Five of the best Windows 8 preview apps (so far)
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Introduction
Introduction
ntThe Windows 8 Consumer Preview is out, along with a limited number of preview apps designed to showcase the new Metro style. Some apps, such as Mail, Messaging, Camera, Maps, People, Reader, Weather, and IE, come pre-installed. Nearly 100 free apps are available in the Windows Store, shown above.
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ntHere’s a look at my favorite preview apps out of the selection available, both pre-installed and downloadable from the Store.
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ntNote: If you’d prefer to view this information as a blog post, check out this entry in our Five Apps blog.
People
People
ntThis is a lot like the People hub on Windows Phone; it connects to multiple social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live, LinkedIn, Google) as well as to your Exchange account and lets you see what your friends are posting. It also serves as the source of contacts for the built-in Mail and Messenger apps and enables you to send email or an IM to someone directly from the app.
The Tower by American Airlines
The Tower by American Airlines
ntI’m an aviation buff, so maybe that colors my opinion, but I love this app. I hope they add more functionality to it in future iterations, but for now I just like the way it looks sitting there on my monitor. The Tower lets you check the status of flights, find out where a flight in the air is at the moment, and get the weather and gate postings for AA hub airports.
The Tower by American Airlines
The Tower by American Airlines
ntYou start by selecting your hub (in my case, DFW). Then you can see the AA flights scheduled for the different terminals. They’re color coded to indicate their status. You can see the number of departing and arriving flights, as well.
The Tower by American Airlines
The Tower by American Airlines
ntSelect a flight, and The Tower displays details such as the arrival and departure terminals and gates, flight duration, type of aircraft, and whether Wi-Fi is available on the flight.
YouCam
YouCam
ntYouCam provides a bit more functionality than the built-in Camera app. With YouCam, you can zoom in or out, adjust the brightness without going into menus, apply special effects (distortions, overlays, emoticons, frames), and switch from front to rear camera (if your device has both).
SigFig
SigFig
ntWindows 8 CP comes with a Finance app for keeping an eye on your favorite stocks, but SigFig does much more. With it, you can import the accounts from your brokerages (using bank-level security) and track your entire portfolio, with detailed analytics and investment recommendations.
