Monday’s here, and that means you need new apps your smartphone or tablet. Whether you use your device for hard work or hardcore relaxin’, here’s some great new fodder for your touchscreen fingers.
Multi Platform Updates
The Walk
This new game rewards every mile you walk with clues and achievements in a mystery game. “A bomb explodes in Inverness station, and you’re given a package that could save the world. To stay alive, you’ll need to walk the length of the UK,” the game says. Using your phone’s built in gyroscopes (and, for iPhone 5S users, the M7 fitness tracker chip) to measure your progress, this app turns the simple idea of a pedometer into an adventure. Recently updated with 51 episodes, 14 challenges, and 800 minutes of audio, this $US3 app is sure to keep you walking. [Android] [iOS]
Android
Type Machine
The “undo” button is a godsend on the computer — it’s saved this blogger’s behind almost daily. Now you can get a global, long-look-back undo option for your Android with Type Machine. Whether you lose text to an overzealous delete-button, an app crash, or whatever, you can scroll back in time to see all the typing you may have lost, and a password-protect option and a blacklist of apps you don’t want undone makes sure your time-travelling stays secure. [$2]
Telegram
Telegram’s formerly iOS-only messenger app joined the Android world this week, bringing its fast, cloud-based, and — if you so desire — end-to-end encrypted chat abilities to your Android device. With servers throughout the world and a self-destructing message option, Telegram promises to be the a more robustly secure option for those wary of WhatsApp. [Free]
Auto Finder
This ingenious little app requires basically zero input. It detects when you’re driving, and when you’ve parked and exited your car, simply by measuring your speed with your Android’s built-in motion sensors, and drops a map pin where you’ve parked your car. Simple — and you’ll never have to quote that Ashton Kutcher movie again. [Free]
iOS
Pop
Ever been torn between two choices, and wanted your friends’ input? Pop lets you snap 2 pictures, posit a simple “who/which would you rather?” style question, and offer it up to your Pop-using friends for a decision. I wouldn’t trust it for decisions like “which college should I attend” or “which person should I marry,” but maybe the thrill of putting your fate in your friends’ (or nearby strangers’!) hands is part of the fun. [Free]
AccuWeather
AccuWeather’s iOS 7-optimised revamp wraps more-detailed, hyper-localised weather reports in a brand new user interface. With detail down to minute-by-minute updates and a super-accurate 72 hour forecast, you’ll always know how many layers to wear. [Free]
ASAP54
This brand-new app brings visual searching to the fashion world. Just snap a photo of a clothing item you like, and search among fashion companies and fellow fans to find it. If you can’t locate it on your own, ask a Personal Stylist to track down your item or something like it. Like Google for Gucci. [Free]
Brian Cox’s Wonders of the Universe
This companion app to BBC TV’s phenomenal Wonders of the Universe and Wonders of the Solar System programs offers up over 200 interactive articles on the stars, planets, galaxies and more, in extraordinary 3D. The app has always been striking, but the newly updated interface, which adds nearly 3 hours of BBC TV footage, makes it even more lovely [$2]
Windows Phone
Movie Blaze
Powered by TheMovieDB, with info from Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Flixster, this handy app helps you keep track of movies you’ve seen, those you want to see, and the trivia and details about the movies you love. Download is free, but an in-app upgrade gets rid of ads and unlocks some customisation features. [Free]
Calorie Manager
This app may have a dowdy name, but it’s the closest thing you can get to a FitBit-integrated app for Windows Phone at the moment. With a huge database of packaged, prepared, and restaurant food items and data that goes far beyond calories and fat, the system works together with your Fitbit fitness tracker to keep you on your diet and exercise goals. [Free]