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5 Crazy Android Apps We Never Thought Would Exist

May 1st, 2012 Admin Comments Off

In the world of tech, sometimes the jokes just write themselves. When you have a platform that’s as open as Android is, it makes sense that app developers would write amusing applications that are designed to make us laugh more than actually being useful.

We decided to look for off the wall apps just because we figured you would need a laugh at least once in a while — check these out!

First and foremost, we have a Dog Whistler app. The old school dog whistles work by using hit pitched sounds that humans cannot detect but dogs sure can. So this app uses a high frequency sound wave that can get your dog to finally pay attention to you. Don’t expect your dog to respond overnight, but if you train them to come to that whistle, they certainly will!


Speaking of interesting apps, we also found a Metal Detector. This app isn’t going to turn you into a treasure hunter like the guys on television, but you will be able to see about the metal devices that are right around your phone. It’s more of a “look what we can code” more than anything else.


From here, you have a Super Hypnotherapist app. This is supposed to help you fall asleep, but the jury is still out in terms of effectiveness. Some people report that it’s soothing, but many just think it’s more toy than anything else.


For fans of old memes, there’s a Cleverbot app. You can talk to a robot app that is so realistic you almost feel like you’re talking to a human. Thankfully, it’s just programming at work. Smart programming, but programming nonetheless.


Finally, there’s Zombie, Run! — a very cool app. It’s hilarious — the app is a game that displays a map of your surrounding area. It projects flesh hungry zombies on the screen at various locations that all have one thought in mind: eating you! Your mission? Run from the zombies before you get caught. It’s a great way to get your run in without feeling bored. Okay, so it might even be a little practical, but we aren’t going to admit that. No way. No sir.


There’s tons of fun little apps in the Android Market, so if you haven’t been in a way it’s definitely a good idea to go back and see what those wacky Android developers are actually up to! Check it out for yourself!

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Video Conferencing Applications for Android Mobile Phones

April 9th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

It is a lot easier to hold business meetings when you have access to the possibility of using video conferencing. Android is great when referring to business needs that people have and when referring to video, it does not disappoint. There are actually many applications that will offer video conferencing ease and we are going to talk about the most commonly used ones.

First on the list needs to be Qik Video Connect. Its interface will be different when thinking about the iOS counterpart and the Android version will feature 4 blocks on the screen. Every single one is a specific function. The included functions are Video Chat, Video Mail, Video Gallery and Record and Share. Even if the Android version is different in appearance when compared with the iOS version, the functionality remains the same. Video Mail is a feature that you might find to be really interesting. It is highly similar to Voice Mail but it will utilize video. The big advantage stands in the fact that video quality will be better than on live chat due to it being pre-recorded.

You might also want to use Tango, which is impressive as it allows users to have cross-platform video chat. This basically means that you can also chat with a friend that will use iOS instead of Android. This is definitely a feature that you are going to like and there is also the addition of the fact that video quality is really high. Users appreciated how easy it was to use Tango and the fact that it will work on both 3G and 4G networks at the same time. You can easily find your friends with the use of Tango as you can search for different contacts that use the application. Just look them up by phone number using the app feature to locate friends.

Fring is a video conferencing app that scores high at easiness of use. The interface is not cluttered and even first time Android users are going to quickly understand everything that has to be done. The video quality is pretty good although it will be a little lower when compared to the iPhone version. However, the main advantage is that you can visit the Android site and download Fring for free.

In the future there will surely be other video conferencing applications that are going to be great and even now the choice is wider than what was presented. Make sure that you choose an app based on your needs and your conferencing requirements.

If you are looking to buy a new phone – check out these android and iphone deals.

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RPG Games That Can Be Played on Android Phones

February 9th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

Nowadays mobile phone games look a lot better than in the past. The first evolution came with the addition of cameras and everything continued to grow. Now we started to see the Internet being taken advantage of and what is interesting is the fact that there are some games that are available for Android phones that look really good and are technologically advanced. There are even some smart phones that have been especially created in order to be used for mobile gaming like Xperia Play. It features similar controls to the PS3 and PSP and uses advanced technology to offer a unique gaming experience.

There are not many RPG games that are currently available for mobile phone play. One of the most popular at the moment is Zenonia 2. It is a Japanese RPG that is extremely similar to Final Fantasy games that appeared in the early nineties. It features 2D graphics that are really good and we are in front of one of the best RPG games that are currently available for Android phones. It is inspired by RPGs that are popular in Japan but is made in Korea.

Another RPG game that works on Android is Gurk. It is one that will always be appreciated by people that grew in the eighties. We are in front of a video game that only occupies 100kb but the action it offers is quite impressive. Even if the graphics do look old, they are color and the game is a blast to play. It will feature 23 monsters and 24 levels to go through. Gurk is definitely not a game that will be appreciated by a modern gamer but if you remember playing fondly on that old Nintendo system, you will most likely appreciate this one too.

The last really popular RPG game that should be mentioned is Dungeon Defenders: First Wave. It is highly similar to Baldur’s Gate and Torchlight and for most Android phones, the game will be available for free. Graphics are 3D and they do look really attractive for a game that will cost you nothing to play. The only problem is that it will borrow different elements from popular RPG games but we do not expect this to be a problem.

At the moment the choice of RPG games for the fan that has an Android phone is limited but gaming companies did announce that this is going to soon change.

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New Trojan Making Its Rounds Through the Android Sector

February 6th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

Android’s popularity is showing in a big way, though not in the way that we would like: Symantec has just reported that as many as 5 million Android handsets are infected with a trojan called Android Counterclank. The malware is embedded into a lot of different apps in the Android Market.

So, what does this malware actually do? Once it’s downloaded, the tainted app launches services that spill information about the device back to the malicious host, including your MAC Address, SIM Serial, IMEI, and IMSI.


The estimate is just that — an estimate. Android Counterclank may be installed on anywhere from 1 million to 5 million devices.

Want to know if you’re infected? You can look for the presence of a “search” icon on the home screen — it’s pretty easy to see.

Symantec is still doing their investigation, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t look and make sure that you don’t have one of these already identified apps hiding out.

There are 3 publishers at the heart of the attacks — iApps7 Inc, Ogre Games, and redmicapps.

iApps7 Inc’s apps in question include Counter Elite Force, Counter Strike Ground Force, Counterstrike Hit Enemy, Heart Live Wallpaper, Hit Counter Terrorist, and Stripper Touch Girl.

For Ogre Games, the games in question include Balloon Game, Deal & Be Millionaire, and Wild Man.

For redmicapps, the apps in question include Pretty Women Lingerie Puzzle, Sexy Girls Photo Game, Sexy Girls Puzzle, and Sexy Women Puzzle.

If you have any of these apps on your device, you will need to uninstall them immediately. To do this, you’re going to want to open up the Menu, go to Settings and then selection Applications. From there, click Manage. Finally, you will want to select the application you want to remove and click the uninstall button.

You will need to do this for every app that is questionable on your device. Don’t forget that there are protections for your Android phone — after all, who wants to be left worrying about the next trojan making the rounds? You can install Norton Mobile Security which will protect your Android phone from threats. It’s in the Android Market, of course!

Factory reset should be considered a last resort because you will lose any data that isn’t backed up.

Hang in there, Android fans — these trojans come and go. If anything, look on the bright side — people consider Android a serious player now, which is why you’re seeing threats against the platform. Proper protection and prevention will let you enjoy your Android phone for a long time, though!

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3D Technology – Yes, Check Out the Evo 3D!

January 30th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

The world of content is always changing, and it seems like cell phones are rushing to take advantage of all of these changes. In order to stay interesting to the public, cell phone makers have to make sure that the next wave of phones is always more interesting than the last. That’s a tough act to keep up with, but we think that they do pretty okay so far.

What phone are we talking about now? Well, if you’re interested in the Sprint side of things, we have to mention the HTC Evo 3D.

Is this going to be a high end phone? Definitely. Is it going to necessarily be on par with the Galaxy series or other phones in that class? We’ll let you be the judge of that.

This phone has a lot of “firsts” going for it. It’s the first 3D smartphone released to the US market, and it’s also one of the first phones to run the HTC Sense 3.0 user interface. A lot of people have had pretty high expectations of what this phone should be like so let’s get down into the specs to really see what’s going on under the hood, shall we?

When you look at the phone, you might not be sure what’s so special about it. However, when you turn on the phone, that all changes.

The front of the phone starts revealing what’s really going on here. You will have a 4.3-inch display at qHD resolution. For those that aren’t in the loop, that’s a resolution of 540×960. That’s HUGE compared to the classic 480×800, and the extra space makes a difference. You’re going to have more pixels on the screen, which will make all of your images and graphics a lot sharper. It should also be harder to notice those individual dots on the screen.

You’ll see the 1.3MP front-facing camera, as well as the earpiece.

When you flip the phone over, that’s when you’re going to get to the 3D capability. It’s displayed in the form of double cameras that work together to render 3D content you’re viewing. Both cameras are 5MP, which means image size is going to be pretty decent. (more…)

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What You Should Know About the Android E-Reader by Kobo

January 17th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

Kobo Vox is a very interesting e-reader device that has been launched by Kobo. It is suitable for many different user types and it will integrate different communication, web browsing and social networking features in an e-reader. This is a device that is similar to others on the market in the sense that all the basic functions that you expect are going to be included. You can easily read electronic books without having to use a PC and the favorite book can be read wherever you go.

Kobo Vox will offer a color screen and this is one feature that has been demanded by different e-readers. The screen will allow you to read eBooks with ease and the same goes for any other document that includes pictures and color graphics. Even if this is a new device, it does not actually have something that is truly revolutionary. It is hard to do this anyway since basic functions is all that most people use.

One of the biggest advantages of Kobo Vox is the fact that it uses Android as an operating system. At the moment the device is marketed as a social e-reader and it is the first one on the market from this point of view. It will feature different unique apps that will make sharing info with other people a lot easier. Users can easily connect with different social networks like Twitter and Facebook by simply clicking a button. It is really easy to comment on books online thanks to some applications.

It can be said that the social features of Kobo Vox is what makes the device really interesting. Many users will appreciate this since you can communicate with other people and you can spot recommendations made. The truth is that all the different applications that can be included will transform the device into a tablet PC and not necessarily an e-reader. However, this is what people really want to see at the moment and there is a growing trend in including as many apps as possible and Internet applications will always be popular together with social networking applications.

The bottom line is that Kobo Vox is a useful e-reader that you might want to seriously look at. It offers all that you need when referring to eBook reading and you will definitely appreciate the additions that were mentioned above. Keep in mind that buying online will bring in a better price tag.

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Android Music Player Applications that You Might Want to Use

January 17th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

There are many different music player apps that have been designed for an Android powered mobile phone. One really interesting application is Double Twist Player. It is currently considered to be the best one on the market. It will help you to find music that you want to hear on the Android phone and it can synchronize with desktop PCs through WI-Fi connections. It will detect music files and if you own a MAC, this can be done with the use of iTunes. All basic functions are free for the app.

We need to also refer to TuneWiki. It is really interesting as it is the only application that is available at the moment when you need lyrics and a connection to a social network that helps you discover music. You can see song lyrics on the device while the track is played and it is impressive to notice that the lyrics can be translated to 40 languages. TuneWiki will help you to find users and follow them. Look at what they listen to and use included tops and charts to find new songs.

PowerAmp is another powerful Android music application that can play different files like WMA, WAV, ALAC, MP3 and FLAC. There are 10 band equalizers included and even a sleep timer that can stop the song after a chosen time. You can use the app to play music that is present in specific Android folders or from a library. Different home screen widgets can be included so that fast music control becomes a reality. Even Last.fm scrobbling is possible.

You might want to use PlayerPro if you want to be able to download and search lyrics only when you want them. This is a music player that will automatically download album art and this will save a lot of time. Mixable audio effects can be included for various devices that are powered by the Android platform. A 5 band equalizer with many presets is included.

WinAmp is the most popular free music player for desktop computers and there is also a version available for Android phones. You can easily play and manage music files while also being able to gain access to a series of very useful music management tools. WinAmp managed to make a wonderful transition from the PC to the smart phone that is powered by Android and it is expected to have many users in the near future.

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5 Android Apps That You Might Want To Use

January 17th, 2012 Admin Comments Off

Android is highly popular at the moment and there are thousands of different apps that have been developed till now. It is really hard to recommend just five but after looking at what people are downloading and using, some do stand out as really popular.

The first one on the list is the Home Security System Android App. Most people will be skeptic when looking at it but it is one of those handy applications that are going to help you to monitor and control the security of your home from the Android mobile phone. You basically get updates and alarms whenever something happens.

The second application that has to be considered is the Kindle Android App, which is useful when you want to read books on the phone. It will also work on a PC and on the iPod. The great thing is that there are thousands of free books available. However, most will be paid. Even so, there are over 1 million books that you can read on your mobile phone thanks to this application.

If you use Facebook, you will most likely also want to download and install the Facebook Android app. It will help you to easily stay connected with friends and it has to be mentioned that the page layouts are simply superb. Navigation is really smooth and there is support for many Facebook accounts. You can easily make the switch whenever necessary, add friends, update statuses and almost all things that you regularly do on your personal computer.

The Microsoft Office Android app is another application that is of great use. There are many included features that allow you to view Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word files with ease. The only problem is that the demo version will not allow you to create files or edit them. For this there is a need to purchase the app. However, you can use the application to download files from Google Docs directly and this is definitely something you are going to like.

The last application on the list is Recipe Search. This is useful to search through thousands of different recipes. Learn about how to cook some of the most incredible meals and see the ingredients that are necessary. Complete cooking directions are offered and this will help you to efficiently cook food and make it taste better. There are also special recipes for people that suffer from diseases like diabetes.

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So What’s All of the Fuss About Android, Anyway?

December 28th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

We wanted to talk Android today. Well, when you really get us talking honestly about things, we have to admit that there’s always a good time to talk about Android. We really like the platform and we think that it brings a lot of good stuff to the table. But you have to make user that you know what you’re getting into when it comes to not only the software side of things, but also the hardware side. There are a lot of things that are going to differ from your experience if you’ve been an iPhone user for a long time, and this can be a good thing if you’re willing to adapt to another platform.

We think that the first feature that we really want to highlight would have to be automation. The Android platform allows a lot of user control, which can be a blessing as well as a curse. Yes, you have system level control over so much of the phone, but the truth is that you can mess up your system badly if you really don’t know what you’re doing. Thankfully, there’s plenty of documentation online that can help you keep your Android phone running smoothly.

Automation comes from the Android app called Tasker, which is one of the most powerful apps for Android going. It lets you turn settings on and off based on location, time of day, and just about anything else you can think of. As you get better with setting up Tasker, you will be able to access a lot of deep settings on your phone automatically. Try to do that with a Blackberry. We dare you.

Next up is the ability to set up custom home launchers. You can add gestures, new shortcuts, and low level settings that might be able to speed up older Android phones. Two apps that we would recommend in this case would be LauncherPro or ADWLauncher. There’s a lot of customization and configuration that you can do with your device, so don’t think that you have to really settle for something that you really don’t want to use frequently.

Widgets are another area of Android that we just love. Yes, other platforms claim to use widgets in the same way, but nothing really comes close to the power that you get from Android. We really love the to-do list widget, because it puts your tasks right in your face. Even as you are swiping through home screens, you’re always going to see what’s going on behind the scenes.

Another thing that we love about Android is that you get removable storage and battery. So if you really want to upgrade the space that you have with your Android phone, you can definitely do that. If you want to change out the battery and get an extended use battery in there, you can definitely do this as well. It’s completely up to you to figure out what you want. It’s completely up to you to figure out how you’re going to move from point A to point B on an Android phone. If your battery stops working with the iPhone, then you’re going to have to replace the whole phone — you can’t just pop in a new battery on your own.

Wireless app installation is something that can be pretty exciting. You can actually go out to the Android Market, find the apps that you want and hit install. It’ll be on your phone the next time you pick it up. No wires, no trickiness of any kind. Install, boom, done.

If you’re more technically inclined and you really want to hack your phone, there are custom ROMs available. The entire OS is open source, which means that people have taken it, tweaked it, and come up with their own version. You can add a lot of functionality to your phone without a lot of effort. Of course, the phone is definitely useable with just a few apps, so you don’t have to feel like you have to do too terribly much. Now is the perfect time to make sure that you’re looking at getting everything you can to make sure that you really get to enjoy your Android to the fullest.

Have you ever wanted to control your phone from your computer? You can definitely do that — you can actually do a bit — sending texts from Chrome or accessing a lot of different phone functions. Of course, this is a little geekier than what you might want to do, so keep that in mind too.

Of course, if there’s one thing that people like about Android, it’s the fact that you can view Flash websites and videos. Flash is something that a lot of people don’t want to go without, and there’s a lot of content that is simply Flash only. After all, who doesn’t like the idea of being able to look through YouTube freely, or a thousand other Flash based websites?

One app that has a lot of people excited about Android would have to be Google Voice. Even though GV has come to the iPhone, the truth is that Android provides a more integrated experience. Android fans can really use Google Voice to make all of your phone calls. This is something that can happen automatically, which is always a good thing. Custom phone and text apps flow so smoothly on Android, and the open source aspect is really what makes this happen.

So, if you’re thinking about trying to get a great phone, we hope that you’ll think about an Android phone. However, if you would rather go with another platform, that’s fine too — trust us, we will definitely not be angry at all with your decision!

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Disposing of Your Old Android Phone Without Getting Hit with an Early Termination Fee!

September 16th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

The call of Android is pretty hard to ignore. Yet if you already have a phone and a contract to go with it, it might be difficult to actually get your hands on the Android of your dreams. Of course, does it really have to be this way? If you’ve read many of our other guides, you’ll realize that everything is possible with the right solution. The solution is clear: it’s not the fact that you want a new phone, it’s the fact that you need to get out of your old contract.

Maybe your old phone is really good, too — here’s a way that you can help your old phone find a home and still be able to get the phone that you ultimately want. The method is called a change of responsibility, but you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you’ve never heard of the term until now. That’s because it used to be one of those things that were only known to customer service representatives, but now the secret is definitely out: you don’t have to get dinged with that ETF fee if you can find someone to just take over your phone lines.

Thankfully, we all seem to have that one person that’s been dying to get with another company, but they just haven’t taken the time to go out to the kiosk and sign up for service. A change of responsibility does often involve a credit check, but this is one that’s a lot more flexible than the one that might have received at the store anyway.

So, what do they have to do? Well, it really all starts with you: you will need to make sure that you’re giving permission for them to call in about your account to do the change of responsibility in the first place. From there, you will need to also let the company know that you’re giving up all ties to that phone, line, and phone number. You usually can’t take your number with you when you do a COR, but every carrier is different.

After that, the only thing that your person of choice needs to do is make sure that they call in and handle the change of responsibility. They’ll most likely need to go to a different department, but again, this varies based on the carrier you go with.

This leaves you free, after the transfer has taken place, to go with another carrier and get the Android phone that you want. Since you’ll be a new customer, you probably will get a huge list of different offers to choose from. It just depends on what you’re trying to achieve here. If you want to get a bunch of lines for a family plan, then you can definitely do this as well. However, if you’re not trying to go in that direction, you will need to make sure that you just get a single line — it’s cheaper that way in the long run.

Overall, it’s a pretty straightforward process: just do a change of responsibility and you’ll be well on your way to that sweet, sweet Android phone!

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