Microsoft used to be a stranger to launching things that supported other platforms, but not so much anymore. They recently announced their Universal Mobile Keyboard, and now they’ve got three new apps built specifically for Android.
Two of the three new apps are geared towards the Android platform on smartphones and tablets. The first is called Next Lock Screen, and it’s another lock screen replacement that’s designed to give you everything you might need from your calendar, with easy access to quick launching apps at the same time. If a user installs thew Next Lock Screen, they’ll be given a feed of their daily calendar events. If there’s a phone number that’s attached to a particular event, you can simply slide the event to the side and the number will be called automatically.
The next app is Journeys & Notes, which is an app designed for “the space between an origin and a destination.” While the tagline may be cryptic, the design of the app works in a way that’s not so much about where you check in, but more about where you left, how you got to where you were going, and then, ultimately, where you checked in. So, as noted by The Next Web If you ride the Eurostar from London to Paris, you can check in that voyage to the app, and then you’ll see notes and comments from other commuters who have taken the same trip via the same method.
The final app is meant for Android Wear, and it’s called Torque. It’s designed to give you quick access to an app to search for something. Instead of voicing, “Okay, Google,” to get a search query going, you simply twist your wrist and the app will open up Bing for you. That’s right — it’ll replace Google with Bing, so keep that in mind.
Each app was designed by Microsoft’s Garage division, which is meant to give Microsoft developers a way to develop the apps not intended for Microsoft-only hardware or software. You can find links to each app below, all of which are free.
