Bykes 1.2 - app

Bykes has been tested by Softonic, but it still doesn't have a review in English.

SwiftKey Note 1.6.4 - app

SwiftKey Note is a note-taking app that promises to be the fastest way to type notes on an iPhone or iPad.

Type faster than ever

Based on technology used by the SwiftKey Android virtual keyboard, SwiftKey Note speeds up typing by offering suggestions based on word prediction. The app is designed to learn as you type. So, in theory, the more you use it the more effective it will be at guessing what you want to type - thus the faster it will become!

In our tests, SwiftKey Note was indeed quicker for entering text on an iPhone than using the Notes app with the iOS 7 keyboard. On the iPad, we noticed that results of SwiftKey weren't quite as effective, and on occasions dictated texts were slower to input using SwiftKey Note. Speeds would undoubtedly be even faster if SwiftKey Note employed the same gesture-typing feature used in SwiftKey Keyboard for Android, known as SwiftKey Flow.

Of course, practice comes into it, too. Once you get used to the app and it begins to learn how you think it becomes better and predicting.

Besides offering word prediction, SwiftKey Note includes an auto-correct function, to prevent you from making spelling errors. If the word you want to type is not in the dictionary you can add it to the database, so that it will appear as one of the three suggestions in future.

There are eight different language dictionaries included in SwiftKey Note: English (US), Engllish (UK), Spanish (ES), Spanish (US), German, French (FR), French (CA), and Italian.

Keep your notes in order

One of the crowning features of SwiftKey Note is its integration with Evernote. You can link up the application to your Evernote account to ensure that all of your notes are automatically backed up and can be accessed wherever you go through whatever platform you choose. In this way, it replicates the function of iCloud backup of notes taken using the iOS Notes app.

Other features of SwiftKey Note include the ability to add formatting to text, which can be accessed simply by swiping across the screen. Just like in Evernote, SwiftKey Note includes tagging to help you organize your notes and make them easier to search.
 

The verdict

SwiftKey Note offers a quick way to take notes and then keep them organized. It's a shame it lacks gesture-based typing, which would make note taking even quicker. 

Download SwiftKey Note 1.6.4

GTA: San Andreas 1.0.0.0 - app

The 10-year-old Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas stands the test of time by delivering a complete and highly-enjoyable gaming experience in one of the best console ports to date.

Become the kingpin

This was the final installment in the Playstation 2 trilogy of Grand Theft Auto games. For those who are too young to remember or never played the original, GTA San Andreas was a milestone in sandbox gaming and the sheer scale of it was groundbreaking. The story is a rag-to-riches tale set in San Andreas (based on Los Angeles) in the early 90s. The protagonist, Carl Johnson (“CJ”), is back from the East Coast to help his gang, The Grove Street Family, rise to the top. The main story, which takes an estimated whopping 20-30 hours to beat, takes Carl on a journey facing off with various gangs in L.A., riding off road through rolling hills and up mountains, and pulling off heists in casinos in an area inspired by Las Vegas.

And that’s just the main story.

Like GTA V, there are plenty of other ways to occupy your time in San Andreas. Carl’s appearance is almost totally customizable: not only is there a massive selection of clothes, haircuts, and tattoos to purchase, but he can bulk up or learn new fighting techniques at the gym. San Andreas also has a wide selection of 240 vehicles to choose from. It’s a diverse array that includes bicycles, speed boats, and fighter jets. Completing training missions, races and generally spending more time in or on each of these vehicles will improve your handling.

Other side missions and mini games include burglaries, going on dates, vintage arcade games,and rounding up a crew to fight rival gangs for turf. The game has so many other ways to spend time, that mentioning each one would simply would not fit in this review. To alleviate issues regarding saving progress, San Andreas has introduced a checkpoint system to prevent you from getting stuck at the beginning of a long mission.

What about the chaos?

One of the draws to the Grand Theft Auto series has been the freedom to go absolutely nuts. Plenty of folks play these games to sit down, blow off some steam, and wreak absolute havoc on a city. With a massive map, lots of characters, and a plethora of weapons, San Andreas has no problem giving you the guilty pleasure of entering the game and going on a classic GTA rampage.

How to play

San Andreas does its best to provide comfortable controls. It offers a few default settings and the game incorporates tilt control as well. The controls are also completely customizable: buttons can be dragged to the preferred part of the screen meaning that you could drag the fire button wherever you preferred. Overall, San Andreas is similar to other games that mimic having two joysticks; the game is meant to be played with your thumbs on the left and right side of the screen. It’s a good effort and definitely a step up from other sandbox games. All of that said, the controls still present problems.

Tricky driving missions or situations where manual aim while firing a gun is needed are more difficult than they are intended to be. As well as that, the controls are inherently more limited than their console or PC counterparts: e.g. holding two buttons at once, especially while driving, is incredibly difficult and doesn’t feel intuitive.

However, these problems would surely disappear with the use of a game controller, which San Andreas supports. The controls are the one issue that hold this game back from being perfect. They’re not bad enough to disrupt the gaming experience, but they’ll cause some minor frustration.

How it looks and sounds

The graphics in the game have beeng updated to make better use of colors, shadows, draw distance, and character models. That said, if you’re expecting it to be on par with it’s modern counterpart GTA 5, you’ll be disappointed. However given the size of the game, the graphics are serviceable enough and still look better than plenty of games in the app stores, which is even more impressive considering the game is 10-years-old.

GTA San Andreas probably has the best sound out of any game in the app stores. The game has a reported 861 voice actors in it. Some of these are celebrities including Samuel L Jackson, Axl Rose, and James Woods. The voice acting is superb and makes it feel much more like a movie rather than an app.

Music is a staple of the series. The soundtrack for the game rivals that of any other GTA. There are eleven different radio stations that play both talk radio and lots of different musical genres. Musically there’s something for everybody here with radio stations playing Dr Dre, Rage Against the Machine, and even Willie Nelson. Listening to the radio stations during missions makes driving considerably more enjoyable and less monotonous.

The Verdict: It's all good

Despite having some finicky controls, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is one of the most fun and engrossing games that new gamers and fans of the original will love.

Candy Crush Saga 1.23 - app

Candy Crush Saga is a super-sweet free strategy game for Android. Tiffi and Mr Toffee need your help!

How to play Candy Crush

Candy Crush is a puzzle game where brightly colored candy takes the starring role. Your task is to link a minimum of three candies, vertically or horizontally, so that they will disappear from the game grid.

Successfully doing this will allow you to accumulate points, which will give you access to new levels. It's a well-structured game and the difficultly level is well calibrated, so you'll get just the right degree of a challenge.

Don't get crushed

When you're playing Candy Crush, it's important not to get stressed by the time limits. If you do, you're likely to hit a bomb at a crucial point, losing the game completely. Keep cool, and solve the puzzle before the time runs out!

Graphics and sound

Candy Crush, as you might expect, is bright, colorful and cute. That said, we think the graphics and sound are second-rate - it looks cheap and gameplay is jumpy and ragged, which is completely unnecessary and a real pity.

Conclusion

Candy Crush is an overwhelmingly popular game. It's quite likely lots of your friends are playing and sharing their progress on Facebook, so we can't blame you for wanting a go.

That said, we think Candy Crush Saga is a whole lot of hype over nothing. The gameplay is cliched and overdone, the graphics are poor and the whole game looks second rate. If you're looking for a cute timewaster for Android, you can do much better.

Download Candy Crush Saga 1.23

qeep 2.5.5 - app

qeep is a free mobile application that connects you with your friends and allows you to make new ones online.

What does qeep do?

qeep acts like a normal social network in the way you can view profiles, exchange messages, play games, 'nudge' people, etc. One of the main benefits of qeep is the fact that it's free to send a mail through the service (called a 'QMS') making it cheaper than a regular SMS message (of course, it's only free if you have a data plan or are using WiFi).

We were impressed by the speed in which you can get up and running with qeep. You just need to choose a username and a password to get started. Your profile information, photo and personal data can be entered at your leisure and you can start using the qeep network without it.

The qeep interface is nicely laid-out (if you excuse the garish purple and green color scheme), and all the things you can do are displayed neatly on the Homepage. From here you can invite friends, view qeepers who are currently online, view photoblogs and read the big pinboard.

What's so special about qeep?

Photoblogs and the pinboard are perhaps the two most interesting aspects of qeep. The photoblogging function allows you to quickly upload a picture you've just taken on your device's camera or one stored in the memory, and add text to it. Your photoblog will then be available for everyone else in the qeep community to see.

A word of warning about this service: not all of the photobloggers on the site are using it for innocently putting up pictures of their pets or great landscapes they've just seen. Let's just say there seem to be a lot of pretty 'liberal' qeepers out there.

The 'pinboard' function in qeep is a Twitter-style feature, whereby you can quickly jot down some text explaining what you're up to and your friends and other users can come along and view it. Another fun feature (if somewhat childish) is qeep's gifts, which are virtual presents you can send to a friend to brighten up their day.

qeep is a very well-implemented social networking service for mobile phones. Like most social networks though, it generally attracts a certain type of person. And as a result your enjoyment of it depends on who you are. qeep feels very much like it's aimed at teenagers or young adults, preferably with an open mind!

If this sounds like you, then qeep is well worth installing on your phone.

Download qeep 2.5.5

English Urdu Translator Dictionary 1 - app

Let language not be the barrier to express your feelings!

We introduce you English Urdu Translator app for a better understanding of two languages. This free iPhone application helps you to translate words or sentences from English to Urdu as well as Urdu to English. If you want to know how to write Urdu, this is the best application for you. The best part is that it is pretty easy to install and the features are very user friendly. With this application you need not take a course to know or learn how to write Urdu.

Select any one of the option buttons to either translate from ‘English to Urdu’ or ‘Urdu to English’.

Type the Word or Sentence that you want to translate on the search bar

Click on the Search Icon against the search bar

View the translated Word on Sentence on the space below

Copy the translation and paste it wherever you wish on your phone

Requires iOS 7.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.

Download English Urdu Translator Dictionary 1

Instagram BETA 0.3.0.0 - app

Instagram BETA for Windows Phone allows you to take photos  with your phone, apply a few special effects and share them with family friends through the Instagram network - or via other social networks.

What you can and can't do with Instagram BETA

The official Instagram app for Windows Phone boasts most of the same features and functions as the Instagram client for iOS and Android. That's to say, you can use it to follow your friends' activity on the network, as well as to capture, edit and upload photos. 

The significant difference between Instagram BETA for Windows Phone and the iOS and Android versions is that you cannot capture or upload video to Instgram, which is a pity, because it's a fun feature. Of course, this is a Beta release, and the developer promises video recording facilities soon. For now, if you're desperate to add Instagram videos on Windows Phone it's worth trying the non-official 6tag app.

Instagram is renowned for the way it lets you apply filters to your photos to make them seem more cool or artistic. Instagram BETA for Windows Phone includes a range of filters (20 at present). 

Other editing tools in Instagram BETA for Windows Phone include Scale and Crop, Rotate, Frame, Blur and Brightness. Unlike the Android version of Instagram there's no auto-straightening tool included.

Smooth look and feel

Instagram BETA features a smart user interface which is straightforward enough to use. Capturing is done via the native camera app on your phone rather than through the app, though it feels like a seamless experience.

There's Live Tile support for notifications so you can see when there has been activity around images you've uploaded or when photos of you have been uploaded. There's no way to customize what type of notifications are pushed to the Live Tile, however.

The verdict

Instagram BETA isn't quite the finished product yet. The lack of video recording support is a let-down, though the app is fine for taking, uploading and editing images, as well as interacting with the Instagram community. 

Download Instagram BETA 0.3.0.0