Apps

If you’ve been around the Windows Phone scene you’ve probably stumbled on the Insider app sometime in the past. It’s a sweet offering from the Windows Phone team that offers ringtones, wallpapers, and more. The app was previously at version 3.0.1.0, but we’re now seeing version 1.0.1.0. Is this a new Insider app? Signs point to yes, let’s check it out.

What’s that? You need some more Instagram news for Windows Phone to keep going? Well, we don’t have any more info on an official app, though May keeps popping up. In the meantime, it looks like a new contender is getting ready to enter the field: Itsdagram.

Made by developer Daniel Gary (who also makes the popular Pinsation app), Itsdagram steps up its game against the current uploader Instagraph in that it allows unfettered, direct access to Instagram’s service. That means you can create an account, upload directly for posting, deleting, commenting, liking, searching, tagging, etc.--just about everything else an official client can offer. Check out the video below to see it in action.

Microsoft has released its Switch to Windows Phone apps on both Android and Windows Phone. Available on Google Play and the Windows Phone Store, the apps work in unity to help make it easier for those on Google's platform to hop across. It's a welcomed addition and one we believed would be of use for those who would like to check how many of the apps they use are available on Windows Phone.

Nokia has updated its protest app, #2InstaWithLove with yet another filter. As the name suggests, the company is shouting out to Instagram, who still have not released an official app with all the bells and whistles for Windows Phone. The new filter is Nightshot, which (again, as the name suggests) is an effect that makes a photo look like it was taken in low light conditions.

Nokia has rolled out an update for its Lumia Storage Check Beta app. This app, exclusively available for Nokia Windows Phones, enables consumers to monitor exactly what's being stored on internal memory - something we believe Microsoft should have baked into the OS itself. So what's new in this latest release?

Back a few weeks ago, we brought you the news on Chronos Calendar, a powerful and sharp looking Windows Phone calendar replacement that actually hooked into your Outlook.com account. While we rather enjoy that app a lot, many of you shrieked at the design noting it wasn’t “Metro” enough.

Well, we think we have something for you vocal bunch: True Calendar 8. Yes, it’s a rather powerful calendar replacement that also hooks into your Outlook/Hotmail account so that you can directly add appointments and sync your other imported calendars.

The Home Shopping Network (or HSN - www.hsn.com) has released an official app for Windows Phone. It's a home shopping network in the US, if you haven't quite guessed from the name. Consumers will be able to check out products and watch the HSN live while on the go. If you're into the whole interactive shopping experience, you'll want to check out the official HSN app.

If you missed the ‘Red Stripe’ deal a few weeks ago for Runtastic Pro (it was on sale for $.99, down from its normal $4.99), well, you missed a great offer for an impressive service for fitness buffs. The app recently went full Windows Phone 8 on us, bringing a host of new features and a slight redesign. Personally, we’ve been using it with the physical heart rate monitor and have been having a blast.

Even if you don’t run, it has general fitness features too, including weights, skiing, swimming and more. If you use Fitbit and or MyFitnessPal, it can easily link up to both services, giving you a comprehensive overview of your activity level and calories expended.

Pic Stitch is a new Windows Phone 8 photography app that has seen a bit of success over on iOS. It is part photo editor, part collage maker, and part photo sharing app. It caught the eye of Microsoft's Joe Belfiore and we have to admit, it does make a nice first impression.

Fhotoroom is a very nice photo sharing and editing app for our Windows Phone 8 and 7.x devices. You can sign up with the Fhotoroom network to show off your photos or just use the app to edit your photos.

Fhotoroom was updated today to version 8.3 that brings a new user interface to the editor along with a handful of new filters, styles, frames and light leaks. The but that was hindering saving/loading images from your SkyDrive account was also fixed.