Windows Phone might seem irrelevant – or almost irrelevant – for the smartphone OS market, and with good reason, considering that it has only been able to capture the hearts of about 3% of smartphone users out there. But as a Windows Phone user I have to tell you that it is an undeservedly overlooked mobile OS, and it was able to do something none of its competitors were capable of: instantly capture my heart. Having tried everything from Tizen to Blackberry OS, I can say that it is the only one that was built with PHONES in mind (all others look like something you might see on a PC desktop), providing an experience hard to replicate. One of the major issues with the Windows Phone OS is its poor app availability – this turns a lot of potential users away from it, unfortunately. But I can tell you from my experience that you can always find the apps you really NEED. As for the rest… you can easily do without.
Let me introduce you to the three Windows Phone apps I use every day.
1. Phonly
A simple and beautiful app, built by a company focusing on mobile-first and cloud-first business solutions. Phonly is a Feedly client for Windows Phone, easily one of the most beautiful ones I have seen. It doesn’t do much more than read new articles in your feed, but it does it in a simple, robust way which makes it stable and easy to use. A real app for a real man, I could say.
2. Jackpot City
For entertainment, I only expect the best when visiting the Canadian Royal Vegas Casino. Unfortunately it is not Windows Phone friendly, so I have to do the next best thing: use the native Windows Phone app developed by Isle of Man based Microgaming for Jackpot City, another operation from the same group of companies. It provides me with over 30 games to choose from, among them some of my favorites. It’s stable, smooth and user friendly, so if your interests are similar to mine, you could really give it a try.
3. 6tag
Easily the best Instagram client I have ever seen. It has a bunch of unique features not available in the official Instagram app for Windows Phone (which is in Beta since who knows when), with exclusive filters, video upload and constant fixes and new features added by its developers. A great app for which I would have gladly paid – but it’s free of charge. And since I don’t use Facebook, Twitter or any other trendy social network of today, it is the perfect match for my needs.