Apps

Earlier this week we reported that N.O.V.A. 3 would come to Xbox Windows Phone 8 on Wednesday, but that information sadly turned out to be incorrect. Check out our Monster Burner story for more details, and let’s not shoot the messenger!

So what are gamers who’ve been left waiting for a rigorous and downright manly 3D sci-fi shooter supposed to play this week? Well, besides the obvious answer of Monster Burner, your next best is the Xbox Red Stripe Deal of the Week. The new sale game is Sally’s Salon Luxury Edition from Game House! It is now on sale for 99 cents, down from $2.99. Definitely an excellent substitute for shooting aliens full of holes.

In all seriousness, if you need a more hardcore gaming experience on the cheap, you’re in luck! Spectral Souls, the console-style strategy RPG is discounted for the first time ever with a whopping seven bucks slashed off its price. The Encyclopedia Britannica app rounds out the Red Stripe Deals of the week.

Some time ago Ascendo released four language dictionaries for Windows Phone 8. The dictionaries cover Spanish, German, Italian and French. The developers have been hard at work improving things and recently released an update that boosts the translation tools these apps possess.

Most notably, the version 3.5.1.28 update adds an audio pronunciation of the translated word. Which can be very useful for those who struggle outside their native tongue.

Liquid Daffodil, the developer behind popular apps including Unification, tweepgods, Add to Contacts and more, has returned with another FUN4FANS special, where numerous apps have been made available for free. This price alteration will last for 24 hours on affected apps, detailed in this news bulletin. This isn't the first (or the last) time the developer has rewarded consumers with attractive price drops.

Mindbloom (www.mindbloom.com) has released its first Windows Phone app. Titled Juice, the app is an interactive energy tracker to help consumers maintain a healthy lifestyle. While it's not for those who are serious about fitness (there are other solutions for such activities and training - look back at our Mobile Nations Fitness Month for more), Juice will certainly cater for those who are interested in how to improve general health.

Pic Lock Ultimate is a secure way to secure photos on your Windows Phone 8 device. Not only can you store images in a secure environment but you also have a few anti-intruder features that help Pic Lock Ultimate really stand out.

A recent update brings the Windows Phone 8 app to version 1.0.1 and addresses one of the bugs we noticed in our initial review.

Nokia has released a new beta version of its Ringtone Maker over on the Nokia Beta Labs. The app enables consumers to create ringtones from locally stored music files, removing the requirement to upload, edit and save files using various free web services. Numerous tools and controls are available to edit the chosen file.

When it rains, it pours. Today, the official YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 has received a massive makeover, bringing new features and becoming more than just a web-wrapper for the popular video streaming site.

Version 3.0 is now going live in the Store (depending on region) and brings a new UI, High, Medium and Low video quality settings, pinnable channels, ability to download videos for offline play, play under Lockscreen and more. Indeed, it’s just about everything most casual users could want in an official YouTube client.

Many of our readers have noticed that Chronos Calendar is no longer available on the Windows Phone Store. The app received a major upgrade only yesterday, but the developer has found a bug within the app and has pulled Chronos Calendar until an update is published. If you've already updated or downloaded the latest version, the developer has offered a quick solution to avoid issues.

We guess Nokia is enjoying creating these new filters for their #2InstaWithLove app, as they keep pushing out new ones each and every week.

And although this morning we saw an actual app update, you won’t need to download a new version tonight. So long as you have version 2.3 you can  now open the app on your phone and you’ll get the new filter live on your phone. Kind of cool how they do that, no?

So what’s the new filter called? Smartshot. And it looks to add a light, reddish hue to your photos, should you choose to use it. Overall, it’s a fun little app and you can’t beat the price. Thanks, Kloyd A., for the heads up!