5 Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week – Google Play Weekly

It’s Friday so it’s time to look back on some big news this week! To start, Google updated a few of their apps including Play Newsstand, Google Play Movies, and Google Keep. Microsoft is bringing an improved Outlook to Android soon. Humble Bundle 9 is out and it’s definitely worth checking out. Vudu, Rdio, and Crackle all got Chromecast support. Spritz is finally going to start making its way onto Android apps in the near future. Finally, here are five Android apps you shouldn’t miss this week!

Crescendo Launcher

[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
First up this week is a very minimal launcher called Crescendo Launcher. With this launcher you can do all of the things you normally do but you don’t have any complicated home screens to customize or worry about. This probably won’t ring as a useful app to most people, but for those upgrading their feature phones to Android or for those of the technophobic senior citizen demographic, this could help make smartphones more enjoyable to use for a lot of people. It’s free to try with a premium version available as an in app purchase if you so choose.

Themer Beta

[Price: Free]
Next up is Themer beta. This last week a rather large update came out for the popular launcher that includes various fixes and performance improvements along with icon support. So if you have a favorite icon pack and have been avoiding Themer Beta because of it, you can now go back to using it. Themer has been growing increasingly popular and even though it’s still in beta, many people swear by it. You can pick it up right now for free in in the Play Store if you so choose.

Cut the Rope 2

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
The popular Cut the Rope series got continued this last week with the release of Cut the Rope 2. Despite being plagued with what users are calling ridiculous IAPs, the game still apparently manages to rock a 4.5 rating in the Play Store so it can’t be all bad. It features the same basic game play elements as the first series with some new characters, powers, and mini games. It’s also free to play, so there’s no harm in trying it out.

Timehop

[Price: Free]
Timehop is a fun little application that shows you what you were doing on various social media sites a year ago. Each day you can check your Timehop and see what you posted on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as seeing where you went on Foursquare. It doesn’t support Google+ which sucks a little bit but if you use those other social networks, it can be a lot of fun to see what was up in your life a year ago. It’s also free, ‘nuff said.

Nitro Nation

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Nitro Nation is a new racing game from the makers of the popular Drag Racing game. Drag Racing was a great game but the graphics left a lot to be desired. In Nitro Nation, there are no such problems. It’s a beautiful game with a lot of detail and a lot of racing depth. There are in app purchases but so far people don’t seem to be complaining about them. It’s all drag racing so it’s mostly just hitting the gas and shifting gears at appropriate times. It’s also free to play so if you’re into racing, check this game out.