FEBRUARY 2014
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New Launch<br />
DUOLINGO<br />
It’s a free language learning tool. If you<br />
want to learn Spanish, French, German,<br />
Portuguese, Italian, and English the<br />
fast, fun, and free way, there’s no better<br />
choice than Duolingo. In 2013, Apple<br />
chose Duolingo as its iPhone App of<br />
the Year, the first time the honour was<br />
awarded to an educational application.<br />
Duolingo offers extensive written lessons<br />
and dictation, with less practice<br />
speaking. It has a gamified skill tree that<br />
users can progress through, and a vocabulary<br />
section where learned words<br />
can be practiced.<br />
You can download the iOS app<br />
through the iTunes App Store The<br />
app can be downloaded for free and<br />
is compatible with most iPhone, iPod,<br />
and iPad devices. The Android version<br />
of this App can be downloaded from<br />
Google Play Store.<br />
» Price: Free<br />
» Requires Android: 2.2 and up<br />
» Installs: 10,000,000 - 50,000,000<br />
» Rating: <br />
UMANO<br />
Listen to our ever growing catalogue of<br />
articles from the world’s best publishers<br />
and bloggers narrated by professional<br />
voice-actors. Whether commuting, working<br />
out at the gym, or cooking at home,<br />
let Umano accompany you and enrich<br />
your day. Umano, an app<br />
that provides a curated<br />
selection of articles read<br />
by voice actors is available<br />
to iPhone and Android<br />
users, too. You can download<br />
articles for listening offline, make<br />
playlists and personalise the kinds of<br />
stories you’re interested in. The Android<br />
app includes some platform-specific features,<br />
including Google+ integration and<br />
57<br />
rich notifications, allowing users to access<br />
playback controls directly within their<br />
app notifications.<br />
» Price: Free<br />
» Requires Android: 2.2 and up<br />
» Installs: 10,000,000 - 50,000,000<br />
» Rating: Four-and-a-half star<br />
RUNTASTIC APPS<br />
Runtastic offers a suite of training apps<br />
designed to improve your fitness in<br />
several different areas. These are the<br />
newest apps in the suite focus on running,<br />
push-ups, pull-ups, and squats –<br />
arguably the most important full-body,<br />
calisthenic exercises in popular use.<br />
However, Runtastic does have other<br />
downloads available for activities like<br />
biking and hiking. To get started, you<br />
must create an account or sign in with<br />
Facebook.<br />
My biggest issue with Runtastic is<br />
that it is divided up into so many different<br />
apps, which is obviously an inconvenience.<br />
It’s a fair assumption that<br />
many who are interested in one of the<br />
Runtastic exercises will also want to<br />
try at least a few more. Plus, the user<br />
interfaces of different apps appear to be<br />
very similar. So, why not combine the<br />
functionality of at least four calisthenic<br />
exercises into a larger, paid version?<br />
The Runtastic apps are available for<br />
free download now on Google Play.<br />
There are also paid Pro versions, which<br />
offer premium features such as voice<br />
feedback and more advanced training<br />
regimens. For iOS users, the apps are<br />
available in the App Store as well.<br />
» Price: Free<br />
» Requires Android: Varies with the<br />
device<br />
» Installs: 10,000,000 - 50,000,000<br />
» Rating: ½<br />
» Lava Iris Pro 30<br />
Lava Mobiles has launched the Iris Pro<br />
30 smartphone in India. The Lava Iris<br />
Pro 30 is the first in the family and the<br />
company’s new flagship. The Android<br />
smartphone measures only 7.5mm<br />
thick and weighs 114g in total as it<br />
uses magnesium alloy body, which was<br />
achieved in part thanks to the slim 4.7”<br />
IPS LCD from Sharp.<br />
The screen has 720p resolution<br />
(312ppi) and puts out 500 lumens of<br />
brightness. It’s a ‘One Glass Solution’,<br />
meaning the Gorilla Glass is laminated,<br />
making the assembly thinner.<br />
The battery is fairly thin too and packs<br />
2,000mAh capacity. The phone has<br />
CABC (Content Adaptive Backlight<br />
Control) screen brightness regulation<br />
technology that automatically reduces<br />
screen brightness for 30% more battery<br />
life. It has an 8-megapixel rear camera<br />
with dual LED flash and a 3-megapixel<br />
front-facing camera. It has a range of<br />
software features such as flip to mute,<br />
lift to answer and call, video PIP, sound<br />
and shot, voice and face unlocking.<br />
Must-have Android apps for newbies<br />
and enthusiasts.<br />
» Priced: Rs 15,999<br />
» OS: dual-SIM Android 4.2.2<br />
» Rating: ½<br />
Real Racing 3<br />
As the name suggests, Real Racing 3<br />
delivers an impeccably realistic driving<br />
experience – for a touch-based mobile<br />
game, that is. It features real-world<br />
cars, offers smooth controls, and obviously<br />
shows off some sweet graphics.<br />
But be aware that this game, while free<br />
to download, does employ a freemium<br />
model, which charges you real-world<br />
cash for some in-game upgrades.<br />
» Price: Free<br />
» Installs: 10,000,000 - 50,000,000<br />
» Requires Android: 4.0 and up<br />
» Rating:
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