Windows Phone Finally Gets the One App You Needed Most
:upscale()/2014/05/13/054/n/1922507/b94b6beb5147ecbc_173280601.jpg)
With its big, bold tiles and color-intensive interface, the Windows Phone OS sure has lots of style — but, unfortunately, it gets little love in the app department. Although the platform is still trailing behind iOS and Android offerings, there are some great hidden gems available for Windows Phone 8, like the beautiful photo app Camera 360 and Weave, an RSS reader available exclusively for Windows mobile. There's also a new crop of popular apps jumping on the Windows Phone wagon, namely Pinterest (which finally launched today!), Spotify, which just revamped its entire app just for WP users, and the multiplatform messaging app Viber.
A major update, Windows Phone 8.1, is also on the way. It includes Cortana, the platform's new personal assistant. The Windows Phone app store is still missing key downloads, but Microsoft's new mobile platform is on the rise. Source: Getty / TIMOTHY CLARY
:upscale()/2014/06/11/844/n/1922507/3f8983d8e3765e4b_pinterest-for-windows-phone.jpg)
Praise the pin lords! Pinterest (free) is finally available in beta for the Windows Phone. It's essentially a shortcut to the mobile web app, and it doesn't come with Pinterest's life-changing guided search feature — but it's definitely a start! Stay tuned for more updates to come.
:upscale()/2014/05/13/035/n/1922507/39378bc32fb20bc2_7322ec35-e559-4f95-8400-d549eca95ed7.png)
Spotify
Spotify (free) for WP8 has been completely redesigned. The update includes Browse, which are themed playlists for the gym, a big night, out, and more. A new feature called Discover presents you with personalized recommendations by combining Spotify's algorithims and social tools with curated content from Pitchfork, Songkick, and more.
:upscale()/2014/05/13/035/n/1922507/896b382827ab40ae_82602e4d-3dc5-48de-aea9-a9203e3dcf54.png)
The photo-sharing app Instagram (free) is still in Beta, but it is available for download, so you can still filter to your heart's content.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/87572ff29362e50d_Camera-360.jpg)
Camera 360
Get SLR controls on your phone with Camera 360 (free), a beautiful app with advanced settings to edit photos that you can share to Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr from the app.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/501c5bef27d5fd56_Pandora.jpg)
Pandora
Stream and discover new music with Pandora (free), and preview what you're listening to on the home screen with Pandora Live Tile.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/570d1acaa0d94f3c_Netflix.jpg)
Netflix
Watch TV or movies from your phone with Netflix (free), which finally has support for 720p screens.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/bbb027e6e62f3a34_Viber.jpg)
Viber
Viber (free), one of our must-have apps for a long-distance relationship, just released the Windows Phone version of its multiplatform SMS, voice, and photo messaging app.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/288616a5a8c8a3a3_evernote.jpg)
Evernote
Evernote 3.0 (free) for Windows Phone, the app that keeps all of your stray thoughts in one place, has a new home screen with more shortcut options than before.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/8a1f252905e16a43_SkyDrive.jpg)
OneDrive
Microsoft's own OneDrive (free) integrates with Microsoft Office and Xbox to store all your documents and pictures and make them accessible from virtually any device.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/3669e0a64a2c87d4_photo-synth.jpg)
Photosynth
The panorama app Photosynth (free) captures interactive 360-degree images, both horizontally and vertically.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/0319ae48aae99b5d_wpgram.jpg)
WPGram
Until Instagram is fully up and running for Windows Phone, the next best thing is WPGram ($1), an Instagram client. You can't upload photos, but you can view your feed, comment, and like photos.
:extract_cover():upscale():fill(ffffff)/2017/12/17/912/n/1922398/batchAX7sA4.png)
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/1405ea5dfd716a23_United.jpg)
United Airlines
The beautiful United Airlines (free) app lets fliers check in, book flights, view flight status, see mileage, and more.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/6959b30a55a6e5c7_Twitter.jpg)
The Twitter app's (free) latest update includes Live Tile support at last — allowing social media mavens to see the latest tweets from their feed on their phone's home screen.
:upscale()/2013/04/14/4/192/1922507/b0d4f197f257f4f4_weave.jpg)
Weave News Reader
The RSS reader Weave (free) is exclusive to Windows Phones. Choose from a variety of topics, or import a feed from your favorite website.