A lot of fuss is made over navigation on the surface of the Earth, but there's far more real estate above our heads than there is just past the Basingstoke roundabout. And while some of us might be able to pick out the celestial highlights, there's far more stars, constellations, planets and galaxies to explore. You could guess, or you could download the planetarium of SkyMap.
Let's get something straightened out right at the start. This is not Nintendogs. In no way should you draw that conclusion, while you wash your cub, play ball with it, teach it tricks, earn money to buy food and drink... this is not Nintendogs. After all, in Kinectimals you're training your cubs so you can open up new areas on the island of Lemuria to explore - you've nothing like that in the puppy simulator for the DS. Oh no. Completely different....
For a long time, playing Chess meant you had to find someone to play against. The home computer revolution changed that and provided everyone with an opponent that could seriously challenge them (and in the process probably upset a lot of casual players with the strength of the digital grandmasters). Chess by Post, from Jeff Cole, takes another approach, returning Chess to a human v human struggle, spread around the world. Of course what the Internet means "by Post" doesn't require a letter being sent around the world, but relayed through a server, letting everyone play at their own pace.
One of the current poster children in start-up land is Groupon. No matter how it spins the back-story, it's a brand that has a globally recognised name, a simple mission statement, and benefits the three parties involved in each transaction - the customer buying the voucher, the companies using the vouchers as advertising to drive public awareness, and Groupon itself when it takes a cut on the sale. Part of that flow means that Groupon's time limited deals need to get to the potential customers as quickly as possible. Say through a mobile application on your Windows Phone?
It's one of those URL's that's burned into my brain. XE.com, the place I go to find out how much my money is going to be worth when I travel to another country and do the currency exchange. Will its Windows Phone app replace me punching up the site in Internet Explorer? Probably not, but there are some advantages to tucking this away on your smartphone.
And the fascination with Weather applications continues. It's now the turn of StormGlass, a free app from Ananthonline that focusses on giving you all the information in a Live Tile, rather than in a screen-based view. It's an approach ideally suited to the Metro UI, which technically works well. But weather tiles are also about emotion and personal connection. Has StormGlass got what it takes?
A long time ago, Pete Cooke converted Stunt Car Racer for the ZX Spectrum (Geoff Crammond, of Grand Prix fame, did the original). That saw me take a souped up, jet boosted stunt car and drive it around a rollercoaster-like track to set the fastest time possible, balancing the car on the track, using the limited jet fuel, and positioning the car for the jumps, drawbridges, and perilous corners. Jet Car Stunts WP is exactly like that on Windows Phone - it just moves a little bit faster, with more colours, and better graphics.
The Metro UI hides a lot of the established chrome around the screen of a smartphone. While the time stays visible in the top right corner (mostly), other details, such as the connectivity status, are hidden away till you tap the top of the screen or call up a menu. But how to actually change the status of the Wifi, the 3G, the Bluetooth and the other connectivity options? You can either dive into the menu system... or you can run Toggle.
Let's blow stuff up! How many games have that as their principal goal? And how many of those games are fun to play? Exactly - we need a constant supply of digital things to blow up. With Implode, you can be a little boom-happy in the safety of your Windows Phone.
It really does feel like Windows Phone has rebooted itself with Mango. New devices, lots of press coverage, and an acceleration of notable names bringing their apps to the Marketplace. Spotify is one of those names. It's recognisable not just in tech circles but as a brand name that's in the public consciousness. And now the mobile client reaches Windows Phone.
