This week’s roundup includes the new Star Wars app, as well as photo, travel, and game offerings. May the Force be with you!
The free Halo Channel app for iOS immerses you ever more deeply in the game’s universe — yes, there are gaming strategies and tutorials, but also “compelling additions to the Halo fiction and exclusive behind the scenes documentaries” to that make it possible to do nothing but think about Halo when you’re not actually playing it.
Instagram made no official announcement, but users discovered the service was upgrading the quality and resolution of its picture uploads, from 640 x 640 to 1080 x 1080. Your beautiful pictures will be even more beautiful than before.
The $5 Lego Batman: Beyond Gotham lets you “play as Batman and join forces with characters from the DC Comics universe as you blast off to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth.” There are 45 missions, more than 100 playable characters, and lots and lots of different suits, with different powers, to use and and enjoy. The game may cost $5, but it also has in-game upgrades you can buy, as well.
Luxe offers travel guides to 25 cities around the world, with recommended itineraries, and offline access to the app’s maps, directions, and more.
Polamatic, the $1 “official app of Polaroid” expands its range in the latest iteration. Instead of a single “classic” style Polaroid look for your pics, you can choose from a range of 10 simulated film stocks and 120 different filters, plus new borders and fonts.
The official Star Wars app has arrived, chock full of content for lovers of the George Lucas’s increasingly misnamed trilogy. It includes breaking news about the Star Wars universe, classic quotes and sound effects to deploy for your amusement, a Star Wars-themed weather forecast, “augmented reality” viewing that lets you see Star Wars characters in your world, and themed selfies. May the Force … oh, you know.
Stayful lets you find cool hotels on your budget, and easily make reservations with them. It’s like Priceline, but for taste-making hipsters.
Tossup “a Microsoft Garage project, makes event planning and opinion-gathering a cinch. You ask the questions. Your friends cast the votes. Where to go. When to meet. Tossup lets everybody know.” Maybe Microsoft is starting to get the hang of this iOS thing.
Author: Joel Mathis
Joel Mathis is a regular contributor to Macworld and TechHive. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and young son.