Our 5 free and paid Android/iOS applications of the week

October 24, 2020

This week, I’m going to share with you a list of 5 free or paid apps and mobile games that are worth checking out. In addition to my own research on the app stores, I’m also going to add the pearls discovered by the NextPit community and shared on our forum.

From mobile games to productivity apps, here are the 5 free and paid Android/iOS applications that made their mark this week at NextPit on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Notepin, Post-It notes in your notifications pane

Notepin allows you to create notes and pin them in the notifications pane, ensure that you will always keep them in mind. Perfect for those with Dory-like memory! This is the kind of application I find relatively useful, but it is probably due to my tendency to procrastinate that makes me say that.

Of course, most native Notes apps on the Android platform allows you to include reminders. The little extra that Notepin offers which might justify its existence as a third party application is this: you can classify the notes according to 3 levels of priority, where each will be represented by a colour code.

And, unlike a regular reminder, the notifications of each notepin in the drop-down menu are fixed or acts as a “sticky note” (like a Post-It, badum-tsh!). In other words, you can’t swipe them away. It’s an app created for a community that can be useful if you’re one who is constantly forgetful.

There is an iOS application of the same name but it doesn’t have the same interface and doesn’t seem to come from the same developer, regardless of the fact that it works using a similar graphical user interface.

5 apps week 42 notepin — Notepin allows you to create post-it notes without losing them / © NextPit

You can download the Notepin application from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Secure Clips, secure clipboard manager

Secure Clips is a clipboard manager that also includes some security features. Concretely, the app allows you to copy/paste text or links to store them without any third party being able to see or access them.

It’s a bit weird to use since the paste function is superimposed on the Android system via a dedicated button. The app claims to be “totally isolated from the operating system”. You can also store all of your darkest secrets with the possibility to integrate notes, always via the application only.

The application costs €1.69 without any in-app purchases and the interface is very minimalist, and is also easy to use. This is a find that may be worth looking into for those who are paranoid about their privacy.

5 apps week 42 secure clips — Secure Clips is the ideal application if you feel spied on your smartphone / © NextPit

You can purchase the Secure Clips application from the Google Play Store.

Footpath lets you plot your routes freehand

It’s a GPS app that I discovered from the NextPit community that allows you to calculate the distance you’ve walked, biked, hiked, mountain biked on a given route, as well as some “health” data to take with a pinch of salt, such as the number of steps taken or calories burned.

But the feature I find the most fun is the ability to plot a route freehand using the tip of your finger. The application will then adapt the rough route to an actual itinerary according to your mode of transport and/or your desired activity.

It’s perfect to use if, like me, you’re a tourist in your own city and don’t yet know all of the major subway stops or the precise address of your destination. Footpaths will align your itinerary to any available roads, bike paths, hiking trails or paths that you can then find on topographical maps.

If you spot a nice place along your route, you can easily add it to your itinerary and save it for future reference. This can come in handy if you have found the perfect route for your morning jog. Well I might have mentioned that, but I don’t run, except after the time it takes me to finish most of my articles.

5 apps week 42 footpath — Freehand route tracing on Footpath is pretty cool / © NextPit

You can download the Footpath application from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

OneSec, to breathe rather than blow on Twitter

It’s the only application I haven’t been able to really review (except on an old iPhone 7 that was lying around at the editors’ desk) since it’s exclusive to the iPhone.

OneSec is a digital wellness application that wants to make you more aware of the unconscious habits you have on social networks. It works via the Shortcuts application of iOS 14 and pretends to inspire mindfulness (meditation) by encouraging you to do basic breathing exercises prior to getting your pulse rate up by checking out Instagram for the umpteenth time of the day.

Before launching Twitter, Facebook, and the like, the application shows you a counter that keeps track of how many times each app has been opened, and asks you if you “really want” to go back there so soon? Do you need it or are you simply bored?

5 apps week onesec — OneSec wants to give you a break rather than diss social networks / © NextPit

You can download the OneSec application from the Apple App Store.

Hyperforma, a sublime puzzle game

Hyperforma is a wonderful puzzle game. It was released on iOS two years ago and on Android as a paid version last August. But it’s now available for free, although with the inclusion of ads and in-app purchases, which allows you to check out whether this game is worth the €4.89 ($5.80) asking price.

Basically, you play the role of a lone explorer and must progress through the space ruins of the Ancient Network, a remnant of an advanced but extinct civilization, solving puzzles and fighting bosses along the way.

The game is visually sublime and has a real graphical identity, in addition to a rather well crafted gameplay. For fans of extra-terrestrials, Dan Simmons, and science fiction in general, this is a mobile game that I strongly recommend!

Mobile