We’ve been searching the app charts for September’s top five apps so that you don’t have to. This month we have two addictive mobile games, a brilliant educational tool for those of you that are back to school, the Official Rio Paralympic 2016 app and a brand new video calling service from Google. Phew! There is definitely something for everyone in this chart-topping application line-up.
1010! Puzzle
1010! Puzzle is an interactive gaming app with simple game play, but a challenging concept. 1010! can be picked up and put down without lengthy load up times or needing to save progress and is a fantastic app for when you are out and about and want to be entertained for short periods of time. You can play a solo challenge or choose to compete against your friends and family.
The aim of the game is to drop blocks to create and destroy full lines on the screen both vertically and horizontally. It is somewhat reminiscent of Tetris however the blocks do not fall down, so you can fill in any spaces as you go. As you complete lines, your score will rise, but don’t run out of space or that will mean game over! This game will provide you with hours of engaging play and like many other apps, you can boast about your high score to your friends by sharing your progress on Facebook.
Flip Diving
Flip Diving has been ranking at number five in the Android Top Apps charts for several weeks now, beaten only by Messenger, Facebook, Whatsapp and Snapchat. This game is strangely addictive because it is initially quite hard, but not hard enough to discourage you from trying again. This is a diving game with easy to use controls and what feels like unlimited rewards. The better and higher your dives, the more diving styles, platforms and characters you can unlock.
Developers say it “Features a custom physics engine with animated ragdoll physics” which means you’ll be wincing when your character accidentally performs a back or belly flop or tumbles down the cliff face!
Simple Homework
As this is ‘back to school’ month for children and young people all over the country, we decided to investigate the range of educational aid apps that are available for free and also highly rated. One of the most popular apps that we found was Simple Planner. This app is an incredibly useful tool, you can use it to organise classes, homework and assignments/projects.
The user interface is easy to grasp, although we wouldn’t recommended for the earlier years of school. If your child has trouble keeping track of their school work, then this is a brilliant way to encourage and build on their organisational skills. What we particularly loved about this app is that it will send push notifications of deadlines to your mobile device, meaning you do not need to have the app open to be reminded of important hand-ins or classes.
Paralympic Games 2016
The official Rio 2016 Paralympic Games app is full of interesting features and links to exciting content.
“As well as the opening and closing ceremonies, you will also be able to access links to official broadcasts of live sports such as judo, athletics, swimming, goalball, wheelchair basketball and many more.” – Rio 2016
This app constantly updates itself with real-time results for all Paralympic competitions and you can set-up push notifications for your favourite sports and individual athletes. As well as notifications, you can create your own personalised agenda, much like the festival apps that have been available over the summer.
*Tip* If you are lucky enough to be in Rio for the games, you can use this app for useful tips, such as which events do not require tickets (eg. road cycling).
Google Duo
“Duo is a one-to-one video calling app for everyone – designed to be simple, reliable and fun, so you never miss a moment.” – Google
This new video calling app features Google’s trademark easy-to-use interface, the highest standard of video quality and most importantly, allows calls across platforms. No longer does the divide between iOS and Android mean that you and your friends can’t communicate efficiently.
What’s particularly fun about Google Duo, is that your can see a ‘live preview’ before connection. This means you can watch your friends live whilst the phone is ringing!
*Tip* Data usage charges will of course apply if you are using this app away from your preferred wifi connection.
