iPhone version. It might be time for a
rethink or a break from the road for Tapulous.
19. Temple Run
Price: Free
Temple
Run
Let’s face it, when it comes to Google
Play, the most frustrating thing is seeing other platforms getting games before
you can have them on your handset. This is thankfully happening less and less
now, but when it came to Temple Run, those pesky folk at Apple held on to the
game for far too long.
Sporting some brilliant graphics and
frustratingly catchy gameplay, Temple Run is a refreshing change from slinging
birds and chomping on candy.
The premise is simple: you are running away
from some demonic monkeys and you have to use your phone’s accelerometer and
the touchscreen controls to make sure your adventurer dodges all the crevices
and catches all the coins.
Now, the game is repetitious but
brilliantly so - it’s essentially endless, so you’ll want to keep on striving
for a better score or to knock off the latest achievement.
When it comes to paying for stuff, the game
is essentially free but you can pay for power-ups and the like. But that’s
essentially cheating, so you wouldn’t do that, would you?
With brilliant graphics that are almost 3D
in nature, and gameplay to constantly keep the heart pumping, Temple Run is a
game you will keep on playing.
