Unleash Your Inner Scientist – and Win Big!

March 15th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

What do you get when you cross your love of science with competition? Well, if you slip in the fact that Google is leading the way in getting people excited about the science of life, you actually have a Science Fair! For all of the innovation that Google brings to the table, people don’t realize that Google’s main approach is to help inspire and encourage the next generation.

So if you’re young and you enjoyed the Google Summer of Code — but you’re not a programmer, there’s finally a competition for you.

The Google Science Fair is simple: you need to focus on an experiment that benefits the world in one form or another. That’s the name of the game. You create the experiment, document it, and then create a report of your project.

You have to either submit a short video or a 20-slide presentation to Google in order to get your entry accepted.

Now, you might wonder what’s in it for you. If you’ve ever wanted a chance at the new Google Chrome OS net book or even a shiny new Android phone, then you really want to take your love of science to the next level. While the competition is going to be fierce (hey, it’s Google), the reality is that the grand prize and even the finalist prizes are going to be very nice.

The Grand Prize winner is going to get $50,000 for college, as well as a trip to the Galapagos Islands, plus the Android phone and the net book.

What can Android do for you and your love of science? Plenty. When it comes to customization and tinkering, it’s better to have an Android phone than anything else. This means that if you ever wanted to hit the ground running when it comes to mobile application development, you’ve basically got a low-cost (in your case, free if you win!) mobile laboratory in the palm of your hands. Your friends will not be able to believe that you actually landed such a cool phone. Of course, you don’t have to wait to get an Android phone either — the types of features that await you are just much fun to ignore.

Just think: if you win you can record data, share pictures of your projects with friends, and otherwise be completely free and mobile. While other phones claim to offer you that flexibility, Android is open enough to not only let you have that freedom, but you get to shape it into anything you want — now that’s power! Why not enter the Google Science Fair today? Time’s running out, so don’t forget about it!

Make any Party Sizzle with These Hot Android Apps

March 12th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

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!

Blogger-droid

March 10th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

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.

Androidify

March 10th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

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.

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

February 27th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

The Top 8 Apps for Musicians of All Stripes

February 18th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

Music and the Android phone seem to go together as well as peanut butter and jelly — and just about as tasty, too! OK, so you might be a long way from carrying around a PBJ with you everywhere you go, but your Android phone can really help you expand on that music career that you’ve been building for the last…well, forever. You might be surprised at how much development happens in the world of Android, but you’ll be able to benefit from all of the free apps that come and go through the marketplace.

If you’re not sure where to get started, just check out this list of eight Android apps for musicians of all stripes. No matter what type of instrument you play, chances are good that you’ll be able to use at least one of the apps here. And yes, before you ask — singers count here too. Jump in!

1. Rehearsal Assistant

Every musician knows the power of recording their own sound — and listening to it over and over, identifying every little piece that needs to be improved and expanded upon. When you’re trying to figure out exactly what you want to sound like, you would do well to pick up something like Rehearsal Assistant. The name really describes what it does — record, playback, and timestamp exaclty where you are during an audio piece. It’s simple, to the point, and the perfect Android app for musicians.

2. Remember the Milk!

When you’re hitting as many music clubs and open mics as you can, it can be hard to remember where you need to be at what time. Enter Remember the Milk, an app that will let you add tasks effortlessly and remind you what you need to do and when you need to do it. Send in that demo tape on time, every time with this app.

3. Glympse

After a while, you get tired of updating everyone on your status, especially when you’ve had to do it for the 15th time in the same day. Instead of arguing with everyone in your music entourage, why not just use an app like Glympse? It can automatically update people on how long it will take before you reach their destination. This is perfect for the group that tends to tour multiple clubs in multiple cities. Hey, someday you’ll be famous and someone else can handle this for you. Until then, there’s always Glympse. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Phones You Might Want to Give Your Sweetie for Valentine’s Day

February 10th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

Valentine’s Day is almost here — are you ready? With the power of expedited shipping and the Internet, you can be! After all, what sweetie wouldn’t appreciate a new phone? OK, maybe some of you have a Luddite for a sweetheart, but that’s an even greater opportunity to bring them into the light — the light of technology, of course!

We get pretty passionate about Android phones around here, but don’t let the frenzy around here keep you away from getting your sweetie an Android phone. Now, you might wonder why we would recommend it, out of all of the gifts that you could give your sweetie this year for Valentine’s Day.

Here are a few things.

First and foremost, it’s definitely a functional gift. When it comes time to reflect on the day, something that will last more than a week is definitely more valuable than fleeting things like roses and candies. Besides, who lets Valentine’s Day candy last for a day, let alone a week? We’re still trying to figure that out.

From there, you also have to think about the fact that it’s really all about the experience. Even if your sweetheart isn’t a huge technology buff, you can create an awesome experience by being the patient teacher, happy to help your student with all things Android. With our tips and tricks in your back pocket, you’ll have no problem winning that little game.

Now then, let’s go back to the phones, shall we? After all, you can’t really go wrong with a good Android phone, not when the platform has been producing hit after hit. OK, there are some phones that are a little suspect in the execution (we’re looking at you, Nexus One!), but there’s plenty of gold in these hills, as the saying goes.

Let’s start with the Samsung Captivate. It’s part of the Galaxy S line, and if you’ve got some money to really spend, you can’t go wrong with a Captivate. The phone boasts super fast 3G technology, a buzzing 1Ghz processor. OK, so you might not be fazed by 1Ghz procs anymore, but the Hummingbird processor still earns mad respect — with good reason. If your sweetie’s going to be around Wi-Fi spots often, the Wireless-N technology will ensure they’ll be able to read emails and visit Web sites pretty darn quick. The 5MP camera (with HD abilities, no less) will let your sweetheart take high quality pictures and even record some video — just in case they wander away from home.

We could gush for pages on the Captivate, but then we wouldn’t have space to cover the HTC EVO Shift 4G. It’s a Sprint darling, which is a bit of a shift (no pun intended) from the Captivate we mentioned just previously (AT&T has claim to that phone, for the record).  Read the rest of this entry »

5 Android Apps for Teachers – The Other Side of the Desk

February 7th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

There are quite a few guides out there for students looking to really take their learning to the next level, but what about educators? After all, you really can’t have one side of the discussion without having the other. There are plenty of great teachers out there that don’t want to just keep their performance — they want to be better than ever before. When a teacher wants to go above and beyond, we can’t really do anything except make sure that they have the resources they need to hit their goals.

The good news is that if they have an Android phone, they actually have quite a few resources at their disposal already without even realizing it. So, if you’re one of the teachers that are now rocking that little green robot phone, here are five apps to really make your life easier in and out of the classroom.

1. ClassDroid

Now, we have to say — out of all the Android apps we found, we’re most impressed by ClassDroid. That’s why it’s at the top of our list. You see, this app for Android lets a teacher control a lot of information in a very neat way. For starters, a teacher can simply take a picture of a student’s work and add it to the student’s online portfolio. This portfolio will incorporate everything a student is working on into a visual presentation that is quick to view in more ways than one. Parents that are concerned with their student’s performance will be able to see exactly what’s going on, as well as what they need to cover in order to keep everything on track. Students will like the app in action because they can see immediately what areas they’re awesome in, and what areas they need to work on.

2. Remember the Milk

OK, so this isn’t quite the only software for Android that teachers can use. Everyone can use RtM, but the software has a special place in every good teacher’s toolbox. For starters, it’s task management on steroids without the side effects. If you need to keep track of 20 different tasks for a day, then you can do that. What makes this software a bit different from others is that you can sync it between devices, which means that if you carry a second phone for personal use, you won’t have to worry about losing tasks and details. It’s also a good example of cloud computing, since your information is stored on the Cloud itself — but you can also shell out $25/year to keep your sync operations intact. As a teacher, you know how important it is to make sure that you’re staying on track all the time — anytime you get behind, it can feel like it takes forever to catch up again, and who really wants to feel that way to begin with? Read the rest of this entry »

What To Do if your Android is Lost or Stolen

January 31st, 2011 Admin No Comments »

Your Android Smartphone is an investment. It pays to make sure that your investment is protected. If your phone is lost or stolen, you’re potentially losing more than just your phone. Smartphones often contain valuable and potentially sensitive personal information including pictures, texts, and business contacts that you wouldn’t want falling into the wrong hands. Fortunately, Android users have access to a wide variety of security-minded features and apps. The following is a brief guide to help you ensure that your Android is protected.

Set an Unlock Pattern

When you first set up your Android, set up a screen lock that you’ll enter every time you activate your phone after it goes to sleep. Go to your phone’s settings menu and find the security tab. You’ll see an option that allows you to set a screen unlock pattern. The phone will show grid of nine dots. Create a personalized pattern by swiping your fingers from dot to dot. Don’t make it so easy that someone might guess, but don’t make it so complex that you might forget. If you enter your pattern incorrectly more than five times in a short span of time, you run the risk of being locked out of your phone and may have to reset it through your e-mail account or by calling your service provider.

When you enter your pattern, it will leave behind a green trail. If you’re concerned about someone looking over your shoulder and remembering your pattern, you can disable the green trail by returning to your phone’s security settings and disabling the visible pattern feature.

If your phone still doesn’t seem secure enough, check out an app called Hidden Lock. This app makes your home screen unresponsive until you press an invisible button that you place somewhere on the screen. This app will make it seem as if your phone is frozen or broken to all but the most tech-savvy phone thieves.

Secret Apps

Beyond your screen lock, there are several apps that can help you keep your information and data private. Hide It is a “fake” app that lets you hide pictures, videos, and other files you want to keep from prying eyes. When you download Hide It, it shows up on your phone as an application labeled “Audio Manager” with an accompanying fake icon. If you open the app, it appears to be a fully usable audio manager that lets you adjust your phone’s volume level. However, if you press and hold the audio manager icon, it opens up a secret vault where you can store and organize videos, pictures, and audio. Even if you don’t care about hiding anything, you might consider getting this app just for its impressive media organization features.

Decoy Hide Text is a “fake” app similar to Hide It that stores your text conversations. Once you set up this app, your incoming and outgoing texts won’t appear in the usual messages menu, but in an application entitled “FuzzyBalls” which is designed to look like a bouncing ball screen saver. When the screen saver shows up, shake the app and you’ll see your texts.

Your Phone’s GPS is your Friend

If your phone is lost or stolen, don’t start panicking. With the help of some incredible apps, there’s still hope.

Before you have the chance to lose your phone, take the precaution of installing Android Lost. You’ll be glad you did. It connects directly to your Google account (which you set up when you first activated your Android), and lets you access certain security features on your phone remotely using a computer.

If you can’t find your phone but know it’s close by somewhere, you can use Android Lost to set off your phone’s alarm at full volume, even if it’s on silent. If your phone is long gone, you can activate your phone’s GPS and locate where it is anywhere in the world (especially helpful if you think you left your phone in Antarctica).

If you believe your phone is stolen, you can use Android Lost to remotely delete sensitive information like text messages, contacts, pictures, and videos. You can also set it up to send text messages and incoming calls so that they show up in your e-mail, which is a good temporary solution until you get a new phone.

Phones with the latest Android 2.3 update can even take pictures from the phone’s camera and forward them to an e-mail address, possibly revealing hints about the phone’s current location.

Last Resort

If your phone is already lost and you neglected to download any precautionary apps, do not abandon hope! Plan B is an app that you can actually install on your phone after it goes missing using your Google account. Once installed, you can have your phone’s GPS coordinates sent to your e-mail by texting the word “locate” to your number. (Note: There are many websites that allow you to send free text messages from your computer including http://www.sendatextonline.com/ and http://www.onlinetextmessage.com/)

Taking a few safety precautions only takes a few moments and could potentially make your life a lot easier if your phone ever gets lost or stolen. It’s your valuable information, so make sure it’s protected. And remember, if you think your phone has been stolen, never try to track down the malicious parties yourself. Always report it to the proper authorities.

Samsung Galaxy Pro

January 30th, 2011 Admin No Comments »

A year after the release of the first phone in the series, the Samsung Galaxy S, Samsung are yet again expanding the brand with a new Android smart phone release.

Hot on the heels of last year’s Samsung Galaxy Tab and weeks after the brand new Samsung Galaxy S II was revealed to the world, the Korean mobile giant have released their plans for a new, more business orientated phone in an attempt to make even more in roads into a market in which they are already having huge successes.

The Samsung Galaxy Pro is the latest phone off the Samsung production line (and the latest in the long line mobile phones to use the “pro” suffix) and it looks like it could be a treat for both business users and more general consumers.

The phone looks not unlike a Blackberry, with its QWERTY style keyboard underneath a smaller screen which is rather attractive in its own simple way and the mesh effect on its metallic back panel is pleasing on the eye.

The keyboard is a welcome addition as it makes sending e-mails and long messages so much easier than even the very best virtual keyboards. It is situated underneath the phone’s 2.8″ 320 x 240 pixel touchscreen display and in other hardware news the phone features a 3 megapixel camera on the back that will take a decent snap but will never set the world alight.

The processor is just 800mhz which is not a lot nowadays, but is more than enough to run this little phone as it’s best features do not require a particularly powerful processor.

If you are looking for a phone mainly to watch videos and play games on this may not be for you but if you want a phone that is great for messaging and has some great business features and you are ready to join the Android revolution, the Samsung Galaxy Pro is definitely worth a look at. phones4u is the home of cheap contract phones and great pay as you go deals, visit the site today to find out the best deal for you

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