Check out the latest and greatest in apps for your Windows Phone with our monthly app roundup.
Sleep Bug Pro
Softly drift away to la-la land – or a nightmarish hell.Background noise generators have become a really popular style of app across smartphones and for good reason: some people have serious trouble relaxing their mind enough to fall asleep. For insomniacs, having a magic machine in your pocket that will slowly transport you to la-la land is worth its weight in valium.
Sleep Bug Pro is a cut above the others, as it offers the ability to pick a base ‘scene’ from the available (dreams, weather, horror [!], fire, beach, river, sci-fi, music box, city, jungle, zen garden, train, airport, underwater, outback, winter, white noise, classical, or forest), and then add on thematically appropriate sound effects over the top of it – e.g. birds, frogs, bugs, wind or lightning for the river scene.
Most importantly, the sound quality is top-notch, so plug your phone into a stereo or headphones (which can be uncomfortable sleeping). The sleep timer feature allows you to choose how long the sounds play for, which is great.
You’re probably wondering about the ‘Horror’ scene. Dude… some scenes are best left unopened – guaranteed heebie-jeebies. I guess it was included for aspiring horror writers, or for anyone who enjoys nightmares. Just whatever you do, don’t let your children hear it.
$2.49 (Lite available) > Panzertax > OnlineMarketplace Deals
Bargain hunters take note: Marketplace Deals will show you what apps and games have had a recent price drop. The list is viewable by category and can also show you expired deals (in case you’re a remorseful bargain hunter).
Categories include popular deals, apps gone free, top rated sale apps, and Xbox Live sales, or you can view all apps. As you would expect, tapping on an app will take you to the Marketplace for download and purchase. Also includes live tiles support.
Free > ZaamIT.com > Onlinenew group*
If you’re the type of person who uses Post-It flags, or maybe you just like categorising things (sometimes, I organise my sock drawer not by colour, but by texture), you may have been longing for a better way to organise the plethora of live tiles and apps on your start screen.
While actual folder support is still a distant dream, new group* (yes, that asterisk is part of its name) allows you to place subheads on your start screen. Why? So you can place your categorised tiles below them, silly!
Free > Xochl Media LLC > OnlineBlue Tomato
Blue Tomato is a Sega Master System and Game Gear emulator for Windows Phone 7. The app supports sound, although it can slow down some games. What’s really great, however, is that the app supports SkyDrive and web imports, so loading up all your favourite ROMs is a breeze.
The onscreen controls are as good as can be expected and with only two action buttons and a directional pad, you don’t really have to worry about them being too cramped.
$1.49 > BeGood1 Soft > Online 