April seems to have flown by, but a decent amount of stuff has happened. We saw more glimpses of plenty of upcoming films including Star Wars, Jurassic World, andMad Max: Fury Road. Super hero sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron came out, and it was awesome, LG announced the G4 smartphone at long last, we found out more about Windows 10, Game of Thrones came back, and the Apple Watch got released.
We saw a lot of glorious apps too, and we’ve been looking over the past four weeks worth to bring you the must-haves going into May.
iOS Apps
Linkagoal: The idea behind Linkagoal is the belief that a lack of guidance, resources, and accountability are key factors in people not achieving their goals. The app is designed to tackle this in the form of a social network, allowing people to create and posts their own goals along with offering contributions to help other users people achieve goals of their own. [Free]
Infinit: Unless you’re using physical connections, transferring large files between devices can be tricky and or slow. If you want to be transferring files between your phone and your computer then you should use Infinit. There’s no limit on file sizes, or how many files you can send, and it promises to be 30 times faster than using the cloud (it’s also cheaper than paying for the intermediary storage). [Free]
Groove Freedom: Plenty of apps out there help you learn instruments like guitar or piano, but what about the drums? That’s where Groove Freedom comes in. The app is designed to let people develop independence on the drums, by practising various patterns. There are exercises for different drum types that will continue to challenge you as you improve in ability. [Free — with subscription]
Peership: Paying delivery charges can be expensive, but if want to pay a little bit less it’s worth giving Peership a go. Think of it as an Uber-like service for delivery: you use the app to say what you want (maybe you want a Big Mac, or a bag of grapes), along with how much you’re willing to pay for it. People nearby will be informed of your requests, and can accept it to get you what you need. [Free]
Read our updated list of essential iOS apps here.
Android Apps
Google Handwriting Input: Sometimes typing on a keyboard isn’t enough; sometimes you actually like to write things down as you would on paper. That’s what Google Handwriting Input is for. As the name suggests, it’s a keyboard extension that lets you input using handwriting in one of 82 languages. [Free]
Smart Notifications: Spam is all over the place, and now it’s starting to sneak into your device’s notification bar. Deactivating notifications on an app-by-app basis can be tricky, and might even deactivate the useful notifications that you want to see. Smart Notifications is a system that prevents notification spam, powered by the community. It should stop spam getting through, but if it doesn’t just report it to make sure nobody suffers it again. [Free]
Moovit: There’s nothing worse than standing at the bus stop for ages waiting for the next one to pop along, especially if the bus stop inconveniently doesn’t have a timetable. Moovit is an app that aims to get rid of all that hassle by giving you detailed information on travel routes. This is the fourth version of the app, which comes with new features like searchable transport directions to any place you like, a favourites menu, and live ETA information. [Free]
reTxt: Ever sent a text and then wish you hadn’t? Maybe it was embarrassing, or maybe you made a grievous typo. With ordinary texting and messenger services there’s nothing much you can do about it, but reTxt is different. It’s a cross-platform messaging app (iOS and Android) that works exactly like any texting app, except for the fact that it lets you delete or edit texts you’ve already sent. There are other features too, like the option to leave and rejoin group texts as you see fit, and one-swipe requests for clarification. [Free — with subscription]
Read our updated list of essential Android apps here.
Windows Phone Apps
Cloud Mesh Pro: There are a lot of cloud storage platforms out there, and I’d wager a decent number of people use more than one to try and get as much storage without paying for it. That can get complicated, which is why Cloud Mesh Pro exists. The app lets you organise all your cloud storage accounts in one place, as well as copying files between them at the tap of a button. [$US1.99]
Tripwolf:Travelling is one of those things that you tend to want to get organised for, and it also happens to be one of the things smartphone apps have been great to make easier. Tripwolf is much like any other, coming with guides to restaurants, things to do, and so on. But unlike some apps, all of Tripwolf’s information, including in-depth maps, is available offline. So no more foreign data charges just so you can get around safely. [Free]
Briefcase: File managers are a ten-a-penny these days, but most of them are stupidly basic. If you want something with a bit of extra functionality then Briefcase is a good option. Not only can you manage the files on your phone, you can compress folders, lock them, access OneDrive and upload/download files en masse, and more. [Free]
Read our updated list of essential Windows Phone apps here.