Posts in category: Android

Samsung managed to get exclusive Flipboard app on their newly launched specs monster Samsung Galaxy 3. To much surprise of the users, Flipboard was not served to wider android community via Google Play store. However, it didn’t stop enthusiastic XDA developers from nabbing the Flipboard APK. In fact, it is being served to all users of the community to try out making it a flop-exclusive app. Similar to Instagram, which was recently acquired by Facebook, Flipboard was the iOS only exclusive app catering smart users of iOS community.

Being in evolution phase, Internet has become almost an integral part of 21st century people. However, it doesn’t come free and ISP put data caps to restrict the over usage. Of course, there is a whole community of people who can not even think of living without Internet in their wildest dream. Internet data caps are reality and either users have to monitor the Internet usage on their device — be it Desktop, smartphone or tablet – or pay hefty bills after exceeding allotted data. Obviously, the latter option is not feasible solution hence it is necessary to find apps that can monitor internet usage and keep us alerted. Instead of covering apps of different category, we’re trying to narrow down our focus to Android handsets only.

All of the below apps will alert you of data usage. 3G Watchdog, as being my favorite app, goes one step further and provides you estimated data you could consume based on your daily usage. Needless to say that such data is very helpful if you’re performing repeated task all the days, like browsing favorite sites daily (say geniusgeeks), download songs etc. Some of the apps will let you monitor how much bandwidth is consumed by particular application and based on this analysis you can decide whether you should use it frequently or scarcely.

With overwhelming options available in Android marketplace (now Google Play), it increasingly becomes difficult for new Android users to decide which apps to install on their newly nabbed gadget. In fact, it is intimidating for new users to scrutinize the market to find potentially good applications from myriad of apps already present in the marketplace. The errand of finding apps proved to be ‘finding water in a desert’.

We’re avoiding any social apps like Google+, Facebook, Twitter (or clients) which most of our readers are aware of. The list is carefully curated keeping average Joes in mind. Of course, it would not be possible to justify each and every apps in this list. Last week, we also provided a guide to download Android apps from Google Play to PC, which might be useful to you if you’re planning to get Android device for yourself.

Android Apps for New Users

1. Mobile Security App

With myriad of security apps already available on Google Play, it was difficult for us to conclude any specific app. Obviously, AVG Mobilation’s AVG Antivirus is preferred choice simply because of the brand name and heaps of features it provides. AVG Antivirus for smartphone and tablet comes in both free and paid version. There are also few plugins available like App Locker which may come in handy in certain adverse situation.

Few other apps which are worth mentioning in this category are Lookout Mobile security, Avast, Dr. Web and Norton antivirus and security suite.

2. Android Web Browser

I wouldn’t be too harsh say that this section of Google Play is overcrowded with many junk, and useful too, Android web browser. Undeniably, Opera was the best and easiest choice for us to make. That doesn’t make Dolphin Browser HD or Skyfire any less competitive. It just that Opera mobile web browser is more appealing and compresses the data before serving it to the users. This saves significant amount of data and hence time. Featured phone users will find no surprise element as it carries the same features that is already present in Opera mini for java and Symbian handsets.

UC Browser, a browser hailing from Chine firewall, is underdog in this section. Of course, we haven’t underestimated Chrome beta either but Opera mini is still tad better. However, in the future Chrome may dethrone Opera from its position.

3. Super Booster

Do you feel helpless when your android device become sluggish and hard to even operate? In such case, Super Booster helps you to instantly boost up the speed of your device hitting 1-click speed up button. It is a perfect companion of task killer apps which help you to kill unnecessary tasks. Super Booster-memory optimizer also comes with inbuilt quick uninstaller (which we will discuss next) to uninstall undesired apps quickly.

Super Booster is also available in pro version, but free version works best for most of the task. It will let you terminate apps running in background, restart running task in one click, free up memory and other similar tasks.

4. Dropbox

Cloud storage is a solution of next generation’s burning questions regarding the ever increasing space requirement. Dropbox, a pioneer in this segment, offers a free Dropbox client for new Android users. If you are tech savvy and already using heaps of cloud services, then there are few decent all in one cloud service manager for Android we covered last week. The letter applications will let you manage multiple cloud storage service from your device. You can easily upload/ download files, music, documents, video etc using them.

Google Drive, the newest player in this arena also has a dedicated Google Drive app for Android user.

5. Easy Uninstaller

Are android apps eating too much space on your device? Most of us if not all, install various app and rarely uninstall apps that we use no more. Moreover, uninstalling apps one by by is time consuming and 19th century’s way of dealing with multiple apps. The process of uninstalling apps one-by-one is often cumbersome. This is where Easy uninstaller comes in picture. It displays all the third-party apps installed on your device from where one can decide to uninstall multiple apps at one go. There are two different, paid and free versions available.

Users can not uninstall pre-installed apps. For that you would need a root access and much powerful app like ‘root uninstall’.

6. 3G Data Monitoring

3G Watchdog governs your Internet usage. With extremely fast connections like 3G/ 4G/ Edge/ GPRS connection available to most of the country users, it becomes mandatory to monitor Internet usage. To save yourself from hefty data charges after exceeding datacap, it is vital for any internet user to keep a close watch on the internet usage. 3G Watchdog frequently notifies you about your data usage once you cross the pre-defined limit. Based on your daily usage, it can also predict monthly data you could use.

7. SMS Backup and Restore

Wouldn’t it be great if you can just backup and restore your SMS at your own will? That’s where SMS Backup and Restore app come into play. Besides normal backing up of your SMS, users could also schedule back up using this app. All the backups are created in XML format and stored into SD card. The app is available in various language so it could come in handy for non-English language user. There is also a provision for emailing the SMS file if you’re planning to wipe out all data or reset your device.

For certain reasons, we’ve excluded any game from the list. It would also not be possible to create a comprehensive list without missing few notable apps. However, the list should serve you as a good starter guide.

Hope, you’ve enjoyed installing android apps on your new device. New users will definitely find the list helpful. Let us know if you wish us to follow up this post.

Cloud storage service market was set on fire when Google decided to jump into the field with introduction of Google Drive. It would be safe to presume that many of our readers would have either opened multiple accounts or sign up to multiple services by now. The perplexing problem of getting yourself a decent amount of free space had been resolved by such service providers. Now comes the real life problem, how do you manage all accounts from one place? Of course, there is a solution for that and we have enlisted some of the best tools to manage multiple cloud storage accounts (includes otixo, joukuu and primadesk) on PC.

Samsung’s the next Galaxy device a.k.a. Samsung Galaxy S3 barged into the smartphone marketplace for the consumption of multi-core and RAM greedy Android fans. The news and reviews of Samsung flagship product has started popping up like mushroom and some of them are unexpectedly unpleasant. But unlike its precedence, which horrendously looks similar to Apple’s iPhone, the new Galaxy S3 doesn’t have any striking resemblance to any other iOS device. This new device befitting for a flagship comes with a series of impressive accessories.

Finally, the must awaited launch event of Samsung Galaxy S3 has taken place earlier today. After months of speculations and hype surrounding the next big thing in Android arena has been unveiled by Samsung. Yes, Samsung Galaxy SIII (S3) even took place and the new smartphone czar, who recently dethroned Nokia and took its place to sell higher number of smartphone, has been showcased at London.

In the past, Samsung had been accused of mimicking Apple iPhone product, sadly, this time around you may find some striking resemblance too. However, Samsung seems to have learned lesson or two and has made some subtle changes in the design. When it comes to hardware, Samsung has always over delivered. Instead of competing with giant Apple, it will be competing with its brethren HTC One X powered by latest Android OS. Galaxy SIII is carrying the burned of continuing the legacy of its predecessor Galaxy S2 which broke all sales records and brought Apple to its knees.