The Google Opinions Rewards App is a straightforward app with short surveys about the places you’ve been(or might have been) to recently. The rewards are pretty substantial considering the effort, and the funds earned can be used for anything on the Google play store, including in-game purchases.

Ease of use 5/5

Couldn’t be simpler. When you’ve qualified for a survey, the app will tell you and you have 24 hours to answer the survey questions. I’ve never had any problems answering the questions and it’s very basic.

Fairness/cost 5/5

It’s a free app, and it always delivers it’s reward in my experience. Really can’t ask for much more than that. Your earnings do expire after a year(so don’t expect to get an expensive audio book collection with it) but it uses the oldest funds first and tells you when the oldest funds will expire on the main page, a generous addition they didn’t have to do.

Time consumption 5/5

Most surveys are 1-5 questions. Those offer a minimum of 10 cents for your time, and if they ask more than a couple questions they tend to offer higher rewards, I’ve gotten 50 cents or more on a few—but most I simply tell them no I haven’t been to any of those places(often I haven’t—maybe because I’m from a smaller metro area? I’m not really sure) and I net myself 10 cents. Easy-peasy.

Rewards 5/5

Essentially a Google play gift card with a growing balance—couldn’t get much better than that. This is a great way to support your favorite free-to-play game without spending too much time or effort.

Overall 20/20

The numbers speak for themselves. Get rewarded today! You can find the Google Opinion Rewards app here.

Check out my articles on these other rewards apps:

Very Dice, Dice Master, Lucktastic, Ibotta Amazon Apps

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Ticket to Ride: First Journey is a great way to introduce your less gaming savvy friends to Ticket to Ride, or to have your children join in on the fun. This Tablet/Smartphone adaptation of the boardgame of the same name works just like the board game. You start with routes across the US(Europe is also included at no extra charge!) and use cards you draw to build a train route between two cities. The first to finish 6 routes wins the game!

Graphics: 4/5

The artistic flair of this game is phenomenal. For being essentially a kids version of a board game there was more attention to detail thank you’d think. From vibrant colors, a train smokestack that moves, moving icons that symbolize each city as you claim routes, and varied characters, the artists definitely didn’t skimp on the presentation of the game. I only knock of one point because lets be honest, while it works well, it is by no means something that pushes the limits of your phone or tablet’s capabilities.

Gameplay: 4/5

The rules are quite simple and executed flawlessly—even my four year old daughter quickly figured out how to place trains and draw additional cards without issue. If you need a refresher on the rules, a quick six step rule book is available in the settings. Choosing a character, renaming them(or keeping the original names) and adding computer players is a synch.

Once you’ve started the game things continue to be easy. Keeping track of your routes is taken care of with orange and green rings—each connecting highlighting the two cities you’re supposed to connect. Placing the trains is simple, though there can be a little bit of difficulty if you’re playing on a smaller tablet or phone, because it’s simply very small—not really the games fault though.

As you complete routes it keeps track of your and your opponents progress so there’s no guesswork as to where you stand. As each player’s turn comes up it brings up their character icon and you must hit the play button to continue—allowing you to pass the device around. There isn’t an online mode but for a kids game, do you really want them online? The fact it can be played without using data or the internet is a parents dream.

For a kids game, I find the difficulty level of computer players a bit higher than expected. Easy bots actually perform quite well, and I find myself barely beating them most times. Medium and Hard bots can sometimes feel like the game is downright cheating—giving them the cards they need while you don’t get the ones you do.

Lasting Appeal: 4/5

Two game boards are included, allowing for extra replayability. There are also three difficulties of bots available which prove challenging even to the most seasoned of Ticket to Ride players. Kids will find the cutesy animations endlessly entertaining and others can find plenty of replay—this isn’t likely something you’ll play often, but you’ll pull it out for a monthly game night.

Overall value: 5/5

This is where this game really shines. On the Amazon App store, it’s available for $1.99. Even better, you can use Amazon coins to get it for free in a few months patiently gathering your free coins(I lucked on and got in on the amazon coins program when it offered more than just 2-3 coins a day so I got it much sooner). Better yet, it’s a game that can be played offline and doesn’t have any mircotransactions—you get the complete game available anytime anywhere for $1.99!

You can download the app here

Never used the Amazon app store? check out my review here.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

With Android and IOS controlling the smart phone app market it’s easy to forget there’s another player in the market. Amazon may not have quite as large a library of apps as the Google Play and IOS app stores, but it does offer a generous discount and reward program.

Ease of use 5/5

With a basic setup that mirrors the Amazon shopping website, finding apps is an easy prospect. It is also extremely simple to participate in Amazon’s coin program which provides free and discounted credit for use in any app that will work. Better yet, at least on an Android phone you can use the Amazon App store and then bounce right back to using the Google play store for those apps that you can’t find there.

Fairness/cost 5/5

Apps are priced similarly to the other app stores, and if you purchase coins(100 coins $1 of app or in-app purchases through the Amazon app store) in bulk for anywhere from a 5% to 20% discount. Particularly if you’re looking to make a big in-app purchase, there’s no reason to not take advantage of the program.

Time consumption 5/5

Minimal time is used—no more than you would spend on a regular app store. Better yet, every 24 hours—at any time—you can collect a present from Amazon, which holds typically 2-3 coins with a small chance of getting more. Essentially free app credit for opening the app.

Rewards 4/5

Given the very minimal time investment the rewards are nice—nothing like snagging Ticket To Ride First Journey and Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic just by logging into an app once a day(and if a day is missed no biggie). It does take time, but then money doesn’t grow on trees—just in digital boxes from Amazon.

Overall 19/20

Other than the slightly more limited selection of apps(mainly because all of their apps have to work on the decidedly lower specs of their Fire tablets compared to the higher or even mid-level cellphones) and the rewards being relatively small, it’s definitely worth the minimum time investment if you find an app or two that you use anyway or are interested in that you can buy for free, or use the coins for in-app purchases you otherwise may not make. Support your favorite games using Amazon’s funds!

You can find the app here

Interested in other reward apps? Check out my articles on Very Dice, Dice Master, Lucktastic, and Ibotta

Interested in some enjoyable apps available on the Amazon app store? Look into Ticket To Ride First Journey and

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Knights of the Old Republic(KOTOR) is one of the most beloved Star Wars games of all-time. An RPG following a varied crew you choose how to save the galaxy. Will you become a heroic Jedi Knight or become a dreaded Sith Lord? Originally an Xbox game and subsequently a PC game, it has now also been translated into a Mobile game. The transition was seamless—if you’ve not played KOTOR or would like to revisit it on the go, this mobile version is sure to please.

Graphics: 4/5

While the graphics are dated for a PC or console, compared to most mobile games they are above par. They have flawlessly miniaturized the original game graphics-wise, which is impressive even by today’s standards. The graphics won’t wow you, but you won’t feel like you’ve traveled back in time while playing given most free-to-play games skate by on graphics that are more simplistic. It’s hefty 2.2 gig download size tells the story.

Gameplay: 4/5

The gameplay mechanic’s have transferred about as well as can be expected from a game originally made for PC played on a tablet or mobile phone. Moving around is as simple as moving your finger in the direction you want to go and holding it there will allow you to continue running forward. Using the menus is also a breeze and saving is a synch.

I only knock one point off because of a space battle early on—it’s clearly designed for a mouse and keyboard or dual sticks, and it’s difficulty is exponentially increased by trying to move while using the touch screen to do both—I nearly gave up on the game after dying many times before I finally got lucky and finished it. Since that point in the game there has been nothing similarly difficult.

The game does offer, full HID controller support for those gamers that prefer the original control scheme as well mitigating this issue.

Lasting Appeal: 4/5

This is a full length game that takes about 30 hours to complete. As a predecessor to such decision-effecting games as the Witcher, Dragon age, Mass Effect and other more modern RPGs the variety of choices to make throughout the game invite at least two play throughs, one choosing the darkside and one choosing the light. The fact the game remains one of the best star wars games and RPGs ever is a testament to its lasting appeal.

Overall value: 5/5

At $10 for the full game with no micro-transactions or other purchases a game of this length and caliber is extremely worthwhile. Especially if you missed out on Knights of the Old Republic when it first came out, this mobile version is well worth the price. Also other than cloud saves you don’t have to connect online to play. Amid a sea of average free-to-play (but expensive or time consuming to be competitive in) mobile games KOTOR is a worthy call back to the golden age of RPGs—with the benefit of mobile technology.

You can find the app here.

Interested in more Star Wars mobile games?  Check out my article on Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Ibotta has a genius premise at it’s core—work with a variety of major and some smaller retailers to offer cash back for items purchased. Forget coupon clipping(though really thrifty shoppers can combine coupon offers with Ibotta’s rebates for extra discounts) The question is, how well does it work, especially now that the corona virus, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on traditional in-store purchases? I’m happy to report, with its wide variety of everyday items, online options and now partnerships with restaurants offering curbside service, quite well!

Ease of use 4/5

Compared to other cash back apps and programs I’ve tried, Ibotta is by far the easiest to navigate. Recommended (nearby) retailers(Walmart, grocery stores in your area, local gas stations) along with online retailers are listed at the top for easy access. Once you’ve selected one, you can scroll through the list of available items with various cash back amounts.

These items are sorted into various convenient categories, things like ‘For you’ ‘buy it again’ ‘what’s hot” as well as ‘pantry’ ‘produce’ and ‘snacks’. It can seem a bit overwhelming, but luckily if you’re not sure it’s all one big scroll list—keep those savings scrolling! Looking through items can be fun and you may find something unexpected. Also, whatever you find, if it’s available in other retailers, the rebate is saved for all retailers.

With a search menu and an option to scan barcodes to confirm an item on the shelf matches a rebate(or to see if it does), finding rebates is quite simple. I knock off one point only because since there is so much, you can get lost. Also if you are doing the scroll list, some items in multiple categories come up again and again. Given they are offering free cash back it’s hard to complain too much though.

Fairness/cost 5/5

Absolutely free! The rebate process is completely fair, I’ve never had any trouble redeeming a rebate earned. Even better than being free, in addition to say 10 cents back on any brand toilet paper, r $1 back on Johnsonville breakfast sausages, there are regularly bonuses like the current one ‘Back to Basics” if you redeem 15 offers before 4/8/20 they give you an extra $10. Understandably any items don’t count toward that total, but still, with a variety of items you might get anyway(and some ‘free after offer’ rebates, where yes, you get a rebate for the entire cost of the product) the redemptions can quickly add up. Wowza!

Time consumption 4/5

As stated, there’s a lot to look at, so it can be time-consuming, but the setup helps you navigate it really well. For any brand items you do have to watch a short clip to redeem it, but you can turn off the sound and it’s only on any brand items—an added benefit of the any brand items is they usually accompany a more direct rebate. For example the aforementioned toilet paper rebate is because angel soft is offering a $1.75 rebate on it’s brand—which the app points out for you!

Redeeming your rewards is simple. Once you’ve selected the rebates you want, you hit redeem, and take a picture of your receipt, select the rebates on that receipt and submit! Typically you don’t even need to scan the barcode of the item(you used to have to do this but unlike most apps of this kind Ibotta has gotten more user friendly over time). With Walmart, you only need to scan the barcode at the bottom of the receipt. A nice replacement to the discontinued savings catcher program walmart used to have.

Rewards 5/5

It says you get cash—technically this is true. You get paid via paypal. You do have to wait til you have at least $20 to redeem your cash back, but unlike many bait and switch apps, it is very easy to get to $20 and Ibotta has never failed to deliver the cash back timely. My lifetime earnings are over $160 and only $10 of that hasn’t yet been redeemed—-all from items for the most part I would have bought anyway, and nothing that I’ve ever regretted buying. Not too shabby.

Overall 18/20

As far as rewards apps that ask for pictures of receipts, this is as good as it gets. Generous cash back offers on every kind of product you can think of, with bonuses for multiple redemptions and teamwork bonuses with your facebook friends who also use the app. Oh, and did I mention they offer generous bonuses for inviting friends to Ibotta? If you’re at all interested, give it a whirl, and tell them I sent you with my referral code: dlojtwx. Then you too can say “Ibotta…” whatever it is you want to buy!

Download it on the:

google play store

IOS app store

Interested in more rewards apps? Check out my articles on Very Dice Dice Master and Lucktastic

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes (SWGOH) is EAs and Capitol Gaming’s Gacha RPG. Started over 4 years ago it maintains a strong fanbase—far stronger than most mobile games of similar age. In fact most mobile games don’t make it nearly this long, well-alone are still going strong. Given the plethora of Star Wars lore, it has plenty of legs to carry it forward for years to come. If you’re looking for a mobile game that has a solid selection of play modes, enough collectible toons to keep collecting for years, built on the strength of a beloved franchise look no further than SWGOH.
The premise is simple and allows you to explore the entire library of Star Wars history in one place. You enter a cantina and are greeted by a Hutt. Here are the ‘holotables’ where holographic heroes and villains throughout the galaxy can battle for supremacy. Players being with a generic Jedi, clone trooper, a clone wars era Chewie, a dual-blade wielding night sister among others but your teams can be customized quickly.
A variety of modes open up to the player quickly, allowing access to obtain new ‘toons’ from all eras of Star Wars, from the Old Republic to Rise of Skywalker, and the material to upgrade them. From daily challenges, a rotating series of events, guild wars, territory battles that recreate epic battles like the one on Hoth, eventually 3 different modes of individual PVP, and 3 kinds of raid bosses for your guild of up to 50 players to tackle each with 7 tiers of difficulty there’s always something to do.
The core gameplay is building a team of up to five toons, including a leader and a sixth ally to face off in a series of encounters—skirmishes against increasingly stronger waves of enemies. Each toon has a basic ability and two to three special abilities with varying cooldown lengths. Many also have unique and leader abilities which provide added boosts to your teams. The combination of skills is nearly endless, providing many viable teams and unique skill sets.
The Gacha portion of the game is a bit different from most games. It revolves around data cards which you can purchase with ally points and rarer crystals. The basic one provides mostly gear and credits and a low chance at single shards and a very low chance of full characters Don’t hold your breath, as I’ve gotten only one common character in nearly two years. Single shards are fairly common though.
Based on a recommendation from a friend, I’ve never tried the crystal based ones. Instead crystals are best used to get energy.  This allows you to get more gear and credits, while working towards shards of  your choice. They say the odds  of getting a shard are 1 in 5, which seems about right. The cost of getting a ‘guaranteed’ but random character seems really steep when you can buy energy and choose which character to work towards. Nothing would be worse than wasting a month of hard earned crystals to end up with a 1 star character(equivalent to 10 shards whereas a full maxed hero is 330 shards) one you could already have. There is 0 chance of pulling the rarest heroes, as those require events or other heroes to earn.
Overall there’s enough content to keep anyone collecting Star Wars characters for years. Even those playing since the beginning have perhaps unlocked all the heroes, but are far from maxing them all, and the latest Territory Battle even the best guilds have yet to master. With major releases of Rise of Skywalker toons on the horizon, the clone wars continuing, and the Mandalorian chock full of potential characters content won’t be a problem.
If you love Starwars then you will love this game. See you at the holotables!

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Lucktastic’s premise is simple. Offer scratch cards where winning will net you varying amounts of cash or tokens, which you can redeem for prizes. Additionally, you can download various games and earn bonus tokens. Each scratch card you do results in a video ad, and after you’ve scratched the card you get a still image ad to x out of(or view if you find it interesting. You also get bonuses for playing cards daily.

Ease of Use: 3/5

It’s actually pretty easy to use, but I’m taking a couple points off for two reasons—ad before you get your scratch card and an ad after. Scratching off the cards is simple and quick though—my then 3 year old daughter ‘helped’ me with them and can select new scratch cards on her own. In the last few months, they’ve also added a requirement that you must play at least two cards to earn your daily reward—those not paying attention may waste days thinking they’re earning rewards when they’re passing them by. Also it’s daily reward is a double-edged sword. Miss a day and it resets, but after 5 days the rewards are basically pointless—entries into a contest that only one person supposedly wins.

Fairness/Cost: 3/5

Don’t expect to ever win money—I’d played this app on and off since I first got a smart phone about 4 years ago and have never won a $ scratch card. That of course is to be expected. There are some good cards to do every day though—the subway scratch card offers 25 tokens plus bonus tokens(5-10 typically), and the Man’s best friend one earns you 50 tokens plus the bonus. Both of these cards have a high probability of winning, I lose maybe twice a month. Other scratch cards just earn you between 4 and 10 tokens for the two ads you view.

Becoming a VIP user(downloading 10 of their partner apps) allows you to get additional passive rewards(and now is REQUIRED to redeem anything), like 100 tokens to start the week and random events where they claim the first 1000 people to click get a random reward—between 50-200 tokens. That is in addition to earning 150 tokens for playing scratch cards 2 days in a row, 250 more for 3 days in a row, 350 more for 4 days, and 500 for 5 days in a row.

Beyond that though you get a ‘mystery’ reward which is usually entries into the monthly contest which obviously only one person is going to win(assuming they do) meaning they’re giving you a meaningless reward. Thus it actually makes sense to run it 6 days in a row, and purposely miss a day to reset your daily rewards. There is actually no way to spend real money, so that’s a plus that they don’t lean on a few users to provide revenue.

Time Consumption: 4/5

As stated the daily rewards are substantial for the first 6 days, so simply running the subway and man’s best friend scratch cards and collecting the daily rewards will net you 1550 tokens per week. That’s a fairly limited time investment(5 minutes a day) with a fairly healthy reward, translating into about 80k tokens a year. Unfortunately the price of prizes recently nearly doubled. You used to be able to get a $15 gamestop giftcard for 50k tokens, now it’s over 97k for a $20 card. Still, it’s not terrible for something you can do waiting in line at the grocery store.

The reason for knocking off a point is that increasing your time spent on the app brings increasingly lower returns. Spending 5 minutes a day gets you 1550 tokens a week, but spending an hour a day you maybe can double that number—hardly worth the extra time investment. Still, if you’re going on a walk, it never hurts to get a few extra tokens along the way.

Rewards: 2/5

The recent price hike in rewards really stings. From getting one $15 gift card and being two thirds of the way to a second in a years time was great, but taking more than a year to earn a $20 card no so much. They had always delivered on their giftcards though it is a bit slower than other apps. The last one I was never able to redeem and I finally quit the app for good. The game kept claiming I needed to download more games—I tried downloading everytthing offered to me and it still didn’t help. The game either cuts you off after a certain amount of rewards or doesn’t deliver rewards to anyone now. Scamtastic indeed.

Overall: 12/20

Tokens are easier to get than ever before on Lucktastic, but it’s a smokescreen for the major price hike—it still takes much longer to get rewards. It’s a shame to see the company stoop to these kinds of tactics, making people think they’re being more generous when they’re doing just the opposite and then further hiding their rewards behind ‘bugs’ in their system.. Once a really amazing app, it’s now just above average. If you are the type of person who would buy scratchers, this is definitely a better alternative. Low risk(time spent) with a (possible) moderate reward. Personally, after writing this article, I’m leaning towards removing the app off my phone once I redeem my next giftcard(I gave up in the end).

If you want to try your luck with other apps, check out my articles on Very Dice and Dice Master (hint, Very Dice is amazing!)

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Dice Master(formerly known as Lucky Dice) feels like a cheap knockoff of Very Dice. It’s interface is not as user friendly, it’s prize prices higher, it’s games harder to play and with more ads. I tested it out though and and here’s my findings.

Ease of Use 3/5

Not too bad, but I found especially compared to Very Dice there were more instances where I didn’t receive my video reward or it struggled to register my taps. The mini games are admittedly quite fun, but want you to play ads to continue. They’re also very complex and it’s really hard to get consistently good at them. Even as a gamer I found myself failing quickly sometimes. The search system is comparable to Very Dice’s and does have different items, but comparable items are more expensive.

Fairness/Cost 2/5

I feel I’m being generous with 2. The dice are not fair at all. I wasn’t able to get anywhere close to a doubles jackpot with nearly the amount of rolls that would with average luck earn me 3 doubles jackpots. Frankly I rage quit this app due to it’s unfair approach. After using it for a few weeks I NEVER got more than 6 out of 10 on my daily spin, and rarely more than 4. 1 and 2 was the norm. It is clear the company doesn’t play fair with its odds. The reward prices as stated are also for the most part exactly 33% higher compared to Very Dice. The games are harder and forget about being in the top 100 unless you invest way too much time becoming an expert at their minigames.

Time Consumption 3/5

It has the same benefits time-wise as Very Dice, but I found it didn’t always reward me with my rolls, the games in particular were very timeconsuming with very little chance of actual reward beyond playing the games themselves. You can find similar minigames for free with less ads and more features. Because of the increased market prices, it takes 33% longer(at least as you lose even more due to the unfair dice mechanic).

Rewards 3/5

Honestly I quit before attempting to redeem any rewards, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were problems with redeeming rewards, and as stated the prices are higher than Very Dice. Since I don’t know for sure, I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt at 3/5. Do yourself a favor and get Very Dice if you’re interested in an ad-revenue dice based game offering various items and gift cards and pass on Lucky dice—a poor knockoff who’s greed is obvious.

Overall 11/20

I think the fact they changed the name of their app is very telling. These numbers also speak for themselves. Hard pass on this one folks. If rolling dice for rewards sounds appealing, check out my review on Very Dice you can find here.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Very Dice is a basic dice game in which rolls are earned by watching ads, a daily spin, surveys, activities(like signing up for various programs) and buying them outright. The rolls grant tickets which can then be exchanged for a variety of items via a searchable market, which has a wide variety of random items that can be purchased from Amazon, which are all new and shipped free. It is my favorite way to earn free items.

Ease of use: 4/5

Earning rolls couldn’t be simpler. On the main screen there is a 24 hour countdown to your daily spin—4-10 rolls that are just given to you! On the bottom left is an action feed where you can watch videos, perform surveys or purchase rolls. Rolling dice is also very simple—just tap on the main screen When it comes to redeeming your tickets, you can search for items in the market

The search system is a bit tricky and the only reason I don’t give ease of use a 5/5. Finding exactly what you want isn’t as easy as I’d like. For example if you search Kingdom Hearts, you may not show all the Kingdom Hearts games that are available at the moment via the market, but search for a specific title in the series and you may find it or another. Hunting for the items ends often in success though and I’ve found unexpected items.

Fairness/Cost: 5/5

The dice are fair. One of the highlights of the dice is getting a ‘doubles jackpot’ which means getting a pair of all 6 numbers within a 24 hour period. Doing so grants you a bonus 300 tickets—pretty sweet deal. With average luck this takes just shy of 100 rolls, and after having 89 jackpots myself I’m confident in saying the odds are comparable to real dice odds—something that I cannot say of a similar app called Lucky Dice where I burned over 200 rolls and was only halfway to a doubles jackpot. The odds of that assuming the dice were fair are astronomical—therefore I could only conclude Lucky dice’s dice were programmed unfairly. I have never had such a problem with Very Dice.

The cost is free, with plenty of ways to earn rolls easily. Purchasing rolls is fairly expensive though, and not recommended. Nevertheless it is fair and does not effect my rating.

The rewards are reasonably priced as well, though over time prices have increased some. All the items I’ve gotten have been very close to the 1,000=$1 ratio if I purchased the item new on amazon—sometimes considerably better. Gift cards are also available, at a slightly higher price.

The mini game for landing doubles (basketball) is also very fair, and if you’re a veteran gamer(even casual) you should be able to earn a few extra tickets than if you just accept the flat reward(double the amount rolled, so if you roll double 6s you can get 24, or if you choose to play basketball 12 plus the number of baskets you can make in the time limit. I usually get 14-15, but I’ve gotten as high as 20 of the double 6s—nice boost to get 32 tickets instead of 24).

Time Consumption: 5/5

This is where Very Dice really shines. The opportunity to earn rolls is often available but you also don’t feel pressured to spend copious amounts of time just to ‘keep up’. Currently six ads are available at any time, and once used have a 1 hour cool down period—this changes from time to time. After that you’re free to view more ads whenever you’re available and once again reset the 1 hour cooldown.

As the ads are relatively short(typically 30 seconds, some less, some more) 2 minutes an hour if you really want to maximize your rewards is more than reasonable, and you also don’t miss out hugely if you do far less. If you run the 4 ads say in the morning, at lunch and before bed, combined with an average of 5 rolls from your daily spin of 1-10(this too I’ve found to be very fair, I’ve actually gotten an average probably closer to 6 in the 10 months I’ve used it) that’s over 20 rolls a day, with less than 10 minutes of time invested.

If you want to put in more time, surveys can provide a great amount of rolls too. Poll fish surveys in particular have a high reward/low time investment. Usually labeled as 4 minute or less with anywhere from 9-15 rolls offered, and the survey times are high if you’re familiar with using them you can finish quicker.

Rolling can take no active time at all if you choose to use the auto roll feature. The downside to the auto roll feature is you can’t play the basketball mini game, but the trade-off in time can be worth it. Personally I enjoy the basketball game, so I play it whenever I can. When I do, it takes 15-20 minutes or so to get a doubles jackpot.

Before attempting to go for a doubles jackpot I recommend reaching at least 150 roll for security in case you have a bad streak of luck. I’ve averaged less than a hundred rolls to hit my jackpots though I currently keep a reserve of about 200 rolls just in case.

Recently raffles have been offered, for which you can watch ads for limited entries and buy more with tickets. I don’t recommend it though, as it shows you what # of ticket won, and especially as time has gone on no one wins a raffle without pouring in lots of raffle tickets. The rewards are nice, but with only one winner a lot of people waste thousands of tickets and get nothing in return—with so many awesome rewards available gambling on a big prize you almost certainly won’t win isn’t worth the risk.

Overall you are in control of the time you spend on this app, and whatever time you spend is well-rewarded.

Rewards: 5/5

Rewards are plentiful, arrive quickly and have never disappointed. Every 100 rolls used will net you around 1k tickets and with plenty of worthwhile items 20k or less the rewards add up quickly. In the 18 months I’ve had the app I have made 12 redemptions and am well on the way of another—even with doing the bare minimum for several months. Between all the items I’ve gotten, which have arrived in less than a week in new condition as promised in each case, I’ve gotten over $150 worth of varied merchandise, including DVDs, blurays, board games, a book and video games. This is far and above what I’ve gotten from any other app, especially for the time investment.

Overall 19/20

Almost perfect. Who doesn’t like free items delivered to their door with a minimal investment of spare time? If you’re interested at all, give it a shot. You won’t be disappointed. You can thank me when your first item arrives. Or thank me now by using my friend code below.

Friend code:2620631

Get the app on google play here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.verydice

Interested in other rewards apps? Ibotta is another great one.  You can also check out my reviews of Dice Master and Lucktastic and learn why you should avoid them!

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

If you’re a web developer, you probably remember the days when you had to download 5 or 6 different browsers to make sure that all of your changes would work across as many devices as possible. While many developers still do this, there is an easy way.

With all modern web browsers, emulation developer tools are part of the feature set, and Microsoft’s Edge browser is no exception. These tools allow you to emulate different browsers without having to download them separately. Microsoft Edge also lets you choose different devices as well, so you make sure you’re covering as many devices as possible.

It’s very simple to invoke the developer tools on Edge. The first option for doing so is pressing F12 on an open Edge browser window. The second is by using the menu button on the top right of the browser window and selecting the option F12 Developer Tools. If you’re doing this for the first time, you’ll get a notification that View Source and Inspect Element options are now enabled on right-click.

Once you’ve done this, simply select the Emulator tab.

From the Emulator tab, you’ll see a number of drop down menus as shown above. Find the one that says User agent string and select the browser you wish to emulate. You can emulate Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer 8-11, Apple Safari for iPad, Microsoft Edge for Windows 10 Mobile, and more.

That’s it. You’re now ready to develop and emulate like a pro!

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Those who are interested in natural health or fitness will find something to love in HEALTHandMED, the app available from the website of the same name. HEALTHandMED provides natural health product information, tips on using these products, and information for becoming naturally healthy in lieu of typical health procedures that are offered on the market.

“We’ve taken [an] enthusiastic approach in building our mobile application for Windows,” says the company’s blog. “which you can download for free and use on your Windows 10 desktop, tablet, and phone devices, and even an Xbox One entertainment system.”

The app marks the latest in a number of web apps that have been launching on the Windows 10 platform over the past year or so. Web apps provide a standard for all companies to use in their apps that are largely based on the same code and information as websites. As the standard becomes more and more common and operating systems become more similar, it’s possible that we could see more and more apps and games head become web apps on all platforms available.

You can download HEALTHandMED via the QR code and download link below.

HEALTHandMED (Free⁺, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

If you’re looking to get prepared for both natural and man-made disasters, you’ll likely find usefulness in Well Prepared, a new app from the website of the same name that just launched on Windows 10 this week.

Well Prepared lets you view survivalist and outdoor gear, helps you prepare for possible unseen disasters, and also provides you with helpful tips and tricks on surviving in different situations. The app also lets preppers chat with a representative and get help via email. The description also states:

“You’ll be well prepared to survive with the best prepper tools and survival techniques. In addition, our rugged survival gear is designed to be long lasting and durable enough to withstand the toughest tests of time. We have the latest and greatest solutions for survival: from simple, time tested products- to the most advanced technologies available!”

The Well Prepared app is one of a number of new webapps that have launched on the Windows platform as of late as Microsoft looks to have 1.5 billion devices running Windows 10 by 2017.

Well Prepared can be downloaded via the QR code and download link below.

Well Prepared (Gratis⁺, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

It’s been a wild holiday and it got a little wilder with the recent release of Ridiculous Marathon on Windows 10 from Game Troopers.

In Ridiculous Marathon, you’re celebrating the birthday of a house pet with a party. The owners of this particular pink pet — a half alien monster and half baby gorilla — have prepared a surprise with a pinata filled with candy, toffee, sweets and confetti. To open the pinata the pink pet will use a baseball bat, but his aim is not very good and will end up hitting their owners and having to flee from them.

You are tasked with helping the pet to flee to avoid punishment, run while you are collecting coins and candies in the Amazon forest from Brazil. Run, jump, crouch, change lanes and dodge obstacles like fences, truckloads of wood, and travel through impressive caves and ancient indigenous villages on your route.

Features of the game include:

• Run the Amazon forest with the baby monkey, through the trees and logs and discover caves like subways!
• Simple touch game play – swipe the screen and help the baby monkey to avoid the many dangers that await on the road
• Freedom of movement! Dodge! Jump! Slide! Roll! FLY!!
• Exciting power ups help the baby monkey along the way! Discover the surfer board!
• Competitive play – Connect via Facebook and run past your buddies’ high scores to become the top runner!
• Unlock Achievements!

Ridiculous Marathon supports 512MB devices (phone only), is free to download and contains optional in-app purchases. You can download it via the QR code and download link below.

Ridiculous Marathon (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

ZeptoLab are developers behind the hugely popular Cut the Rope games. While the latest installment in that series Cut the Rope: Magic has not yet made it’s way to Windows they brought over their other game King of Thieves to Windows almost 9 months after it’s release on other platforms. King of Thieves is billed as a unique mix of platformer and PVP multiplayer game.

From the game’s store description:

• STEAL SHINY THINGS. Collect gold and gems from other players to become the wealthiest thief in the world!
• DEFEND YOUR LOOT. Design your dungeons and watch other thieves getting into your traps. Muhaha!
• CLAIM THE THRONE. Compete with other players worldwide, leaving your rivals on the bottom of leaderboards.
• GET CRAFTY. Create new outfits for your character. The most nifty thieves should look really cool!
• TRAVEL AND EXPLORE. Test your agility through 80 single-mode levels or dive into the underground world of user generated content.
• CREATE AND JOIN GUILDS. Find reliable allies to stand against hostile guilds of thieves!

Get the game for both Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile from the link below

King of Thieves (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Pandora has announced the release of their official Windows 10 app via the Microsoft blog. Pandora is a free radio listening service that is very popular in the US. The Windows 10 version of the app comes shortly after the release of the phone version. It has a minimal interface and user friendly interface that looks great on a big screen. A quick run through the app shows that it has been crafted with care and designed to take advatage of Windows native features. The live will show your currently playing song, you can pin your favorite stations as individual tiles and your current song also shows on the lock screen. Cortana integration is also being promised soon. Pandora is available only in the US, Australia and New Zealand for now.

Some screenshots of the app highlighted in the post

Create your own personalized radio stations from artists, songs and genres in Pandora for Windows 10

View all of your stations in the My Stations screen in the Pandora app for Windows 10

Now Playing screen in the Pandora app for Windows 10

This is what Group Product Manager at Pandora had to say about the app

We complemented our personalized radio stations with a number of additional features, taking advantage of the Windows 10 native feature set as much as possible:

• Browse hundreds of music and comedy genre stations
• See what’s currently playing on the Pandora app Live Tile when you pin the app to your Start menu
• Pin your favorite stations to your Start menu for quick and easy access
• Skip or play/pause tracks directly from your device’s volume controls
• Display the currently playing track on your lock screen
• Cortana integration is coming soon!

Get the app from the link below

Pandora (Free, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Over the weekend, Freeman Technologies launched Everquotes exclusively on the Windows 10 platform.

Everquotes puts thousands of famous quotes at your fingertips and lets you download the quote as an image. From there, you can share it through Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

Everquotes also gives you the ability to search for any famous quotes, so you can find anything that fits your project or mood.

Check out the official Everquotes trailer below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBBM_ivNv1I

Freeman Technologies creates application software primarily for the Windows platform spanning 242 countries but is also a third party publisher for Windows applications and games licensed with major developers around the globe.

“Our goal to expand to the Xbox One and the next generation of computing, HoloLens,” the company said in a statement. “Our #1 Goal is to bring the best unique quality apps and games … to consumers … and enrich apps and games experience to the next level.”

You can take Everquotes for a spin via the download link and QR code below this article.

everquotes (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

We covered some of the universal news apps available on Windows 10 just a few days back and another big one to come to the store is The Wall Street Journal. The app works across the desktop and mobile and we took both versions out for a spin. The app is beautiful and minimal although the login box  that appears looks very much out of place. A point to note is that this is a paid publication and very few of the articles can be read for free. The remaining are behind a paywall and you will recognise them by the greyed out key shaped icon appearing next to the article title. Since we don’t have a subscription we tried accessing some of the free articles. The articles are beautifully presented and are joy to read on both platforms. Overall the app dosen’t have much beyond this in terms of personalisation or any other advanced features. Performance on the mobile version could do with a little improvement. Overall it’s great to see the major news publications embrace the Windows universal platform.

From the store description:

The new WSJ app is an immersive digital news experience modeled after the iconic Wall Street Journal newspaper. It brings you the latest news, as well as expert commentary and analysis from around the world, with enhanced features and visual storytelling that bring the Journal to life. And it’s all delivered through a cleaner, simpler interface so you can find the news you need, anywhere you need it.

Key Features:

• A stunning visual experience with rich photo slideshows, full-screen video and interactive graphics
• Optimized performance that delivers faster load times and improved stability
• Streamlined navigation consistent with the structure of the paper, while offering quick access to breaking news and analysis.
• Multiple ways to read including the digital versions of our U.S., Europe and Asia print editions as well as the latest news from WSJ

Get the app from the link below

The Wall Street Journal. (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Freeman Technologies the publisher who recently brought to us the game iBasket which was a port from other platforms, has released a new app exclusively for Windows 10. This is a universal app for both Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile. We tried out both versions of the app. The app is simple and well designed with a focus on the quotes themselves. The quote text appears as an overlay on a background with a photo of the author on the background which is a very neat touch. The best part of the app though is the ability to search for famous quotes by either the author or the primary keywords of the quote. So for example if you wanted to search for quotes related to life you can start by typing life into the search box and you will instantly see a list of quotes by different authors show up. Being a universal app it works the same way on the phone, except that we found some issues with the layouts for quotes with a longer amount of text. Overall for lovers of quotes this is a great app to have on Windows.

From the app store description

With over thousands of famous quotes, the everquotes app lets you explore the best known quotes of all time. The everquotes app lets you download the quote saved via picture and it can be share through Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest & the ability to search for any famous quotes exclusive to Windows 10 platform.

Get the app from the link below

everquotes (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Game Insight is another publisher who has very actively supported the Windows platform over the years. All of their high profile games are given the same care and treatment as the versions they put out for other platforms. Today they have announced the availability of not one but 2 intereting titles for the Windows Store.

Love and Dragons

Love and Dragons is a described as a hidden object adventure. Set out on an exciting journey to a magical world of dragons, where you’ll encounter mighty warriors and skillful sorcerers, true love and vile betrayal. Get ready for treacherous intrigues and enigmatic crimes, magical swirls of secrets and ancient legends! Help your companion, the beautiful Miralda, fight the horrible prophecy and find her true love. Search for hidden objects, fight creatures of the abyss, assemble incredible collections and meet characters, each with their own unique backgrounds and hobbies.

Features:

• Amazing hidden objects game will take you on an unforgettable journey through the world of magic
• Lots of characters with their own unique background, nature and hobbies
• Hard fight with the criminal bosses and the creatures of the abyss
• Unexpected plot twists, mystery and intrigue
• Convenient friends system allowing you to help each other and play together
• Great graphics and sound
• You will be able to make friends with dragons, take part in the liberation of the empire and to make peace between the warring states. Make it into the legend together with Game Insight!

Download the game for free from the link below

Love and Dragons (unknown, Windows Store) →

Maritime Kingdom

Conquer the seven seas in this breathtaking city builder game set in a fictional world resembling Medieval Europe. Build a mighty fleet and establish trade with other countries to bring prosperity to your lands. The game features more than 350 quests, a trade system that utilizes over 30 resources, and a delicate balance of diplomacy and city building.

Download the game for free from the link below

Maritime Kingdom (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

WordPress had announced recently their overhaul to the wordpress.com writing experience. This was the foundation they said they were going to use to build platform apps, to help write and manage WordPress blogs. Coming just a few days after the release of the mac version the app is basically a web wrapper for wordpress.com. It allows you to connect to and manage multiple WordPress blogs including self hosted blogs.

The app was announced officially on wordpress. From their blog post

You asked, and we answered—quickly! Just weeks after unveiling the all-new WordPress.com and desktop app for Mac, we’re thrilled to introduce our newWindows app.

Now you can manage your sites, write and publish, and even customize your site and view stats from a dedicated app in your Windows Start Menu. Use it for your sites on WordPress.com, as well as for self-hosted WordPress sites. (For the latter, you’ll just need to have the Jetpack plugin installed to connect your site.)

And just like the rest of WordPress.com, the new Windows app is simple, seamless, and blazingly fast.

Download the app

The new Windows app includes:

• The My Sites dashboard for managing multiple sites, whether WordPress.com or self-hosted WordPress with Jetpack.
• The new WordPress.com Editor, with in-app previewing and draft auto-saving.
• The Reader, which lets you follow and read any of your favorite sites, and the all-new Discover, which recommends outstanding content from across all of WordPress.
• Insights and Stats, which show you exactly how your site and posts are performing.
• In-app notifications, so you can see comments, likes, and new follows all in one place.

This, of course, is just the beginning. We’re excited to have you try it out, and thanks for all your continued feedback and support.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Uber, the world’s most popular on demand transportation service has arrived on Windows 10, as a Universal app. This means that it is also available on the desktop. As an added bonus to celebrate the release of the app, Windows users new to Uber get a free ride upto $20.

From the Microsoft post announcing the app:

Here’s a look at what’s new:

Cortana commands: Too busy to request a ride yourself? Just ask Cortana, you can say,“Hey Cortana, get me an UberX to 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA” or any address you need to get to.

Request your ride from your Windows 10 PC with the Uber app for Windows 10

First desktop version of Uber: Through the power of the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), Uber is able to deploy a single app through a unified store that delivers the right experience to whatever device downloads the app. This includes your desktop – bringing Uber to your PC for the first time. You will still need a phone to complete the ride.

Live tile updates on the Start menu. When you pin the Uber app to your Start menu, the Live Tile will display the estimated time it will take for your Uber to arrive – no need to open the app.

Set your pickup location and request your ride

Get notified when your driver is arriving

Building out the Windows 10 Uber app has been very exciting for our team. We worked to upgrade the Windows 8 app to support the best of Windows 10 while also imagining the tablet and PC experiences, so that users could initiate rides from all devices.  We can’t wait for you to try it out!

And not only will riding with Uber be more seamless than ever…it could be free! All new users on Windows in the US will receive their first ride free, up to $20. Users can redeem this offer by entering “MSFTWIN10” in the “PROMOTIONS” tab within the Uber app prior to the ride.

Uber (Free, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

TuneIn is one of the most popular radio, music and podcast aggregation services in the world. They claim to have a global audience of over 60 million users. While there had been a TuneIn app fro both Windows and Windows Phone this is one is brand new and built from  ground up as a universal app for Windows 10.

From the TuneIn post about the app:

TuneIn, the world’s largest collection of audio, is now available as a Windows 10 Universal app. The best sports, news, music, talk radio and podcasts are moments away from being listened to with this latest release. TuneIn Radio is available as a free app in the Windows Store for desktop and tablets, with a mobile version of the app coming soon.

One of the features we love most about the Windows 10 OS is the ability to Pin the TuneIn Radio app to the Start menu. When you pin the TuneIn Radio app, or even your favorite stations, you can easily access your favorite audio content at anytime.

The Cortana integration allows you to launch the TuneIn Radio app with your voice. Simply say, “Cortana, launch TuneIn,” and the app opens to your Feed screen displaying what’s playing on your favorite stations.

Another app upgrade features easy TuneIn account sign in via your Facebook or Google accounts, or your preferred email address, for a seamless TuneIn experience across your devices.

Get the app from the link below

TuneIn Radio (Free⁺, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

There is a new Windows 10 Mobile Insider build available. The build number for this one is 10586.29 so it’s a relatively minor update. We ourselves haven’t found any significant changes in the build. It was mainly released to incorporate feedback received from Windows Insiders.

The rest of the details from the original post by Microsoft are listed below:

Today we are releasing our first Cumulative Update to the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview Build 10586 to Insiders that begins addressing this feedback. The first thing you will notice with this Cumulative Update is it will use the minor version for differentiating between each version as these builds only contain fixes to the Windows 10 Mobile Insider Preview build already in the Fast and Slow rings. So this build will appear as 10586.29.

We are also taking this opportunity to onboard some new devices in the Windows Insider Program to receive these updates. These devices will be addedearly next week, along with an update to the Windows Device Recovery Tool that resolves detection issues on these devices.

Additional devices available to Windows Insiders early next week:

• LG Lancet
• Microsoft Lumia 550
• Microsoft Lumia 950
• Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

Feedback we have addressed includes:

• You will see additional improvements in upgrade experience, including devices with limited free space, map rendering on update, and RCS enabled device settings.
• Improved application backwards compatibility for Windows Phone 8.1 Silverlight applications.
• Edge performance and stability has been improved.  Auto-completion has been updated to allow user to more easily edit the end of the URL in the address bar.
• Additional Bluetooth stability improvements.
• We have resolve issues on switching the active cellular connectivity profile on Dual SIM devices.
• Data profiles are now correctly restored in the out of box experience that would prevent some devices from sending or receiving MMS messages.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

A few days ago users on Windows 10 Mobile noticed that HERE maps had received an update that effectively rendered the app useless. Opening the app showed a message to users saying that a newer, better version of HERE maps is available to use. However tapping OK never really took us anywhere and users were left without a usable HERE maps app. HERE had responded then, that this was due to a store bug and recommended users to use the built in maps app in the interim. If you check now for app updates you can see an update for the app and we are happy to report that the app is now working again. There don’t appear to be any changes, but the app is now fully functional.

From the app description:

No matter how you choose to travel, HERE Maps shows you the smartest way across town with fast, offline maps in over 135 countries, so you can find your way even without a data connection. With new collections, you can now group, save and sync your favorites with here.com. And with LiveSight, HERE Maps brings the power of sight to your map. Hold up your phone to see floating labels on nearby places through your screen.

Key Features

• Turn-by-turn walk navigation in 97 countries that works offline
• LiveSight reveals what’s around you through your camera display
• Tap public transit stations to quickly reveal a list of available lines
• Organize your favorites into groups, sync them across your phone and here.com and have these collections at your fingertips
• Explore shopping malls, transit stations and other venues in 45 countries
• Switch to HERE Drive or HERE Transit with one tap
• Discover the top 25 places around you with one tap
• Pin LiveSight, places, categories and destinations to Start screen for easy access

Get the app from the link below

HERE Maps (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Freeman Technologies is another Publisher founded about a year ago who has been doing great work in bringing content from other platforms onto the Windows Store. Their latest title for Windows is iBasket which has been downloaded more than 15 Million times on other platforms. We tried the game on both Windows Phone and Windows because it is a Universal App. While the phone version has some performance and graphics issues it works very well on the Dekstop. It’s a simple game that tasks you with shooting as many baskets as you can before time runs out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jri20ca-iw

From the press release for the game:

28/11/2015 03:00 GMT (London, UK- Freeman Technologies HQ)

Today, Freeman Technologies are pleased to announce our partnership with Ludei. iBasket officially arrives on the Windows 10 universal platform for Windows devices via Windows Store free to play! With More than 15,000,000 downloads worldwide on both Android & iOS platforms! iBasket expands into to the Windows platform. Don’t miss out on this addictive basketball game for your Windows devices.

The objective is easy: Score as many baskets as you can in the 90 seconds the game lasts.

As you play you’ll discover tricks that will help you increase your score:
-Three pointers score more points.
-Score three baskets in a row and watch your score multiply.
-Swish the ball and get extra time!

★ Global and daily rankings. Compete against players from all over the world!

★ Integrated with Facebook Connect: Who’s in first place? Compare your score and have fun challenging your friends.

★Xbox Live Connectivity is Coming Soon!

Thanks to its incredible precision, iBasket allows you to curve your shot and shoot the ball similar to a real game.

Get the app from the link below

iBasket (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Imperia Online: The Great People is а massively multiplayer online game (ММО), set in the times before gunpowder was invented. As with all games released by Game Troopers it has received frequent updates and they have highlighted the main features of this update here.

There are up to ten new Xbox achievements, perfect for those players that have obtained all the achievements, and are hungry for more.

And if you are a regular player, we have added daily quests. you will be rewarded for your fidelity!

We have also included a new and engaging feature: The Game of Luck. In this special mode, you can participate with tickets bought either with gold equal to the Empire’s 1-hour production or with 5 diamonds. The winner is rewarded with a gold amount equal to his 100-hour production. You will love it!

We also detected some issues in the global map performance, and they have been addressed now. Additionally, a bug in the background music has been fixed, and some screens have been revamped for readability and clarity. And, last but not least, we are now running a Black Friday promotion where our products have a 50% of discount.

What are you waiting for getting this update from the link below.

Imperia Online: The Great People (Free⁺, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

iStudiez Pro, a popular planner for students, has dropped in price by 50 percent today only as part of a growing trend of Black Friday sales among Windows developers.

iStudiez Pro for Windows combines tracking schedule, homework and grades with a delightful user experience. If you’re a college student, or even a high school student, you’ll likely find the features included in the application quite useful for your Windows 10 device.

The app also syncs data with versions that are available for iOS and Mac OS. If you’re getting iStudiez Pro for Windows, it’s worth noting that the current version of the app supports Windows 7-10.

iStudiez Pro helps students to:

• stay organized in their studies
• keep track of their schedule and assignments
• be prepared in time for all the academic events
• improve tremendously their grades (proved by thousands of students – current users of the app – worldwide)

The Pro app can be purchased at half price today only. It’s available via the iStudiez website.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

Steam has a new sale going and it’s called the Exploration Sale. While we aren’t really sure if there is a particular theme to the games that are on sale, we can say for sure that there are some amazing deals on some amazing games. The sale runs until Dec 1st and these are some of our favorites.

• South Park: The Stick of Truth – 75% Off
• Saints Row Franchise – 66 to 75% Off
• Borderlands Franchise – 60 to 80% Off
• Evolve – 60% Off
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 50% Off
• Dying Light – 66% Off
• Ori and the Blind Forest – 40% Off
• Minecraft Story Mode – 15% Off
• Half Life 2 – 75% Off
• The Stanley Parable – 80% Off
• Dayz – 15% Off
• Just Cause Franchise – 10 to 75% Off
• Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – 60% Off
• Black Mesa – 52% Off
• Grand Theft Auto V – 40% Off
• Faster Than Light – 60% Off
• Rocket League: 30% Off
• Civilization V: The Complete Edition – 75% Off
• CS GO – 50% Off
• The Walking Dead – 75% Off
• The Walking Dead: Season 2 – 75% Off

These are just some of our picks. Remember that there are hundreds of other games on sale right now. In fact steam says that there 7953 titles on sale across Steam. It appears that steam recommends them to you based on your current library. You should see the sale when you login to to Steam.

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

While Windows 8 had seen the release of several news apps we haven’t seen too many of the universal type so far. While we hope new ones will keep popping in the store in time we have covered 3 truly universal news apps that Windows 10 users should definitely try.

MSN News

This one is developed by Microsoft themselves and can be considered a standard to uphold to for all universal news apps. It is designed around the new Windows 10 style guidelines and visually it’s a big step up from the original MSN News app for Windows Phone 8.1. MSN news aggregates news from various news sources and presents them all in a neat card based layout on it’s main page. It also categorises the news in several predefined ones in the app. One of the nicest features of the app is the ability to add news based on keywords of your choice. Simply go to the interests section and search for news based on the keyword to have news related to that keyword appear in your newsfeed.

Grab the app from the link below

Microsoft News (Free, Windows Store) →

USA Today

USA Today has been an important partner for Microsoft ever since the announcements regarding Windows 10 and details regarding it’s universal apps platform was announced. Some of you may have noticed that the USA Today app was featured in the past by Microsoft at their important conferences. It was, therefore no surprise that they were one of the first to come out with their universal app for Windows 10. The app features a beautiful Grid based layout for it’s homepage and well designed reading view as well. The app is available in beta for Windows 10 Mobile as well. Besides the basic reading functions you can search by keyword from within the app and it serves you news articles for that keyword in the same beautiful grid layout. It also allows you save articles and sync your last read article across devices.

Get the app from the link below

USA TODAY (unknown, Windows Store) →

The Guardian

While The Guardian has had an app for Windows Phone 8.1 in the store it’s also sadly one that hasn’t been updated in a long time. So it came as a surprise that they decided to revamp the app and do a whole new universal version for Windows 10. Of the 3 apps that we mentioned today this one seems to still to lack the polish and performance of the other two. The homepage of the app seems to waste a lot of space in it’s layout and it is very slow to load content. Other than that the main article layout is beautiful and it does something unique by automatically moving to the next article when you try and scroll past the end of the previous article. Since this is a universal app it’s available to try on Windows 10 Mobile as well. Somehow the hompage layout looks far more attractive here as compared to the desktop version. Overall it’s a promising start and updates should help with the performance issues.

Get the app from the link below

The Guardian (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC

AppRaisin, a mobile-first service aimed at solving the app discovery problem, arguably one of the biggest problems in modern app stores on all platforms, is now available for Windows 10 as a universal app.

The service from AdDuplex helps Windows enthusiasts stay on top of the latest releases, major updates and special offerings. According to the publisher:

Users decide what news raise to the top by “raising” the apps they like and ignoring the noise. This way enthusiasts get to make sure that top of the crop apps get the attention they deserve and less active users get a curated list of just the best app news.

AdDuplex also describes the system as “similar to other social news sites like Digg, Reddit, Hacker News or Product Hunt” by allowing Windows developers and enthusiasts alike to post latest app news while the entire community votes to raise the most noteworthy items up the chart.

The rank of each item is based on multiple parameters including time – meaning that fresher news raise to the top while older favorites gradually slide down. This way users get a constantly fresh, curated list of new apps and important updates.

The first public release of AppRaisin includes basic functionality enabling news submission, rating, sharing and more.

AdDuplex says a “bunch” of new feature additions are also being added, including “more social stuff”. The app should help you find the best apps and games the Windows platform has to offer.

You can download the first public version of the AppRaisin application via the QR code and download link below.

AppRaisin (unknown, Windows Store) →

© 2008-2015 1800Pocket/PC