Jump Out

Today's app of the day is Jump Out.

Jump Out is an excellent new android app from developer Tap TapBoom Games. Like all great mobile games, the concept is simple but the execution is flawless and Jump Out is no exception. Game play involves trying to help a variety of insects escape (or Jump Out did someone say?) from within the 4 walls of their box. Within the box are a variety of cogs, fans, traps, barricades and most importantly stars. The object is to free the insects and collect the stars in the process. This has to be achieved in a limited amount of jumps, as too many jumps will see your insect become concussed and unable to escape!

The controls are great - anyone familiar with Angry Birds will be right at home here, you simply click on an insect to launch it and a helpful 'arc' will show you the intended trajectory. Once you complete levels you are scored in the classic 1- 3 star rating system, with more levels and bonuses unlocking as the game proceeds. The difficulty levels here are perfect, with game play starting off easy, but with the difficulty and new concepts gradually being incorporated and increased.

With 140 levels, 30 achievements and 30 bonus levels, there is plenty of content within Jump Out and the price is perfect (FREE!). This is the quintessential mobile game in many aspects, featuring cute characters, fantastic physics based game play, crisp graphics and an excellent soundtrack.

All in all, an excellent android application well worth a play - I would not be surprised to see this make its way to the top of the casual gaming charts!

In the words of the developer:

They are captured within 4 walls! Their only hope is the cap they are holding onto, as if trying to catch a straw in a hurricane! Surrounded by cunning traps, they look ahead and see… the exit. These bugs have nothing to fear; they always look dangers in the face and keep on crying Jump Out!

- Simple, intuitive controls!
- Cool physics-based gameplay!
- Perfect graphics!
- Stunning soundtrack and authentic voice-over!
- Wide variety of characters with unique abilities and skills!
- 140 levels!
- 30 achievements to unlock 30 additional bonus levels!

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Jump Out

Price: Free

Contactive - Free Caller ID

Today's app of the day is Contactive.

With the wealth of apps, games and functions available on modern smartphones, it is often the core feature of a phone (making and receiving calls) that goes overlooked by developers.  In that, I mean that the actual keypad, address books and dial screens are often dull, difficult to navigate / use and do not utilize the full power of a modern android device. 

Contactive is an attempt to change this, with a fresh take on the phone book (contact list), dial pad and incoming / outgoing call screens (amongst other things). At the heart of this application is the integration of social networks into your calling experience, allowing you to very easily browse a snapshot of a person, such as their last locations and updates, either as you have an incoming call or as you are browsing the address book. 

Not only can this save you at times when you get a call and have a mental blank about who is getting in touch, but is also a great way of screening calls from unknown sources. If you get a call from a number outside of your phone book, Contactive will search for the number of the caller, and display you information about who is ringing (all whilst the call is incoming). 

These features are just the tip of the iceberg. Other functions include the ability to sort your contacts into lists (or let Contactive do it 'out of the box') based on your social networks  browse through snapshots of friends social media updates and birthdays, or simply make calls. The user interface is fantastic, with crisp, clean colors and sharp lines. The app is also FAST!  I have tried other contact apps in the past and they can often take a few seconds to load a large list of contacts. Contactive is instance, which immediately makes it a hot choice for me.

At the end of the day, if you are frustrated with the lack of functionality of the stock android calling apps, or underwhelmed by HTC or Samsung skins, then check out Contactive. It is feature packed, looks great and is a worthy install on any device! 

In the words of the developer:

Contactive unites the functionality of your address book with the knowledge of the Internet. It collects information from your social media networks, publicly available sources, and Contactive’s Global Directory to show who’s calling before you even answer the call.

▶ Identify hundreds of millions of unknown callers before picking up the call.
▶ Unify contact information from your social media networks for an address book that is updated in real-time.
▶ Always have something to talk about. Get a cheat sheet of your contacts’ latest updates in the moment that matters.
▶ Our growing list of sources include: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, Yelp, Google Places, White/Yellow Pages, and Contactive’s Global Directory

Contactive is based out of SoHo, New York City and is subsidiary of SingTel’s Digital L!fe Group. We are a small team of big brains made up of brilliant designers, marketing folk, and engineers who specialize in machine learning. Together, we’re working to replace phone numbers with meaningful pieces of our lives and to shape the future of mobile communications.

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Contactive

Price: Free

Watson

Today's app of the day is Watson.

 

If you live a life that finds you timing lots of different things, that Watson is the ultimate stopwatch and timer application currently available in the Google Play store. Whether it be in the kitchen, the gym, on an athletics oval, or even for work purposes, there are plenty of reasons to not only record the amount of time it takes to achieve tasks, but then to be able to easily retrieve those times as a comparable record.

Watson allows all this and more, making it the most feature packed timing app available. The first thing you will notice upon loading the application is the fantastic user interface. Watson consists of multiple tabs that you can use to break all your timings into different catagories. Under each category you can have an endless number of timers running. It looks great, is easy to navigate, and is simple to set up.

Timers can be stopped and started without affecting anything else under the different tabs, and even when the application is turned off the timers can continue to operate (without the use of an android service, so there is no battery drain!).

Finally, for those of us who are meticulous record keepers, previous timings can be exported to WhenDidI, allowing you to keep a permanent record of your activity. Check out the screenshots below and you will get an idea of some of the many uses of Watson. All in all, an excellent android app!



 

 

 

 
 In the words of the developer:

Watson is a multiple stopwatch and timer application using an intuitive page view layout. Each page can represent a different category, e.g. cooking, exercise, work, games.

There is no limit to number of pages you can have, and you can place multiple stopwatches or timers per page. You can start, stop each stopwatch or timer individually, or all at the same time. Each stopwatch or timer can be easily identified as you can set a unique title for each one. Stopwatches and timers are stored in a database, so you can exit the application, even reboot your phone or tablet they will still be running when you start the app again. The application does not use a service, so there no battery drain when the application is not in view. You can also publish you stopwatch times to the whendidi application, letting you gather a history of your timings, and making it easy to track your progress. Note this application is ad-supported, which can be removed by purchasing the WatsonKey. 

 

 

 

 ** Feature List **Multiple pagesMultiple stopwatches per pageMultiple timers per pageStopwatches and timers are backed up to a database, so they will survive a rebootSet the title to each stopwatch or timer for easy identificationStart all stopwatches or timers at the same timeReset all stopwatches or timers at the same timePause all stopwatches or timers at the same timePublish your stopwatch times to the whendidi applicationOptionally start/stop using volume controlsOptional tenths of a second.** Permissions **Network Communication - for google adsHardware Control - to allow stopping and starting using volume control (configurable)System tools - to reinstate timer notification after a reboot

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Watson

Price: Free