We're seeing a large upsurge recently with more official apps appearing in the Windows Phone Marketplace. This is starting to mirror last June when Microsoft unleashed a torrent of official apps for the fledgling mobile OS and it looks like a similar pattern is starting to build.
Now LinkedIn and Time Magazine each have official apps to their name and we decided to take both for a tour on our trusty Titan II.
LinkedIn, like Facebook, is native to the Windows Phone OS allowing you to post updates and track updates from your colleagues via the People Hub. The official app augments that with a gorgeous Metro inspired design and allows more in depth functionality, including management of messages, search for new potential contacts, sending out invites, managing groups. What's more it also has a moderately configurable Live Tile and push notifications. Overall, a solid offering.
Likewise, Time Magazine has an official app to its name as well. The app is also top quality with fast loading, nicely laid out text, smooth transitions, social sharing, video streaming of stories and photo galleries. That app has a Live Tile (latest image) and push notifications presumably for "breaking" stories.
You can pick up the LinkedIn app here in the Marketplace and the Time Mobile app here for free. See also this week's The Daily Beast official app.
Oh and we've heard a certain Wall Street Journal official app is right around the corner. You heard it here first.
Reader comments
Official Time Magazine & LinkedIn apps drop for Windows Phone [Video]
Just downloaded the Time App and went to play video on a Focus Flash and it stated "Sorry We cannot play this file on your phone " ?? Anyone else ??
edit: Some video's are playing and some are not..must be the format they are in..The ones on the first video screen are not working, when I go to more, the older ones listed at the bottom are working, but, the ones toward the top are not. The format must have changed somewhere in the middle.
Ugh. As usual, WP7 users get the short end of the stick. I have the same app on my iPad and as an exsisting paper subscriber, I can get the FULL MAGAZINE on the iPad for free by just using my subscriber info. The WP7 app is just a selection of articles, with no benefits for subscribers. So many of the columns, charts and indepth articles are missing.
Let's also keep in mind that the official CNN app should be available to all non-Nokia WP7 owners in a couple of weeks. I love to see the apps that are starting to become available for Windows Phone.
Can someone please explain me how to take screenshots in windows phone. i desperately want that feature.
Great LinkedIn app. I prefer it to the actual website for what I use it for.
Awesome! Zynga has to be working on some apps?
This is nice to see. I'd like for it to be a steady stream of official apps instead of a yearly "surge".
Thank goodness for the new LinkedIn app. As much as I appreciated IN+ and Link2In, they just weren't up to par with the official app on iOS ect.
Microsoft is going to have to increase the Background Task limit from 9 to something much higher (like15+) to support all of these Live Tile Updates. Yes, I know you can have 30 Live Tiles, but if most require a Background Task, well forget about it.
Or better yet, these big players should be investing in some servers so they can push updates and leave the Background Tasks for those small Developers who can't justify the cost with only a few thousand downloads.
Actually when Background Tasks were first announced, that's what I though would happen. But since Mango, I can't think of a single new app that uses a push server. SportsScores and ProSportsScores still do though. Don't know of any others.
Time app is very smooth on HTC Titan.
Actually, the panorama UI feels much smoother than a lot of other apps.
Just downloaded time mobile. It runs great on my Lumia 900 but the tile doesn't update for some reason.
Wooooo Linkedin and the time, that's great. Now waiting for Instagram and the Update of the Facebook to 2.5
Just downloaded the Time app. Very nice so far :)
Wow the linked in app is beautiful. Im gonna actually use their service now. I've hardly used it until now because of how clunky the website is. Great app
I desperately need wells Fargo bank app, rebtel, Pandora and instagram
wf.com is Wells Fargo's mobile site in case you don't know. Works just fine, though I'd prefer a native app.
Just ditch Pandora, too many alternatives that are as good or better now. iHeartradio, Slacker, etc... Unless you are a paying subscriber, but even then, these others offer the same service for similar price. Just my opinion on the matter of course.
This is great news. The main app I miss from my iPhone is the wall street journal app. Its nice to have an official linked in app too.
The LinkedIn app is sweet. Read and write messages, send invites, check out who's been checking you out and more. Most impressive - LinkendIn turned the status bar notifications BLUE! How cool is that? Can we get that as a feature in Apollo, pretty please?
I agree with you this app is very sweet and the overall look and flow is very nice,
i just need a Southwest app and I've got everything I need. I tried this LinkedIn app, but really the built in LinkedIn support does about everything I need.
these are both very well done. the linkedin app is especially good looking. can't wait for a chase banking app. and instagram and draw something would be nice, too!
The official ESPN Cricinfo app is also out, for fellow cricket fans in Asia, Aus/NZ, UK & elsewhere. Also good to know that official Audible, PayPal and Wall Street Journal apps are on the way. I hope we see official apps for BBC News, Al Jazeera English & Fox Business, that would complete the news app set available to WP users.
Also, still hoping for an official RBC bank :(
Also available is the official fastmall app for interactive shopping maps
All I need is audible, instagram, path and drawsomething and ill no longer need my iPod touch for anything ^_^
I'm only missing Audible now. As soon as Audible release a WP7 app I won't need to use my Samsung S2 for anything apart for gaming and navigation.
I was kind of throw off because the Time app is published by a third party, "ti media publishing" so I guess this is normal. For a minute I though this was a unofficial app, but maybe that's Time Magazines father company, or who they contracted to do the app. Does anybody have any information on this?
I assumed that "ti media" was just short for Time Inc. Media?
Time Inc. is the official name of the parent company.
Ignore. Now seem to available :-D
Neither of these apps seems to be available in UK :-/. Bit like Amazon I guess!
Between these apps, Viber and the Daily Beast/Newsweek, it's been an exciting week. Can't wait for the Chase Mobile,Path and Angry Birds Space!
I'm excited about the Time app. It's a bit sluggish, but nothing a future update can't fix!
Wooo!!! Downloading.
Its pretty laggy on my HTC trophy, but it has a well designed UI
Downloading... ;)