PHONE & TABLET APPS
8 Microsoft Launcher
In October, Joe Belfiore, a vice president in the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, officially admitted via a series of tweets that the company was no longer working on Windows Phone ( www.snipca.com/ 26399). It wasn’t much of a surprise, given how the company’s mobile business has floundered in recent years, unable to compete with Apple and Google (which makes Android).
But you can keep Windows Phone alive in 2018 by installing the brilliant Microsoft Launcher app for Android phones and tablets ( www.snipca. com/26381, see screenshot below). It lets you customise your device’s interface with new styles, and gives you the option to tie your Microsoft account to your phone. This is particularly useful because Windows 10’s new ‘Continue on PC’ feature is built into the app, allowing you to ‘send’ (without the need to email) web pages, photos and more to your computer.
9 Tvcatchup
2018 is going to be a bumper year for must-watch live TV. BBC and ITV are likely to have the best coverage of the royal wedding in May, while the broadcast rights to the football World Cup in June and July are also shared between the two channels.
The best app for tuning in live is Tvcatchup (Android www.snipca.com/ 26382; IOS www.snipca.com/26383, see screenshot right), which is essentially an unofficial Freeview streaming service that lets you watch TV broadcasts over the internet. It’s a great app, though perhaps it should change its name to reflect that it offers more than just ‘catch-up’ TV.
10 Radioplayer
You may already have Tunein Radio installed on your device. And, like us, you may also have become increasingly frustrated with the needless extras that have been recently added to this once-great radio-streaming app. Podcasts, US sports coverage, audiobooks and more besides have started crowding out the radio stations themselves. In the spirit of decluttering your life for 2018, we recommend switching to Radioplayer (Android www.snipca. com/26384; IOS www.snipca.com/26385, see screenshot above right), an official, Bbc-supported app with live streams and catch-up content from hundreds of local and national radio stations. It’s sleek, reliable and all about radio.
11 Fing
In the wake of the Krack WPA2 flaw (see ‘What’s All the Fuss About?’, Issue 515), we’ll need to spend 2018 being wary of shady intruders on our Wi-fi network. Fing (Android www.snipca.com/26386; IOS www. snipca.com/26387) is a network scanner that lets you check for unauthorised Wi-fi connections. It’s easy to use, though works slightly better on Android devices because IOS 11 can’t read MAC addresses, making it harder to identify what device is invading your network.