Southam Apps

Software, built with care.

Under the Southam Apps name I design and publish Android apps as an independent developer — small, thoughtful tools I build end to end.

I'm largely self-taught, and I treat each app as a chance to learn something new: interface design, solving a real problem cleanly, and the discipline of shipping to real users through the Google Play Store. My apps are published under the nz.southam namespace and are built to be genuinely useful rather than attention-grabbing.

Looking for my Teaching Tools? They can be found here: Teaching Tools

Compass World News

A clean, fast way to read the news.

Compass World News brings your news together in one well-designed app. Follow the sources you choose, organise them into topics, and read the way you like. Where a story is covered across the spectrum, it can group those reports together, so you can see how different outlets are framing the same event — handy for anyone who likes to read widely before forming a view.

Two features push that further. A political lean dial lets you shift where across the spectrum you're reading, and blindspot mode surfaces the stories one side has barely touched — the gaps a single feed would never show you. Throughout, it stays private: no trackers, no ads.

And for when you've read enough, it comes with three games built in: Compass Flap, a quick one-tap arcade game; Bearing Guess, a test of your eye for a compass bearing; and Compass 2048, the sliding-tile number puzzle.

Multi-source Custom feeds & topics Perspective view Political lean dial Blindspot mode Private Reader options Daily digest Nine themes Three built-in games
View on Google Play →
Findaroo

Colourful word search puzzles for curious minds.

Findaroo takes the classic word search and makes it brighter and more playful: drag a colourful trail across the grid to find every hidden word, then level up through bigger grids and trickier words as you go. With 38 categories — from animals and mythical creatures to world languages and the periodic table — plus three game modes and settings for font, text size and timer, it's built to suit a wide range of ages and reading levels.

38 categories Traditional · Timed · Expert 6 world languages Adjustable font & text size Levels & star ratings Free with ads · Pro unlock
View on Google Play →
SlashKit

A Minecraft command builder, right in the browser.

Minecraft's command syntax is fiddly and unforgiving — one misplaced bracket and nothing happens. SlashKit turns it into something you can point at: pick from 92 command templates across eight categories, fill in the blanks, and copy out something that works. It covers both Bedrock and Java, and both chat and command blocks.

It's finished, and it deliberately isn't an app you install. Nothing to download, nothing to keep updated, no store listing to go through — open the page on a phone or a desktop and it's ready to use, free.

92 commands Eight categories Bedrock & Java Chat or command block Nothing to install Free
Open the web app →

Get in touch

Questions about an app, feedback, or a support request? I read every message and reply personally.