Five to Try: Microsoft’s Hyperlapse video app, Snake Rewind revives a mobile classic

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 15 May 2015

If it’s new Android apps games you seek, then our latest Five to Try roundup has you covered. The top pick this week is Microsoft’s Hyperlapse Mobile beta—FYI: you must join a certain + group to unlock the ay Store link—which beats Instagram’s app to Android lets you create slick time-lapse videos with ease. so new is ephemeral messaging app Bleep, plus Fit’s latest update adds some helpful features.

On the gaming front, Snake Rewind gets all nostalgic about the early days of mobile games, delivering a proper sequel to the built-in Nokia classic, nguinis mashes up match-three word puzzlers in an intriguing free-to-play concoction. Clear some space on your phone give these five a shot.

Microsoft Hyperlapse Mobile (Beta)

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Record a clip Microsoft Hyperlapse will speed it up smooth it out in mere moments.

’ve been waiting several months for Instagram’s Hyperlapse—which makes great time-lapse videos with minimal effort—to make the move over to Android, still to no avail. But here’s Microsoft with a Hyperlapse of its own, developed concurrently unrelated to Instagram’s app, it’s really quite similar.

In fact, it delivers smoother results in many cases, as Microsoft’s free app creates a makeshift 3D world from your footage runs a steady virtual camera through it. So your shaky, minutes-long hiking video becomes a stable, easily digestible 30-second jaunt instead. It’s still in beta, you’ll need to join a + group to gain access to the ay Store download (the link doesn’t work otherwise). However, if you’ve been anxious about making time-lapse videos, now’s your chance to try it out.

Snake Rewind

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st one of several unique-looking levels in Snake Rewind— with a fruit magnet engaged!

If you had a Nokia phone in the late ‘90s or early ‘00s, chances are you’re familiar with Snake. And the guy behind that version, Taneli Armanto, is back with a proper sequel called Snake Rewind, which exps upon the classic concept while adding new levels, power-ups, a free-to-play progression.

As ever, you’ll start with a small snake grow longer as you eat more more fruit, which makes it difficult to keep moving around the confined spaces without smashing into a wall (or your own body). Each stage has its own retro-stylized look sound, you can unlock them faster or buy items by spending a little cash. ckily, the core gameplay remains appealingly familiar seemingly untainted by the freemium elements.

Bleep

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Send a whisper message or image with Bleep it’ll disappear on the other end after several seconds.

ke instant messaging apps that auto-erase your correspondence, but want something that’s extra ephemeral? BitTorrent’s free Bleep aims to fill that role, just exiting alpha testing this week for a proper ay Store release, its biggest perk is the ability to “whisper” to friends.

en you send a whisper, whether it’s text or an image, the viewer on the other end will have only seconds after tapping it to view the content. Then it disappears. th no account link to email or social media, the messages come go— remain gone. You can also exchange stard messages that stick around, if desired, but the whisper ability is a somewhat unique touch for those who want to be a little less on the grid with their chats.

nguinis: Match Spell

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Matching like-colored gems is only half the battle—then it’s time to spell out words.

If you can get past the title’s deceiving pasta association, nguinis: Match Spell delivers an interesting blend of puzzle mechanics. On the surface, it’s a stard match-three affair, challenging you to combine like-colored gems to clear them from the board.

Only they don’t disappear: They turn into Scrabble-like letter tiles, at which point the second part of the experience reveals itself. You’ll need to make words to properly remove the tiles, which can cause chain reactions build up your score. The need to think strategically about two types of puzzle elements gives this a unique edge, although I’m curious if the novel premise remains entertaining with extended play. 

Fit

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Fit gains helpful functionality this week, including a hy home screen widget.

Fit is the company’s still-relatively-young fitness platform, offering an easy way to track your workouts daily steps. However, while a solid start friendly with other apps devices, the app’s early feature set has been pretty limited.

ckily, it’s starting to make strides. This week, updated Fit with the ability to estimate the distance walked your calories burned each day, which are great tweaks for the average user. us, the fitness history UI sees a nice boost, you can stick a Fit widget on your home screen or use the new Android ar face to get an at-a-glance update on your smartwatch.