In essence, IMDb is something of a must-have for almost every Windows Phone user, in my opinion, even in this early version. Browsing through linked movie and TV info, through bios and trivia databases, designed originally for hypertext World Wide Web, they're a pretty darned good fit for Metro UI on Windows Phone too...
The great thing about social networks, now that people understand the basics, is that you can apply them to any subject. If you can find a strong niche that provides value to users and can start income streams for you as a company, then you have a winner. Which is where Foodspotting comes in, as I load it onto my Windows Phone.
Following on from its successful iOS and Android applications, Edinburgh-based Skyscanner has launched a Windows Phone version of its popular flight booking service. The premise is simple - you tell Skyscanner where and when you want to travel, and it will go scouting round the internet, finding you the best deal for that airline flight. It's a win all round!
Once you've taken a picture on your Windows Phone, is it perfect? Probably not, but you might need to tweak the framing or touch up the colour slightly. If you're taking pictures for friends and fun (say on Facebook), then you'll want to add some life to them and make them look pretty, or perhpas you have to get them to an editor for a serious article and you need to get the framing just right. Pictures Lab is one of many photo toolboxes for your smartphone, but it's the one that I enjoy using the most.
Do you know one of the great things Windows Phone can do when you are travelling (as I was last week)? Listening to Ken Bruce's Popmaster; or Sunday Concert on Radio 3; even The Shipping Forecast is enough to bring a tear to my eye when abroad. With a data connection and Igneous Software's BBC Radio Player, you can listen in as well.
Since the official client for Foursquare updated itself for Mango, many people, myself included, have been waiting for an update to the third party Foursquare client '4th and Mayor'. Now that Jeff Wilcox has updated the client, which is going to be my chosen check-in companion?
It's an established powerhouse destination on the internet, but what I love about eBay (apart from the fact that I've finally managed to land myself a Winchester Filofax) is that it continues to strive and stay at the cutting edge. That includes online payments (PayPal), ticketing (StubHub), classified (Kijiji); or making sure that no matter what you are using when you decide to buy something at the digital flea market, there is a simple and quick eBay method to use. Which sets us up nicely to look at their Windows Phone application.
Information on the go. That's what a mobile phone is good for, be it a voice call, a text, or the news headlines. The Guardian newspaper in the UK has a strong track record of innovation online, and its Windows Phone application promises its editorial content and news in a Metro UI styled interface. It delivers on that promise, and with a little bit more. But is it enough to beat its mobile website?
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.
I am a big eBook reader and, as such, the whole Amazon Kindle project has a lot of fascination for me. Tapping into an eBook application, with a full store behind it and a significant number of printed books available for instant purchase and download... What's not to love? Well it is a bit of a closed shop on Windows Phone, but that quirk aside, there's little to fault Kindle on Windows Phone.
