TechSmart 121, October 2013 Oct. 2013 | Page 52

APPS OF THE MONTH Deezer With Deezer on Windows Phone 8, it’s not just the Nokia editorial teams who get to share their favourite tunes. The new app allows you to share the tracks and playlists you love, so you can recommend your own hot new pick to millions of other music fans around the world. In addition to music discovery, the app also gives you immediate access to your favourite tracks through the Windows Phone tiles. The app is free. Media Lock Free If you are tired of people accessing items in your gallery without your consent then have a look at this free application by Glorious Mobile. Media Lock Free allows you to add password functionality to your BlackBerry’s gallery. This means you can now protect images, videos, music or other files that your gallery may contain. Keep the files on your phone for your eyes and ears only thanks to Media Lock Free. Hipstamatic Oggl N.O.V.A 3 Image editing apps are a dime a dozen these days, but what really sets Hipstamatic Oggl apart is both its built-in social features and extensive collection of creative effects. The filters come in two categories: lenses and films, which you can apply to your photos in different combinations to create images that are moody, whimsical and retro. With a number of new Windows Phones coming with good cameras this app is very welcome addition. Fans of Halo should definitely have a look at this R8 side scroller or first person sh ooter depending on the device you own. Picking up from where N.O.V.A 2 ended it is your job to save earth from the Volterities. Features include impressive sound effects and graphics along with a lengthy campaign. It should be noted that there was performance drops on older BlackBerry devices which became a nuisance especially during combat. Save humanity with N.O.V.A 3, or at least yourself from boredom. Polyhegrams BlackBerry Virtual Expert Polyhegrams is a little peculiar and a little bit addictive. Spin multi-sided 3D shapes (polyhegrams) and spell out words, either answering clues, or Boggle-style: finding as many words as you can out of the limited letters. You can play single-player, multi-player or head-to-head (online or with a local pal via Wi-Fi). While it’s as compelling as the likes of Wordament if you like puzzles, it’s also got a crazy backstory (think aliens). Polyhegrams is available from the Windows Store for R12. This free application by Research In Motion Limited allows you to diagnose the condition of your BlackBerry device. Besides offering a detailed walkthrough, you can also test out the condition of your hardware systems such as speaker, USB, and screen, just to name a few. Even though the tests are limited to hardware aspects of your device it’s still worthy download. Save time and money with BlackBerry Virtual Expert. [IF] WINDOWS TOP TIP 50 It’s a no brainer that every smartphone can also be used as a calculator but can they be used to handle advanced calculations? With Windows Phone simply open your calculator app and rotate your handset to the left and soon after your plain-old calculator becomes a scientific calculator. This comes in pretty handy when you need to solve a physics equation or, for some reason, want to practice trigonometry in your spare time. Free space In order to free space you can remove languages on your BlackBerry device. Go to ‘setup’, select ‘languages’, and choose the languages you want to delete. After that scroll down and click on ‘update’. Do note that this differs per OS. BLACKBERRY TOP TIP October 2013 | TechSmart