In this week’s round up of the latest apps, SEAN BACHER highlights the Fishbowl app, Zino for Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8, WeChat for BlackBerry 10, the GoPro camera app and the Coast Internet browser by Opera.
Inside the Fishbowl
Networking with like-minded business people at events and conferences is a great way to grow business relationships, but the problem with these ad hoc meetings is that contact details need to be saved and follow-up emails sent to carry on the conversation. The Fishbowl app does away with this by letting users create ‚”bowls‚” where meeting attendees’ contact details are automatically captured. This enables the conversation to carry on when people leave the physical meeting and return to their offices or countries. Once a bowl is set up, it is secure and limited to users that joined at the location where it was created. Those users can then share links, images, videos and presentations among all who joined.
Platform: iOS and Android
Stockists: Visit the store associated with your device.
Expect to pay: A free download.
Zinio for Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8
Zinio, the app that lets users buy, download, read and subscribe to magazines from around the world is now available for Nokia Lumia phones. The app automatically downloads magazine updates and allows them to be read whether you are online or offline. The app’s uncluttered user interface makes it easy to navigate and manage subscriptions. Thanks to Nokia’s ClearBlack phone displays, readers are also able to read at better viewing angles. The Zino app makes use of the phone’s light sensor to ensure magazines can be browsed in dark or light situations.
Platform: Nokia Lumia handsets running Windows Phone 8 Stockists: Visit the Nokia Collections option on the Windows App Store. Expect to pay: A free download.
WeChat for BlackBerry 10 smartphones
The WeChat app, which has a quarter-billion users in China, has now been designed to integrate with the BlackBerry Hub found on BlackBerry 10 devices. Like BBM and WhatsApp, it includes a range of emoticons. Besides sending text messages, users can share voice, video and images with other WeChatters using the Hold-to-Talk feature. It offers location-based services, letting users meet up with friends and colleagues near them. New security settings are built into the program, letting the user adjust privacy settings’ to their liking.
Platform: BlackBerry smartphones running the BlackBerry 10 OS and the BlackBerry Q5.
Stockists: Visit BlackBerry World.
Expect to pay: A free download.
GoPro app
Following the release of the GoPro Hero 3 camera, featured recently in Something On the Side, the company has released the GoPro app, designed to make using the camera easier. Users can link their iOS, Android or Windows Phone 8 devices to the camera via Wi-Fi. Once linked, videos and images can be viewed on the mobile device. Settings that would normally need the camera to be taken out of its bracket can also be made directly from the linked phone or tablet. The app lets users view other GoPro videos and images and allows for easy sharing on Twitter or Facebook.
Platform: iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8
Stockists: Visit the store associated with your device.
Expect to pay: A free download.
Coast by Opera
The Coast web browser by Opera is designed specifically to work on an iOS device. Tiles are used in place of bookmarks, allowing users to launch their favourite sites without having to go through menus. When the browser is first launched, four home screens are presented, allowing sites to be added and removed. In place of tabs, sites are minimised to a taskbar at the bottom of the screen for quick access. A single menu is present when a tab is open, allowing users to take screenshots of the site they are on and share them via email, Twitter or Facebook. Coast’s privacy and security settings can only be accessed under the iPad or iPhone Setting option, making it a great browser for parents wanting to control what sites their children access.
Platform: iOS
Stockists: Apple App Store.
Expect to pay: A free download.