Best new apps of the week: Stringer and Dark Hearts
Every week, our staff will handpick an app from the past two weeks that we believe is a must-have download for your iPhone or iPad. These apps will always be from various categories, but they are chosen because our own staff members love it and have been using them daily. So here are this week’s picks! Enjoy!
Stringer – Customize Your Shuffled Music
Have some control over your shuffled music with our App of the Week.
Do you love listening to your music collection on shuffle, but wish you could have a tiny bit of control over what plays? Our App of the Week, Stringer from Derby, can help you out with that.
Stringer is skeuomorphism done right in the post-iOS 7 age. The idea behind Stringer is that all of your iTunes and iTunes Match songs are placed on an actual string (just showing the album artwork on the string), and the app will play these songs in a randomized shuffle. The background of the app is gorgeous as well, as it is just a blown up, blurred out version of the album art, so it is nice in setting up the ambiance for your music listening.
But the skeuomorphism doesn’t stop there. Stringer goes with a realistic animation for the string as you scroll and “pull” on it, which reveals related music in your library (pull right) and the entire album of the current song (a swipe to the left). When you reveal the album, you can drag songs from that album onto the string to play next, giving you control over the shuffle without messing it up.
That’s right — if hearing a song makes you want to listen to the next song on the album or another favorite, just drop it into your String, and let the music flow without skipping a beat. You can also go back in your String and play songs that you want to hear again, and you can always see what’s coming up next. This is shuffled music done right.
While Stringer is free to use with full functionality, you do get some bonus features if you opt for the $4.99 in-app premium upgrade. This gives you access to the related music choices, the ability to save strings, import iTunes playlists, and adding favorites or hiding them from the string (done through long-taps on the song). This in-app purchase will also guarantee you access to any additional premium features in the future.
Our entire staff is getting a kick out of Stringer from the past few days, and it’s definitely one our favorite apps lately. If you prefer your music on shuffle, then this app is a must-have. You can get it on the App Store for the iPhone for free with an in-app purchase for more features.
For a more in-depth look at Stringer, make sure to check my full review.
Honorable Mention
Dark Hearts
Find out what is Haunting Melissa in our Honorable Mention of the week, Dark Hearts.
Are you in the mood for a haunting narrative to keep you entertained through the holiday week? Then you should check out our Honorable Mention, Dark Hearts from Hooked Digital Media. This is the sequel to last year’s original app, Haunting Melissa.
If you have not watched the original Haunting Melissa, you can grab that in the App Store for free. Dark Hearts will pick up where Haunting Melissa left off. Famed Hollywood producer Neal Edelstein is behind the project, and was a part of other famous scary movies like “The Ring” and “Mulholland Drive.”
A feature of Dark Hearts that makes it interesting is the use of dynamic story element technology. This means that when you rewatch chapters, you may see or hear things that weren’t there before, providing an entirely new layer on the narrative.
We’re enjoying the eerie story of the Haunting Melissa series, so Dark Hearts is a welcome addition. If you’re up for a good and creepy narrative, then make sure to give this a try. You can get Dark Hearts on the App Store as a universal download for free.
For more information on Dark Hearts, check out our original article.
