Looking for some entertainment this weekend? We have a list of apps that will kepp you busy or help you get things done.
JotterPad
Inspiration can strike at any time, so it's always useful to have a simple, easy-to-use writing program on hand. JotterPad is just that: elegant, clean and designed to keep you from getting distracted. That doesn't mean, however, that it's underpowered. The app has extensive sharing, layout and productivity features that make it an invaluable tool for wordsmiths. It has built-in dictionaries and research tools. It lets you save documents in just about every file format you'd commonly need, and even syncs with Dropbox. The free version of the app is useful unto itself, though it's possible to buy even more features – typefaces, etc. – for a $6 upgrade.
Other touches set JotterPad apart from the slew of competing apps. One nice feature, for example, is a “night mode” that makes recording any midnight inspiration a little easier on your eyes. And you can also opt to extend the keyboard and add extra, useful functions that you may need if you're inserting images or want handy access to symbol keys. But the real beauty of the app is that you can tuck all of that away if you want to just focus and write. Free for Android devices. – Hayley Tsukayama
Fallout Shelter
This is a twisted take on games such as “The Sims,” in which players control every aspect of the lives of a small community. A mobile addition to the “Fallout” game series, the app puts players in charge of an underground shelter built after nuclear bombing ravages the Earth's surface. Players command everything about the community as its “overseer,” from how it manages food and power to what citizens' children are named. The game is simple enough for anyone to play, but parents should note that it's rated 12 and up thanks to the sort of cynical gallows humor you might expect from a game set in a post-apocalyptic imagining of the Eisenhower age. Death and cartoonish violence are inescapable, even if the art makes it all look like a cartoon.
You'll definitely get more out of Fallout Shelter if you've played any of its related console games. It's rife with in-jokes for fans, who'll recognise its aesthetic as well as props and enemies pulled from the series. But you don't have to come armed with deep “Fallout” knowledge to enjoy Fallout Shelter – just a dark sense of humor. Free for iOS devices. – Hayley Tsukayama
Room Scan
As a real estate agent, one of my go-to app recommendations for buyers and sellers alike is RoomScan. It allows you to digitally create a floor plan that is surprisingly accurate, all with little effort.
For sellers, that means we can easily create handouts for open houses. For buyers, it's a fun and convenient way to measure whether their furniture will fit while they wait during a home inspection.
The best part: It's simple to use. Just tap the phone once against each wall of a room, and the app will draw an outline of the room's shape — and include measurements of the length of walls as well as the room's total square footage.
The basic version costs $0.99 on iOS, though for $4.99 you can purchase the Pro version for more advanced features. The app is not available on Android. – Tim Savoy
Like That Garden
Summer means plenty of hikes, nature walks and visits to the arboretum. It also, perhaps, means you'll be hearing incessantly those three little words from your children: “What is that?” Happily, there's an app to help.
The LikeThat Garden app – one of a series of scan-and-identify apps from the company – lets you hold your smartphone camera up to a flower or plant so that it can tell you immediately what it is, and even how to care for it. The app needs the Internet to work, but you can save pictures to your phone and analyze them later when you have cellphone service.
The app works most effectively when your photo is taken up close and in full light, so you're best off using it during the day. Still, it's great for those of us who can't tell a petunia from a tuberose but want to sound as if we do. Free, for iOS and Android devices. – Hayley Tsukayama
Break old bricks a new way
Brickies is a take on the classic brick-breaker game and provides familiar fun without getting boring. Phone (or even calculator) gamers should recognise the basics: You have a ball. There are some bricks. You bounce the ball off the bricks. Simple.
In a bit of a twist, however, Brickies pits you against the clock rather than gravity – missing the platform doesn't kill you outright, it only disables the ball's powers until you get a successful bounce again. You also have a second platform on the top of the screen, which makes the game pretty forgiving. That's always a good trait in a smartphone diversion.
Players can also collect power-ups that let them do things such as fracture the ball into several bouncy pieces or destroy tougher blocks more easily. Brickies doesn't exactly redefine its genre, but it's still a fun update on a classic. Free, for iOS devices. – Hayley Tsukayama
Lumosity
If you want a mental pick-me-up, Lumosity has an assortment of fun brainteasers to try this summer. The app provides a small but free sampling of the mind-training company's larger program.
Its handful of games are designed as daily exercises to improve your memory and your ability to focus. The app also tracks your performance over time, so you can see whether you're improving.
The science is still out on whether the claims by Lumosity and other brain-training games that they improve cognition are true, so go in with your eyes open - particularly before you consider buying the premium program, which gives you access to more games and other features for $12 per month.
That said, the app is worth a download if you're a puzzle fan.
Free for iOS and Android – Hayley Tsukayama
GifLab
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then an animated GIF has to be worth close to a million. Animated GIFs, for the uninitiated, are short videos often with humorous captions (or attempts at ones). They've become yet another language of the Web. Facebook became the latest platform to support them. But for many, the process of making GIFs is a bit of a mystery.
GifLab aims to make it as simple as shooting a video on your phone. You can record a clip within the app, or pull a video from your gallery. From there, just trim the shot, add a filter, write a caption and share easily over iMessage or any social media sites you have enabled.
The app isn't fancy, but it's fun and easy to use. If users want more fonts and filters, they can buy them. But you don't need those extras - even with the free version, you'll be ready the next time you want to capture a funny moment.
Free for iOS devices. – Hayley Tsukayama
Washington Post