Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous week or so.
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Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Apps
Hurry - Countdown for Birthday/Concert (& Widgets)
Android Police coverage: Sam Ruston's new app Hurry is a beautiful countdown timer for events
Hurry - Countdown for Birthday/Concert is a new Sam Ruston app that uses notifications and widgets to help you keep track of upcoming events. This is ideal for those of you who enjoy counting down to important events in your life, such as anniversaries or birthdays. Heck, I can see using this as a reminder for important releases such as when the latest Android phone or game will go on sale. If that sounds appealing to you, then you can grab Hurry - Countdown for Birthday/Concert for free. Just keep in mind that while the Play Store does indicate it contains advertisements and in-app purchases, I was unable to find any in this release and so those markers may be a mistake.
Hurry is a tiny app that counts down the days, minutes and seconds for any upcoming event. A party, holiday or an upcoming concert? Sorted. Hurry will keep you pumped with optional notifications/widgets and refreshing new gifs. Hurry contains all sizes of widgets with variations to suit your home screen. It even includes an option for watching the seconds waste away as your big day approaches. Share an event with your friends/family with beautiful imagery so they can join in on the excitement too.
Adapticons
Android Police coverage: Hands-on with Adapticons: Making your own icons was never this easy or customizable
If you are like me and are constantly theming and tweaking the look of your phone, then you will definitely want to check out Adapticons. Essentially it is an app that gives you the tools to create uniform icons across your device. You can even import icon packs, which should allow for some great combinations of design. If that sounds good to you, then you can pick up Adapticons for free, just keep in mind that it contains advertisements and in-app purchases that range up to $0.99 per item.
Every home screen is different, so why icons should be the same? Introducing Adapticons. An app that helps you create amazing looking icons for your home screen in a few clicks. With Adapticons you can make your icons match your launcher theme or you can just use it to bring something fresh to your phone. Available customization options let you create amazing effects that you can apply to multiple icons at once.
Pantaya
Android Police coverage: Lionsgate's Pantaya offers up hundreds of new and classic Spanish-language movies for $5.99/month
Lionsgate has introduced a new service called Pantaya, which gives users a way to watch hundreds of Spanish-language movies, all for $5.99 a month. Pantaya aims to be one of, if not the largest selection of Spanish-language blockbusters and critically acclaimed films from Latin America and Hollywood. You can grab the Pantaya app for free, but of course, it will require a monthly subscription in order to watch any of its videos.
Finally, the best Spanish-language movies in the world in one place. An unrivaled variety of today's blockbusters and beloved classics from yesterday. Bring the magic of “la gran pantalla” home and select from hundreds of movies to screen. Enjoy this streaming experience exclusively through Pantaya whenever and wherever you want - NOW.
Placer App
Imagine if you could easily pay a random stranger to wait in line for you at crowded events, say maybe an iPhone release or tickets for a new Star Wars movie. That would be pretty amazing, and luckily for all of us there is a new service that does this very thing. It is called Placer App, and it allows anyone with an account an easy way to find individuals willing to wait in line. Of course, this all hinges on the fact that you can find someone who wants to wait in line and you live in a populated enough area that people are actually using this new app. So while the setup isn't perfect yet, the potential is there. Placer App is available for free, and there are no advertisements or in-app purchases included with the download.
The Placer app matches registered line-sitters (Placers) with people who request their spot to be reserved in line (Jumpers) through our smartphone app. Users then pay automatically through the app via credit card. Download the app during launch week (20-24 June) and WIN A TRIP TO AUSTRALIA.! Winners will be notified through the app.
Island
Island may not be complete yet as it is a beta release, but what it offers so far is kind of cool. Imagine if you will an app that gives you an easy way to separate or clone certain apps installed on your phone, maybe as a way to hide them, maybe as a way to test features without messing up your regular install. Either way, it is a useful tool that should only grow in its usefulness as more people discover exactly what its limits are. Island is currently available for free, and it does not contain any advertisements or in-app purchases.
On the Island, you can:
- Isolate app, for privacy protection.
- Clone app, for parallel running.
- Freeze app, to completely block its background behaviors.
- Hide app, for various reasons.
- Archive app, for potential future use on-demand.
SpotyTube - Discover Music
Sure, SpotyTube - Discover Music may be a couple of months old, but its usefulness proved too difficult to ignore, so I have included it in this weeks roundup. Basically, it's a music discovery app that uses YouTube as its back end. By syncing with your Spotify, Billboard, and YouTube accounts, you should receive a curated selection of videos that will match with your tastes. On top of this, you are given a simple way to browse different genres and new releases, which should help you stay up to date with current music trends. SpotyTube - Discover Music is available for free, and there are no advertisements or in-app purchases included with the download.
SpotyTube helps you discover new music videos that's trending, viral & topping charts across the Globe. What makes SpotyTube different from anyone else out there is the most accurate music content it provides. We curate your playlist based on Spotify, Billboard & YouTube. So it's guaranteed your playlist and charts are always up to date.
Clockwise Smart Alarm
Clockwise Smart Alarm isn't your everyday alarm app on Android. Oh no, it is something a little bit more special. You see, Clockwise Smart Alarm gives you a tailored alarm clock that will speak custom content to you as you wake up. How cool is that? If you want your alarm to tell you the weather, yep Clockwise Smart Alarm gives you a way to do that. If you want to hear that morning's traffic or current events, yep, you can do that too. Clockwise Smart Alarm is available for free, though it does contain advertisements and in-app purchases that range up to $0.99 per item.
Have a hard time waking up? Then try waking up easier with Clockwise. Clockwise builds off the traditional alarm clock app functionalities and brings something fresh to the table - it speaks custom content. This content ranges from news, weather, travel time, and much more. Overall Clockwise aims to make waking up a less painful experience. Clockwise lets you customize what content you want to hear, making your wake up experience tailored to you.
voice recorder pro
If you are looking for a new voice recorder app to try out for school or work, then voice recorder pro may be just what you are looking for. Sure, it may not offer anything groundbreaking in its feature set, but it works, and it works well. You can snag voice recorder pro for $4.49, and if you would like to see what it has to offer without needing to pay something upfront, then you can try out this free version.
If you are using free version, do not uninstall free version before copy old recordings because this version does not remains location configuration of free version. You maybe not see old recordings on this Pro version.
SPOT - Join & Create Events
SPOT - Join & Create Events is another app that is going to hinge on whether enough people are using it to make it useful. Essentially it is an event and meeting app that finds activities near you that you can join in on. You can even create your own events for others to join. So sure, while there are already a plethora of apps that provide similar services, hopefully SPOT - Join & Create Events will find enough of a following to compete in this arena. If you would like to check out SPOT - Join & Create Events, you can do so for free without worry of any advertisements or in-app purchases.
What happened to hanging out, sharing moments, and getting to know each other in person? It seems that nowadays we mostly hide behind our digital screens, interacting in a virtual world of Likes, Follows and Hashtags. SPOT is a social network that brings real people together in the real world. We don’t just ‘share’ our experiences, friendships, and adventures - we make real moments in real life. SPOT is the easiest way to find events in your area and meet new friends.
Mind Yeti: Mindfulness for Kids & Their Adults
Call me skeptical, but I find that Mind Yeti: Mindfulness for Kids & Their Adults self-description as an app that teaches "mindfulness" (whatever that is) to children aged 5 and up is a bit too New Age for my tastes. Not only is teaching a 5 year old meditation techniques going to prove difficult, is it even necessary? I am sure the developers of this app would like you to think so, just so you can subscribe to their content for $10 a month, but somehow I doubt Mind Yeti: Mindfulness for Kids & Their Adults will make any type of difference in your child's behavior whatsoever.
Mind Yeti is mindfulness for children aged 5 and up. The app teaches mindfulness using fun characters, stories, and sounds that help kids calm down, focus, connect, and sleep. Mind Yeti is designed for adults to use with the kids in their lives and was created by nonprofit Committee for Children (www.cfchildren.org), the world leader in research-based social-emotional education in over 70 countries, reaching 10 million children every year.
Manufacturer And Tie-In Apps
Game Live
Android Police coverage: [Update: Now available in the Play Store] Game Live from Samsung will live stream your screen to Facebook, Twitch, or Youtube
Game Live is a pretty nifty app from Samsung that allows you to stream your games to Twitch and YouTube straight from your Samsung device. No PC is necessary, which is great for those that want to go completely mobile for their streaming needs. One caveat I found, is that you can only use your main YouTube account. If your gaming channel is a sub account, you will not be able to stream from Game Live. I also noticed that Twitch streams often show at a pretty low resolution, especially during action oriented sections of gameplay. But hey, Game Live allows you to stream with inline sound to Twitch and YouTube from your phone and nothing else, and frankly I find that pretty impressive.
Game Live is a live streaming app by Samsung customized for Gamers. You can stream your game play to popular streaming servers like Twitch, Facebook and YouTube. Note: Currently only default channel is supported for all streaming servers.
Camera
Android Police coverage: HMD Global uploads Nokia Camera app to the Play Store
Sure, 'Camera' may be a super generic name for a camera app, but hey, it's not like Nokia is known for making much of an effort as of late. Something that is apparent with this laissez faire naming scheme, but also from within the app itself and its many missing features. While I can understand why Nokia's Camera was released onto the Play Store, maybe it could have waited until the app was feature comparable to Android's stock offering? If you do happen to own an Android Nokia device, then you can install Camera for free, just keep in mind that you would be better off downloading Google's version.
Camera application for Nokia phones.
OnePlus Icon Pack
Android Police coverage: OnePlus drops 3 icon packs into the Play Store, but only for the OnePlus 5
Just like with their launcher OnePlus Ltd. is uploading their icon packs onto the Play Store in order to allow for easy updates. So no longer will you need to rely on an OTA update to keep your stock OnePlus icon packs up to date. While this particular listing is specifically for the release of the standard OnePlus Icon Pack, you can also find the Square and Round packs on the Play Store. All three packages are available for free, though you will need a OnePlus device to take advantage of them.
Icon pack made by OnePlus with a NEVER SETTLE taste
Live Wallpapers
Amazing Weather HD
I am always on the lookout for a good live wallpaper, which is why I was happy to stumble across Amazing Weather HD. It is a weather-based live wallpaper that will dynamically change its look to match with your current weather conditions. This way if it is raining outside, then this live wallpaper should reflect that on your screen. Amazing Weather HD is a premium release, so you will need to pay $1.99 upfront in order to use it. And while the Play Store does list in-app purchases as present in the release, you can rest assured that there are none to be found.
Amazing Animated Weather forecast: realistic video effects, detailed world weather data. Weather forecast application and live wallpapers. The exquisitely realistic video effects of cloudiness, rain, and snow provide the vivid sensation of current or future weather conditions for more than 50000 locations over the world. This live wallpaper reflects the real-timings and weather conditions through various backgrounds.
Know A Worthy New App? Let Us Know!
If you have an application in mind for the next issue of the roundup, feel free to send us an email and let us know.
Important: there are 2 requirements in order for the app to be considered, listed below.
- the app's launch date has to be no longer than 2 weeks ago
- it has to be original, ground-breaking, well-reviewed, interesting, fun, etc - the cream of the crop
Now, if and only if the above requirements have been satisfied, fire up an email to this address: oh.no.its.the@androidpolice.com.
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