One of several mapping UWP apps for Windows 10 that I've been trying out on my Lumias, PocketMap is just that - a selection of bitmapped, vector and photo maps presented in a fast(ish) and logical interface. Built with a little bit of a Norway focus, it's nonetheless rather cool to play with anywhere else in the world, as you'll see below. If nothing else, it's an easy OpenStreetMap viewer!
I've no idea how this UWP application got missed on previous excursions into the Store, but let's put that right now. Outdoor Tracker is a simple but very useful mapping and tracking utility, with the sole caveat that you have to be online (obviously) to access the underlying Open Street Map err... maps. Happily, it's easy to preload areas and map tiles that you need, for when you venture onto footpaths in the wild and windy hills and out of contact with networks. It's also Open Source and completely free, which is always good.
Now, I've ranted before about developers pulling greedy tricks in the Store, 'massively discounting' apps and games from unrealistic original 'RRP's to attract attention. And Yellow Elephant here is guilty in the same way, partly by offering silly discounts in the Store (though not as bad as in my original examples) but mainly by producing an application that's so ridden with 'buy-me-now' purchases that it's almost impossible to use. The core idea is to play local music and videos, plus Internet radio and other streams, but save your time (and money) and... Just. Don't. Bother.
Yes, yes, I'm English and like all Englishmen I have an obsession with when it's next going to rain. Either because I want it (dry garden) or because I don't (I'd get wet and need to remember an umbrella!) Rain Gauge is a UWP application for all Windows 10 devices (including Mobile) that claims to provide this crucial information, in addition to animated radar maps and a general forecast. For countries within striking distance of the Netherlands, anyway (UK is supported).
Instagram, for a service that's not officially supported under Windows 10 Mobile anymore, is actually quite well represented. Winsta UWP is a nice general client that lets you post and interact with others, but it has a few functionality gaps, not least being able to see posted images in original detail and not being able to save media to your phone. Enter Saver for Instagram PRO, also a UWP for all Windows 10 devices, and which offers a different Instagram feature set, see the review here.
Part of Microsoft's stated 'plan B' after pulling out of plan 'A' (Windows on phones) was to integrate Android and iOS smartphones into Windows on Desktops and, after many betas/Insider versions, this has emerged as Your Phone, a pair of applications on the phone and Desktop. These work together to bring across notifications and text messaging to the latter. And the system works... after a fashion. It's just currently all too laborious to set up and a little underwhelming in possibilities, I contend.
Flash card apps are perennially popular on all computing platforms, partly because they're relatively easy to program and partly because they're genuinely useful when trying to memorise long data sets (e.g. foreign language words). Anki Universal is created to access AnkiWeb flash card 'decks', of which there are thousands online - that this is also an almost perfect UWP application for all Windows 10 devices, polished to within an inch of its life, and also completely free, boggles the mind...
You'll have guessed from its title ("Speech Central: Voice Reader") what this UWP application for all Windows 10 phones (and other computing devices) does. The 'Central' bit is notable though, since this does a fabulous job of rounding up news from a multitude of sources and then you can add your own sites and articles too - all to be read aloud. Maybe you're driving or washing up, or maybe just lying in bed, but either way you want to listen and not use your eyes.
The latest in a series of web-scraping super-apps from developer Fetisenko, GNews - Google News Reader UWP presents (as it sounds) the might of Google's news gathering abilities from around the globe, but presented in full dark-themed, carded, glossy form for Windows 10, especially on the AMOLED-screened phones, where the dark theme can save a lot of battery power. It's free, though you do have to skip over the occasional in-line advertorial headlines. A price worth paying, I think...?
I know what you're thinking - such a 'many tools in one app' is a staple of phone and PDA software since the dawn of time - the tools are often trivial and easy to write, which is why this genre keeps re-appearing. Except that Perfect Software's version has had an unusual amount of time invested in its various tools/utility. Enough for a full review here - you'll thank me later.
