Windows 8 App Review: Tom's Hardware

Overview    

      In all of my searching for a good solid tech news app that was simple to use and covers all the latest news Tom's Hardware fits the bill. It is a good, easy to use, and works great in Windows 8. Some qualms are when I want to scroll inside of the article and not the sidebar it will not work. Also it does follow the same design rules as other Windows 8 news since the articles flow from top to bottom not left to right. It feels very industrial, but it works very well and it still looks metro enough with a great live tile that works. Also the app is not designed to work in snapped mode which is not good when you are looking something up on the internet and want to read it from your favorite app but can't even though how the app with the already top to bottom approach should fit right into snapped mode. 

Functionality

     The app loads in 2 seconds and brings you to the home screen which has reviews and news right there. If you want to see all of the reviews you simply click on the reviews ribbon and it will display all of the reviews in a metro tile like formation. I was pretty happy with the snappiness of the app itself and it overall had a lot of good content in both their news and reviews and it did not feel like a "white box" app. They did not conform to what the other big names are reviewing like Engadget or The Verge. I did try Ubergizmo but it felt really ugly and did not provide what I was looking for in an app and if I did a review on it it would get a 2 at least. It really shined in every way except for a couple of things. 1 Scrolling in the app with a keyboard is useless. You have to use the scroll bar to go down in the app which really shows that going side to side is a lot better and more easier to use.

Conclusion

     I saw the Tom's Hardware app and was very satisfied with its performance and surprisingly it provides a lot of content that is enough for me to use without a website which is rare for Windows 8 apps. I am very happy with the overall performance of the app except for a few quirks which I expected in a pre release app. I highly suggest this app which provides unparalleled performance from other apps like Appy Geek or Ubergizmo.

Rating// 4/5 

   

Windows 8 App review: My History Digest

     Overview

     The My History Digest is a magazine style app that currently showcases some premium looking articles that are pretty in depth into history. I really like the layout of the application and think other magazines or news websites like, The Verge, Engadget, and Better Homes and Garden should really follow the History Digest route. There are two other apps that follow a real magazine layout like this are the Fine Home building and the Telegraph which I both do not use (yet). The layout has a consistency with the horizontal scrolling of Windows 8 that shows itself in the start screen and the Windows Store. The My History Digest is an excellent looking app that is designed nicely but the content situation is very bad with only 3 articles. Still there is so much information there it might be enough to satisfy your history buff self. 

    Functionality

     The one good thing about the My History Digest is the premium app feel. It loads first time in around 3 seconds which is faster than Slap Dash Podcast and opens up to the screenshot seen above. Surprisingly for a free app that is a magazine it has very little lag when going between articles. Sadly there has been a lot of reading apps in the Windows Store (You version Bible, Bible Pronto, Free Books) that have some lag between turning pages and the Free Books app has horrible formatting. The lag is only when you turn pages in an article which is very annoying. Instead of the Wikipedia approach they took the Free books approach that is these little side buttons you press that we saw in the original Kindle app. Still they are a lot more responsive than the ones found in the You version Bible app. You can see the design and effort that was put into this app that really makes it shine far above many apps. There maybe only 3 articles but remember this is not a big company behind this project like the History channel that can fund it and how many writers work for no pay. Remember that this project looks like a group of developers, graphic designers, and History guru's converged and decided to make a Windows 8 app.

     Conclusion 

      This app is very eye catching and even with only 3 articles they are jam packed with a lot of information and is very well displayed. My only two quirks are the annoying side bars which may be more responsive than others that I have seen. Also it is short on content which I think since the articles are probably 3,000 + words are being hammered out and lay in preparation for Windows 8 as we speak.
 Rating//4.8/5

Windows 8 App review: Slap Dash Podcast

 

     Overview

     Podcasts are pretty important in our lives whatever we do. In the techie world podcasts are vital to getting our message out whatever it maybe. The Slap Dash Podcast app is where all of your video and audio podcasts come together for you to either watch or listen on that long plane flight. Sadly you can download audio podcasts only and the ability to download video is coming soon in the Windows 8 final version. Video and audio quality is great and there is not a big selection but there is enough to suffice for tech or liberal media needs (Conservative here with only a Fox News video podcast). The UI is nice and the audio and video looks and sounds great I can not wait to be able to download my favorite Paul Thurrot and Mary Jo Foley Windows Weekly video podcasts.

     Functionality

     The podcast app did crash once or twice while I was using it, but overall it provided a silky smooth performance. Pages did load up quickly and video and audio looked and sounded like HD quality stuff. The one thing that I experienced was a slow start up time. The splash screen was there for about 5 seconds which is really bad for any app. 

     Selection

     The podcast store does not have a very wide selection that I was looking for. Some independent blogs like Goodereader did not have their podcast inside the store. The food section was very boring and the one or two apps that I like one of them had no podcasts in it. The other sections like news do not have many podcasts in it and I only found the Fox News podcast to my liking. There was a bunch of liberal media stuff like the Bill Maher Show and Rachel Maddow which are liberal media and not my material. The tech selection thankfully was good with my favorite Windows Weekly, The Vergecast, Engadget, CNET, and TWIT, which I am very thankful for. The selection in the Slap Dash podcast app is about equal with the Tune In Radio app since in Slapdash you can watch videos. 

     Conclusion

     This app is pretty colorful and actually is useful but the lack of downloading video podcasts and can't download in the special podcast file is not very good. The usefulness of this app is questionable depending on what you need it for. There is some podcasts that are based on radio shows like Focus on the Family and the Dave Ramsey Show and Bill Maher and National Public Radio. If you like business stuff than there is a good selection in the business section and there is a lot of "yuppie" podcasts in the lifestyle section. If you like podcasts and have a Windows 8 pc or Windows Phone than this is a solid choice. 

Rating//4.5/5

Windows 8 App Review: Amazon

     Overview

     My only trusted online source for computer and accessory purchases came out with a Windows 8 Release Preview app that is geared for metro and is great and easy to use since it thankfully has a little search button on the top right corner. What it does not have due to Windows 8 limitations is the ability to buy in house. The worst part about some of these apps which inevitably lead to their pull out of the Store is the ability to do everything in the app no external browser required. The Amazon app is not very polished and is very basic and is not as good as the Android or IOS equivalent. 

     Functionality

     Well it starts up quick and shows a simple featured list. One of the things that make this app simple to use is the search button which almost all metro apps lack. Some apps like the Bing Map app had the little hint but took it down and just used the search charm and took away the hint. Say you search for a backpack and of course a bunch of results come up. You click on the first one and boom it takes you to the product page little to no lag. It shows you the product page and it has a little information about it and there are a few review that you can click on and see the full review in the app and some similar products others like. Some things that make this app useless. 1 In order to see everything about that certain backpack you have to see it in the browser externally of course. 2. In order to buy the product is in the browser and not in house because of current limitations. 3 You only see one picture and have to go to the external browser again. So I have to make a point that you are forced to go in the browser which I feel has some Windows 8 faults that will be fixed in the RTM version due to limitations but I want it now!! 

     Conclusion

     This app is okay to preview a bunch of stuff and shop in snapped mode. In total it is not self reliant which I brutalize it for and give it a 3.7 out of 5. 

Rating 3.7/5

Windows 8 App Review: Wikipedia

     Wikipedia may not be accepted in all schools as a source for research papers but it is dandy a great source for regular information. This is the first app that I have seen that not only has a clean and easy to use UI it also has no bugs that I have noticed. Windows8update.com also made a review of the app and they loved it just like me.

      Functionality

     The app starts up very fluidly and has no noticeable bugs in this current iteration. Performance in my perspective is much faster than the browser version in Google Chrome. The information is nicely spread out and takes 2 seconds to start up. It shows four columns featured pictures, featured articles, on this day in History, and recent changes. On my computer the app does not looked either stretched and pixel peepers would be satisfied. Clicking on an article brings up a horizontal row of words and depending on the article it will show on average the usual info box which either tapping or clicking on it will bring up a pop up box that you can close out by tapping the article again. Also below that is a table that when tapped will lead you to other articles that pertain to this article or if it is in a chain of events. Going from left to right will take you to the rest of the article and references. Fluidity and an easy to use interface makes for a great app and no qualms about it. 

     Conclusion

     I found that the Windows 8 Wikipedia app is the best app in general so far I tested other than the TuneIn Radio app.
Rating 5/5

Windows 8 App review: Quick Note

     Overview

     In all honesty I was pretty upset that the only note taking app that I ever used that was worth using Evernote left from the Windows Store so I decided to uninstall it since it would not be updated to edit pre-saved notes until Windows 8 release. I was in the market for something different than a bigger app like Onenote (that I own). I like the split screen view and the easy to use interface that makes everything clean and simple. 

      Functionality

     It was quick and never had any such app lag while in the app or while doing other tasks in snapped mode. The app is very quick and snappy when opening and note taking with a keyboard is quick and easy. There is not much to do in the app except take notes. It looks like it saves them in a RTF (rich text format) which is nice since you can add formatting and such. As seen above you can change the color of your note to different colors. Pinning apps to the Start screen is easy and works unlike a few apps I seen.  Just like Evernote you can "share" something like for example a forismatic quote and have it saved dated with a copyright and a URL to see it on the website. So far so good but for the lucky few that have Windows tablets with pen support pens do not work inside the app. Also there is a tagging feature but it does not work very good.

      Conclusion

      If you need a simple app to jot down notes and lists then get Quick Note or are looking for a cloud based syncing between devices than get the evernote desktop app or the One note app.

Rating: 4.5/5

The secret Your App section

       Most mobile Operating Systems have a section showing what purchases you have made and this is the first that I know of that lets you re install them (other than the Google Play and 1Mobile Market stores) if you purchased them. Before doing a right click did absolutely nothing in the Windows Store now it pulls down a command bar from the top and has two options either go back home or it shows a your apps section. The app market may look very meager but there is so many apps that they do not show you in the main sections that used to exist in Windows 8 Consumer Preview. According to my Your Apps Section I have purchased 49 apps including 28 that are already installed on my pc Blessed. A few of the apps that appear as "phantom updates" such as TuneIn radio, Evernote, and Kindle were not counted in the 49 apps, but some apps like QQ and the Conde Nast Collection that look like they do not exist on Windows Store really do if you installed them from the Windows 8 CP. Also this is very thoughtful is you do download say a paid app and then accidentally uninstall it you can now reinstate it without having to re purchase it. This is very helpful if you want to know what apps you have, how many, and if they are installed or not. This is a really cool feature and if you want good Windows 8 tips go to windows8update.com and they furnish a lot about all of this and that is where I found out how to make screenshots.

Goodereader Tablet on Pre-Order

      So far no information or pictures have been provided, but we do know that on their exclusive shopereaders.com website you can pre-order the Goodereader tablet for $169. Specs have come out proving that the extra money for the Google Nexus 7 is really worth it since it has a lackluster screen resolution. What it does have going for it is 16GB of internal storage and a micro sd card port

Windows 8 App Review: Naturespace

     

            Overview 

      This app is currently the only one of its kind in the Windows 8 Store and one of few in the IOS realm. There is no current WP, BB, or Android version yet. This app is made to relax the body and provide calming, soothing music. In the two weeks I have been using this app it has mostly been playing whenever I write or read. It feels very abstract as some subtitles suggest and can really lull someone into sleep. If you feel very vexed and need something to help you calm down the rain into water or even the night at the lake unknown are some great soothing songs. 

             Functionality

       The app is so easy to use and is pretty reliable even though there are a few noticeable bugs but that might be a localized issue but it is still an issue to the end user. For one thing you have to close the app in order to stop the music since the pause button does not work and if you want to play a video and don't want the music anymore you can turn down the sound but that is it until we get a bug fix. Another bug is when you do turn down the sound when you turn it back up or on it will not come on unless you go into the apps little circle to change the sound. Other than those audio playback is smooth as silk and played at studio quality it sounds so real. 

            Design 

         It is probably one of the most beautiful metro apps and I have seen a lot of metro designed apps. From the clean slick side left to right interface to the beautiful pictures. I would prefer to see some looping images, but they are a big drain on the battery as we see in the original weather app. There is no lag when moving from screen to screen or opening the information and reviews circles. The information circle usually has some tips about what is happening and how to process what you hear in your imagination. You can read the review circle for some reviews of other users. So far you can not add a review in the app, but we image updates to the app will soon be made. 

                 Conclusion

             Out of all the apps this is my favorite since it can play in the background as I write. Like usual you can see the app pictures below and now we are showing screenshots instead of pictures.