Turn Taker is a new iOS app from independent developer Malcolm Christie. It’s available now as a free download from the App Store, and carries no additional in-app purchases.

Turn Taker is a productivity app that allows teams to collaborate on various repetitive tasks and easily determine whose turn it is to do something. The examples given by the developer include mundane activities such as buying milk and taking out the garbage, but there’s no reason why it can’t be applied to more complex scenarios which involve repeated tasks.

To use Turn Taker, users must sign up for an account, which may be done using Facebook, if desired. Once signed up, the user then has a number of different options. They may create a new team, join an existing team or manage the tasks and teams they are currently involved with.

Creating a new team is a simple matter of giving it a name, tagging it with a location via GPS and determining whether or not it is “public.” The latter option determines whether or not any other Turn Taker users in the nearby area will be able to find the team and join it — this is good for situations where the team manager would like people to volunteer for the team rather than inviting people directly. The app does allow for direct invites too, of course — this may be accomplished either through the iOS contacts list or Facebook if the user has connected their account. If the team is set to private, inviting users is the only means of adding them — all team members must accept and join the team before they can participate in the activities. (more…)

Story is an iPhone app from Disney. It is now available for free in the App Store and carries no additional in-app purchases.

Disney’s Story looks to capture people’s moments and lives and allow them to show off the various stories that make life worth living. Story is a very basic app, but the services it provides and its ability to share with social networks make it an appealing photo and video management app for iPhone users.

Story will prompt users to sign in with a Disney account. If a user doesn’t have a Disney account, they can easily sign up through the app or with their Facebook credentials. Signing into an account isn’t required, but users who wish to share content or send emails through Story need to use a valid Disney login. Once the user logs in, they’re treated to the main screen, which contains two lists: “My Moments” and “My Stories.” Moments are created automatically when Story accesses the iPhone’s camera roll and attempts to sort the images by date and location. The goal is to sort every day and new location into its own moment and the process works well, though not always perfect.

The “My Stories” tab focuses on user-created albums put together as to tell a story. When a story is created, users are given three options for content: photo, video, and text. Photos and videos can be taken on the spot or uploaded from the device or the moments section. Users are also encouraged to add text, creating a bit of a photo album feel to the story. There’s not much room for text, as each entry has a 150 character limit, but Story’s idea is to tell a tale with video and images and not rely heavily on words. This is made easier with the organization in the “My Moments” section. The goal of moments is to arrange a story before the user makes it, and its accurate organization accomplishes this goal with high precision.

When the pictures, videos, and text, are set up and the story is finished, users are able to set a theme. Similar to a slide show presentation, certain themes fit with certain subjects. In Story’s case, there are only five themes, but their variety gives users a fair bit of choice. Once the theme is set, users may preview the story by simply watching it scroll from left to right. If they’re happy with the final product, they can either email the story’s link to someone, or share it on Facebook. Both methods generate a link to the story on the app’s official website. Published stories can be viewed by anyone, provided they have the URL, so users are encouraged to not upload personal information. Users who wish to remove a story from the website can delete the story in the app and it will soon be deleted online. Users who want to share their story through channels other than Facebook or email will need to wait, as Pinterest and Twitter support are still in the works.

Story is a very basic photo sharing app, but it’s simple charm and it’s ease of use make it an appealing option for users who want to share certain moments with friends and family. It’s limited sharing options hurts some of it’s appeal, but future updates look to fill that void. Story isn’t the best presentation maker, nor is it the best photo and video manager, but it does a fine job on both ends and allows users to tell a story in the process.

You can follow Story’s progress with AppData, our tracking service for mobile and social apps and developers.

Hangouts is an Android and iOS app from Google. It’s now available on Google Play and the App Store and carries no additional in-app purchases.

Google’s new Hangouts app is the next evolution of their Talk app. When first downloading Hangouts, Google informs the user that this new program will replace Talk. Users who frequently use Talk may be a bit hesitant to make the switch, but once they download and start using Hangouts, it becomes obvious that it is more than just a new version of Talk. Instead, Hangouts combines the simplicity of Talk with the level of interaction Google has been growing within Google+ Hangouts.

When first opening Hangouts, users may be prompted to sign in if they are not already. Once they have logged on, users are greeted to a screen that shows off their most frequently contacted friends on Google+, along with their entire list of contacts (both from Google+ and imported from mobile devices). Users can interact with any of their contacts by pressing their name on the list, or by using the search bar. The search bar can find current contacts via name, email, or number, and can add new contacts in the same way. Users can also connect with entire circles at once, but are not able to edit circles directly from the Hangouts app.

Once contacts and circles are selected, users are given two options: “Message” and “video call.” Messaging works just like Google Talk’s instant messaging. Two Google users can send text-based messages to each other over the Hangouts app and in a web browser. Communication between the app and browsers is nearly flawless. The only noticeable issue with messaging is how the emoticons in Hangouts will often not load for users in a web browser. Most users won’t find this to be a problem, but those who rely on heavy use of emoticons may be somewhat disappointed. (more…)

500px is an iOS and Android app from the company of the same name. It is available now as a free download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play, and contains in-app purchases.

500px is a photo-based social networking app that encourages users to browse through the gallery of uploaded photos, upload their own, and connect with others who are checking out the same image. When 500px is first opened, users are given four options for logging in: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or a proprietary 500px account.  Signing up for a proprietary account doesn’t seem more or less beneficial than linking to a social network, as users are able to link numerous profiles to their account regardless of how they signed up. Once an account is created, users can opt for brief overview of the app, or jump right into the sea of pictures.

Users who like finding and sharing all types of photographs will find no shortage of content in 500px. Fortunately, sorting through the vast lineup of pictures is a rather simple task. Users are given a variety of sorting options, such as looking through popular images, editors’ choice, and recently added photos, among others. Users also have the options to search by certain categories. While options such as “animal” and “nature” are expected, there are some sorting options that are broader, such as “Black and White.” The lineup of photos currently available will be far more than most users will ever need, but this variety means that performing a keyword search, even for an obscure keyword, is bound to produce results.  (more…)

Haiku Deck is an iOS app from Giant Thinkwell. It is available now as a free download from the App Store with additional in-app purchases, allowing users to quickly and easily build detailed presentations.

When Haiku Deck is first launched, users will be prompted to log in either through social media or with a Haiku Deck account. Once an account is created, users get a quick overview of what the app has to offer, then they can jump right in to making a presentation. For users who want a bit more instruction before making anything, there are two pre-made presentations that further explain what Haiku Deck is and how it works. Once a user is comfortable with the system, he or she can jump right in and begin building a presentation.

Creating a presentation in Haiku Deck is easy because the program is more than happy to guide users every step of the way. When a user first creates a new presentation, they’re prompted to enter a title. Next, the slides are generated and the theme list is shown. There are currently five free themes available, and the level of customization enables users to make each presentation feel unique, regardless of the chosen theme. Once the theme is selected, users can start to add content to the slides. There are four main slide types available: Text, ordered list, unordered list, and charts. Each category has various layouts and settings, and there are three different charts available. In text slides and lists, users can format the content and layout as they see fit. Charts can easily be adjusted by dragging handles to set the desired value. (more…)

Frame My Photo is a new iOS app from Unity Apps. It’s available now as a free download from the App Store with no additional in-app purchases — though the app description suggests it will only be free for a limited period.

As the title suggests, Frame My Photo is a simple app designed to allow users to quickly and easily add a picture frame effect to photographs from their device’s camera, photo library or their Facebook photo albums. The resulting framed images can then be shared via Facebook, Twitter and email or saved to the device’s camera roll.

Using the app is a simple matter of choosing the image source (camera, Facebook or photo library) and then picking or taking the photograph. This process is occasionally interrupted by pop-up advertising alerts offering free games and the like, but not so often as to be too obtrusive. Importing a photo from the camera or photo library is very straightforward — the photo library option also allows photos to be pulled from iCloud Photo Stream if available — but the Facebook option appears to be broken at present. Tapping on the Facebook option opens the Facebook app (if installed) and then should open the app’s permissions page and allow the user to install it to their social network account — however, when tested, this option steadfastly refused to work, instead giving a non-specific error message (“An error occurred. Please try again later.”) and simply returning to the social network’s News Feed when cancelled. It’s not clear if this is an issue with Facebook or the app itself, but the problem persisted regardless of whether the device was connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data, and happened repeatedly.

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Spottlife is an iOS app from Gamai LLC. It is available for free in the App Store and carries no additional in-app purchases.

Gamai’s Spottlife is a social networking app that combines the feeds of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram and sorts the content by the topic of discussion. Gamai’s argument is that there are so many users and so many conversations going on at once, it can be difficult for users to keep track of the issues that are important to them. Through the use of a minimalist layout, Spottlife tries to make finding interesting conversation as easy as possible. While it is a good idea, Spottlife has a few obstacles it needs to overcome before it can compete with other social media dashboards.

When first opening Spottlife, users are prompted to create an account. This process is quick and painless, and can be done entirely within the app. After signing in, users are greeted with an overview of what the app has to offer. The minimalist look to the overview sets the tone for using the app itself, and it works as a nice tutorial to help users understand what makes Spottlife unique. Once the guide is complete, users are asked to sign in with one of the four compatible social networking accounts. After linking the desired accounts, Spottlife will take a few minutes to create the feed and sort entries by topic. Once Spottlife finishes, the rest of the app is fully available for use. (more…)

Phoster is an iOS app from Bucket Labs. It’s currently a free download from the App Store at the time of writing due to its feature spot as Apple’s App of the Week — its normal price is $1.99.

Phoster’s stated aim is to allow its users to create their own posters using a combination of templates, images and text. These posters may then be shared to a variety of social networks or printed out. The app comes pre-loaded with a wide variety of different templates for users to use, many of which use recognizably modern, attractive styles, and each is customizable.

To create a poster, users must first pick a template from the available options. Templates are divided into categories according to the shape of the poster — square, portrait or landscape — and may also be marked as favorites if the user finds a particularly appealing design they would like to reuse. All templates come with placeholder text and space for an image — either in the background of the whole poster or in a dedicated area, depending on the design — which can then be manipulated in various ways.

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Google Translate is an Android and iOS app from Google. It was recently updated to version 2.0 on most Android devices, while the iOS and older versions of Android continue to run a previous version. It is available for free on Google Play and the iTunes App Store and carries no additional in-app purchases.

Google’s ability to translate words, phrases, and webpages has become a useful tool for users of all interests and professions. The Google Translate app presents all the same functionality of Google’s web translator on a mobile device, allowing users to translate text and voice in over 70 languages on the go. Android users get the added bonus of camera functionality, which allows the user to take a picture of text, and have it translated on the spot.

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After years of beta releases, Nuance has released Swype Keyboard on Google Play. It’s currently available for $0.99 cents, with no additional in-app purchases.

Swype became famous as one of the first touchscreen keyboards to allow input by sliding your finger across the letters of the word, opposed to tapping for each individual letter, space  and punctuation mark. Swype has seen numerous competitors release keyboard apps with similar features, but Swype’s extensive language list, customization options, smart autocorrect, and number of gestures, have allowed Swype to stand out from its competition. When first opened, Swype will walk users through its basic functions, set up customization, and download any requested language packs. From there, it’s all a matter of choosing the preferred input method and getting acclimated to the system.

Swype has quite a few input methods, but the one that stands out is swiping. Presented with a standard QWERTY keyboard, users will place their finger on the first letter of a word, and then drag across each following letter. When the word is complete, users will lift their finger to indicate a space and begin swiping the next word. Punctuation and capitalization can be done by tapping the appropriate keys or by swiping the appropriate gestures. Gestures are frequently used to make up for the areas where Swype may become confused, such as capitalizing proper nouns or ending a sentence. Some gestures are quick and simple, like swiping from “x” to the space key, which creates an exclamation point. Other gestures take a bit more time, and may require selecting an option from the predictive text menu. (more…)