Apps of the Week: Facebook Home, Slim for iPhone & Injustice: Gods Among Us
This week, let's look at three innovative and groundbreaking apps for games, social connectivity, and news filtering and response with Facebook Home, Slim for iOS, and Injustice: Gods Among Us.
The promise of Facebook Home
Mobile and apps have come a long way for the making the smartphone a central device for connectivity on the go. However, if there is one thing that has not yet been fully addressed, it would have to be the fact that connectivity is not as fluid with apps, especially if you need to jump from one app to the other just to keep connected.
This is what Facebook is now trying to solve with Facebook Home. Chat Heads is one of the star features of Facebook Home because you not only get the chance to always connect with your friends but the Chat Heads float overhead regardless of the other apps that you are currently using, reports Digital Trends.
All you need to do is click on the hovering heads and chat away-or do away with them, if that's what you please, giving a new term for convenience on the go.
"You should really be able to talk to your friends no matter where you're at on your phone and no matter what app you're in," said Facebook director of product Joey Flynn to Digital Trends. "With Chat heads, you can talk to whomever and wherever on your phone."
It's pretty much a innovative way of emulating the desktop functions wherein multitasking can almost be done simultaneously and more easily with what you are doing. And Facebook probably tapped its big break with this one for the mobile setting.
Facebook Home is slated for an official release on April 12.
Injustice: Gods Among Us
For those who can't wait for the console version, or just don't have the equipment or the time to play indoors compared to the mobile app, then you can still enjoy Injustice: Gods Among Us, now one of the new favorite apps in town.
There is a slight difference with its console gaming counterpart, since you will be conducting battles in groups of three. You'll also find yourself using Character Cards for players, reports DieHardGameFan.com. But this does not mean that you don't get the same amount of fighting game high compared to the console.
Injustice: Gods Among Us is a free app for the iOS, playable for the iPad and iPhone. But all in all, it's an addictive ride, especially for DC fans who have always wanted to know who was going to win when you pit hero against hero.
What's more, despite the game being free, the more avid gamers will find it a hard temptation to resist making in-app purchases such as other playable characters.
As an app, it's definitely one of the best freemium ones out there, but you should also know that it's best played with its console version, as there are many unlocks that can be useful for both versions.
Slim for iPhone
Some people require constant connection with the social feed to stay in the loop of what's happening every minute of every day. While there are apps that address this need, these are usually a collection of apps that summarize what happens in your social network media, to keep you updated.
This is where the newest iOS application Slim comes in. According to TechCrunch, Slim lets you build the trend for the type of Facebook and LinkedIn updates that you want to have. Improve the feeds and updates that you get by marking the updates you want and those that you don't want.
What sets it apart further from other similar apps is that it allows users to respond in several ways, from SMS messages to emails, as well as the traditional response via the feed of the social network.
"We are targeting business users who have little time but want to stay aware of opportunities and reasons to get in touch with friends and clients, active social media users who need a 'safety net' to ensure they don't miss an important date from one of their networks, and frequent users who just want the highlights from social media," said Slim CEO Yair Levin to TechCrunch.
So if there is an urgent update, you can easily respond via call to that person without leaving the app.
For now, users can use Slim for Facebook and LinkedIn, but according to Levin, Slim is planning to tap other networks including Google+ Instagram, Yammer, and Twitter, to name a few.