With this evaluation, we continue with the newest member of our ABT staff, Mario Vasquez, who will be heading up our “Mobile corner” as Contributing Editor. Mario (aka ZeroEnigma) will help ABT with mobile platforms. This is the next of many of his upcoming evaluations, articles and blogs.

We also welcome your comments on these blogs and articles and all of our staff are ready to serve you. Also, please remember that each editor speaks his own mind and is responsible for what they write. There is no ABT site “point of view”.

Mark Poppin,

Senior ABT editor

Top 7 apps of the week (#1 – 03/25/2012)

AlienBabelTech is getting into the mobile world and we will grow from here. We will continue having hardware reviews, news, and now – like this article – Weekly App/Game reviews. The Android market, now dubbed “Play Store,” has over 8,000,000,000 downloads which is an insane number. We plan to have new “Top App/Games” articles out every weekend. We hope you enjoy!

If you have any comments visit our forum or Email me directly at ABTmobile.zero@gmail.com

It is easy for you to get these Apps here; simply click the app name to be directly taken to the Market link or scan the QR code with an app like Barcode Scanner.

1. Shush!

(free)

                   

 Have you ever been somewhere that requires you to silence your phone and then you forget to turn the volume up afterward? I know I have missed many calls and texts because of my forgetfulness. Shush! Ringer Restorer instantly pops up when you silence your phone asking you for a set amount of time to restore volume, and at what volume. It works flawlessly and does not take over any regular volume operation. You can restore volume as you see fit or with this app.

2.QuickPic

(free)

 

The stock gallery app on most Android devices is terrible, it takes a long time to load every picture and it just doesn’t perform well. Although Ice Cream Sandwich brought some improvements, almost no devices have Android 4.0 yet. QuickPic instantly moves from picture to picture without any sign of lag or issue. There is never any noticeable loading, just launch and it works! It is now my go-to gallery app and even has some minor photo editing features built in. This is what stock should be like! 

3. OverSkreen

(Floating Browser, $1.99)

 

OverSkreen (Floating Browser) is another one of those apps that only Android can have. Think of a desktop experience on your phone or tablet. I like to have multiple screens open while I work on a project and this just isn’t an option for mobile devices. The iPad is said to be a “creative” tool for content producers; however, I find multitasking to be a chore on iOS. OverSkreen allows you to open a browser without having to obscure your home screen, YouTube, messaging, etc.

Just like a Window on a desktop you can minimize the “Skreen,”make it full screen, or open multiple tabs in one browser. It also seemed to open up and load pages faster than the stock browser.

 

You are not limited to one OverSkreen browser at once and on tablets, this is beautiful.  $1.99 is more than worth it for people who like true multitasking.

4. Open Sea!

($0.99)

 

Open Sea! is another great game in which you attempt to save the village people from monsters. Think of you being Moses with the ability to part the sea before you wherever your finger passes through. You can split the sea to allow different types of villagers through the sea.  The enjoyment of this game lies in how chaotic it gets with the various types of characters. As you progress, you receive more abilities to help you along the way, such as a lightning bolt that freezes mobile enemies and hurries your villagers along. The game stays fresh with different abilities and villagers who engage in very different pattern such as the “old” who walk slow or the drunk, who walk drunk. It is a lot of fun!

5. Stellar Escape

($0.99, lite version available)

 

Fantastic graphics, good music, with plenty of running and jumping, Stellar Escape is an running/obstacle manuevering game that is really easy to pick up and play. You get three lives per game and either have to swing, jump, dive, go into a tube, or slide past obstacles. Timing is everything! This game does get hard in the latter stages but it is worth the money; try the lite version to see if you like it.

6. Helidroid 3D

(Free)

 

Go to the mall, see a man flying a toy helicopter, and want that helicopter! Well you can get an RC helicopter in the form of Helidroid 3D. The object of Helidroid 3D is to fly from point A to point B using tilt controls or on-screen controls. You do this in houses, streets, and more. Test your piloting skills or lack of them in Helidroid 3D. Besides, when is it not fun to fly a helicopter?

7.Cheese Tower

(Free)

 

Cheese tower is a Jenga game of sorts. You are the “cat” and must tap on the mouse blocks to clear them without dropping more than 3 cheese blocks in order to beat a level. The game has a very good sense of humor, and is well-designed. The game features cut-scenes of the cat and mice, and if you lose, mice will pop up and laugh. If you win, a cat will pop up and laugh.

 

 

Live Wallpaper Picks:

Nexus Rain

(free and paid)

 

And my personal Favorite Live Wallpaper of the Week:

Light Grid

(free and paid)

 

We hope you enjoyed this article! What do you think of the format? Any suggestions? ABT strives to be the best!  Expect a top app list every weekend. During the week, we will have hardware reviews and apps that require a longer review format.

–Mario Vasquez, ABT Contributing Editor

 

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