10 of the best Nokia Lumia 1020 apps
My, that’s a nice Windows Phone you have. Brand new, you say? Let’s toss some free apps into that snappy smartie
We called Nokia’s Lumia 1020 “the best cameraphone ever” – with an awesome 41MP camera and plenty of power under the hood.
Make your snap-happy smartphone even better with this selection of essential Windows Phone apps.
CamScanner (Free)
Chuck that scanner away. Why would you need it, if you’ve installed CamScanner on your Lumia 1020? Take a snapshot of that business card or document, let the app work its magic and it’ll save them in PDF format. Heck, it’ll even organise the scans and upload them to your SkyDrive.
Facebook (Free)
One of the great things about Windows Phone is its deep integration of Facebook’s news feed. But it doesn’t hurt to get the official Facebook app and view your Timeline with more visuals. No, it’s not meant for you to play Facebook games. No Candy Crush Saga for you.
File Explorer (Free)
Running out of space on your Lumia? It’s time to do some housekeeping with File Explorer. As its name implies, this app grants you access to the file system within the phone. Find and delete files that are taking up precious space. You can even transfer files between PC and phone via Wi-Fi. Oh, SkyDrive too, in case your life is saved in Microsoft’s cloud storage.
Instagram (Free)
The photo-sharing app, once exclusive to iOS users and creating a generation of selfie hipsters, has finally arrived on Windows Phone (albeit in beta form). There are kinks to iron out, such as the lack of video. But hey, you’re not truly living if you don’t have Instagram to stalk, we mean, follow your friends’ activities. And with the 1020’s 41MP camera, your snaps will look amazing.
Spotify (Free)
It’s a pity that Spotify is free to stream on iOS and Android devices, but not on Windows Phone. We can only hope it’s temporary, but that shouldn’t stop you from accessing millions of tracks on your phone. A £10 monthly subscription doesn’t really cost that much, considering you can save your favourite tracks for offline playing.
Star Wars: Tiny Death Star (Free)
Building the ultimate weapon in the universe won’t be easy. You’ll be answering to Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader when the Galactic Bux is running low. Keep a close watch on Rebel scum infiltrating shops, in this cheerful management game. If the opportunity arises, send them straight to the Interrogation room and unlock unbelievably cute parodies from the Star Wars films.
TuneIn Radio (Free)
Ok, you’re not that willing to part with £10 a month for the Spotify subscription. We hear you, so here’s an alternative – TuneIn Radio. This nifty app offers over 100,000 radio stations and has no lack of music streams to satisfy your aural needs. Just remember to strap your device to a Wi-Fi connection; you won’t want to get a huge bill shock from excessive data usage.
Vine (Free)
Taking photos and sharing it on Twitter is so last year. Download Vine, and immortalise your shenanigans on video. Go on, post some 6-second videos and you might become internet famous. Enjoy it, it won’t last.
WhatsApp (Free)
Windows Phone has a well-integrated messaging service, combining text messages, Skype and even Facebook messages together. But what’s the point of all that, if most of your friends are on other services such as WhatsApp? Fortunately, the instant messaging service has eradicated most of the bugs that caused an infinite amount of lag (and pain). Go forth, and chat away.
Xbox One SmartGlass (Free)
Did Santa send you an Xbox One this Christmas? Then you’ll want to download the SmartGlass app, a handy fruit of the union between Microsoft and Nokia that lets you remotely control your music, movies and surf the web on the next-gen gaming console. Xbox 360 owners needn’t feel left out; there’s a version of SmartGlass for their console, too.
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