Hello! You might notice that Apps of the Week looks a little different this week. You might also have noticed that our usual App of the Day posts were conspicuously absent. Things are changing, and we're replacing App of the Day with a new, improved, and Windows Phone-inclusive Apps of the Week. Let us know what you think of the changes, and please, enjoy.
iOS
BBM for iOS
BBM retains all the same features on its new platform homes as it did in Blackberry's proprietary OS. New users will be given their own BBM pins. Running on an Apple iPhone 5 and a Samsung Galaxy S4 respectively, the iOS and Android apps navigate smoothly. There's no transition lag when navigating between chats and menus. Blackberry has done an admirable job adapting the product to the design language and interface conventions of both of its new home. BBM hits iOS on Sunday, September 22nd. [Free]
Second Screen Live: The Little Mermaid (iPad only)
Disney is re-releasing The Little Mermaid starting September 13, and actually encourages moviegoers to bring and use their iPad during the film. The screenings are kind of a modern take on the sing-alongs that films like Mamma Mia and the Rocky Horror Picture Show have. But those in attendance are encouraged to download an accompanying iOS app which provides everything from games, to karaoke-style lyrics, to other interactive elements designed to 'enhance' the film. [Free]
Paprika
This is far and away the most recommended app by our readers—and for good reason. This beautifully designed program offers just about everything a modern home chef could desire. Beyond entering and organizing your own recipes, Paprika includes an integrated web browser for tracking down online recipes, a one-touch clipping function for slurping recipes from more than 200 cooking sites, and imports any existing digital recipe databases. What's more, it can also create shopping lists, meal plans, and scale ingredients while syncing your database across all your devices. [$5]
Yahoo's Screen App
Yahoo wants to make browsing its mobile video content feel more like channel surfing on the old-fashioned tube. The new iOS app out today should help. The app uses a swipe-to-browse interface that lets you quickly flip between channels (up and down) and episodes (side to side). Yahoo's got a pretty big collection of exclusive content, including pretty much the entire SNL catalog, and its new partnership with Viacom means Comedy Central favorites like The Daily Show will be available at your fingertips. [Free]
Opera Coast (iPad only)
Coast is being described by Opera as "the browser that should have come with the iPad," and that means a UI stripped down to only its most essential elements. Following a recent trend towards simpler browsers, when simply displaying a web page, there will be nary a URL bar nor button in sight. Instead, swipe-based, intuitive gestures take you back and forth through web pages as you go left and right, and a swipe down reloads the page. So you get all the screen space your iPad can offer. While Coast is stripped down, Opera promises all of the same security measures they've become known for; you'll receive warnings about potentially dangerous sites before you access them. [Free]
Xbox Music
A year after launch, Xbox Music will finally be available on mobile to iOS and Android users who were excluded when Microsoft foolishly launched with just Windows Phone as its only mobile platform. The app will come with support for playlists, radio, and a related artists feature that surfaces recommendations. Unfortunately, the mobile apps won't support offline playback—you'll need a data connection or Wi-FI to listen to music on your mobile device. Microsoft says that app updates "in the coming months" will let you cache music for offline playback. [Free]
Google Wallet
Oh hey, Google Wallet is on iOS. The new app comes a few days after Wallet's wide release to Android phones. Since iOS devices don't support NFC, you won't be able to use the "tap and pay" function, but you can send money to friends with just an email address, as well as scan in your loyalty cards.[Free]
Shake
Basically, the idea is to reduce legal costs by providing free, stock agreements for independent contractors, non-disclosure, buy and sell, goods rental or a personal loan. And other types of agreements are coming. A user creates a document by answering a series of questions, reading an agreement, signing and then sending the document to the other party or having them sign in person. The philosophy behind Shake is to “combine the simplicity, convenience, and collaborative spirit of a handshake with the protection of a legal agreement.” [Free]
Android
BBM for Android
BBM retains all the same features on its new platform homes as it did in Blackberry's proprietary OS. New users will be given their own BBM pins. Running on an Apple iPhone 5 and a Samsung Galaxy S4 respectively, the iOS and Android apps navigate smoothly. There's no transition lag when navigating between chats and menus. Blackberry has done an admirable job adapting the product to the design language and interface conventions of both of its new home. BBM hits iOS on Saturday, September 21nd. [Free]
Dryft by Swype
Now, the same minds behind Sywpe are trying to change tablet typing with Dryft, a virtual keyboard for touch typists. The premise is simple. When you use Dryft, you lay your hands on the tablet like you would a keyboard, but since there are no homekey bumps to keep your centered, Dryft just dynamically moves the rest of the keys around your fingers. For the time being, Dryft isn't even in beta; its founders are looking for investors. And until it comes out in some usable form, it's all just talk. I mean, this sounds almost good to be true. But if it does work, Android tablets could be about to get way more viable as productivity devices. Custom keyboards for the win. [TBD]
MY ASICS
The new MY ASICS app, which rolled out this past week, features adaptive training plans. You're not just choosing from one of a dozen pre-set workouts, the system works through a series of algorithms and it evolves as you go. It creates a plan designed just for you based on how much you can run and what you're working towards. The program has amassed 400,000 users and they have logged over 5,000,000, which they are constantly re-analyzing. They claim 78-percent of runners who follow their plan achieve their goal, and that 91-percent of marathoners improve their time. Impressive numbers. [Free with MY ASICS account]
Roku
Roku has updated its Android app with an awesome new feature: you can now stream video from your Android handset to the media box. All you need is the Roku Remote app, which is available from the Google Play store. Then you're able to sling video to your TV in much the same way as using Apple's Airplay. That just made an excellent streaming box even better. Some bad news, though: currently, it only works with the Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, Nexus 4, HTC One, and last-year's Nexus 7. They're all popular devices, sure, but it's still fairly limiting. With any luck that list will grow. [Free]
Paprika
This is far and away the most recommended app by our readers—and for good reason. This beautifully designed program offers just about everything a modern home chef could desire. Beyond entering and organizing your own recipes, Paprika includes an integrated web browser for tracking down online recipes, a one-touch clipping function for slurping recipes from more than 200 cooking sites, and imports any existing digital recipe databases. What's more, it can also create shopping lists, meal plans, and scale ingredients while syncing your database across all your devices. [$5]
Xbox Music
A year after launch, Xbox Music will finally be available on mobile to iOS and Android users who were excluded when Microsoft foolishly launched with just Windows Phone as its only mobile platform. The app will come with support for playlists, radio, and a related artists feature that surfaces recommendations. Unfortunately, the mobile apps won't support offline playback—you'll need a data connection or Wi-FI to listen to music on your mobile device. Microsoft says that app updates "in the coming months" will let you cache music for offline playback. [Free]
Google Wallet
Google Wallet's latest version is available this week for all Android phones running version 2.3 and higher. Send money to any of your contacts with just an email address, and you'll also get early access to using Gmail to send out payments from your desktop. Got too many loyalty cards lying around (or have a phone with no NFC)? Just scan the barcode into the app and you're good to go. [Free]
Windows Phone
Pictastic
A slick, newly-updated Instagram interface for Windows Phone, Pictastic has all the photo functions familiar to Instagram users. Plus, when pinned to your start screen, Pictastic's live tile toggles through recently shared photos from the people you follow. Your iOS friends will be super jealous of that. [Free]
SkyPath
This free ImageShack app help you keep track of all those pictures you've got floating around on your phone and your computer. With the desktop and mobile apps, you'll be able to automatically transfer between devices and back up your pictures to the cloud. If you've got an ImageShack account, it'll keep everything in your account in sync, and the app will let you post pictures in your library directly to Facebook. [Free]
Poynt
This app lets you navigate the best spots in town like a local, even if it's your first day in town. The local search function po(y)nts you toward movie theaters, restaurants, gas stations and events, with nearby offers and fuel price info (in certain countries). You can also make restaurant reservations, navigate, watch movie trailers and call your points of interest in-app. [Free]