Now that the slow, languid summer months are far behind us, we’re finally starting to see some major advancement in the app world. Whether it’s a brand new payment system from the ubiquitous Square or something beautiful simply for beauty’s sake, there’s a whole lot of goodness just up ahead. And it starts right here.
iOS
SnapHack
Once you download the app, just log in with your Snapchat credentials, and you’ll see a screen of all your past and current Snaps. The ones you have yet to pen will show a preview picture, which you can then click on to both view and download within the app. Because even if you open the picture within SnapHack, it will still read as unopened in the official Snapchat world. The app isn’t perfect, though, and you’d have to really want it to use it on any sort of regular basis. Logging into SnapHack logs you out of Snapchat and vice versa. Plus, you can’t receive any new Snaps while you’re in the SnapHack app, so there’s a whole lot of going back and forth to make it work. [$2]
Recur
If you put a task in your calendar, it’s fairly easy to go back and check how long its been, but if not, you’re out of luck. Recur! solves that problem by keeping track of how long its been since you did the tasks you enter. You can use it for recording achievements, or for checking the last time you cleaned the kitty litter. You can set reminders so once a certain amount of time has elapsed you’re prompted to do the task again. Recur!, which is $US1 on iTunes, is made by the same developer that created CARROT, but it’s more about being straightforward and simple than about bringing the snark. Oh well. [$1]
Flipcase
An iOS developer has found the plastic cheese grater’s silver lining with an iOS game that turns it into a fairly authentic recreation of Connect Four. Flipcase does require you to put the case on the front of your iPhone 5C — which the name of course implies — and partially block its display. But the pieces are all aligned to fall exactly into the various holes where the screen is visible. And you can play the free game without the 5C’s case, but where’s the fun in that? [Free]
Android
Aviate
Aviate gives you five different home screens — Morning, Going Somewhere, Work, Restaurants, and Nighttime — that pop up automatically based on time and your activity (or when manually chosen by swiping right from the home screen). Each screen populates with the information and apps Aviate considers relevant: weather report, the day’s calendar, and news apps in the morning; navigation apps when you’re on the move; Alarm Clock and Do Not Disturb (and in my case, Kindle) when it’s late and you’re at home, and presumably ready for bed. Every screen keeps your top 10 most used apps in a swipe-up drawer. [Free]
Type:Rider
We love typography at Gizmodo, so it’s no surprise that we’re rather taken by Type:Ride — a mobile game that let’s you solve riddles and puzzles while learning about fonts along the way. Available for iOS and Android, the game sees players explore the history of typography as two dots: an umlaut or colon, depending on how you look at it. You roam the land — sorry, font characters — solving puzzles to learn more as you go. There’s everything from prehistoric cave paintings to , um, Comic Sans. [$4]
Windows Phone
Car Starter
Here’s a dashboard app for all you commuters, so you don’t have to fumble with your phone while on the road. Car Starter puts your six most important contacts and two preset destinations at your fingertips on its simple display screen. It also provides easy access to your music library, as well as your Bluetooth, WiFi and cellular settings. [Free]
Weather Radar Tips
If you’re one of those people that compulsively checks the weather every morning, this might be just the app you need. Weather Radar Tile puts live weather updates on your start screen. You may never have to open a weather app again: all you do is create live tiles based on current or set locations, select the radar types for each tile, and pin them to your screen. [Free trial, $US0.99 full]
Imagine Cam
Looks like we have yet another addition to the existing arsenal of Windows Phone photo apps. Imagine Cam’s camera settings include white balance, ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation, and scene modes. Its photo editor allows you to crop, resize, rotate, adjust brightness and contrast and more — -all the features you’d want in a basic editor. And of course, it also comes with a slew of filters and effects, though the app doesn’t allow you to edit their individual settings. [Free]