5 Android apps you shouldn't miss this week - Android Apps Weekly

• It’s been found that Google Photos will keep uploading your photos to Google even if you uninstall the app. This is because it’s integrated with the Google Settings app that’s on every Android phone. So if you want to disable it forever, you’ll have to do so using the Google Settings app which is a little weird.
• According to reports, Facebook is working on a virtual assistant called Moneypenny ostensibly named after the James Bond character. Unlike most, Moneypenny is a virtual assistant to help you shop for things and it’ll be integrated into Facebook Messenger. Of course, we’ll provide more information as we get it.
• Late last week, developer Beamdog announced that they’ll be releasing a standalone expansion to Baldur’s Gate called Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear. The game, which is coming later this year, will tell the tale of what happened between Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2.
• Twitter and its third party developers have been at odds for a long time thanks to Twitter’s ridiculous token limit that prevents Twitter apps from becoming super popular. In a recent announcement, Twitter has conceded that they need to make some changes and we hope that leads to more third party Twitter apps.
• After an absence due to some pranking, the Google Map Maker is re-opening its doors sometime in August. The improved version will have a stricter approval process and more moderation to prevent things like that prank where someone added an Android urinating on an Apple logo.

For even more Android apps and games news, updates, and new releases, don’t forget to check out this week’s newsletter! There we have the complete list of all the happenings in the app world including stuff we didn’t have time for here. If you’re so inclined, you can subscribe with your email and get this info beamed to your inbox every Friday!

[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Mountain Goat Mountain is a new game out of Zynga. It features some colorful and enjoyable graphics along with arcade-style game play. The premise is that you must climb mountains while avoiding obstacles. The mechanics are simple tapping and swiping so anyone can get into it. It is a Freemium title which means there are in-app purchases but overall, it’s a fun little time waster and something a little bit different out of Zynga.

[Price: Free]
WifiMapper is a new application that helps you find WiFi hotspots. The idea is that you open the app and it shows you a map where you can get access to free WiFi. According to the developers, the app shows over 650 million hotspots that you can access. The information is crowd sourced so you can add more if you find them and it also comes with Foursquare integration. You can also see a history of the hotspots you’ve connected to and how well they worked. It’s a solid app with some decent features and it’s free.

[Price: Free]
Red Bull Alert is a new alarm clock application that aims to get you up and out of bed before hitting the snooze alarm. It does this by integrating a social aspect where you can compete with your friends to see who wakes up the fastest. The app will also track your progress (or lack thereof) so you can see if the app actually does help you wake up faster. It’s a fun premise and it’s free to use.

[Price: Free]
HERE Maps is already a popular offline navigation option but this last week, Nokia released a public beta. It’s a bit convoluted to get as you have to join the beta group, become a beta tester, and then finally download the app. The public beta will have new features, a new UI design, and will be the place where Nokia tests all their new ideas. Do beware because that means there are bugs too. Click the button below for instructions on how to get it!

[Price: Free demo / $1.53]
Last up this week is a new first person shooter called Traitor – Valkyrie Plan. This is an FPS game based on a true story from World War 2 and features decent graphics, plenty of shooting, and you’ll also need a bit of stealth. The mechanics are fairly simple and manages to miss a lot of the pitfalls of other shooters by sticking to a simpler mechanic. Of course, this means that it isn’t as exciting as some shooters. In either case, it’s cheap and fun.

Wrap up

If we missed any great Android apps and games news, tell us about it in the comments! See you all next week on the Android Apps Weekly show!