Web User - UK (2020-01-22)

Best Free Apps

Recommend free phone apps at http://www.facebook.com/webusermagazine 22 Jan - 4 Feb 2020^35

LANGUAGES

MicrosoftLearnChinese

bit.ly/chinesedroid493

bit.ly/chineseios493

5 10

Microsoft’sAI-

poweredChinese

learningappfirst

appearedforiOS

devicesbackin 2017.

Now,finally,Android

userscanuseit to

masterthemost

widelyspoken

languagein theworld.

Theappspecifically

focusesonspeakingMandarinChinese,usingchatbots

torecreatea seriesofeverydayscenarios to help you hear

whatphrasessoundlike,andallowing you to record yourself

topractiseandperfectyourownpronunciation. If you’re

seriousaboutlearningChinese,Microsoft’s app

is nosubstitutefora dedicatedlanguage course,

butit’sa greatwaytoexposeyourself to Chinese

vocabularyandgrammar.And– bestof all –

it’scompletelyfree.

MESSAGING

Telegram
bit.ly/telegramdroid493
bit.ly/telegramios493

(varies) 9

Telegram’s developers
have just released a
major update that brings
a large number of new
features to the popular
messaging app. First up
is a new theme editor,
which lets you fine-tune
the style elements of
your chat screens,
including colour gradients
for your messages and
background. There are
also new predefined styles
and background patterns, if you just want to implement
a quick change. Telegram now allows you to
schedule messages to be sent when your
recipient comes online and improvements have
been made to the location-sharing function,
includingnewdark maps when in Night Mode.

EMAIL

FairEmail

bit.ly/

fairemail493

5

FairEmail is a

full-featured,

open-source

alternative to the

stock email app

on your Android

device. It offers a

number of useful

privacy and

security features,

including support for OpenPGP and

S/MIME encryption, and tracking and

phishing-protection tools. The latest

update introduces a new ‘treat as

spam’ button and improved support for

landscape mode, along with further

fixes and features. Paying £5.49 for the

Pro version unlocks some

advanced options, such as

customisable notifications

and the option to snooze

orschedulemessages.

TOOLS

FlowDesktop
bit.ly/flow493

10

Flow is basically an Android launcher
but, unlike other launchers, the app
aims to harness Android 10’s hidden
desktop mode, so you can connect your
device to a larger screen and control it
like a Windows or ChromeOS PC. It’s a
fascinating concept but this one-man
project is still a test release and, as
such, is somewhat buggy – a number of
key functions don’t currently work.
Also, Flow only supports
a handful of relatively
recent Android 10
handsets so, as yet, it’s
onefortinkerersonly.

FUN

Lego Building

Instructions

bit.ly/lego493

4.4

Fed up with

your kids losing

the instructions

for all those

expensive Lego

kits you shelled

out for? If so,

this app could

be a godsend.

Essentially, it

provides a quick and easy way to locate

and download digital versions of the

building instructions for a wide variety

of Lego kits. PDFs are available for

every set released from 2015 onwards

• we’re hoping that Lego will eventually
  provide access to older instructions,
  too. Some newer sets offer
  an additional 3D building
  experience. Users can save
  all their set instructions to
  theirLegoaccounts.

This fortnight’s top free and paid-for apps

for Android and iOS phones and tablets

Our rating HHHHHHHHHH Ourrating HHHHHHHHHH Ourrating HHHHHHHHHH

NEW NEW UPDATED

Our rating (^) HHHHHHHHHH Our rating (^) HHHHHHHHHH
UPDATED NEW