Brilliant things to do on your device
4545BEST APPS FOR... Pet owners
*Contains in-app purchasesRover – Dog Boarding & Walking
Free
Android http://www.snipca.com/41601
iOS http://www.snipca.com/41602
From the website of the same name
(www.rover.com), this app helps you find
trustworthy people in your area to walk
and look after your dog. Simply enter your
postcode, specify your dates, times and
pooch size, and Rover will list verified local
‘sitters’ and their prices. You can then contact
and book them directly through the app.
Best For Finding dog walkers and sittersPetsApp
Free
Android http://www.snipca.com/41604
iOS http://www.snipca.com/41605
Avoid the stress of taking a poorly pet to
the vet by using PetsApp to arrange a video
consultation without leaving your home.
The app finds your nearest vet, and lets you
chat to them in a virtual waiting room to get
advice about your pet’s condition before you
book your appointment. You can also order
repeat subscriptions.
Best For Consulting a vet about a sick petMeowTalk
Free*
Android http://www.snipca.com/41606
iOS http://www.snipca.com/41607
Although we’re sceptical of apps that claim
to translate animal noises into English,
MeowTalk is worth a look for novelty value
alone. It interprets your cat’s meows to
identify its current mood, such as happy,
angry or in pain; records samples; and can
be trained to recognise your cat’s unique
vocabulary to tell you exactly how it’s feline.
Best For Translating your cat’s meowsseeking to cross one. The app also now
shows the outlines of buildings and, in
some cities, the shape and width of
roads, including central reservations and
islands, so you can ensure you’re in the
right lane and don’t miss any turns.
In the US, India, Japan and Indonesia,
Google Maps has added information
about toll roads, including charges,
payment methods and operating times,
as well as options for avoiding them. It’s
not yet clear if the feature will come to
the UK, where toll roads are (currently)
less common.
ANDROID & iOS
Create Spotify playlists with
friends and family
We’ve never been fans of
Spotify’s social features, which
require you to compromise your privacy
just to show off your music tastes, but
the Blend option introduced last year is
more useful. It lets you combine your
favourite songs with those of a friend to
create a single shared playlist you can
both enjoy. Blend has now been
expanded to let you compile playlists
with up to 10 other people, so you can
create a communal listening experience
for your club, book group, office, family
gathering or other event.
To use Blend, tap the Search tab at the
bottom of the Spotify app and choose
Made For You. Press ‘Create a Blend’, then
tap Invite (see screenshot below) and select
the people you want to combine playlists
with. Once they accept the invitation by
tapping Join, Spotify will generate a
shared Blend
playlist, which
includes songs and
recommendations
that reflect
everyone’s music
tastes. You’ll even
be able to see
which tracks were
added for which
person.
ANDROID & iOS
Play the original
Angry Birds without
ads
When Angry Birds
catapulted on to
our phone screens in 2009,
it was a simple, fun game about rescuing
eggs from evil pigs by destroying their
elaborate fortresses. Since then, it’s
become a massive franchise, and the
dozens of sequel games have become so
stuffed with ads, in-app purchases and
complicated systems that they’re
practically unplayable. To take thingsback to basics, developer
Rovio has rereleased the
original game under the
name Rovio Classics:
Angry Birds, with the
same characters, layouts
and 390 levels. Available
for Android (www.snipca.com/41598)
and iOS (www.snipca.com/41599), it
costs 89p (whereas the original was free),
but contains no ads (though an error on
the Play Store page says it does), in-app
purchases or other money-grabbing
annoyances, so this time only the pigs are
being greedy. Get flinging those birds!Issue 630 • 27 April – 10 May 2022