Top Windows Phone 8.1 Start Screen Apps

While the Windows Telephone Start Screen has never really sucked wind, the features the Windows Phone 8.ane update brings to the table takes the Commencement Screen to a new level. We still have Alive Tiles that can deliver bullets of information to keep us upwards to date on everything from the weather, our schedule, stock prices, sports scores and more.

But with Windows Phone 8.ane, our ability to customize our Beginning Screen has increased with transparent tiles, custom background images and the selection of calculation a 3rd column of tiles to devices who previously lacked this feature. This week's roundup will focus on Windows Phone apps that will help you make the well-nigh of your Windows Telephone Start Screen. From adding transparent tiles to creating a custom tile colour, these apps can help you brand your Windows Phone a fiddling bit more your own.

Group Tiles (Free)

Grouping Tiles is a Windows Phone app for those who like to take a little more than organization to their Start Screen. Grouping Tiles does not create an app folder but rather a Alive Tile label to help yous group and identify collections of Alive Tiles.

For example, if you have a large collection of photography apps pinned to your Start Screen you tin create a photography tile that will better distinguish this group of Live Tiles.

The interface is simple and straightforward with tools to:

• Choose your Live Tile mode from a collection of preset styles or create your own style.
• Add text to the Live Tile
• Add icon graphics
• Customize the color scheme (or brand it transparent)

Group Tiles has support for Wide, Medium and Small tiles merely y'all accept to pre-determine the size you want created. While you cannot adapt the tile size from the Showtime Screen, if you lot modify things within the app those modifications are automatically reflected in one case you salvage the tweaked design.

Live Tile creations tin can exist backed up to your OneDrive and the free app is limited to a maximum of three Live Tiles. When you reach that limit, you can buy the upgrade to the Unlimited Grouping version for $.99.

Grouping Tiles is an interesting app and can bring a petty customized organization to your Windows Phone 8.1 Start Screen. Group Tiles is a free app (once more limited to three Live Tiles) that you tin pick up hither in the Windows Phone Store.

Offset Perfect (free trial/$.99)

Start Perfect may very well be your i finish store for customizing your Windows Telephone 8.1 Start Screen. Commencement Perfect is from the developers of Transparency Tiles (which is included) and offers a healthy collection of tools to help you tweak and transform your First Screen to match your style.

Get-go Perfect's interface is elementary and spread out beyond several pages that include:

• Apps: While many developers have updated their apps and games to support transparent Live Tiles, some have non. This page has a respectable listing of transparent Live Tiles for various apps that have not been updated yet.
• Settings: Demand to pin a Windows Phone 8.i setting to your Start Screen?
• Website: How about a Live Tile to give y'all directly access to a item website?
• Blanks: If you need to add a spacer between groups of Live Tiles or just need a piddling elbowroom to bear witness off your groundwork image, hither'southward your tool. A flip bland tile options is as well available.

• Labels: Much similar Grouping Tiles, this tool allows you to create label tiles that can be used organize your First Screen.
• Fills: Adopt a solid colored background? Start Perfects Fills Tool will let y'all customize solid background color that will basically create a new theme colour when displayed through transparent tiles. Yous also have the selection to apply a slope color or create a poly background as well.
• Tints: The Tints Tool allows yous to apply a colored tint to your background image.

The only thing missing from Beginning Perfect would be a source for background images. Information technology is actually a nice collection of customization tools for Windows Phone 8.1. There is a free trial version available for First Perfect with the full version running $.99. You can detect Start Perfect here in the Windows Telephone Store.

PolyScreen (Free)

PolyScreen is a low-poly fashion wallpaper generator. Low-poly style meshes together quantities of polygons that vary in size and color (or shades of colour) that can make for a vibrant, unique background image for your Windows Phone 8.1 Offset Screen. The wallpapers tin as well give your Lockscreen a little pop as well.

The layout for PolyScreen falls in line with most Commencement Screen apps, simple. You lot take 4 control tiles lining the lesser of the screen with a preview of your creation filling the screen. The control tiles are equally follows:

• Editor: This button pulls upwardly your colour palette options, adjust the size and padding for your polygons and add racket to the image. The color palette has options to choice your accent colors, generate a random colour range, customize your colour range and admission the full brewer for colors.
• Randomizer: I'm not exactly sure what to telephone call this push (second from the left) but it seems to randomize the polygon pattern while maintaining the size and padding.
• Download: When you take things just right, you can proper noun the image file and download it to your Pictures Hub.
• Charge per unit/Review: The last control tile sends you to PolyScreen's Store listing to rate and review the app.

An undo push button is also present and located in the upper left corner of the screen. The developer is actively updating this app and we should see a Hexadecimal reader in the color picker and Hard disk drive imaging with future updates.

PolyScreen is a uncomplicated means to add a unique, colorful background image to your Windows Phone 8.1 Start Screen. PolyScreen is a costless app that you tin can notice here in the Windows Phone Store.

Whatsoever Tile Color (Free)

It doesn't go much more than simpler than Any Tile Color. This Windows Phone app lets you choose a colour either from a colour picker or by entering the color's Hex Number and a background image is generated using that color.

While not perfect, Any Tile Color is a simple mode to create a pseudo-theme color using transparent tiles. Groundwork images are saved to your Pictures Hub where they tin be called in your Windows Phone 8.i settings as a background image.

Easy as pie.

Any Tile Color is a complimentary app and you lot can notice Any Tile Color hither in the Windows Phone Store.

Any Standouts?

The one matter all four of these customization apps have in common is simplicity. All four Windows Phone 8.i Start Screen apps are like shooting fish in a barrel to employ and requires petty effort to add personalization to your Commencement Screen.

Each approaches things a lilliputian different with First Perfect being the more comprehensive option. If you want to minimize the number of Start Screen apps installed on your Windows Phone, Start Perfect is well worth the $.99 toll tag.

PolyScreen is a neat trivial app and with a little patience, you can create some rather squeamish looking background images. Any Tile Colour is a simple way to create a background image that mimics a custom theme colour.

Group Tiles is an interesting app that may not appeal to everyone though. It will be interesting to see if the developer can come up with additional Live Tile sizes (give-and-take is they are working on it). I could run into a wide tile that is half the height having appeal to label groups of Live Tiles.

Along with the four highlighted Windows Telephone apps, here are a few more than apps that can assist you customize your Windows Phone 8.1 Start Screen.

• Zedge Ringtones and Wallpapers (Gratis): While Zedge may not be able to create Live Tile spacers or generate transparent tiles, information technology is a prissy source for background images and ringtones. Background images can pull double duty as your Start Screen background or Lockscreen wallpaper. Ringtones tin also pull double duty as your Windows Phone ringer or notification sounds. (Shop Link)​
• Start Screen Customizer (Gratis): First Screen Customizer includes tools to create three styles of Start Screen backgrounds. You can create a solid colour, add an accent colour to an existing image or create a slope colour epitome. The app also has the ability to pin an empty, transparent tile to your Start Screen to serve as a spacer or simply to reveal more of your groundwork. (Store Link)​
• Transparency Tiles (Free): From the developer of First Perfect, this app merely provides transparent tiles for apps that accept yet to jump on board with the run across-through tile support. From Xbox Music to 6Snap, Transparency Tiles has a overnice list of apps that continues to grow. It is a nice option for those not needing all the tools Start Perfect offers. (Shop Link)​
• Accent Builder (Free): This app allows you lot to categorize your Kickoff Screen Alive Tiles by using private colors for each column of tiles. (Shop Link)

The number of Windows Phone 8.1 Start Screen apps seems to grow daily and if we have disregarded your favorite app, let us know below in the comments.

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Microsoft is calculation a new feature to Xbox consoles, allowing you to permanently store upwards to 2 games in a Quick Resume state at all times. The feature is heading out first to Xbox Insiders in the Blastoff testing ring before hitting the general public.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/top-windows-phone-81-start-screen-apps

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