We just had a crazy, awesome and news-filled week at CES in Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean we're stopping our weekly app picks. Another week, another great (albeit slightly abbreviated) set of apps for you to go check out on your own phones and tablets this weekend.
Stick around after the break and see how we did this week.
Chris Parsons - Wallbase HD Wallpapers
If you fancy changing up your wallpapers often, you'll find plenty of apps to do so in the Google Play Store. Some of them a great and well some of them are just downright terrible. One app that is on the greater side that I've come across is Wallbase HD Wallpapers. Oh sure, you can use the Android Central wallpaper gallery but just in case you're looking for something and not finding it, Wallbase HD Wallpapers is a superb app to have on hand that is not only well designed but also packed with great content.
Download: Wallbase HD Wallpapers (Free)
Sean Brunett - News 360
I’m always looking for new apps that provide a good experience for reading news on my Nexus 7. I love Google Currents, Flipboard and Pocket, but I’m always looking to try new apps to see how they compete. I just tried News360 for Tablets for the first time and I’m impressed. It aggregates news from more than 30,000 sources and provides them in an elegant interface. When you first install the app, you’ll go through a set-up process where you’ll choose your interests and News360 will then give you stories based on your preferences. There are of course sharing options and also the ability to export a story should you choose to do so. If you’re into reading a bunch of articles and news on your tablet or phone, I'd definitely check this app out. It is free and there are separate apps for the phone and tablet.
Download: News 360 for phones (Free); for tablets (Free)
Richard Devine - Deer Reader Lite
Deer Reader Lite is another Google Reader client that brings a really nice looking UI along with it. There's a paid version too, but the Lite version will be more than sufficient for most.
UI isn't everything, but the main reason I picked this app this week is that it just got updated in the Play Store to include an embedded YouTube player. YouTube videos play right within the article you're reading.
Other stand out features include the use of the Jelly Bean notifications to highlight recent articles, and another recent addition, multi window support for compatible Samsung devices.
Download: Deer Reader Lite (Free)
Phil Nickinson - BattleFriends at Sea
It's Battleship, only it's not Battleship, ya know? (Pesky lawyers.) Yeah, it's another one of those games where you get an updated classic, with various (and somewhat annoying) sharing features thrown in, along with the seduction of in-app purchases to help speed things along. But I don't care. It's Battleship. Sure, you're missing the five-shot carrier, but it's still pretty good. There's an ad-free paid version, but I'm actually OK with tapping through them and saving a couple bucks.
Download: BattleFriends at Sea (Free)
Andrew Martonik - Flick Golf!
It's always fun to play games that are focused on sports you like, and being that I'm an avid golfer Flick Golf! really becomes more fun than it probably should be. It is exactly what it sounds like -- golfing by flicking the golf ball with your finger instead of a club. This isn't a standard hole-by-hole game, but more like a target practice, with points being scored by landing as close as possible (or in) to the pin. There are several different levels and difficulties to choose from that give this game many hours of original playability. If you're a golfer, it's definitely worth a shot (get it?) at $0.99.
Download: Flick Golf! ($0.99)
Jerry Hildenbrand - Drisk
Drisk is a great take on the classic board game Risk. It supports two to six players, in any combination of human and "computer" that you like. You can play multiplayer locally (the old pass and play routine) or you can also play online with the paid version, where things are tied into Scoreloop player accounts.
With 26 maps, and any number of start up configurations, Risk fans are sure to enjoy this one.
Download: Drisk (free); Paid version ($1.99)
Reader comments
Apps of the Week: Wallbase HD Wallpapers, News 360, Deer Reader Lite and more!
I was playing Battleship on graph paper with my dad while I was in grade school, long before Milton Bradley or Hasbro came along. (Clue: Ike was president.)
I can't see why this guy can't name the game exactly what he wants to, other than, oh yeah, the market is already chock full of no less than 16 or 20 Battleship games. Don't think lawyers had much to do with it.
I played the same way in the same 1950s time period. My Dad was an engineer and always had a huge stock of graph paper. Around 1975 a very basic self contained computer version was the way to go. Damn it was impressive.
That's not a Mac I see for Phil's pic is it?
Why wouldn't it be?
The "command" key is a good indication.
+1 for mentioning News 360. I've been using News 360 for well over a year. I prefer it over the other news apps out there because of all the sources it pools together. It runs very smoothly on my rooted EVO LTE (running MeanROM), but I noticed that it was very laggy on stock Sense. Has anyone else experienced this?
... Thanks for telling me about Drisk... i havent gotten a damn thing done since.