Top Windows 8 Apps
Windows 8 has many interesting features, but the most important has to be the Windows Store.
It's now easy to enhance your Windows 8 aptop or Windows 8 tablet
with a host of powerful apps - games, multimedia, tools, productivity
and more - and these can then automatically be installed on all your
other Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 systems in a click or two.
You'll
have to find them first, of course, which is something of a challenge,
since the Windows Store now has thousands of apps competing for your
attention.
The new Windows 8.1 version, currently available as a preview,
makes drastic improvements to the discoverability of apps, but in the
meantime we've been scouring the latest releases for the hidden gems.
Read on for our guide to the best Windows 8 apps currently available.
01. OneNote
Microsoft's
well-known note-taking application is available as a free Windows 8
app, and syncs all of your thoughts and ideas across multiple devices
and platforms through the magic of SkyDrive.
The OneNote
app itself works well within the clean, tiled look of the Windows 8
start screen and there are plenty of features to explore, from the
ability to annotate your notes with drawings and scribbles to the option
of tagging your notes to make them easier to organise.
02. Violet Storm Lite
Violet Storm
has been one of the best games on Windows 8 since the operating
system's launch, but it's now available as both a free Lite version and a
£2.79 Pro edition that you can upgrade to if you like what you see.
In
both versions the aim is to blast your way through as many enemies as
possible across a mesmerising, never-ending solar system backdrop. It's
easy enough to navigate your spaceship around the galaxy, and a lot of
fun to play.
03. 4oD
Channel
4 seemed to get its catch-up act together quicker than most of the
commercial channels (putting much of its content on YouTube, for
example), and its free Windows 8 4oD app is simple to use and packed with programmes old and new.
You'll
have to put up with a few adverts, but the full-screen mode makes sense
for video, and you can browse by broadcast date, by category or through
the full A-Z of available shows.
04. Official England Football
We may be a bit of a shambles on the pitch, but at least the FA's free Windows 8 app, Official England Football, is slick and easy on the eye.
There's
plenty of material to work through, including news updates and video
content (both official and behind-the-scenes), and if you have more than
a passing interest in the fortunes of the national team then this is a
worthwhile install. For the time being it looks like new content is
added on a regular basis, too.
05. Twitter
The official Twitter
app for Windows 8 doesn't do much beyond the basics of displaying your
timeline and your mentions, and it could certainly use a fresh lick of
paint in the interface department.
However, what it does do well
is dock to the side of the screen - you can view your tweets while
working on the desktop or running another Windows 8 app, and for this
feature alone it's worth installing on your Start screen.
06. Adobe Photoshop Express
It's a little basic at the moment, but at least Adobe has got its foot in the Windows 8 door with the free Photoshop Express
app - you can easily crop pictures, adjust brightness, contrast and
colours via on-screen sliders, and add a range of instant filtered looks
to your photos.
Everything is mapped out to make the most of a
full-screen touch-enabled interface, though the reduce noise tool is a
paid-for upgrade, which is a shame. You can import pictures from disc or
sync them over the web.
07. Royal Revolt!
One of the very best Windows 8 games available at the moment, Royal Revolt! is a free tower defence title with some beautifully rendered 3D graphics, cartoon-ish sounds and a simple backstory.
The
learning curve is just right, so you can pick up the game's various
features as you progress through increasingly difficult levels in an
attempt to regain your kingdom. You can marshall your troops and plan
your attacks using a mouse and keyboard or on a touchscreen.
08. Google Search
Not only does the Windows 8 Google Search
app enable you to type (or speak) your queries, it includes a
rudimentary web browser to enable you to see the results within the app,
as well as access other Google tools such as Gmail and Maps.
Like
many Start screen apps, it suffers from too much blank space, but it's
an intuitive tool that will be of particular interest if you're heavily
invested in the Google ecosystem (you can easily call up your Google
search history, for example).
09. Spider Solitaire HD
Windows
8 no longer includes the old favourite Solitaire as a desktop app, so
you'll need to find a Start screen app to fill the void. Spider Solitaire HD
is the best option we came across, enabling you to choose from several
different card and table designs and providing full support for
touchscreen users.
The app comes with an advertising banner at
the top, but if you like the game you can upgrade to have this removed,
which cost 99p at the time of writing.
10. Bing Translator
It's in Microsoft's best interests to get some good quality Windows 8 apps into the Store, and the free Bing Translator tool certainly fits that description.
As
well as typing out your queries you can take a webcam shot of signs and
documents for instant translations. 40 different languages are
supported, including Spanish, French, German and... Klingon. The app
also has an offline mode, enabling you to download language packs so you
can get quick translations without an internet connection.
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