Whether you’re into connecting with your friends via messaging and videos, or you love a good game to keep your competitive edge sharp, there’s an app for you. Take a look at the three following apps to get a feel for just some of the social media and gaming programs there are currently available for your entertainment.
Vine
(Social networking)
Sick of taking videos of yourself and your friends and having to deal with all of the crappy motion quality? Vine combines video clips together to form one video, minus all of the blurry movements.
These short videos (the maximum length is six seconds) can then be immediately uploaded to social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Vine is Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. The app is optimized for iPhone 5.
This free app has been dubbed “great” by users, but claims have been made that it could be “amazing,” if only users could create a private account, or if it had a timer, allowing users to not always have to hold the phone.
Candy Crush Saga
(Game)
Candy Crush is described by its iTunes Preview page as “the sweetest game ever,” in which players, “switch and match their way through more than 100 levels in this delicious and addictive puzzle adventure.” The app is also available as a Facebook game, and as of March 2013, it surpassed FarmVille 2 as the most popular game on the social media site. Candy Crush averages 45.6 million users a month.
Candy Crush is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (5th generation) and iPad. It is also available on Android phones and tablets.
Candy Crush is a free app, but like many game apps, it requires payment for certain items such as extra moves or more lives. You can easily turn-off the payment feature by disabling in-app purchases in your device’s settings.
Although users have complaints such as the fact that the terms and conditions of payment for the game are unspecified, most people deem the game as “addicting,” whether they are playing it online or on their computers.
App to look out for
Path
(Social networking)
Although a bit older (the app was released in 2010), the app seems to be making a comeback with its third version, Path 3. This app allows you to send one-on-one or group messages that contain words, voice messages, user’s locations, photos and stickers they have created. The Path website describes these stickers as “fun and expressive pieces of art.”
Path has free versions for both iPhones and Androids, and they have a website that allows you to log in and view your Path moments. Users can easily upload these moments to Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Tumblr.
There are some very positive comments about the app on the iTunes Preview page, including, “intuitive, beautiful, are just some of the words I would use to describe this app.” One user writes that the app has difficulty refreshing, and that it “used” to work better.
By Taylor Zimmerman