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The best apps for the BlackBerry PlayBook

Thanks to its tiny size, we’re getting a lot of use out of our PlayBook. Its app store is still nascent, but with RIM making sure that developers can easily bring over Flash-based games and functions, as well as a forthcoming app ‘player’ for Android and BlackBerry phone apps, the PlayBook could prove to be a huge stomping ground for your app needs.

Here’s our pick of the top apps for your PlayBook.

Need For Speed: Undercover

Tilting the tablet to steer may not be everyone’s cup of tea- it makes you look like someone’s mum playing a videogame for the first time- but veer sharply in NFS: Undercover
and your car will kick into drift-mode, sliding around corners, and smoking your rivals.

Like other touchscreen racers, your car is in constant acceleration, and you touch the screen to slow down.

There are several rivals to crash into as you race, and with some risky driving, you earn nitro and a even a time-slowing ability to avoid crashing into incoming traffic

This looks to be the PlayBook’s graphical showcase, making the most of its super-sharp screen, and arrived free to download on our RIM tablet.

iGizmo

Not sure if we should be writing up a rival’s app, but iGizmo’s speed to develop its eMag for the PlayBook is admirable.

Featuring embedded video content, whole issues can be downloaded for viewing offline, while the magazine content features zoom-in photography, and can be viewed in either portrait or landscape. if you’re looking for gadget news, here’s an easily digestable way to get it, even if some of the news dates quickly.

WeZap

Featuring Bob, a sweet monster who got a rocket for a present, it’s got a beautiful hand-made feel to it. Playing is simple; connect cables between blocks in the way,  blowing them up so Bob can carry on. There’s one problem, no pause button. This means you may have top sacrifice your big score if you get distracted by your phone/job/family/ fire.

Vector Runner

Channelling the ghost of gaming past this wireframe racer hurtles you down a track, where the aim is to avoid death by wireframe towers and mines, whilst collecting little cubes to boost your speed and score.

Vector Runner also benefits from a high pressure soundtrack, and all the chip loop sound effects you’ll ever need. Vector Runner currently costs 85p.

Calculator

Are we allowed to include the built-in calculator app? We say yes, if only for the addictive clearing function- which tears off the print-out ‘receipt’ on the left of the calculator.

For those of us who can’t remember the rules of calculation there’s even brackets buttons! Hopefully foolproof.


TouchUp Pro

A simple photo editor to crop, and adjust brightness and contrast on any pictures found on your PlayBook.

This means editing isn’t limited to photos taken on the built-in cameras.
Other features include eye reduction and colour shifting, for those moody retro effects. The TouchUp Pro is currently priced at £1.65, but there’s also a trial version available.

WeatherEye HD

This weather app gives you several different forecast options; hours, short-term and long-term.

Setup your city, and it’ll stream a load of meteorological data into the PlayBook, from humidity to visibility. Oh, and it’ll forecast the weather and temperature, if you need that sort of thing…

Hahlo

Technically not an app, this web-based Twitter client has been optimised for the PlayBook and has already replaced Twitter.com for our tweeting needs.

We feel less guilty since RIM decided to make a shortcut to the original website appear like a stand-alone app. The cheek!

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