Gadgetory

whenever I get a new Windows Phone for personal use or for review there's a handful of apps I always download right away because I can't live without them so here they are I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow insider and these are my top 5 apps for Windows Phone now obviously we're skipping the usual suspects here everyone already knows how much I use Instagram Facebook and Twitter and if you don't already know what a tweeting fool I am you should follow me at captain two phones and follow PocketNow too while you're at it so you don't miss future features so besides those big names one of the very first apps I download when I move into a new Windows Phone is connectivity shortcuts on iPhones and Android devices you've got constant access to quick toggles for features you turn on and off a lot like Bluetooth Wi-Fi the airplane mode and so on now Windows Phone doesn't have that convenience out of the box so connectivity shortcuts provides it you can either use the app itself as a hub for your toggles or you can pin the toggles you use most often directly to your Start screen for easy access the icons aren't the prettiest but you can change the colors of the various toggles to suit your tastes and it performs flawlessly on every Windows Phone we can find all for free that's an awesome price to pay for such a no-brainer convenience that frankly should be included in the OS so once you've used connectivity shortcuts to switch off your Wi-Fi and toggle GPS on you can strike out into the wilderness with your Windows Phone but you'd better have an app that lets you make the most of your phone out in the wild and that's where Jack of tools Pro comes in now I've been using this one since cross-country roadtrip about two years ago when Jack of tools helped me determine why I was having such a difficult time breathing and it turns out it's because I was about 8,000 feet above the ground when driving through the mountains sure you can find tons of altimeter 's and compasses and levels and flashlight apps in the Windows Store separately but Jack of tools bundles all these together under one roof it also includes more specialized tools like a caliper and a sound meter and you can pin all of these directly to the Start screen as well it's neither the prettiest nor the most stable app but its convenience outweighs its occasional instability if you're a Windows Phone toting outdoorsman the two bucks you'll spend on this app will probably be well worth it and if you take a lot of pictures whether indoors or out you're gonna want to invest in fotor with over 500 five-star ratings and a free price tag this is a real no-brainer for anyone who likes manipulating pictures yes there's all the usual newsworthy stuff like cropping rotating and yeah yeah but where the real fun starts is in the effects folder where so many layers and filters await that I can't even count them you can lay anything from an explosive lens flare to a mould effect over your photograph drop a whole slew of frames atop it and then you can add tilt-shift effects on top of that there are so many options it can seem a bit overwhelming at times but the interface is straightforward enough and the end results are cool enough that a little option overload is a really small price to pay for so much versatility I'm very glad this app is free but I have no idea why it is for the feature set you get the developer could easily charge 2 to 3 bucks a pop and speaking of highly rated apps well you knew this one was coming Microsoft's fight with Google has left Windows Phone without a feature filled YouTube application but Metro tube has been there as our faithful gap-filler for long enough to rack up over 10,000 reviews and a nearly perfect rating Metro tube doesn't just let you watch YouTube videos it lets you filter searches by time relevance or category you can pin videos directly to the Start screen and you can preload videos for later viewing which is really handy if you ride a train and don't have coverage the whole way add in a reliable comment system and integration with your personal Google account and you've got real-world proof that sometimes third-party apps are just as good as if not better than the originals and finally if you're the gaming sort you've got a tribe rise of glory this flight combat sim might not be as well developed as its counterparts on other platforms and it certainly doesn't have the sophisticated multiplayer options of its Android sibling air supremacy instead it's a simple flight simulator with rich environments smooth gameplay great sound effects and a fun storyline and it runs well on pretty much every Windows Phone we can find sure we like Sparkle - and asphalt 8 also but you can find those on other platforms as this particular version of rise of glory can only be found on Windows Phone then since I've been playing it for years it takes spot 505 in today's app roundup but that's just me folks you Windows Phone users out there have your own selections for top 5 Windows Phone apps top three top one whatever it is drop them down in the comments below so we can all learn something from each other and if I OS or Android or more your bag and you want to know about the top apps on those platforms our own Taylor Martin made his own video about that very thing check it out here at pocket now and stay tuned for much more in the weeks ahead in the meantime thank you very much for watching once again this has been michael fisher with pocket now and we'll see you soon