Every week, Android and iOS smartphone users are spoiled for choice with a fresh selection of newly released apps and games. Over here at nextpit, we take our duty to the next level by going through the lot, separating what we think is the wheat from the chaff. In other words, we personally handpicked and tried these apps and games out for you, hoping that you will find them useful and entertaining as well.
I think we have served up quite an interesting selection of titles this week, including a personality test that wears the cloak of a game, a travel booking app that helps you save money, and a self-improvement app for you to gain a cutting-edge at work, among others. Are you ready to check out this week’s selection?
Refind Self (Android & iOS)
Socrates was credited with the saying, “Know thyself.” In this fast-paced age and environment, how many of us are so caught up in the rat race that we need a mobile game to help us restore our bearings? I found Refind Self to be an interesting game, since it takes a far more philosophical route by asking me questions that have a “Yes” and “No” answer. Imagine that, just binary answers that open up to so much more.
My in-game actions will take me to different paths, where a variety of factors will be considered to measure my personality. Am I an adventurer? A researcher, perhaps? Or does the traveler persona suit me better? It certainly is fun exploring all the different aspects that I never really gave much thought to before.
In short, this is a personality test game, and the fact that it has been gamified makes it all the more interesting. I do wonder whether corporations will use this game as part of their interview instead of the traditional, boring old personality tests.
- Price: $3.99 / Advertising: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: Yes
I realized that my emotions will also affect the outcome because I might make a different choice in the same situation based on my current emotion. This would include where I head to first, as well as who I decide to talk to. I guess you can say that this has quite a high replayability value.
The graphics are a throwback to the 8-bit era, where the Game Boy ruled supreme during my holidays. I loved the retro look of it, and to let a game view life from a totally different point of view? It is definitely something that is very refreshing in an exhausted world of mobile gaming that tends to concern leveling up as the primary driver.
Reprice (Android & iOS)
I get it—the economy is not the greatest at the moment, and everyone is out hunting for bargains. However, we always hold out for something better to come along, and we might end up regretting it at times when the ship has sailed. Reprice hopes to help you avoid that, and with the year-end sales season upon us, it made sense for me to give it a go.
All I need to do is to visit Amazon via the app itself after selecting my geographical region, pick the item that I am interested in, and I’m good to go. There is the ability to access a price chart for the item as well as its price history. Forking out some money for the Pro version allows me to track up to 150 products, in addition to benefitting from a higher frequency of price updates.
- Price: Free / Ads: None / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: No (but recommended)
I did run into some issues from time to time where there was no way to retrieve the product information. Perhaps the developer might want to look into the back-end issues to solve this, but basically, this is as simple as it gets—you basically go through a list of items that you want to buy and keep track of the price with the app.
You do not need to log in with your Google account, but by not doing so, you will be unable to use this app across different devices. It is a small price to pay for those who would like to preserve their personal information and privacy, but if you tend to switch back and forth between your tablet, smartphone, and laptop, perhaps logging in with your Google account makes more sense.
Skiplagged (Android & iOS)
Do you love traveling? Who doesn’t, really? Traveling opens the mind and lets you meet different types of people, emphasizing the fact that we live in a global village. I love discovering new cuisines and cultures away from my comfort zone, immersing myself in a new environment with starkly different languages spoken around me. However, travel has become more expensive post-pandemic, but thankfully there is Skiplagged to help make the most of every penny.
- Price: Free / Ads: None / In-app purchases: None / Account required: No
The app’s interface is pretty simple. You can choose to look for a flight, hotel, or rent a car, throw in the dates, departing and arrival points, and you’re good to go! The app will suss out all the relevant information and provide you with the cheapest possible options.
There are also filters like any standard travel app, and I really love the prediction graph which informs you whether the price might actually go down. Of course, it is not foolproof, but at least you get to put it off and cross your fingers that there really will be a price drop later.
While you do not need to create an account to use this app, doing so will allow you to receive some credit which can be used to purchase future flight tickets. Overall, this is an above-average app that will surely help those with a wanderlust spirit stretch their hard-earned money to the maximum.
Alison (Android & iOS)
Ever thought of upgrading yourself at work or improving your life through self-learning? Alison is one such app, providing lessons in categories such as IT, health, language, business, management, personal development, sales & marketing, engineering & construction, and teaching & academics.
The app will need to know some stuff about me beforehand, requiring me to answer 6 questions before it proceeds to recommend relevant courses. I must admit, it does not stray too far away from my needs, which is a good thing.
From there, I have a selection of recommended courses to choose from. Choosing British Sign Language, I am then led to a video where it plays what I need to visualize to learn. I can then continue with the next video, all the way to the very end. Along the way, there will be a quiz to help me remember a key point of what has been taught.
You will need to go through several lessons before progress can be saved. Otherwise, all progress will be lost, and you have to begin right from the start. Pretty interesting way of keeping you engaged in the long run, right?
- Price: Free / Ads: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: Yes
The free courses are very professionally done, while the lectures are not the snooze fests that you might be used to back when you were in university. Once you have attended a few courses, you will be eligible to receive a certificate at the end of it, although that will come with a charge.
There is nothing quite like learning at your own pace. Of course, if you do not have a habit of returning to Alison to keep yourself sharp, perhaps the next habit-forming app might be able to help you do so…
24 Hours – Habit Tracker (Android)
Do you like to keep on improving yourself in all you do? If you answered in the affirmative, then you would certainly be interested in this app. Available for Android only, 24 Hours – Habit Tracker does what it says in a no-frills manner. You basically begin by including different categories that you think you would want to change (for the better, obviously).
The categories can be from anything to everything. I, personally, included “Mucking About” as one of them, as I tend to be idle (and hence, have the devil’s workshop in my mind). From there, I can add different habits and assign them to their respective category, including a certain score. Using the app, I can then track the exact amount of time spent on each activity.
This allows me the freedom and flexibility to schedule and establish repetitive activities within a specific frequency. After all, there is the conventional wisdom that claims doing something for 21 days will turn it into a habit.
- Price: Free / Ads: Yes / In-app purchases: Yes / Account required: No (but recommended)
The ads in there can be quite irritating as they tend to get in the way at times when you are on the verge of keying in new information, but I guess it indirectly helped me develop a different habit, that of patience. However, $0.79 is a small price to pay to remove those ads. I see it more as training.
That’s all for now this week. Which particular app or game caught your eye? Do you think there is an app that we missed out on that should have been featured? Do let us know in the comments!
