Archive for the ‘Apps’ Category

Learn English Reading JFK Gives You The Power To Make Language Come Alive!

May 20th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

If there’s one gift that truly keeps on giving, it would definitely have to be the gift of education. Indeed, learning is something that we all need to continue doing in order to really take advantage of everything that life has to offer. Now, you might come to a point where you really do need to think about other skills that you need to develop. For example, if you know that your English isn’t the best or you want to grow in the language, you need to pick up some English lessons.

Of course, this is pretty obvious. Why wouldn’t you want to speak better English and grow your vocabulary? That’s not to say that your home language isn’t beautiful — but there’s a certain power in learning English well.

Now, we’re all about things Android around here, and we feel there’s no reason to not combine the power of the Android platform with great software and your desire to really learn a new skill. As we looked around for software that would meet our needs, we stumbled across Learn English Reading JFK.

Strange name? Not really — it describes exactly what you’re going to do. You might have heard this before — in order to really learn how to speak English well, you will need to make sure that you actually learn English from a source that is not only timeless, but will help you understand some idioms and other “quirks” about the English language. It will make you sound more natural as an English speaker, which most people learning English as a second language dream about anyway.

The app allows you to pull upon the power of audiobooks in order to learn English in a more natural way. What better source material can you think of that could compare to JFK’s famous inaugural speech?

There is a built-in dictionary, as well as flashcard technology. Now it’s easier than ever before to reinforce English lessons without feeling like you’re going backwards.

These days, English is the language of business and even style — so why wouldn’t you arm yourself with a free app like Learn English Reading JFK? Check it out — you might just learn a thing or two!

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Rule the Open Road with 5 Android Apps for Your Car

April 13th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Ah, the open road — is there really anything like it? If you’re a huge road geek and an Android user at the same time, you’re really in for a treat — there are plenty of Android apps to choose from. Instead of worrying about how to really maximize your trip experiences, you will just need to think about getting the right apps on your Android phone.

Not sure what apps to even think about? You’re in luck — we picked out 5 Android apps that are definitely designed to rock the house — err, car.

1. Vlingo

Staying safe on the road means going handsfree — you’re not dreaming of holding that phone to your ear, are you? Really? After all of the news…well, never mind. In a nutshell, Vlingo basically lets your hands stay on the steering wheel and your voice does the heavy lifting. It can look up companies for you, as well as take notes and send text messages for you as well. Your mileage will vary a bit at the beginning, since you have to train it a bit to get it to work. However, Vlingo still makes the top spot because who doesn’t want to be as safe as possible in the car?

2. GasBuddy

Unless you’re running one of those modified fuel tanks in your car, you need gasoline — sweet crude oil gasoline, we mean. Call it what you want, if you run out of it, you’re going to really be up a creek without a …well, you know what we mean. GasBuddy is free and it lists all the nearby gas stations using your location. You can get details about each and every station so that you’re not making the mistake of visiting a station that doesn’t exist anymore. Now that would be a real drag.

3. Wardrive

A geek and their Wi-Fi are hard to part — but if you’re a real road warrior, you might have a hard time finding that sweet, sweet, wireless access. Don’t worry — just use Wardrive! It’s a sweet Android app that tells you exactly where your next Wi-Fi hotspot is. You can then drive to it or just hover around it — whichever won’t get you thrown in jail, of course. (more…)

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7 Sizzling Android Apps for Photographers

April 6th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

It’s said that when you have a great camera, the entire world opens up to you, just begging to be captured. OK, so that might just be the battle phrase of the truly passionate photographers, but what’s wrong with that? When you know that you really want to get the most out of taking pictures, you tend to look at anything that’s going to help you achieve this goal.

Most shutterbugs tend to be pretty tech savvy, but you still may not realize that the new Android phone you picked up can actually do some neat camera stuff as well. Of course, you’re not going to compose your next prize-winning photo on your cell phone, but you can explore pictures in a way that definitely goes beyond the stock abilities of your camera.

There are plenty of Android apps out there for photographers, but here are 7 of the most sizzling Android apps for photographers.

1. PHOforPHO

Who doesn’t like a free app? After all, you’ve probably spent good money for your Android phone, so it doesn’t hurt to have something that you can just add quickly to your phone to really improve your camera experience.

However, PHOforPHO is for people that already have mastered the basics of photography. If you need a program that will help you manage your SLR, this is definitely the app for you. What it actually does is

2. CamCalc

Another freebie Android app, and boy, what a freebie this one is! You can actually pick up CamCalc and instantly handle those little calculations every serious shutterbug needs to handle when you want to nail the perfect shot. If you find yourself on the road a lot with your “serious” camera and your phone at the same time, you’ll find that this is really a lifesaver.

3. Camera Magic

If you’re the type of person that isn’t impressed by the standard camera on cell phones, you’ll actually be impressed by Camera Magic. Instead of using the default camera, you will get a camera that also has true digital zoom as well as autofocus — great features that can help you really bring out the best in just about any picture you take. There are also plenty of filters available for you to use, making this choice a real winner for just about anyone that seriously wants to take some awesome pictures while they’re out experiencing the best that life has to offer. (more…)

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Pulse News Reader

March 29th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Pulse News Reader is a free app that allows you to easily keep up with news and your RSS feeds. The big draw for this app is that it easily integrates with your current Google Reader account and feeds. The unique tiled display of news items is a great alternative to the standard list type presented by most RSS reader apps including the official Google Reader app from Google.

A single tap on a news item in Pulse News Reader will open the article up in an easy to read, specifically formatted for mobile, format. You can change this option if you want to have a single tap open the item on the website in your browser, but for most websites, the mobile formatted text makes them much easier to read on your phone or tablet. If you’re using the first item viewing option, then you can even pinch-zoom or double-tap zoom to make the font sizes larger or smaller. Pulse has also recently added a feature to sync with your Facebook links feed. So, when someone shares a link on Facebook, it can appear in your “pulse”, and you can view it just like any of your other RSS items. Sharing items with Facebook, and even Twitter, is also super easy to do, as it only requires two taps, one to select share, and one to select where.

A great thing about Pulse is that it is very easy to use, and even comes with a tutorial should you feel the need to watch it. The app comes with many built in sources, but makes it easy to remove them and add other ones if you want to. The interfaces are all clean and polished, and make performing any task you want simple. There is even a customizable widget that comes with the app, which is basically a smaller version of the full app, depending on how you set it up.

With easy to use browsing features, searching features, and sharing features, Pulse News Reader does more than its name implies, and does it all well. It’s surprising to see an app as polished as this freely available on the Android Market that isn’t created by Google. This is a must have for people who follow many RSS feeds and want an easy way to read them all on their mobile Android Device.

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Google Chrome to Phone

March 16th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Google Chrome to Phone is a must have Android app from Google for anyone who uses Chrome as their regular browser on their computer. The app works in conjunction with the Chrome extension to send links straight to your phone. It will also work with a Firefox extension called Send to Phone, but as of now, users of other browsers are out of luck.

The features offered by this app make it very convenient to have. Specific links sent from the computer will even open up in their appropriate apps on your Android device. For instance, a links from Google Maps will open up in the Google Maps app, YouTube links will open up in the YouTube app (whether or not the video will actually play is a different story, because some videos have been marked as not playable on mobile devices). You can even copy a phone number off a website and send it straight to the dialer. Other useful features include copying text in your browser and sending it to your Android device’s clipboard, and of course the main feature, opening up full web pages on your device’s browser straight from your computer’s browser.

As mentioned before, Chrome and Firefox are the only two browsers supported by this free Android app right now, but look for more to jump on the bandwagon in the future. With all of the major browsers now supporting some type of extension system, it’s only a matter of time before users create extensions to communicate with this app so that they can use their favorite browser with it. Also, if you aren’t at least running Android 2.2 yet, you’re out of luck along with the non-Chrome and non-Firefox users, as it requires FroYo or a later version of the Android Operating System.

If you have Chrome or Firefox, Chrome to Phone from Google is a must have. Whether it’s full web pages, parts of them, phone numbers, videos, or maps, Chrome to Phone has you covered in an easy to use fashion. One simple log in to your Gmail account is all it takes for the sharing to begin.

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CalWidget

March 15th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Let’s face it, the default calendar widget that comes with Android leave a lot to be desired, especially for people who rely on using the app. Enter CalWidget from Egg ‘n Stone, a full replacement for the default calendar widget that hooks right into the calendar and offers a ton of customization options, and will display more than one upcoming event.

CalWidget is simply a widget, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple. This free app is far from simple, coming in many different sizes ranging from 2×1 to 4×4. You can also choose which calendars show up in the widget, in case you are syncing multiple ones. You can even have a widget for each if you want. Other customization options include how the date is displayed, which colors are used, and how far ahead the widget will display events. The default is one month, but if you really rely on using your calendar, I doubt this widget will be displaying events that far in advance, unless you are on a tablet, then it might be able to reach a month.

There really are no cons at all for this free Android app. The only complaint one could make is that the customization menus are not pretty, but they get the job done quite fine. Egg ‘n Stone (an odd sounding developer name) has produced a much needed calendar replacement widget that is a must have for anyone who makes use of their calendar on their Android device. CalWidget does everything it needs to very well including displaying events in a very easy to read fashion, and doesn’t try to do anything else. There are no ads at all, and nothing to detract from the app in any way shape or form. CalWidget is just a great free app for Android.

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Make any Party Sizzle with These Hot Android Apps

March 12th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Do you think that sizzling hot parties create themselves? If you do, you really need to go back and think about every last party that you’ve attended …that was actually really good. See that host off in the corner trying to move heaven in earth to get things going? That’s definitely not for show. When you are trying to host your own party, you will have to do more than sit and look charming — you have to give your guests something to do, and you have to do it fast.

Hold it — before you get worried that you won’t be able to do this, think about it — you own an Android phone, don’t you? Why should all the iPhone and Blackberry people have fun apps and you don’t? Thankfully for you, there are actually a few Android apps that will definitely give your guests something to talk about — let’s check them out, shall we?

1. SongVote — If there’s one thing that definitely gets a party going, it would have to be music. Pick the wrong music and well…your party goes flat faster than a soda bottle with the top left off for a few hours. You don’t want flat soda, and you definitely don’t want a flat party either. That’s where SongVote comes in — you can use this Android app to let your guests choose the playlist they want to hear. Hooray for democracy!

2. Spin the Bottle — OK, so this won’t be an app you pull out for every party. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, when you want a little bit of flirting and a little bit of fun, this app can help you move things in that direction without being pushy about it — nobody likes a pushy host, you know.

3. Dice – OK, so this app doesn’t win the award for Most Creative App Name of All Time. Still, if you’re trying to play a much-loved board game at a party that’s missing a few pieces, Dice comes to the rescue nicely. You can have up to six dice on the screen at any one time, which means that you should be able to play just about any game you can think of — even Dungeons and Dragons, if you wanted to get in touch with your nerd side again (we won’t tell — promise!)

4. Anyvite – Anyvite lets you create invitations on the fly. Why is this perfect at your party? Well, it keeps things sizzling nicely — once everyone is singing and eating and having a good time, they’re going to want to know where and when the next party will be. Instead of making them wait until you can get back to a computer, why not whip out Anyvite and make invitations? You probably already have everyone that’s anyone on your Contacts file to begin with, and Anyvite can quickly filter out people that would be better at an insomnia therapy center than a sizzling hot party, if you catch our drift.

Overall, you can use these apps to really get things moving along as the party progresses. Icebreakers are fun, but don’t think that your hosting duties are done — they’ve just started!

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Blogger-droid

March 10th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Blogger-droid is a free app from Google that allows users to post straight to any of their blogs that run on the Google Blogger service. The interface is almost overly simple containing only three input fields: the subject, the body, and a field for labels (tags). The menu also allows you to include images or videos in posts. This makes it great for travel blogs or similar topics. A little bonus feature is the ability to view and share old posts from your Blogger blogs via the app’s menu. You can then set the app to notify you once a post is published on your blog.

The ability to include images or videos is not limited to those on your phone, as you can also link to your Picasa and/or YouTube accounts. You can also adjust the size of any images you decide to include in your posts. You can also fully customize the posts via HTML code, an unexpected option due to the interface.

While Blogger-droid does include some advanced features it is lacking other that are available on the Blogger website. You cannot disallow user comments or change the timestamp of the post. There also is no spell checker, so you actually have to do that for yourself. You also have to log into the app each and every time, which might seem like a good security setting, but in reality, how many other people will be using your phone let alone accessing the app while they use it? All of Google’s other apps leave you logged into their services, and it doesn’t seem right for this one to be any different.

Blogger-droid from Google does offer a good set of features, but still lacks in some basic functionality of the service. Overall, it is an average Android app that offers a solid solution for posting to your Blogger blogs on the go. It isn’t an amazing app, but it isn’t quite terrible either. At the end of the day, if you want to post to Blogger from your phone, though, you should at least give Blogger-droid a try. It is better than any of the other options currently on the Android Market.

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Androidify

March 10th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

Androidify is a new free app from Google Creative Lab in conjunction with Larva Labs that allows you to customize an Android character to look however you want it. You can Androidify yourself, your friends, your family, or just about anyone. Once you’re done creating your image, you can easily share it with anyone via MMS, Facebook, Twitter, or other services. You can also use the image created as a contact image.

This is a fun little app not unlike the Wii’s avatar creation. Being able to create your own little Android avatar is a fun little idea, and is well implemented. There are tons of different customization options, from skin color, to hair style and color, to clothing. There are even some props. The randomize option is also a good bit of fun, as you can see some hilarious combinations of clothing styles and looks.

Getting started is super easy with the tutorial that comes with the app. It’s easy enough to figure out without watching the video though, as you can navigate through menus and make selections of items easily, and just drag body parts such as arms to the length that you desire. You can also tap the area you want to change the item, such as tapping the torso to change the shirt.

The sound effects of this app are cute, but it would be nice to turn them off as they can get annoying, especially if using it around other people who do not want to hear them. This is more o a minor complaint, though, as this is a free app. It would also be nice to see an option to have animated Android avatars saved as .gif images or live wallpapers to be used on Android devices. This would make them much similar to Mii’s or the XBox 360’s avatars.

Overall, Androidify is a fun little app to use, and offers a great selection of options for a free app. It is well polished, and only has one minor drawback. Therefore, if having your own Android avatar of yourself, or anyone else for that matter, interested you, Androidify is a must download.

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Ready to Buy a House – These Android Apps Should Help!

February 27th, 2011 Admin Comments Off

If there ever was a stressful experience, it would definitely have to be buying a home — there are really so many different things to learn and so many houses to look at before you buy! Could your Android phone help you narrow things down?

Believe it or not, that little ‘Droid in your pocket could be more helpful to your real estate search than you might imagine. If you don’t believe us, the following list of Android apps should definitely get you rolling in the right direction.

1. Suburb Scout

It’s said that if you repeat something three times, it’s definitely got to be important. So in that spirit: resale value, resale value, resale value. Get our point? OK, in a nutshell — resale value matters. So when you’re trying to get the best house with the best resale value, you want to make sure that you’re not moving into a house that sits next to a prison, landfill, or a nuclear plant (hey, it could happen!). Enter Suburb Scout, a nifty little app that really lets you look to make sure that you’re not living next to or near something that will have your property value crashing to the ground faster than a supercharged asteroid.

2. Remember the Milk

As a potential home buyer, your to-do list is about as long as the Grand Canyon and twice as deep. Instead of trying to remember everything on your own, why not leave it to Remember the Milk? You will be able to enter in an unlimited number of tasks with deadlines and due dates, and then let the app handle the rest from there.

3. WHERE

Buying a home is a new location can make you feel pretty nervous — after all, you don’t know where anything is! This is where the WHERE Android app comes in. This program will give you the scoop on where everything around you is — you can even find friends, if they’re plugged in to the Where database. Real-time search gets better and better with time, so don’t be surprised if you start really relying on the results that you get from WHERE. (more…)

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