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Windows

Top 10 Windows Phone Apps

Do you have a Windows Phone? You may have been wondering which apps will install on your new phone but are confused because there are literally thousands of apps available out there. This article reveals the best Windows applications for you to choose from plus you may be able to get can get coupons to help you save on your next apps purchase. These are the top 10 best apps for your windows phone.


1. The Amazing Weather HD

This Windows phone app is ideal for travelers but great for anyone who likes to know what’s happening in the atmosphere at any given moment. It has received very good reviews by several satisfied users so this app is low priced and well worth the download. The Amazing Weather HD features:

  • A GPS auto location feature for different cities;

  • Live Tiles with GPS auto, background display for each city and two themes;

  • Weather alerts with animation;

  • The current conditions for each city;

  • Connect to nearby weather stations via your built in GPS.

2. GMaps Pro

gMaps has made it clear that they are not affiliated with Google maps at all. As a matter of fact, gMaps was created by Dream Team mobile who have created quite a few other Windows phone apps. Set at a very minimal sales price this app has a review rating of 4.5 stars. Just in case you are wondering how it works, here are a few of its features:

  • You can find your own location;

  • Speed tracking;

  • Included are support features such as weather, traffic, satellite and more;

  • Directions regardless of your transport (bike, car, public, walking);

  • Advance search features;

  • Google latitude;

  • Auto-detect and convert measurement systems – imperial or metric;

  • Night mode;

  • Much more……….

3. Xbox SmartGlass

This Windows Phone app is future technology brought to the present. Innovation at your fingertips. The Xbox Smartglass allows you to use your windows phone to interact seamlessly with your Xbox, much like a control. The app is not limited to just games but TV shows, movies, music, and sports where you interact with your tablet and TV right there from your phone. You can also use your phone to navigate Xbox dashboard, pause or rewind your favorite movie. Turn your TV into a computer monitor as you surf the web controlled by your phone.

4. Twitter

This Windows Phone app was created by Twitter specifically for Windows Phone. There may be other versions of the Twitter app out there but not like this one. According to Twitter they have updated the app to operate with the latest Windows Phone which is Windows Phone 8. The Twitter Windows Phone app’s new navigation includes four new tabs:

  • Home lets you view from any account you follow while allowing you to expand tweets in order to see photos, videos and other content;

  • Connect lets you know who has followed you, retweeted or favorited your tweets;

  • Discover  Allows you can see trends, find new content, find friends, and browse categories;

  • Me is the tab that’s about you. You can read and respond to your tweets and even update you profile.

5. Spotify

Find and listen to thousands of musical compositions and play them online or offline. Spotify receives music in your inbox from friends. You can browse music libraries using any Wi-Fi connection. Currently, this Windows Phone app is in beta testing and is available for free download for a limited time – no credit card needed. Very good reviews so far.

6. Kindle

You all know what Kindle is, but what you may not know is that there is a Kindle version just for your Windows phone. Turn you phone into a Kindle device and read thousands of eBooks anytime anywhere. The app is free to download and you can read many eBooks free of cost as well, or you can make a one-time purchase of any book you like and read it over and over again. Kindle books are usually very minimal in cost; many of them starting at just $0.99.

7. Pictures Lab

Pictures lab includes a camera feature with face detection software, modification tools and steady mode. You don’t need to download you photos to your computer to fix them; pictures lab does that right there on your Windows phone. This app has everything that a photo editor would have such as contrast, light, vintage, poster, comic, bulge, sepia and auto adjust. In addition to the photo effects you can crop, flip and rotate images. You have the option of saving your photos in your pictures hub or sharing them on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network. This is definitely one of the best apps for your Windows phone.

8. Kayak

This is a free windows phone app which allows the user to search literally hundreds of travel sites for airfare, hotels, rental cars or any vacation package deal. Get prices, reviews, recommendations, locations and much more. This Windows Phone app is ideal for travelers on the go. Download it for free at the Windows Phone app store.

9. Epicurious

Specifically designed for chefs on the go this very tasty app lets you search over 30,000 recipes, browse themes and categories, after which you can save and share. Not only does it provide the recipes but it helps you create a shopping list and check off the items as you shop. To make it even better, use the app for step by step instructions for your favorite recipes while you cook. Download it for free from Epicurious.com

10. Facebook

Facebook is the most popular social network to date with over 2,000,000 daily active users. Everything you do with your computer on Facebook you can do with the Windows phone app. Post updates, view feeds, receive and send messages, upload photos, accept friend requests, chat and manage your inbox. The app is free to install from the Windows app store.

Author Bio : Emma Watson is a professional blogger. Emma is passionate about health, fashion and everything about online shopping. 

How to Optimize a Windows 7 Personal Computer (PC)

Windows 7 came out as a stable reliable operating system in the marketplace as compared to earlier versions of Microsoft Windows. Since that time, however, you may have noticed that your PC no longer performs at an optimum level as compared to the time you have bought it. As you install/uninstall programs the registry can easily become corrupted, which slows down the machine. In this article, we explore the common reasons why your machine has slowed down and provide you with tips to optimize Windows 7 to regain its speed and performance.

Keep Viruses and Spyware Away

It is easy to get viruses and spyware if you are a frequent user of the Internet or commonly transfer data from several sources such as flash drives, local area networks, and others. Most PC’s will slow down when infected with viruses and spyware. Thus, a slow PC may be an indication of one or more infected files on the system. Thus, to fully optimize Windows 7 you have to install anti-virus/anti-spyware software. Also, to keep your system safe, don’t forget to perform regular updates to these programs.

Turn off Unnecessary Startup Programs

In many cases when you Install new software programs their setup unnecessarily places the program into your startup group so it is read and started each time you boot the system. These programs can eat up your systems processing power but you can fix this by following these steps:

1. Click on Start;

2. In the search box type msconfig;

3. Press enter and a box will appear;

4. Under the Startup tab, you will see a list of the startup programs;

5. Uncheck programs that you don’t want to run on startup;

6. Click Apply and Ok.

7. Restart the Windows 7 system.

Defragment Your Hard Drive

If you are using a traditional hard drive, which has a spinning disk inside, then, you must defrag the hard drive as part of your routine maintenance. Over time reading and writing data to the hard drive will cause it to be fragmented thus requiring more time to perform operations on the data. You can defrag the disk by clicking Start and choose disk defragmentation. Then, simply open the application and run disk defragmentation to optimize Windows 7. One noted exception is that if you have Solid State Drive (SSD) hard drive, you should not defrag it because doing so will reduce lifespan. An SSD uses non-volatile flash memory so it does not have any rotating disk to defragment.

Memory Checkup

Random Access Memory (RAM) can be a processing bottleneck. To check your use of memory use Ctrl+Shift+Esc to start the Windows task manager. Next, go to your resource monitor by clicking the button at the bottom of the Performance tab in Task Manager. It displays a colorful physical memory bar to show you what is really happening with your memory. If it appears that you need additional memory to support the processes you are running then try inserting another RAM stick. More RAM can definitely increase system speed.

Ever Thought of Cleaning Windows Registry?

One of the most important ways to optimize Windows 7 is to clean its registry where all of your configuration settings exist. You PC will likely lag and slowdown if there are empty or corrupt registry entries. Therefore, you are advised to clean the Windows 7 registry. You can clean it manually but it is not safe especially for a person who does not know the structure. The best way to optimize Windows 7 from registry errors is to use a free Windows 7 registry cleaner. Registry cleaner will solidly diagnose your operating system’s registry and will fix errors.

Trying these things will only take a few minutes of your important time but will make your life easier when working on a PC with fully optimized Windows 7.