5 Best Apps of the Week: Google Calendar Gets Prettier + More!
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but that adage must have been uttered long before Google was around. Maybe even before Yahoo. This week, the ol’ search engine that definitely can brought its revamped calendar app to iOS and your social life has never been illustrated better. All that, a new travel app, a new recipe app, plus a new canine-named app for Android that will let us keep the hound humor going?! Keep reading for our roundup of the best new apps of the week. And possibly (k, definitely) some more puns.
1. Google Calendar: We told you about this glossy, glammed-up, photo and emoticon-filled calendar-come-to-life upgrade for Android but now it’s finally here for iOS. Rejoice, Macheads! And upgrade that cal immediately, because Google’s answer to your day-to-day organizer is a few dozen times more gorgeous than your iCal app, especially if you’re a big Gmail user. Events and things like flights discussed in Gmail will be easily added to your schedule, the auto correct-like Assists will help you fill out your calendar with contacts and regular festivities and the “schedule with a view” will take the stress out of those back-to-back meetings when you can SEE cocktails in your post-6pm future.
2. Williams-Sonoma Recipe of the Day: Look. Either you want to gorge on the digital buffet of recipe options Pinterest serves up, or you’re on a lean, mean diet of only the essentials. If a whiff of the latter is making your mouth water, put Williams-Sonoma’s recent Recipe of the Day app on your menu. While you’ll still have access to an extensive database of recipes, the app will dish up one killer how-to 365 days a year. The first month of this app is free and a year subscription rings in at $11.99 for the year, so try it out (and remember, we know a few thousand good recipes for free-zies).
DL It: Free on iOS
3. Passenger: Like a sort of Foursquare for hitting the road, this app might make your travel blog (fond study abroad memories, anyone?) obsolete. It will also make you think of each commute to work or bus ride to see your buds as its own mini journey by letting you log and track where you’re going, earn “travel miles” whether you’re biking or flying and unlock badges to publicly display your wanderlust for all of your friends to Like.
4. Corgi for Feedly: There’s nothing cuter than having a fuzzy pup with floppy ears and stubby limbs bring you your morning paper so we won’t pretend this app is as adorable as that idyllic imagery. It is, however, even more practical, transforming your Android’s lockscreen into a feed of freshly-fetched news. Sync your news subscriptions or connect apps like Pocket to read what you want right on screen whenever you pull out your phone.
DL It: Free on Android
5. Periscope: It’s been a good couple of weeks for apps that want to enhance your video experience on Twitter. The latest in the eye of the bird is Periscope, a newly-acquired-by-Twitter-itself video app that remains invite-only but just “joined the flock” to presumably battle with Meerkat. Sources say it actually *meant* to come out before Meerkat was even a twinkle in startup Life on Air’s eye, so will hopefully launch with private stream options and the ability to record and watch broadcasts later like a mini YouTube.
DL It: Sign up to request an invite here
What was your top download of the week? Share with us below!